Page 27 of House of the Raven
Whatever he heard can’t be worse than the truth, so I’m ready to hear it.
“Sit.” I point toward an armchair in the corner near the balcony.
Jago collapses in it and runs stiff fingers through his hair, making the disarray worse. “Maybe you should sit, too,” he suggests.
“No, I’m fine. Please, tell me everything.”
He nods and begins. “I found Emerito on his way to the main council chamber. There’s an emergency meeting happening right now. He didn’t want to talk to me, but I insisted.” He pauses, swallows audibly. “He told me that… Orys Kelakian killed the king.”
I wait for more, but Jago is scrutinizing my face again, trying to read it as he does so well.
“You already knew,” he says.
I nod.
“Then why did you send me out there?”
“What else did Emerito say?”
“He said they don’t know how the sorcerer got in, and that Orys could possibly be associated with the veilfallen. Though, they don’t think so. They have sent the Guardia Real in search of him. Amira has vowed to destroy him and all the rest.”
Jago is still talking, but I’m not listening anymore. I press a hand to my throat, finding it difficult to swallow. They’re spinning a lie as I feared, like clever spiders wishing to tangle all in their web. The question remains… Is Amira part of it? Or a victim like our father? And is Orys truly not associated with the veilfallen? Or is this a ruse to divert attention from the rebels?
“Val, are you listening?” He pushes to the edge of the armchair.
Snapping out of it, I kneel in front of him and take his hands in mine. “You have to listen to me,” I whisper.
There’s fear in his features as there should be. No doubt, his face reflects what he sees in mine.
“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this?” he asks.
“It’s all a lie,” I say. “Well, most of it. Orys did kill my father. The sorcererisback. I saw him.”
“Puta madre!”
“But it was Amira who let him in.”
His mouth falls open.
“She allowed it to happen, and I don’t know if she did it of her own volition or if Orys compelled her.”
“Oh, Val. That’s… I just can’t…” He squeezes my hands.
He believes me! My surprise lets me know that I was expecting Jago to tell me I’m crazy. I’m so grateful for his trust in me.
“She must have been compelled,” he says. “There is no way Amira would do that. Is there?”
“I want to believe that.”
“But?”
I walk away and run my hands through my hair in frustration. “Earlier today, I overheard her talking to Father.” I’ve been turning this over in my head a lot. “They were talking about some sort of secret that he had just divulged to her, and that he made her promise not to share with me.”
“What kind of secret?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, but it seems to have something to do with the fae.”
“The fae?!” His blond eyebrows draw together.
