Page 61 of King's Warrior

“No. He’s no mastermind. Crude, but loyal.”

Oh, right. “The boy said Zanial sent him on an errand. When he failed, Zanial tried to attack King Niam.”

Shouting came from the stables, followed by the unmistakable clang of steel. Rufe rushed after Casseign toward the shouting.

Three guards stood back-to-back with Vihaan, breathing hard. Blood dripped from a cut on Vihaan’s forehead, as well as his sword. Four lay dead—one the stable lad, with an arrow sticking from his throat. The other three victims wore Delletinian uniforms.

Someone hadn’t wanted the boy questioned. No assailants were in sight. Whoever attacked did so quickly, retreating just as fast.

“Vihaan, are you hurt?” Casseign asked with more concern than their public positions would have suggested.

Vihaan swatted a hand, like batting away a troublesome fly. “It’s nothing.”

Casseign nodded. “Please ensure all is well here. I’ll take Lord Rufe back to the castle.” He and Vihaan stared at each other a moment longer than absolutely necessary, in Rufe’s opinion.

A servant met them on their way back to the castle. “Captain Casseign? Zanial has escaped.”

Damnation! Chances were, he didn’t escape on his own. How many enemies hid within the castle walls?

Chapter Twenty-two

Niam needed Rufe. However, most of his people wouldn’t understand him summoning a Cormiran diplomat for an investigation, except as a witness, and even then, they’d likely wonder why Rufe had been there in the first place.

Rufe, Niam, the lieutenant, Eoghan, and Casseign gathered in Casseign’s crowded office.

Rufe sat in a chair, facing interrogation. Cass led the investigation and couldn’t be seen as offering Rufe special treatment. Niam also wouldn’t be overly trusting of anyone after Zanial’s betrayal. What might Zanial know? He’d not noticed Niam’s familiarity with Rufe, had he?

“Why were you following King Niam after dinner?” Casseign asked Rufe. Demanded of Rufe, more like.

Niam wanted to know who had called the captain away, so he wasn’t where he should’ve been.

“I was merely crossing the courtyard to my room.” True enough. One reason Mother put Rufe near Niam’s rooms.

“Have you ever taken this route before?” Eoghan asked. He shouldn’t call attention to himself. Niam hadn’t decided on his guilt yet.

Rufe suddenly found the ceiling of great interest. “As I’d only arrived yesterday, no.”

The questions were irrelevant to Niam, and Casseign questioned the wrong man, though Niam couldn’t say so openly. Then again, viewing Rufe as Niam’s lover might make Rufe even more of a suspect. After a murder, the lovers were always questioned first, right? And often found guilty.

Not Rufe. Never Rufe.

However, watching Eoghan said many things, when he flinched, when he looked away, the sweat glistening on his brow, though he showed no clear signs of guilt during his own questioning. Innocent, or a good liar?

Niam snapped out of his musings to hear, “King Niam found hay on the ground near the knife, so after ensuring the king’s safety, I went to question anyone at the stables.”

“Alone?”

Of course, Rufe went alone, not knowing whom to trust. But where had Vihaan been? He wasn’t here to ask.

“I wanted to get to the guilty party before he escaped,” Rufe answered casually, as though the question meant nothing.

Eoghan persisted. “And where were you when the alleged assassin was killed?”

“He was with me,” Captain Casseign replied from his spot leaning against the wall, muscular arms crossed over his chest. “He’d caught our suspect, shouted when he heard my men. We went to him and found Com… Lord Rufe holding the suspect.”

“That still doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved,” Eoghan snapped.

Niam had had enough. “Lord Rufe Ferund has no motive to harm me. He needs me alive to complete his diplomatic mission. Had he wanted to kill me, he’s had better opportunities when no one would have been the wiser, like when he escorted me from Renvalle and we became separated from the others.” By Niam’s design, but still. Even though Delletina kept itself apart from the empire, eventually, someone would realize Rufe’s military background and maybe even his ties to the Renvallian king and the Cormiran emperor. Whether the connections would help or hurt the case remained to be seen.

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