Page 83 of A Kingdom Restored

Heath shoved his way through the crowd toward his brother, but he was only halfway there when a familiar voice hailed him.

“Heath.”

He turned to see Lachlan standing nearby, flanked by guards.

“Lord Edmund, Lady Laura.” The prince inclined his head. “Lord Percival.” Percival had reached them. “My father has requested that I speak with you all.”

Glancing curiously at each other, they all followed Lachlan into an antechamber.

“Where’s Mer—” The demand was half out of Heath’s mouth when he spotted Merletta and Sage waiting in the room, and he cut himself off. “What’s going on?”

Merletta met his eyes, her expression mutinous, but it was Lachlan who spoke.

“The party with the prisoners took longer to arrive partly because the injured captive required medical attention, and partly because my father wished him to be questioned immediately.”

“In case he didn’t make it,” Merletta cut in. “But irritatingly, he’s recovering quickly.”

Lachlan waited with an expression of great patience until satisfied she was done interrupting.

“Based on the results of that interrogation, and on his inquiries into the information you provided, Heath, my father has accepted that the prisoner was indeed behind all of the attacks, and meant to frame Lord Percival.”

“Although I still don’t really understand why,” Merletta interjected again, frowning.

“Maybe it was because of you and Heath,” Sage suggested hesitantly.

“Maybe.” Merletta didn’t look convinced, and Heath agreed with her.

“That might explain why he tried to do away with me,” he said. “I’d already suspected that. But why would he have attacked Percival so long before that? And why frame Percival for King Matlock’s death? Both of those attacks seemed designed to inflame tensions between the crown and the power-wielders, and I don’t see how that benefited the Record Master.”

“There are many questions still to be answered,” agreed Lachlan, his piercing gaze reminding Heath that a great deal of those answers would be expected from him. “Which is why my father is unable to grant your guest’s request.”

Heath frowned at Merletta. “What request?”

“I want to take the Record Master back to the triple kingdoms to face justice,” Merletta said, stepping toward him eagerly. “He’s finally been exposed for what he is, and none of the rest of my people even know it!”

“His crimes were committed here,” Lachlan told her. “And it is here that he must face whatever sanction my father deems—”

“No offense, Your Highness,” Merletta interrupted, “but the crimes he committed here are a drop of water compared to the ocean of wrongs he’s caused in my home. He’s been murdering with impunity for decades, and he’s currently midway through a plot to see most of the triple kingdoms die as a diversion to allow him to escape the dragons.”

“He won’t need to worry about dragons,” said Lachlan grimly. “He won’t be making it out of Bryford alive, of that you can be confident.”

“But that doesn’t give me any confidence,” Merletta protested. “I don’t want him to die here, with his true nature still concealed from everyone back home. They need to know the truth of what he’s done!”

Sage cleared her throat, looking a little conscious as every eye turned to her. “This seems like a good moment to remind everyone that while the Record Master might not need to worry about the dragons, we do. We were trying to conceal our presence, right? Don’t you think word of the display at the loch will reach them?”

Heath let out a long breath. “Yes,” he said heavily. “I do. I’ve already spoken with Reka about it. He’s not actually with the colony right now, but he’s doing his best to keep an eye on their progress.”

“Sorry.” Percival’s voice, a little husky from limited use, cut across the conversation. “Are we really talking about dragons and sentencing and practical details?”

Heath frowned at him, concerned. “What would you prefer we talk about?”

“I don’t know,” said Percival sarcastically. “Maybe the fact that the girl you’re clearly head over heels for is anactual mermaid? Am I the only one still struggling to comprehend that?”

“Thank you,” said Edmund. “That’s what I said.”

“I’m not sure what more there is to be said about that,” Heath shrugged.

“Not sure—Heath!” Percival exploded. “She’s a MERMAID!”

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