“I don’t know,” Harlyn whispered.
I spoke louder. “Where is she?”
“Harlyn does not know, nor do I,” Gerald said. “Loelle promised to take her somewhere she would not be found. Not by Lord Endrick or the Dominion. Not by us and—”
“Not by me.” I pressed my lips together and let my fist beat on the mattress beneath me. If anyone but Loelle had arranged this, I might’ve had a chance. But Loelle would hide Kestra with the benefit of magic. For all I knew, she could be right under my nose and I wouldn’t know it.
Gerald cleared his throat again. “I might add, my king, that you have responsibilities now. The Halderians lost a good many fighters in Reddengrad, but the Dominion sustained heavy losses as well. We must prepare strategies for taking the Scarlet Throne once Endrick is gone.” He hesitated, then added, “If Kestra attempts to take the throne, you must order her removal. Anything else, and the Halderians will consider you—”
“A traitor.” I was finished with this conversation and snarled, “Get out, both of you.”
Gerald said, “Do not be angry with Harlyn, nor with me. I warned you not to give your heart to Kestra. Your feelings for her may be sincere and deep, but now they may also be a form of treason.” He put a hand on Harlyn’s shoulder, who looked like she wished she could vanish as completely as Kestra had done. “This girl will be your queen one day, the sooner the better. Open your heart to her now. That’s all I ask.”
“Ask?” I nearly spat out the word. “I was never asked about any of this!”
“No, you weren’t. But you were warned.” Gerald sighed with regret, as if this was my fault. “All the heads of households are meeting downstairs in an hour, expecting to welcome their king. We hope you will be a good one, Simon. And you will be … if you can let her go.”
With a sharpness in her expression I had not expected, Harlyn stood and started to follow him out the door, but turned back and said, “If I had known about her, I wouldn’t have let things get this far. I’m not eager to play the role of future queen when it’s obvious that your heart is already spoken for. But I’ll do it because it’s in the best interest of my people. I am in your best interest, Simon, even if you’re too blind right now to see that.” With that, she stormed out the door.
Blindness wasn’t the problem. If anything, I saw far too clearly what had happened while I was unconscious.
Except for what was required of me in my new role as fool king of the Halderians, I remained in my room all day, staring out at the dark clouds as they rolled in, wondering if their rain would become snow by morning and if Kestra was warm and safe, wherever she was. Wondering if she was thinking of me, if she missed me. I couldn’t seem to put two thoughts together without her being in at least one of them.
Very late that night, a knock came to my balcony door. At first, I mistook it for the pouring rain, but it came again, more urgently this time. My first instinct was to call for the guards, but I quickly reminded myself that an intruder would simply burst in, not knock. And second, that until a few days ago, I had been involved with the rebellion, and a rather competent fighter in its ranks. I shouldn’t need to call for help.
Still, after pulling a robe around myself, I carried my sword to the door, inched open the curtains, and saw Trina, soaking wet.
I immediately opened the door and invited Trina in. To calm her shivering, I pulled the top blanket from my bed and wrapped it around her, then sat her in front of the fire in my room.
Out of basic courtesy, I should have waited until she was warmer before speaking, but I had no patience for it. I asked, “What are you doing here? Is there trouble?”
“Well, Kestra is involved, if that’s enough of an answer.” Trina frowned over at me. “Is Tenger still here?”
I shook my head. “I’m told he’s on his way to Highwyn to rescue Basil and to retrieve the Olden Blade for Kestra. Why?”
She mumbled to herself, “He wasn’t going to harm Kestra. Loelle lied about that.”
I wasn’t following her reasoning. “Why would Loelle have lied?”
Another shiver went through Trina, one that probably had nothing to do with the cold. Forgetting the blanket around her, Trina leaned forward and said, “Let’s go back earlier, to the note you accused me of writing to the Halderians about the location of Lonetree Camp.”
I nodded. “Harlyn told me it came from someone the Coracks trust with their lives.”
Tilting her head, Trina said, “I think that’s true in the most literal sense.”
“Loelle?” My expression twisted. “Impossible. She’d never endanger so many people.”
“Wouldn’t she? I was there when she asked to be the one to take Kestra into hiding. Why her? Loelle is no fighter, no protector.”
“No, but she understands magic better than anyone on our side.”
“Which also makes her the best person to understand the purpose of Kestra’s necklace. Remember that she told everyone the priority in rescuing Kestra from the Dominion camp was the necklace, even above Kestra herself. That’s why Wynnow grabbed it during the rescue.”
My heart pounded harder. “Do you think Loelle knew what removing the necklace would do to Kestra?”
“I think Loelle could sense the magic in it, something none of the rest of us could. She knew Kestra was an Ironheart, so she must have at least suspected what would happen if it was removed.”
I understood that, but this didn’t sound like the Loelle I’d ever known. Unless I’d never fully known her.