Page 31 of Only Hard Problems

I would rather face down an entire squad of Black Scarabs single-handedly than endure this media gauntlet right now, but I didn’t have a choice, so I fixed a calm, reassuring smile on my face and looked directly into the bright glare of the cameras.

I needed to do at least one bloody thing right tonight.

For the next fifteen minutes, I answered one question after another. I kept my voice steady and my answers vague and simple and projected as much confidence as I could muster. Everything was under control, the intruders had been killed, the other Arrows were already hot on the trail of the masterminds, and the Techwave wouldn’t dare to attack Corios again on my watch.

Lies, all of it.

“Is it true Lord Jorge ignored the Arrows’ security suggestions?” a gossipcaster yelled out. “That his oversight allowed the Techwavers to attack unimpeded? That his carelessness is the primary cause for tonight’s calamity?”

Beside me, Jorge’s face paled. His stomach gurgled with ominous notes, but he drew in a breath and stepped forward. “I must take—”

“I must take severe umbrage at those insinuations,” I smoothly cut in. “Lord Jorge followed all Imperium security suggestions to the letter. Nothing more could have been done by him or House Rojillo to prevent tonight’s attack.”

I stepped forward, putting myself between Jorge and the bright glares of the cameras. “Rest assured that we have learned a great deal from tonight’s attack. Why, the Arrows are already making use of all the information we’ve collected, just as we intended.”

The gossipcasters frowned. Several of them glanced at one another, then back at me.

“Just as you intended? What does that mean?”

“What information? Did the Techwave leave some sort of data or device behind?”

“Will tonight’s attack somehow lead the Arrows to a Techwave base? Or all the Regal weapons and resources the terrorist group has stolen in recent months?”

“I’m not at liberty to reveal specifics on Arrow missions, targets, or objectives.” I flashed them all another smile, then gave an exaggerated wink. “But believe me when I say that Corios is safer than ever, and we can all sleep peacefully tonight.”

Once again, the gossipcasters frowned and glanced at one another, not sure what to make of my confusing, contradictory statements, but that was the point. The more I clouded the truth and downplayed what had happened tonight, the more the gossipcasters would speculate and talk in useless circles.

Disinformation was a weapon too, and I wasn’t just wielding it because of Holloway’s orders. I didn’t want to embolden General Orion Ocnus and the other mysterious leaders of the Techwave or give them any tactical advantages by revealing how chaotic and successful their attack had been and just how close they’d come to killing the solstice guests. Of course, the Regals who had already given interviews about their harrowing experiences would undercut my strategy, but I’d spun the story the best I could.

The gossipcasters sucked in a collective breath to pepper me with more questions, but I smiled, waved, and ended the press conference. The gossipcasters started yelling again, but I ignored them and escorted Lord Jorge back inside the castle. I shut a door behind us, finally, mercifully, cutting off the barrage of questions.

Jorge slumped against the wall, looking as tired as I felt. “Thank you for that,” he said in a low, strained voice. “For saying my security was excellent and that no one could have prevented the Techwave attack.”

I shrugged off his thanks. “It was nothing.”

Jorge stepped forward and clasped my hand in his own. “Not to me. Perhaps my House will survive this disaster after all.”

Tears gleamed in his eyes, but he blinked them back, dropped my hand, and cleared his throat. “Please excuse me. I want to see how everyone is doing. I also need to make arrangements for the guests to either spend the night here or return home, whichever they prefer.”

“Of course,” I murmured. “Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.”

Jorge gave me a wan smile and disappeared deeper into the castle. I scrubbed my hands through my hair, trying to slough off everything that had happened over the past few hours. Then I went in search of my family.

Fergus had vanished, probably to check on the rest of the House Zimmer servants and escort them home, but Beatrice and Wendell were still out on the lawn, along with several of the Regals. I looked them over for a second time, but other than their disheveled appearances, they were fine.

Relief rushed through me. I didn’t know what I would have done if I had lost them, and yet I couldn’t help but feel like that had been someone’s goal tonight, given the way the Black Scarab had seemed to search for and then specifically target my father.

As for who would want to hurt my family, well, it was a long, long list. You didn’t get to be among the most powerful Regal Houses by playing nicely with others, and my grandmother had made plenty of enemies over the years with her various schemes. I’d made my fair share of enemies too, both as a Regal lord and especially as an Arrow.

And then, of course, there was Vesper. Perhaps I was being paranoid, but I felt like tonight’s attack also had something to do withher. My surprise sister hadn’t been a Regal long, but she had enemies too, especially since she kept foiling the Techwave’s plots. Either way, a faint unease kept thrumming through my body, and my psionic instincts kept whispering that this wasn’t the end of my family’s battle with the Techwave—more like the beginning.

“Zane? Are you okay?” my father asked. “You have a strange look on your face.”

I shook off my thoughts of Vesper and the Techwave. “I’m all right. I just wanted to double-check on the two of you.”

My grandmother waved her hand. “We’re fine, thanks to you and your father.”

I grinned at him. “Nice trick with the string of bulbs and the fork. I didn’t realize you could make solar lights explode like that.”

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