“I understand.” I chuckled. “Anyway, how’s your mom?”
He smiled brightly. “My mam is great. She loves her new job and the independence it gives her. My grandda no longer bothers her.”
I nodded. “Good. If you have any problems in the future, all you have to do is let me know.”
“Thank ye, Yer Majesty.”
“No, thank you. I have top notch guards because of you. Hopefully I don’t have to put them to use, but if I do, I know they’ll be ready.”
William and I continued to talk about everything we could think of while I brushed Shadow. He even divulged some of the gossip from the castle, which I found quite scandalous.
“The maid and the cook were caught doing what?” I exclaimed as my cheeks turned rosy.
“In the supply closet, of all places, Yer Majesty,” William confirmed.
“Holy smokes—”
“I’m surprised Lady Helena has nae shared all this with ye. She’s always up to date with the latest.” He grinned as he plucked some hay from the ground.
“Believe it or not, Helena is not the gossip you think she is,” I smirked. “But I must try to get her to spill the beans because that’s quite spicy—” When I heard the front doors to the stable open with a creak, I started to announce our presence when I heard a voice that shouldn’t have been there.
“Is anyone here?” Charles asked. I heard muffled footsteps stepping over the hay on the stable floor.
“I ordered the stable boys to leave. It should be empty,” another voice said, a male I didn’t recognize.
I quickly put my pointer finger over my lips and looked pointedly at William. He motioned for me to squat down and I didn’t hesitate. If we moved from our spot, our footsteps would make noise.
The two men walked further into the stables but stopped midway, which was only about five gates away from us.
“What have you learned?” Charles asked the stranger.
“The demon is after the Queen. She has fae blood, and that’s what the demon wants. If you give her to him, you kill two birds with one stone,” the stranger declared.
“I knew she wasn’t pure,” Charles scoffed. “If I told the Summit, they would dethrone her this instant.”
“Her name carries a lot of weight; the knowledge that she has fae blood may not be enough. The demon is your best bet to get rid of her for good.” There was a pause before the stranger added, “Do you not have the support of the Summits anymore?”
Charles grunted. “Grayson has gotten soft. He doesn’t want to physically hurt her. He treats lunas as if they’re weak. When he saw her collapse, it worried him.”
“Are you willing to go over Grayson’s head?”
“If I have to. I vow to accomplish what we started. I know Lucas will side with me,” Charles said arrogantly. “And if we have the support of the European Summit, that’s all we’ll need.”
“What would a demon want with a fae-blooded lycan?” the stranger asked.
“Do we care?” Charles scoffed. “Let’s just figure out a way to deliver her to him without making it obvious.”
I looked at William with wide eyes and his mirrored mine. What Charles was planning with this stranger was treason. We could bust them right now and throw them into the dungeons … or we could wait and see who else was involved in orchestrating this betrayal.
William widened his eyes even more and nodded in their direction, hinting to do something, but I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time.
I knew Charles Cadwell hated me. Despised me, even. But to go this far? I never would have thought him capable. That was my mistake for underestimating him.
“The funeral for those lost during the demon’s attack is this weekend,” the stranger said. “We can take her then.”
“And how do you plan on doing that with her guards always hovering around her?” Charles spat. “Her mate will be glued to her side. He’ll be a problem.”
“I can get a few trustworthy guards on her detail and instruct them to lead her elsewhere. That will be our opportunity.”
“Are you sure? Nothing can go wrong. If those guards are caught, we’ll be in hot water. She’ll have proof,” Charles said.
“Well, I overheard her mate say something to King Alexander that might help us isolate her.”
Shadow whinnied beside me and I was frozen in place, hoping they wouldn’t come to investigate as I strained to hear what they were saying. What could Bash possibly have mentioned to Alexander that someone could overhear? Besides that, who would have the opportunity to be close enough to them to overhear their conversation? The only person I could think of was a guard.
Was the stranger with Charles a guard?
“One of the Queen’s oracle abilities is to communicate with the recently deceased,” the stranger divulged. “Bash was afraid she might become overwhelmed during the ceremony this weekend and need to go somewhere private to collect herself.”
“No … that’s impossible,” Charles murmured. “If she was able to, she’d …”
His sentence hung in the air and I knew where his train of thought was going. If I was able to communicate with the recently deceased, then I would have been able to speak to Jonah.
“They were discussing what to do in case any of the deceased spoke to her. They didn’t want anyone finding out about her ability.”
So much for that.
“Fine, I’ll entertain this idea. But make sure you get some trustworthy guards on her detail. Ones who are on our side,” Charles demanded. “No mistakes. Nothing can go wrong this weekend.”
“Are you going to share our plan with the others?”
There was a long pause. “I’ll share it with Lucas. Keep up the good work.”
Silence.
We heard their footsteps retreat, followed by the sound of the stable doors opening and closing.
William and I stayed put for a solid fifteen minutes in shock, staring at one another with wide eyes before we spoke.
“Yer Majesty,” he whispered as if we were still
