“That one is led, we think, by Marquis Kyrin, who supports Elani for the throne.”
“Aside from plotting against my youngest sister, not a bad thing.”
“But we don’t know what that support means, or how far they’ll go. Alec overheard something that might have been a threat against the queen herself.”
“Bilairy’s Balls! I’ll have word sent to her at once to strengthen her bodyguard. Who else do you think is involved with him?”
“Tolin, Stenmir, and-” Seregil hesitated, knowing Korathan was not going to be pleased. “And Duke Reltheus.”
“Reltheus? Is that why he’s thrown his son in Elani’s way every chance he gets?”
“No, I think he just desperately wants his line joined to the royal house,” Seregil replied. “And I believe he feels genuine affection for your niece. Kyrin has found a way to use that. He’s blackmailing Reltheus; it seems the duke was already passing out royal favors.”
“That makes him no less a traitor to the royal family, if he’s conspiring against Klia! How far has this gone?”
“All that we’ve learned makes me wonder if that attempt on Klia’s life was actually made by assassins disguised as Plenimaran soldiers,” replied Thero.
“Attempt on Klia’s life!” Seregil exclaimed. “Why weren’t we told of this?”
“Perhaps I should have-” Korathan looked sharply at Alec. “But you two already knew, didn’t you?”
Alec colored hotly. “Well, that is…”
“Only recently, Highness,” Thero told him. “And only because they uncovered evidence of their own as to the perpetrators. Seregil, tell the prince what you heard on the island.”
“Reltheus, Tolin, and Stenmir went off into the woods on their own and I followed to see what they were up to. I overheard Stenmir ask Reltheus if he’d had any more news from ‘the north,’ which I assumed were the messages from Danos.
Then Reltheus said that if someone he referred to only as ‘she’ had been killed, they’d have heard by now.”
“And you assume that this ‘she’ was Klia.”
“Yes.”
“And still you kept this knowledge to yourselves?”
Thero hastened to Seregil’s defense. “As far as we knew from the evidence Seregil and Alec found up until then, they were simply keeping an eye on her to see if she was making any move toward claiming the throne. We had no idea a plot was afoot to kill her.”
“What other evidence
Seregil showed him the copies of some of the coded messages and purloined letters they’d found so far. “From these, it appeared that they were keeping a close eye on Klia, and also trying to gauge how deep Elani’s interest in Danos runs. And I found a number of other interesting items in a secret room in Marquis Kyrin’s house, including more letters and some phials of poison. And he’s hoarding Aurenfaie gold kars with Golinil clan’s mark on them, and some gems.”
“Those are all capital offenses!”
“Yes, but I think that pales beside his real motives, don’t you? Arrest him for that and you tip your hand to the other conspirators. They’ll scatter like fleas off a dead dog.”
“Charming image.”
“You take my meaning, though. Please, Korathan, let us pursue this.”
Korathan sighed. “And what’s this other cabal?”
“We’re less sure of this one,” Thero replied, “but Duke Laneus seems to be conspiring to support Klia in some fashion.”
“And how does he propose to do that, without her consent?”
“He may just be trying to protect her from Kyrin’s group.”
“And assassinate the queen.”
“Possibly. We’re not sure of that, yet.”
“And who is with him?”
“It’s not entirely clear, but we’re fairly sure of Marquise
Lalia, Duchess Nerian.” Seregil hesitated again. “The protector general-”
“The man I was just speaking with? Bilairy’s Balls, man, he’s charged with protecting Elani! If he persuaded his regiment to turn on her-on me? The whole city would be plunged into chaos. Phoria would be forced to lay siege to her own capital.”
“Very likely,” said Seregil. “Once again, though, if you arrest him for that, or even relieve him of command without a plausible excuse, the others will know the game is up. I’d suggest sending the general on a tour of the coastal cities to assess their defenses against a sea attack. With his correspondence closely monitored, of course. That should get him out of the way long enough for us to complete our work.”
Korathan rested his head in one hand for a moment. “Yes, that can be arranged easily enough. Are there any others in league with that faction?”
“Marquise Lalia.”
“Mistress of the Royal Wardrobe.”
“And Duke Malthus,” said Seregil. “But I’m not certain Malthus is supporting their plans, at least not any talk of assassinating Phoria. He was overheard objecting.”
“By whom?”
“One of my spies.”
“And this spy is?”
“The actor, Atre,” Seregil admitted reluctantly. “From what he heard, Malthus was the voice of reason.” He paused. “Again, if you bring this all to light now, it will look like Klia is in the middle of it.”
“But I assure you, she isn’t!” Thero quickly put in. “I’ve had it from her lips, and I have no reason to doubt her.”
That earned another raised eyebrow from the prince. “Perhaps you’re not the most objective judge, when it comes to Klia?”
“Your Highness, I-”
Korathan waved that aside. “I must tell you, I don’t like any of this, or your keeping it from me for so long. From now on you’ll
“Of course, Highness,” said Thero, bowing with the others.
Korathan turned to Seregil. “I understand you two are playing with my niece again today.”
“We have that honor.”
“That’s good. You can keep an eye on Reltheus and the others for me. I’ll make certain the queen understands your sudden interest in Elani.”
“Thank you.” It seemed they’d improved their standing with Korathan since that day at the archery lists.
“Well, go on, then. It’s not polite to keep the princess royal waiting.”
“Of course.”
In the corridor Alec let out a pent-up breath. “That went fairly well. Didn’t it?”
“Considering the alternatives, yes,” said Thero, looking equally relieved. “Good luck and good hunting.” With that he went off the way they’d come.
Seregil straightened Alec’s coat collar and brushed a wisp of hair behind his ear. “There, all presentable to ‘play’ with the princess.”
Another page led them down the long succession of corridors that took them through the public areas to the royal living quarters. Seregil could have found his way on his own, though it had been a long time since he’d lived here. The queen’s suite was the largest, with its own garden. The other royals lived in the same wing, the highest ranking closest to the queen. Seregil’s old room had been far away at the other end.
Elani occupied the spacious suite next to the queen’s quarters, rooms that had once belonged to Phoria. Her mother’s were next to hers on the other side, and Korathan’s suite lay just across the hallway, although the prince also had his own villa in the Noble Quarter and spent the majority of his free time there.
