"I think someone in the royal family is working with Daemon. Someone who knew about tonight's meal, about who would be there, about when security would be most lax." I watched his face carefully for any telltale reaction. "If you know something, if you've heard anything, now is the time to tell me. Before more people die."
"I don't know anything. I swear it." He looked back at Kael's body. "But Elara, I need to tell you something. Something I probably should have mentioned before but I wasn't sure if it mattered."
"What?"
"Darian. My twin. He's been meeting with someone in secret. I don't know who, but I've noticed him sneaking out at odd hours, being evasive about his whereabouts. And there have been messages. Coded letters delivered by private courier, nothing through official channels."
My pulse quickened. "How long has this been going on?"
"Months. Maybe longer. I confronted him about it once, and he said it was none of my business, that he was handling private family matters. I let it drop because..." He paused, looking ashamed. "Because I was so focused on competing with him for Father's favor that I didn't want to push him away. I thought whatever he was doing was probably just another scheme to gain political advantage."
"But now Kael is dead, and you're wondering if Darian's secret meetings had something to do with it," I finished.
"Yes. And I'm terrified that I'm right. That my brother is a traitor and I was too blind to see it." Theron's voice cracked. "What kind of fool does that make me?"
"The kind who wanted to believe the best of family. That's not foolish, that's human." I moved closer to him. "Theron, I need you to do something for me. Something that could be very dangerous."
"Anything. Name it."
"I need you to find out who Darian has been meeting with. Trace those coded letters. Figure out what he's been planning. Can you do that without alerting him that you're investigating?"
"I think so. We shared rooms as children. I still have keys to his private chambers, places he keeps locked even from servants. If there's evidence, I'll find it." He looked at me intently. "But Elara, what will you do if I confirm he's the traitor? He's still the King's son. Still my twin. Arresting him for treason could tear the kingdom apart."
"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, I just need the truth. Whatever it costs."
Theron nodded. "I'll start tonight. But there's something else. Father wants to see you. Immediately. He's furious, demanding answers about how someone could poison Kael during a formal meal with dozens of witnesses. And Elara..." He hesitated. "Some of the nobles are saying you did it. That you're the foreign bride who killed the cursed prince to free yourself from the marriage."
Of course they were. I'd been expecting this, but hearing it confirmed still felt like a punch to the gut.
"Let them talk. I know the truth, and that's what matters." I straightened my spine, forcing myself back into the role I needed to play. "Tell the King I'll see him in one hour. I need time to prepare myself for the audience."
"One hour," Theron agreed. He looked once more at Kael's body, his expression filled with regret and grief. "I'm sorry, brother. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I won't fail you again."
After he left, Mira locked the door behind him and turned to me. "Do you believe him? About Darian?"
"I don't know. It could be genuine information, or it could be misdirection. Theron could be the traitor trying to frame his twin." I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building. "That's the problem with this whole plan. We're looking for truth in a court full of liars, and we can't trust anyone except each other."
"And Elena. And Captain Thorne."
"And them. A handful of people against a conspiracy that's been building for fifteen years." I looked at Kael's still form. "Sometimes I wonder if we're delusional. If we really think we can win this."
"You're not delusional. You're just outnumbered. But outnumbered isn't the same as defeated." Mira moved to the wardrobe. "Now, you have an audience with the King in less than an hour. You need to look like a grieving widow who's innocent of her husband's murder. Let me help you prepare."
She was right. If I was going to face King Aldric and convince him I hadn't killed his son, I needed to look the part. Mira helped me change into a black dress—not formal mourning attire, which would be premature, but dark enough to signal grief. She fixed my hair, which had come loose during the chaos in the great hall. And she applied just enough cosmetics to make my red, swollen eyes look tragic rather than suspicious.
"Perfect," she said when she was done. "You look devastated but dignified. Exactly what you need."
A knock at the door announced Captain Thorne's return. "Princess, the King is waiting. I'm to escort you to his private study."
"Has Elena reported anything yet?" I asked as we walked.
"She's detected three separate magical communications leaving the castle. All heading north toward the mountains. She's trying to trace them to their sources, but whoever sent them was careful. They used relay points and misdirection." His voice dropped lower. "But Princess, she did confirm one thing. At least one of those messages originated from the royal wing. From someone with very close access to the King."
So our theory was correct. Someone in the immediate royal family was reporting to Daemon. The question was whether it was Darian, as Theron claimed, or Theron himself, or someone else entirely.
We reached King Aldric's study, and Captain Thorne knocked sharply. "Princess Elara, Your Majesty."
"Send her in. Alone."
The captain looked at me, silently asking if I was sure about this. I nodded. I had to face this, had to convince King Aldric of my innocence. Captain Thorne opened the door and I stepped inside.
The King sat behind his massive desk, looking older than I'd ever seen him. His face was drawn, his eyes red-rimmed. For a moment, I almost felt sympathy for him. Whatever else he was, he'd just lost his son.
Then he spoke, and the sympathy evaporated.
"Did you kill him?"
No preamble. No comfort. Just direct accusation.
"No, Your Majesty. I did not."
"You were sitting right beside him. You had opportunity. You're foreign, possibly with orders from your father to eliminate the cursed prince now that the alliance is secured. You have motive and means." He stood, moving around the desk toward me. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you arrested and executed for murdering my son."
"Because I loved him," I said, the truth of it hitting me even as I spoke the words. "Because in the few weeks we've been married, he became more important to me than anyone in my entire life. Because I would never, never harm him."
"Love." King Aldric spat the word like a curse. "You've been married for weeks. You barely know him."
"I know him better than you do. I know he spent his entire life being feared and isolated because you couldn't look past his curse to see the man underneath. I know he believed himself to be a monster because everyone he cared about told him he was one. I know he was finally starting to believe he could be more than his darkness, that he could have a life worth living." My voice broke. "And I know that someone took that away from him. Someone murdered him at a table surrounded by witnesses, and I will find out who if it's the last thing I do."
The King studied me for a long moment. "You really loved him."
"I really did. I really do." The present tense felt wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to speak of Kael in past tense even though that's what everyone believed now.
"Then help me find his killer. Tell me everything that happened tonight. Every detail, no matter how small."
So I did. I recounted the evening from beginning to end, leaving out only the crucial detail that I'd administered the poison myself. I described Kael's symptoms, his collapse, the chaos that followed. I mentioned the wine and how Kael had commented on the vintage before drinking.
"The wine," King Aldric seized on that detail. "Who served it? Who had access to it before it reached the table?"
"Servants. But Your Majesty, dozens of servants handle wine before it's served. Any of them could have added poison. And it might not have been the wine at all. It could have been the food, or something he consumed earlier in the day. We won't know until healers examine his... his body."
The word caught in my throat. Because Kael's body was currently lying in our chambers, surrounded by guards who knew the truth but couldn't tell anyone. And I had to stand here and pretend he was really gone while lying to the King's face.
"I've ordered a full investigation," King Aldric said. "Every servant who had access to the great hall tonight will be questioned. Anyone who can't account for their movements will be arrested. And you, Princess, will remain under guard until we can be certain of your innocence."