Page 72 of Tide of Waves and Secrets

“There was an attack,” I said, explaining quickly as I adjusted my belt. “They will be waiting. We really should?—”

I attempted to begin walking, but Rowan was having none of it.

Grabbing my hand, he stopped me. I quickly told him of the attack, trying not to become worried at his expression. There was one word I could think of to describe it.

Murderous.

“Neither of them told me,” he said, and I realized why Rowan was so angry. They didn’t tell Rowan because there was little he could do to prevent it. He relied on Caelum and Marek for information. Had felt powerless since he’d come to the palace.

“I will be fine,” I assured him, Rowan still looking like I’d never seen him before.

“You will,” he said. “I mean to be sure of it.”

31

ROWAN

Finally, my efforts began to bear fruit.

I insisted on being at every meal, to the consternation of my escort. Identifying potential allies and planting seeds of doubt about the queen’s motives among the diners, I began to subtly shift the narrative, making it more difficult to discredit Nerys without ever admitting outright I knew anything about her plans. Brokering quiet alliances with those who expressed sympathies to Nerys’s cause, from a discontented noble to at least one of the palace guards.

The queen thought she’d taken my weapon, and while I dearly wished to have my sword on my belt, it was not as much a loss as she might have suspected.

Two days after quietly slipping back into the palace after visiting Seren, I left a carefully folded message in the sleeve of a servant’s tunic: a coded note meant for one of the discontented nobles I’d overheard at dinner. The next morn, the same servant hovered around me, clearly wanting to return a message but unable to do so. When I took his arm, thanking him for his service, it garnered more than one strange look, but also afforded him the opportunity to slip the reply back to me.

It was as I suspected. The queen had been unable to reach Nerys who, after being followed to her training spot in the cove, Caelum and Marek had convinced to remain at Aneri’s until the festival. So, the queen had begun to use more manipulative tactics. Her plan, it seemed, was to spread enough rumors to discredit her before the festival. The fear and uncertainty I’d begun to feel from those at the palace meant her plan had begun to work.

“Sir Rowan.” Thalon, the historian, sat across from me. I’d seen him only once since the meal with Nerys. His previously calm demeanor was noticeably absent. Opening myself to him, to the room, my suspicions were confirmed. He was nervous, rightly so if he was an ally to Nerys and not the queen, as I suspected. “These are strange times you’ve come to witness.”

I glanced at my escort, standing with a guard and watching closely.

With the alliance of the others at our table unknown to me, I could say little.

“Strange indeed. Though I look forward to my first Festival of Tides.”

“How long do you plan to stay in Thalassaria?” he asked.

It was a question I could not answer. “As long as necessary,” I said, evading the question. “So tell me…”

I’d been about to ask about the festival when a burst of anger caught my attention. It drowned out all other emotions from those around me, a new sensation that could only mean this anger was important. I searched for the source. It was easy enough. A fairly young nobleman stood, two of the queen’s agents next to him. None at my table paid me any attention as the movement was now the primary focus in the hall.

A quick glance back at my escort saw him distracted by the scene.

This noble’s anger was impossible to ignore. Aware of the risk, I stood and slipped away, knowing enough of the palace grounds by now, and following the man’s continued rage, to find him. Thankfully, most others were at the meal, and it was easy enough to follow them to a more secluded part of the palace I’d never been in before.

Remaining in the shadows, I watched as they escorted him into a chamber. When voices came from the direction we’d just navigated, I tucked myself into the alcove, knowing my escort had likely noticed me missing by now.

I’d not have much time but needed to know why this man was so enraged.

As the voices passed, I could not see them without being discovered, but a line of vision was unnecessary. That was the queen’s voice, easy enough to distinguish. Barely breathing as they moved past, I bided my time. With my luck holding out so far, there were no guards outside the door. However, it was soundproofed. I had no other option than to wait back in the shadows.

When the nobleman stormed past me, sans the guards, a short time later, I followed him. Unfortunately, he was heading back to the hall. Intercepting him before he did that was my only move. Without my dagger or sword, I had no leverage. He could as easily bring the guards down on me as not, but the chance had to be taken.

“Are you an ally to Nerys?” I said, coming up directly behind him.

The man whipped around.

“If so, come with me. And quickly.”

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