Page 130 of An Archer's Redemption

Istaggered forward as we Traveled back to the Palace.

I took two steadying steps, then threw up all over the audience chamber floor.

“Well, that is a first during my reign.” Jess raised a brow from her seat at the Council table.

Chancellor Marks, Sheriff Cribbs, and Atikus turned.

Declan grinned back at our audience and bowed. “My carriage rides are a tad bumpy for the uninitiated.”

I retched again.

A servant standing in the shadows rushed forward, curtsied, and vanished, returning a moment later with two others, a bucket, and a mop.

I stumbled to the bottom step leading to the throne and sat with my head in my hands. I was certain my face glowed a putrid shade of green.

Declan stepped up and placed a palm to my forehead. Light exploded from his hand, then winked out.

I looked up with wide eyes. “The nausea’s . . . gone,” I exclaimed. I scrunched up my face at my brother. “You could’ve done that all along, couldn’t you?”

Declan grinned and shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t think of it until now. That’s the first time I’ve used Healing since gaining all these new powers, but I did owe you for ruining my breeches.”

I gave Declan one last annoyed glance before attempting to stand, surprised how solid the ground now felt under my feet. Declan and I took our seats and joined the Queen’s meeting.

“Atikus was just about to tell us of the scrying he did with our Mages, but I think we should hear from you two first.” Jess turned to me and gave me a hint of a smile. It felt like my insides were jelly again, this time nothing—and everything—like my nausea from before.

My return smile was far more than a hint.

Declan grinned.

The others shifted in their seats.

“Your Majesty,” I began. “Most of the interviews were fruitless. However, we spent a good amount of time with the witness to the latest killing. He is familiar with the robes of the Priests and is convinced the killer wore those same robes when he resumed his human form.”

“The Order again.” Jess strummed her fingers so hard her knuckles whitened.

I cleared my throat and continued. “We also questioned the local Priest. By all accounts, he is well respected throughout the town. We found no evidence he knew anything of the killer or anyone else in the Order with the ability to shift. Among Declan’s new abilities, he can Truthread.”

I looked to my brother and tried to keep the bitterness from my voice. The idea of turning to someone else, someone who wielded my Gift, was almost more than I could bear.

Declan eyed me a moment before responding. “I sensed no lies, nor did I find either of them to be hiding information. They were both forthright and credible.”

Cribbs leaned forward and shook his head. “Incredible. I was certain this was a talk of a drunk or mad woman.”

“I was, too, until we met him and the Priest,” Declan said.

“Did you find anything else, a motive, anything connecting the Order to the killings?” Marks asked.

I shook my head. “No, nothing. The witness recalled seeing the victim talking in hushed tones with another man at the local inn a few hours before he was killed, but he only overheard a few random phrases, nothing that made any sense.”

“What did he hear?” Cribbs asked, quill in hand.

“Something like, ‘This has to end,’ he thought. He wasn’t completely sure and had no idea of the context.”

Cribbs scribbled a note. “What would they be plotting about that could cause one of them to be killed? Oliver is a small town, but they enjoy healthy trade from both the ocean and roads. There hasn’t been a serious crime like murder or kidnapping there in years. What changed?”

Declan opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.

“What? No holding back at this table,” Jess said.

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