Page 126 of Merciless Is My Crown

“I’ve heard of Stormfall,” he murmured, sliding into the nearest chair without looking up from the page. “Back in my day, the High Barrens were unoccupied.”

“Perhaps they were more occupied than we were led to believe,” Torin offered blandly, meeting my gaze, unspoken warning glimmering in her pale eyes. Say nothing. Not yet.

Together, at Stormfall, we’d come up with a plan, the seer and me.

A dangerous, reckless, possibly suicidal way out of our mess.

But it was the only plan that ended up with the king dead and all of us alive. A plan that had to remain a secret, for now, because once the others discovered what we’d arranged, there would be hours of arguing and disagreements.

Simon was the only one who knew. Who’d agreed.

Who’d made the lone, dangerous flight to ask for a favor that could change the world.

And as much as it irked me that I was embroiled in Torin’s schemes, even I understood the need for such secrecy.

The air in the manor shifted when Zorander returned, a clearly disgruntled Tavion trailing behind him. “The mage is safely locked in his shop, not that Tavion agreed with leaving him alive,” Zor muttered. “Tomorrow might be a different story. If Trubahn investigates how he got the pendant, he could end up right back at Wingcrest with Crux and Lyrae and a patrol of royal guards.”

“Zephryn will keep watch,” Cosimo murmured without looking up, his expression straining as he scanned the paper. “Keeping him alive is in our best interest. For now.”

“We should have killed him and been done with this,” Tavion grumbled.

“And waste a golden opportunity?” Torin cocked her brow. “Who will the Oracle find when she tracks her stolen pendant? Chances are there is a locater spell on the stone.”

“And she’ll question him and come straight here,” Tavion countered, his gleaming eyes dipping to me, as if calculating how long it would take him to spirit me out of Solarys.

“The mage has no memory of us. In fact, tonight’s events are nothing but a black hole in his mind, and she can dig as deep as she wants. She’ll find nothing.”

“So the mage is a distraction?”

Torin nodded, not even looking guilty. “She’ll waste her time on Trubahn while we’re assassinating the king without her interference.”

“It might have been kinder to kill him,” Cosimo pointed out as his dark eyes lifted to mine. So much intelligence there, quiet, calculating. “That is the plan, correct? Get close enough to the king to slip a blade between his ribs?”

“Something like that.”

Cosimo set down the papers, his gaze sharpening. “Tell me this plan of yours, Princess, from beginning to end. I’m especially interested to know how, exactly, you plan to circumvent the magic shield the king keeps around himself at all times.”

Some madness still lurked in his eyes, but it was tempered with enough wry humor I relaxed, glancing over to Torin.

One dip of her head and I knew it was time the others heard what we were planning, down to the last, preposterous detail.

“It’s not the shield we’re worried about,” I told him, even though I was, in fact, worried about that godsdamned shield. “Torin says you’re well-versed in alchemy. How much do you know about the volatility of dragonfire explosives?”

50

ANARIA

“And that’s where you come in. After the king is dead, we need a big show of strength,” I finished, my eyes landing on an unconvinced Zephryn. “I mean, like a really big show, something no one in Blackcastle has seen for centuries.”

The astrologer leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest, looking both impressed and skeptical. Raziel leaned against the twisted wyvern mantle, right beside an equally silent Tristan and Zorander as they absorbed every last detail.

Oh, I was in for it later, but at least they’d heard me out.

“We didn’t know for sure how everything would come together.” I traded a long look with Torin. “Not until tonight, when Simon went to Blackcastle and got final confirmation from our contact. But they’re in.”

“You are wicked, princess.” Tavion’s savage smile showed a hint of fang, his eyes burning with feral delight. “A wicked, wicked thing. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“Let’s hope this works,” I hedged. “There are variables, but…given people usually act according to their nature, Torin and I think we have good odds of success.”

---