Page 82 of The Shadowed Oracle
Callinora nodded silently.
“You were out among the people.Yourpeople. When your father was grieving his son, you chose to spend time with the civilians. Because you’ve found common ground. You are all growing tired of the unpredictable nature of the king. So you found the few underground spots safe enough in Maradenn for people to gather and speak freely.”
Ingrid scanned Callinora, but didn’t find any signs of submission. She continued. “You meet with them in a bar, or apub, or whatever you call it here—I’m sure of that. I smelled the liquor on you as you first walked by us. At first, I thought you were drinking away your grief. But I’ve been around drunks long enough to know a sober person when I see one. Someone spilled a drink on you. On the hem of your dress, and on the top of your shoe. I noticed the fibers from the rag you used to try and clean it off. That’s why you changed when you came up here.”
Callinora yawned. “Is there a conclusion to this? Or are you just showing off?”
Ingrid shifted on the bed, getting more comfortable. “My point is, you’re not just discussing your father, you’re talking with the people about his high council, too. They’re taking advantage of your father’s grief. It’s what politicians do. They want what is best for themselves. That is why your husband hasn’t been brought home. That is why your father won’t go to war, even after losing his son. It wasyouwho went to war. You, and your brother. You two wanted to fight. Wanted to rule. And now that your brother is gone, you need your husband to help you take the crown from your father. You need your husband at your side to get the full support of the people, and to turn the opinion of the higher-ups. A king and queen united are a much easier sell than an ambitious princess on her own.”
Ingrid looked to Tyla, Dean, Raidinn, and was greeted with encouraging faces. All their hesitance and anxiety had been replaced by inspired curiosity.
“But that’s not why you took us inside to meet with your father,” Ingrid said, looking around the decadent room, the overwhelming view. “It’s not why you brought us up here. You did that because you needed to make sure. Needed to make sure we weren’t hired by the council. When you saw us outside, that was your first thought. Our oddly timed arrival, the cheap trick of finding someone that resembled your husband, it had to be planned. That’s why you made an appearance in front of theguards when you could’ve easily snuck back in the same way you snuck out. You knew it was the smart move. You figured your father’s advisors had found out about your visits to the city. Your secret meetings with the people. You thought they’d laid a trap. So, you walked into that trap as innocently as possible. You heard Raidinn’s booming cries for help—well, I mean, who couldn’t hear him?”
Raidinn let a small chuckle escape him, butsmallfor Raidinn was large for any average-sized person.
Ingrid pointed to him as evidence. “Exactly. You heardthat. And you thought we were a trap. A clever way of revealing your true intentions to your father. Send a group of outsiders claiming that they can help in the war, and see how the princess reacts. See if she yells and curses her father. See if the resentment building inside her is finally unleashed. It’s exactly what thoseconniving snobswould do, right? You suspected them immediately.”
Callinora was still steadfast, yet this newest bit of speculation caused sparks in her wide eyes.
“You made a few comments about how strong your father was, how he might change his mind, how he’d seek revenge. Making sure that if wewerespies, you’d be safe from any negative words getting back to him. Then once you’d covered your ass, you decided to try and get something out of us. If we were colluding with the council, then the report would tell the tale of a loyal, heartbroken wife trying to rescue her husband without risking her kingdom’s safety. And if weweren’tundercover, and we reallywereas desperate as we said, then we’d go off on a suicide mission to find your husband. A win-win.”
After she’d finished, Ingrid felt slightly out of breath. She’d been sure of her hypothesis before, but now that it had all comestreaming out of her so naturally, so quickly, she couldn’t have been more confident.
The threads seemed to be connected somewhere outside of her, snatched from the crisp Ealis air. And although she couldn’t say this, not here, not now, her observations had been seemingly guided by that same sense that had shown her visions of the ancient symbols.
Something was showing her the way. Power or not, being in Ealis was changing her, fine-tuning the hypersensitivity she’d suffered from back on Earth.
After another moment of contemplative silence, Callinora stood, chillingly quiet, and walked to the reading nook Ingrid had been so enamored with when first entering.
Pouring herself an odd, crystal blue drink from a glass decanter that sat on the table next to the fireplace, she said to her lady’s maids, “Olli. Serafina. I trust you won’t say a word of this to the others, will you?”
The maids nodded, making a great show of their loyalty.
“Good,” Callinora said. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Now that Callinoracould drop her charade, she had an ease about her that seemed uncharacteristic of the princess they’d just met outside the castle’s gates. Gone was the picture of duty and restraint, and in its stead was a charm and a sensible manner that bordered on humility.
Sitting at the dinner table, still sipping from her chalice, the princess laid out further details. She spoke about restoring Maradenn to its former glory and how they could work around the parasitic advisors. The plan still hinged on rescuing her husband, but now there was an emphasis on the internal politics and the pre-established insurance policies—if, for some reason, the extraction of the imprisoned prince failed.
“Which it won’t,” Callinora said with a raise of her cup.
She’d been drinking quite a bit of that odd azure liquor since Ingrid’s little rant. Either the weight of the day, the freshness of her brother’s passing, or simply fond of a few libations in the evening—Ingrid didn’t guess. Though her money was on the latter, considering the princess held her alcohol like a true royal.
“So says you,” Ingrid replied.
“And what I say…” Callinora paused, swirling her drink. “Is taken as truth within these walls. Don’t forget that, and you will be well cared for.”
She would be sending three of her best and most loyal soldiers on the long journey with them. The ship they’d sail on would be indistinguishable from a common merchant’s vessel. And she would contact the spies she’d planted inside the court of the Occi Isles to help. It had all been in the works for months, Callinora and her late brother meticulously covering every angle. The only reason she hadn’t yet ordered the mission to begin was that she’d yet to find the males to lead it.
This was where Raiddin and Dean came in.
“My untraceable beauties.” She strutted up to Dean and placed a painted fingernail on his gruff chin, then feigned surprise when he shook her off.
“But what if itislinked back to you?” Dean asked. “You suspected I was a plant immediately. There’s a good chance Enitha will, too.
It was a concise blow, causing Callinora to recoil a bit, keeping her gaze on him like she’d done for most of the deliberation. Watching, studying, wondering if she’d done something to offend him.
