He paced, blood howling. Was there any way out of the castle? The trapdoor in the bedchamber—
No, he did not know how to getoutthat way. He was trapped, and had known this would happen. Now, it was too late.
Gods,Celyn—
Stop. Do not live it before it has happened.His mother’s words, comforting in theory but hard to put into practice.
Bran’s alder. The sharp bloom of it, from Kenelm Radnor’s flesh.
He wilted to the divan as his mind pulled up anchor. Not a new sensation, reached when fear and sound grew too much for his senses to bear. Numbness prickled, and he sat, emptied and unmoored.
A knock on the door slammed him back into himself, and he lurched to his feet.
Osian strode inside, grim expression ebbing as their eyes locked. Relief budded between them, and they met each other halfway. ‘Majesty,’ Meilyr began.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I swear, I did not…’
Osian’s arms were under his; Meilyr gripped them.
‘I know,’ the prince said, without doubt.
Aldreda strode into the room. Meilyr’s relief withered.
Osian turned as though to put himself between them. ‘You did not have to—’
‘No, I did.’ She halted before him. ‘Shut the door.’
Pedr, with a trace of hesitation and a glance at Osian, shut the door.
‘Twice.’ The Heir Apparent’s voice was deathly steady. ‘Some beast we thought slain has crawled into our midst and slaughtered Khaimlic nobilitytwice. Now I want blood, Osian. I want it on my hands. I sided with you in there because Gelens would eat us alive otherwise, but tell me how you’re going to find this monster without ripping open your precious Cyngalon the way our great-grandfather did.Tell me.’
Meilyr had not truly been afraid of her before. He was now.
Osian remained calm. ‘As I told the Council, we find and question those present at the tournament, including crownsworn and nobles. Someone may have seen something. We do not limit the questioning to those of Cyngaleg blood, and ask the populace for cooperation.’
‘The populace,’ Aldreda hissed. ‘They’ll be cheering in the streets. Gods damn it.’
‘That is far more likely if we respond indiscriminately, or heavy-handedly.’
‘But one of them is killing our nobles, Osian, and we have no idea who, how they’re doing it, or anything at all – except they shouldalready be dead.’
Meilyr’s pulse hammered.
‘Regardless,’ Osian said, ‘we will find them. We also speak to those who knew Kenelm Radnor personally. Anything that connects him and Leighton may help.’
It was a very good point Meilyr had not considered.
Of course, there was one thing that connected both victims: him.
‘How can you be so gods damn calm?’ Aldreda bit. She exhaled loudly and paced. ‘It’s absolutely infuriating. And you’re probably right, which I hate too.’
‘I will also speak to Father.’
Aldreda stopped. Her expression flickered to something much more sisterly. ‘You… No, I can do it – I should do it.’
‘I will do it. Cyngalon is my charge, and my responsibility.’