Page 110 of Arrows and Gems
Helena paused. “What?”
He tilted his head back. “A young forester named Jean was among the captured. I assume his sister was there as well. Red hair? Fiery personality?”
Helena kept her mouth firmly closed. She refused to give him more information about their group.
After waiting a moment for her to respond, General Valentin shook his head and sighed. “I wondered if she followed him, but her chances were always slim. And how could she compete with a princess?”
“You mean Daphne?” Helena asked, wrinkling her forehead. How would a betrothed princess compete for Cap’s affections?
And how had General Valentin known that Rouge wanted them?
“I suppose it’s no surprise that he had you fooled.” The General gave her a commiserating smile. “Heisa very good actor. Almost as good as your brother. He did manage to hide his temper, after all.”
“Cap doesn’t have a temper,” Helena said without thinking. Her mind was stuck on one of his other statements. “What makes you think I have a—”
“You look just like him,” he commented casually, glancing over his shoulder as he strolled to the wall. Examining a painting, he shook a finger in the air as he continued. “What I can’t figure out is how you reached this point after Le Capuchon put an arrow through your shoulder.”
Mildly unnerved, Helena replied, “You’ll just have to wonder.”
She wanted to press his claim about her brother. But at the same time, she didn’t. If he had her mixed up with someone else, proving his error would be simple.
But if he suspected who she really was…she didn’t want to confirm it.
“Indeed.” The General shook his finger a few more times. Pursing his lips, he turned back to her. “Could you tell me why you believe Le Capuchon’s claim about me?”
Helena shifted from one foot to the other as she weighed her decision. The guards tightened their grip on her arms.
“You used the wind gryphon to find and attack us,” she finally said, watching him carefully. “And again to capture me.”
“The wind gryphon?”
“The one you claim the king’s murderer stole.” She raised an eyebrow at his confused expression. “If Prince Raphael has it, how did you use it?”
His mouth formed a wrinkled smile. “My dear girl, I don’t have the wind gryphon.”
“That wasn’t a normal wind that followed me,” she scoffed. “It was coated in magic.”
“I never said it wasn’t.” He strolled toward her, a hint of pity in his face. “One of my captains is a wind-user. He offered to use his magic to search a wider area than we could on foot. And when the night patrol reported that Le Capuchon was fleeing across Arles’s rooftops, he wanted to help.”
She opened her mouth to reply but hesitated. It was plausible.
“But you falsely accused the prince,” she protested with a little less certainty. “You said you saw him running from the room.”
“And what makes you think he wasn’t?”
“Because—” She hesitated. General Valentin looked so reasonable. “Because he was out hunting when his father wasmurdered.”
Compassion filled his face. “And who told you that?”
“I—”
If she told him that Cap was her source, would that betray his identity to the General?
“Jean-haut,” she finally answered. General Valentin already knew about the forester. “He told me that he warned Prince Raphael not to come home.”
Leaning wearily against his desk, the General sighed and folded his arms over his chest. “Those two were always as thick as thieves. I should have realized he was shielding young Raphael.”
“What do you mean?” Helena asked uneasily.
