Page 69 of A Kingdom Restored

Merletta’s head turned sharply, and Heath scowled at his sister.

“Why would you tell the dragons that?” Merletta demanded.

Heath sighed, shifting in his chair to face her. “It was a calculated risk, Merletta. They might not like knowing a human has farsight, but I really don’t think they’ll kill me for it.”

“Because they’re so peaceable,” she said sarcastically.

Seeing that she was genuinely distressed, Heath laid a hand surreptitiously over hers. “Like I said, it was a calculated risk,” he assured her. “And it was worth it.”

She searched his eyes for a moment, then understanding hit. He felt her hand tighten under his. “That was your distraction,” she said softly.

He didn’t confirm it, but he didn’t need to.

“Heath,” Merletta started, but he cut her off with a tiny shake of his head.

“I told you, Merletta,” he said, his voice calm and quiet. “Nothing could get me to abandon you now.”

She remained frozen for a moment, then her hand flipped under his, so their palms were flush. She clasped his hand in a quick and tight squeeze, then slipped hers out again.

Heath looked up to see Laura watching with great interest, her expression telling him that she was seeing everything—more than he wanted her to, probably. He met her look squarely, and her slight smirk turned slowly serious again as she remembered all that was at stake.

“What in the oceans is this?” Sage muttered, holding up a hard-boiled egg.

“Oh, you have to shell it!” Merletta informed her.

“This thing is a shell?” Sage asked, sounding fascinated as she tapped a fingernail on the eggshell. “Was the thing inside alive once, then?”

Merletta shook her head, not showing any hint of amusement at what she clearly considered very reasonable questions. “Not exactly. It tastes good, though, once you add salt to it.”

“Their food comes without salt and theyaddit on purpose?” Sage demanded.

Heath took a bite of porridge to hide his grin. He could feel Laura’s eyes on him—clearly she wasn’t going to let the peculiar conversation sidetrack her from getting answers from her brother.

“Telling the dragons your secrets in order to distract them is all well and good,” she said bluntly. “But why did you say you think you have to tell the king everything? That seems incredibly foolhardy.”

Heath put down his spoon, turning his gaze on Merletta, who’d once again looked up quickly.

“Everything?” she asked faintly.

“I was going to talk to you first,” he assured her. “I don’t want to betray your confidence, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what else to do. I’ve been wrestling for days, and it’s time for me to stop running from it. Even if we spirited Percival out of the kingdom, I don’t think I could keep Reka’s and my suspicions about the attacks secret.” He paused, seeing Merletta’s confusion. “But of course, you don’t even know about that yet.”

“She’s not the only one!” Laura protested. “What are you talking about, Heath? What does any of this have to do with Percival’s situation?”

Heath swallowed. “The matching situations you described earlier might be more entwined than you think,” he told her. His gaze flicked to Merletta, then back to his sister. “You remember I told you Merletta’s people have a kind of latent magic?”

Laura nodded mutely.

“Well…” Heath winced slightly in anticipation. “I think I sensed it at the attack on Percival. And the one on me. And although I didn’t sense it at the fire which almost killed King Matlock, I have to assume whoever set the blaze and then fled must be the same as the other attacks.”

He felt Merletta go still beside him. She said nothing, but her eyes widened in horror. Clearly she understood what he was saying.

Sage was slower to put the pieces together, frowning between Heath and Merletta as she visibly tried to catch up. After several long moments of silence, Heath saw comprehension fill her eyes, as she actually slapped a hand to her mouth. It seemed Merletta had told her friend about the attacks on Heath and Percival.

“You mean, it was some of…of us who…” She trailed off, her eyes meeting Merletta’s. “But how is that possible?”

Merletta was trembling slightly. “It goes deeper even than we knew,” she whispered. “And I thought I was the first to ever come here. How long has this been happening?” Her face darkened. “Always another layer of deception. Will we never reach the bottom of it?”

She turned abruptly to her friend. “We have to go back,” she said. “The ones behind all the lies might have somewhere to flee, but everyone else is stuck. They’ll all die if we don’t find a way to intervene. They should at least be given the chance to escape!”

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