Chapter Twenty-four

W hen Eron returned to the castle, the sun had nearly risen. They left the horses in the stable, and he returned through the secret passages to his room while Miisov escorted Lessa to hers.

Eron's heart ached to see her go. He couldn't protect her if she wasn't with him. However, based on what he'd seen, Lessa needed no protection. How had her husband not realized her worth? What a magnificent ruler she'd be if her husband but let her fulfill the role she'd been trained to from a young age.

He searched his rooms. "Kerric?"

No one stood behind him. Eron threw open the shutters. The first hints of dawn lightened the sky's edges. The pang of loss in his heart told him Kerric now sat in statue form, looking out over the kingdom—the cursed immortal sentry. What if, one day, the castle became an uninhabited ruin? Would Kerric still be standing on his lonely watch, a mere arm's length from his men, but always alone?

Eron would just have to ensure success, a kingdom without Bain. Tendrils of fear wrapped him in an iron grasp. What if I'm not good enough? What if I'm a worse king than Bain? What if I do more harm than good?

No, Eron wouldn't be a bad ruler because if he must be king, he'd find the finest advisors and listen to their counsel. Monarchs from neighboring lands promised their support. Eron would gather as much information as possible about them, verify their trustworthiness, and then proceed to repair what Bain destroyed.

He would right the wrongs and make the kingdom thrive again.

Ensure his sister's and nephews' safety.

But first, he needed rest.

Eron woke to pounding on the outer door. He'd barely thrown a sheet over his nakedness before guards poured into his bedchamber. "Lord Edry, the king has demanded your presence."

Eron waved a hand to indicate the sheet. "May I dress first?"

The captain turned to his men. "I will stay. The rest of you guard the doors. The thief will not be allowed to escape."

Eron climbed out of the bed. If the guard insisted on staring at his naked body, Eron wouldn't flinch. He donned plain breeches and boots, then wriggled into the first tunic he found. "See something you like?"

The guard lifted his bulbous nose into the air. "Not in the least." No doubt his opinion would change if he knew Eron's true identity.

Eron ran his fingers through his hair, the tapping of the guard's foot wearing on his patience. The guard opened the door and led Eron by the arm through his antechamber into the hallway. The other guards fell into step around them.

What did Bain want? The guard called him Lord Edry, so Bain hadn't discovered who he was. If he had, he wouldn't have sent a guard to escort Eron. He'd simply kill his rival.

The guards led Eron to the king's office, nearly shoving him into the room and slamming the door.

Eron eyed the room and the two men sitting there, Bain behind his desk, Crau in a chair facing Bain across a vast spread of polished wood. Neither man smiled nor greeted Eron.

Crau always radiated disdain. Now, anger mottled his face. Bain remained cold and outwardly impassive. The steely glint in his eyes betrayed his anger.

Had they somehow discovered Eron's meeting last night? Discovered his duplicity? Eron's heart pounded. Breathing became a struggle, though Eron hid his distress through extensive practice.

"You sent for me, Your Majesty?"

"It's time to make a plan for your assassination of Lessa and the brats. No one has seen the boys for a day, but she has been told to make sure they appear at the ball to be honored as befits my nephews." Bain rubbed his chin.

Maybe the time had come for Eron to put his own plan into action. "It's also come to my attention that her husband, King Selin, has become a liability. If you arrange for their entourage to leave separately and the family to travel together in one carriage, I can eliminate four problems at once."

"You were ordered to kill her and her sons here while posing as an Estian noble," Crau spat.

Bain continued his chin-stroking. "For your plan to work, I'd have to trust you, which I don't. You will take care of my problems at the ball tonight. Miisov will give you a dagger marked with the royal seal of Estia."

"Even King Selin?" Eron would gladly kill him simply for treating Lessa so badly.

Crau and Bain exchanged meaningful glances.

"Yes," Crau said. "He has a nephew who will be far more pliable on the throne."

And would probably figure right into Crau's plans to depose Bain. Would Crau blame Bain for Lessa's family's murder? These two schemers deserved each other—and the fate they'd suffer if Eron got his way.

"I'll need to know when and where to stage my attack." An attack Eron would die before carrying out.

While both men seemed to approve of Eron's suggestion, they eyed him with suspicion.

Crau said, "About two hours into the ball, Queen Jaidia will lure Lessa into the gardens, where you will wait and kill Lessa. While Jaidia sounds the alarm, you will slip away. I'll order my personal guards to get the boys to safety. They'll take them up a servants' stairway where, again, you'll be waiting. I will ensure you're where you should be."

Bain nodded. "In the meantime, you'll watch the Anilitk nobles and discover where they've hidden their sons. Unless we eliminate all threats, this plan won't work." Had Bain said the same about Eron and his family? "I will inform you when to eliminate Selin."

Eron sighed with relief when the king allowed him to leave. His two silent guards trailed him to his rooms but, thankfully, didn't enter, giving him at least the illusion of privacy.

Miisov stepped from the hidden passageway nearly as soon as Eron closed the door. "I heard the king summoned you and came as quickly as I could. What did he want?"

"He wanted to ensure I knew my role tonight."

"What did he say?"

"That I am to dispatch Lessa in the gardens and her sons in a servants' stairway." Which would never happen. "Her, her sons, and her husband."

Miisov stroked his beard. "It will cost me, but we desperately need Kerric's men."