Page 86 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

“She welcomed King Alaric and his traveling companions to the palace several days ago. Now that Nalani is here, she and Alaric have agreed to hold the wedding feast this evening so that Alaric will send for the jewels the Rakuuna need.” Ferris stepped back. “We’re to dress appropriately, of course, so a maid will bring clothing fit for the occasion.”

Charis met his gaze and inclined her head. “Thank you. Do you want to join me in discussing how to convince Alaric not to go through with his plan to kill us all once the wedding is finalized?”

Nalani sucked in a breath but said nothing.

Ferris waited a beat and then said, “I wish I could, but Father needs me.”

“Of course.” Charis kept her expression open and somewhat friendly as Ferris left the room.

Seconds after the door closed behind him, Nalani said, “Somebody start explaining what in the seers’ name is going on.”

Thirty-One

THREE HOURS LATER, they had explained the situation to Nalani, and she, in turn, had filled them in on what had happened with their allies after Charis’s ship had sailed from Solvang.

It was as bad as Charis feared.

The retired admiral had made a battle plan, coordinating with admirals from Solvang, Thallis, and Verace, and enough ships had been committed to the cause to truly qualify as an armada. However, once Orayn and his crew returned with the moriarthy dust without knowing how to use it and word spread that Charis had offered herself as bait to the pursuing Rakuuna ship and hadn’t been heard from since, the rulers of Calera’s allies had kept their ships in port.

The pallorens Charis had tasked Lord Thorsby with sending would have arrived in Solvang by now, provided he’d been able to get out of the city before Ferris and Bartho alerted the Rakuuna to his whereabouts. But even if Charis’s messages had been received, it didn’t change her situation or her plans. Yes, her allies would know how to use the moriarthy dust, but they wouldn’t have had enough time to reach Calera yet.

And that’s if they were even coming. It was smarter for them to consider Calera a loss, divide the poison among them, and shore up their own defenses while praying the Rakuuna never decided to pay them a visit.

Either way, the result was the same. Charis and her people were facing their enemies alone.

Lanni served lunch, and when they were finished eating, Charis insisted that everyone get some rest. Whatever happened at the feast that night, they all needed to be alert and ready.

Nalani joined her in her bedroom, the two of them curling up on the wide four-poster bed. As soon as they were settled, Nalani spoke.

“So Tal is back.”

Charis blinked. “Um, yes. I guess we skipped that part of the story.”

“The fact that Ferris and his family are going to try to frame us for their own treachery and then kill us was important information.” Nalani flipped over to face Charis and snuggled into her pillow. “But now I’m desperately curious to know how Tal is part of the picture again, why Holland hasn’t killed him, and how you feel about all this.”

Charis’s cheeks grew warm as she told the story of reuniting with Tal on the Rakuuna ship and how it had made sense to work with him since he understood his father.

“I think you’re leaving out all the good parts.” Nalani poked Charis’s shoulder. “Tal must have had a very good explanation for his actions, because I know for a fact Holland was ready to gut him the instant he saw him, and I was pretty certain you were never going to speak to him again.”

“I didn’t speak to him—or at least, I didn’t say much, for a long time. And Holland was prepared to slice him open as soon as we entered the cabin, but Tal stopped him.”

“How?”

Charis smiled a little. “By telling Holland that we needed Tal’s help getting our kingdom back and that once all of this was over, he wouldn’t fight back because nothing Holland did to him would be worse than how it felt to know he’d hurt me.”

“All right, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think that proves Tal is who we thought he was all along. Only his name is different.” Nalani stretched and then caught sight of Charis’s face. “Or maybe you do want to hear nice things about Tal.”

“It took a long time, but I was able to forgive him.” Charis pulled the blanket up to her chin. She didn’t expect to sleep. Not when every move she made and every word she said tonight had to be choreographed as precisely as a ballet. But Nalani looked like she needed days of sleep, not just the few hours they had before they had to dress up in wedding finery and fight for their lives.

Nalani smiled a little. “I forgive him, too.”

“Try to get some rest.” Charis closed her eyes to encourage Nalani to do the same. It was hard to lie still. She wanted to pace. To hold a sword in her hand and swing it at a target. To throw her head back and scream at the unfairness of it all.

How could she rest when, in a matter of hours, she would either manipulate and bluff her enemies into a corner or she would die, along with those she loved?

Nalani gave a wet sniff, and Charis’s eyes flew open. Her cousin was huddled against the pillow, tears streaming down her face.

“Nalani?”

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