The great lords nodded gravely. Garenes fixed Relam with a calculating look, as though trying to guess at what exactly was about to transpire. Relam ignored the great lord and began his story, nearly tired of repeating it at this point.
Predictably, the lords were unable to hold their silence throughout. Each time there was an outburst, Relam pressed his lips tightly together and waited until the lords had settled, pointedly ignoring all questions directed at him. Eventually, the Assembly got the message and held their silence until the end. Relam mentioned Lord Thius’ arrest briefly but did not go into detail.
As soon as it was apparent he was finished, the hall began rumbling with questions and whispers as the nobles present discussed Relam’s account of events. Many appeared deeply unsettled. Others seemed frankly skeptical. Some looked as though they had been clubbed over the head. Relam surveyed them all slowly, taking time to try and gauge the reaction of his audience.
“Now,” he said when he felt that the nobles had been given enough time to talk amongst themselves. “Before you ask questions, I would like one other person to speak. He is the former Head of this Assembly and its High Council, Ryker Thius.”
Oreius strode quickly to the door to the anteroom and wrenched it open. Ryker Thius stumbled out, still in handcuffs, flanked by Tar Agath and a pair of Hadere’s most trusted city guards. Relam had not wanted Citadel guards assigned to this task, not yet. Not when the treachery was so fresh and recent.
Relam stepped to one side of the podium and watched as Thius moved towards the front of the stage. An expectant hush had fallen over the nobles. The traitor licked his lips nervously, then bowed his head, avoiding the gazes of the men he had so recently commanded the respect of.
“My Lords,” he began, his voice low and husky. “It’s all true.”
The hall exploded in muted whispers, like a chorus of hissing snakes. Relam looked around slowly, meeting the eyes of some of the offenders, and the whispering died abruptly.
“Every word of it,” Thius continued. “I was the Head of this Assembly, but it was not enough. When D’Arnlo approached me with the opportunity to become a king, to have my name etched into history as the first in a new line of monarchs, I hardly hesitated. I betrayed everyone that day. You. The people of this kingdom, the royal family. My family.”
The traitor hesitated, on the brink of saying more, but merely shook his head and wrapped up his confession. “I confess to everything that I am accused of in this matter, though I cannot honestly say that I regret it.”
The Assembly muttered darkly at this, glaring up at Thius as he stepped back from the podium to stand beside Tar and his guards. Relam stepped back to the podium. “Are there any questions?” he asked quietly.
“What is being done to round up other possible traitors?” Lord Laurencian asked immediately.
“The Citadel has been taken over by loyal supporters of the crown,” Relam replied. “They will work with some of those involved in the battle to identify and capture the remaining elements of the traitors.”
“What about the king?” another lord in the second row asked. “You did not mention if he was murdered, and Lord Thius did not confess to it.”
“Ryker Thius is not accused of the king’s murder,” Relam said, stressing the traitor’s name and ignoring his former title. “Nor does he know of any involvement on the part of Bene D’Arnlo. As far as we know, my father was killed by a wild beast during the Harvest Hunt. It turned out to be a fortuitous turn of events for the traitors and gave them the opportunity to eliminate me and seize the throne, but they did not kill the king themselves.”
The questions continued, revisiting details of several of the events. The most prevalent question was why had the Assembly not heard of these occurrences sooner?
“The investigation was carried out quietly because we did not know who to trust,” Relam told them, feeling his face heat slightly. “Remember, at one stage everyone at the banquet that night was a suspect. Including many of the people in this room.”
After that, the questions began to thin out, mostly clarifying important points. Two hours after the meeting had started, Relam was feeling quite comfortable with how it had progressed.
Then, Lord Garenes spoke up.
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to fully examine these events in a single evening,” he observed, addressing the Assembly. “The hour is already growing late, and there is to be an ongoing investigation into the treachery at the Citadel. I am sure that updates will continue to follow?” he asked, glancing at Relam.
“Yes,” Relam replied. “The Assembly will be notified of progress whenever it is safe to do so. Whenever revealing such progress will not compromise the remainder of the investigation, that is.”
“I hope that excuse will not be employed too often,” a lord Relam did not recognize muttered.
“The most important thing is that every traitor involved with this plot be rounded up,” Relam said sternly, looking down at the offending noble. “All other objectives must necessarily fall behind that.”
“We will be updated, then,” Lord Garenes continued. “But there is another issue we must deal with tonight. The successor of King Orram.”
Murmuring swept through the hall. “That is,” one of the Council said loudly, “The original reason we gathered today.”
“At that time, the prince was missing,” Knet’s father, Lord
