Chapter 78

Kaine

I enter my room with a sigh, relieved to finally be alone. The incessant politicking and espionage at the palace has only increased in recent weeks, and the toll it’s taken on me has not been insignificant.

I stretch and look at my bed. I debate falling into it without bathing but think better of it. It had been a long day, and much of it had been spent outside. I head to the washroom.

When I’ve finished, I begim to make my way back to the main chamber of my quarters but pause when I notice Rafe’s unease.

What’s wrong?

“Someone’s here.”

Every muscle in my body tenses at his words and I freeze entirely listening for what I had missed. Everything is silent for a moment and then I hear it: a rustling from the closet.

I hold my breath and I start to edge my way out of the bathroom, hoping whoever has concealed themselves in my closet won’t notice that I’ve finished in the washroom. I inch my way toward the closet, ready to strike.

Before I can strike a man lunges forward, I barely have time to note his dark clothes or the dagger in his hand before I am forcibly pinned against the wall.

A growl escapes my lips and roll to the right, freeing myself from the assailant’s grasp. I duck under the man’s arm as he takes a swing at my neck and get behind him. Before he has the chance to do anything else I grab the arm that he wields the dagger with and and bend it, forcing it against his back.

I use my other hand to throw it to the ground before shoving him roughly into the wall.

“Who sent you?”

The man doesn’t answer, and I start to twist his arm, not enough to break the bone, but enough for him to know that I’m serious. “I said who sent you?”

The man grunt in response to the pain but still doesn’t speak. My anger rises at his lack of cooperation, and I feel Rafe move closer to the surface in response. It would be so easy to kill him.

My control starts to slip as the rage inside me grows. I press the man further into the wall, ignoring his muffled cries. I grab the back of his neck and pull it back, preparing to drive his head into the wall, but before I can, I think of Ember.

She would want me to question him further, to get more information about who had sent him here. I don’t know why her face suddenly appeared in my head or her voice in my ear, but I can’t shake the feeling that that voice is right.

My rage begins to subside, and I release my hold on the man’s neck, still using my other arm to keep him pinned in place. Before I ask him again who had sent him I release my Alpha power, letting the waves of energy flow from me, directly into the man before me.

“I will not ask you again. Who sent you?”

The man shakes as he tries to resist my power. I think for a moment he is going to answer, but I hear a slight pop and then the hard sound of a swallow. I release my hold and spin him around, noting his lack of resistance.

My mouth falls open when I realize what he’s done. He must have had some kind of poison capsule in his mouth, ready to bite into in case of capture. The man grins at me as he falls to his knees.

Foam drips from his mouth and I think for a moment to call a healer, but the gurgle in his throat tells me that he’s already dead. He drops to the ground with a thud, and I curse.

This has to have been my stepmother’s doing. An attack so close the poisoning attempt can’t be a coincidence. I look at the man’s body.

Without him to give witness I can never accuse her. She wields too much power as the Queen. If I try to stand against her without evidence, I will be better off letting the next assassin kill me.

I bend down to better examine the corpse. Perhaps there is something on his person tying him to her, or at least a lead. The more I look, the more frustrated I become.

There is nothing to indicate that this man has any ties to the Queen. The only indicator I have is a small emblem on his underclothes. The emblem on all items given standard issue with the guard’s uniforms.

He was another guard. I look at the guard’s foamy mouth and think about what he had sacrificed.

I know my stepmother has influence at the palace, she is the Queen after all, but I had no idea of the extent of her control. For this guard to take his own life he was either devoutly loyal to her, or she held something over him that would make living his life worse than death.

I don’t like the prospect of either. If a guard could be so devoted to her cause for whichever reason, that means that anyone in this palace could be under her control. A chill runs up spine.

I can’t trust anyone. Anyone could be her informant even Ember, although regret accusing her in the past, even Jake.

Ember

Whispering begins to take hold of the Palace once again, and although I try to stay clear of the gossip word of Kaine’s recent behavior reaches me anyway. His reputation had begun to take a turn for the better since he defended me at the King and Queen’s anniversary ball, but the new rumors say that he has begun to revert to his old ways.

There is talk that he had been lashing out at workers around the palace at guards and even maids, who got in his way. It is said that he has been asking questions about where they were going or what they were up to.

I do my best not to believe it. Rumors had gone around about Kaine before and they would again, just like with any royalty. My main focus is solving the Chantarelle case and implicating the Queen.

Another visit to the estate could change everything. I sit in Kaine’s office one night as we go through documents.

“I think we’ve found everything we can from these. I think we need to try another visit to the estate, one where they don’t know that we’re coming. If we only bring people that we trust, we can ambush them and get more information.”

I’m surprised by the way Kaine’s expression darkens. “If we are only bringing people we can trust then no one is qualified for the expedition.”

I look in his eyes confused by his attitude and see that he’s serious. His paranoia has returned in full force.

I speak carefully. “What about a very small team then. Just you, me and Jake.”

Kaine shakes his head. “No. I can’t guarantee the mission won’t be compromised.”

I do my best to hide my annoyance. “I thought you finally trusted me.”

Kaine grows frustrated. “It’s not just you!”

I blink. If he doesn’t trust Jake, his Beta, his paranoia is worse than I fear. Still, I try to reason with him.

“Kaine I don’t know how much more we can get from these records. It’s time to act. If we are going to find out what Lady Chantarelle has been hiding and implicate the Queen, now is the time.”

My heart jumps as Kaine raises his voice. “Enough! There will not be another estate visit and that is final. There has to be something else in these records that will help up, we just haven’t found it yet.”

I sigh, but don’t argue. He’s wrong, but I’ll never convince him. I need to plan a visit without him.