Page 43 of Palaces and other Prisons
She stood. “You are supposed to lie here until you can walk on your own. I’m going to make up the other bed and move you to it so that you are not lying on poison-sweat sheets. Are you going to make this difficult?”
“No. Though I don’t expect to be much help either.” He managed to curl his fingers.
“Doing as you’re told is plenty of help.” She patted his leg. “Let’s hope the king returns with good news.”
And if he didn’t? That meant his killer was still wandering around the palace. Who had he pissed off? But he knew the answer in his next heartbeat. There was only one person who stood to gain if there were no eggs…
Ul’s cousin.
CHAPTER 29
It was a grim business hunting a would-be murderer, especially when they were a blood relative and they should want the same thing—to keep the kingdom safe, especially post-collapse. But he knew from history that not everyone put the needs of Felloi before their own, and some sought power because they believed that was the goal, not the first step in a very long journey.
Ul made his way downstairs to the private rock pools where he’d brought Dawson, seeking more while still afraid of his own need, his guard following close behind him. He entered and walked silently past the rock pools to the almost hidden entrance to a deeper cave. He had posted a krakke guard there last night, as was customary if there were eggs. Today, he was missing.
“Remain here and let no one enter,” Ul said as he removed his shoes and cloak, not wanting them to weigh him down or tangle around him. He prayed he hadn’t sent a loyal guard to his death as he slipped through the narrow entrance and down the stairs that were washed with the tide.
The only light down here came from strategically placed mosses that gave off a faint green glow. The seawater lapped at his ankles and then his knees. He placed his hand on the coolstone wall. It had been years since he’d made this trip, and each time it had been futile, with all the eggs eventually dying. He turned the corner, and then there were no more steps. He sank to the floor of the cave as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
He stopped his markings from glowing yellow, even though the other two krakke would sense him in the cave. It took time for him to locate them on the far side. Which is where he’d always preferred to lay his eggs.
No one should know that, as he is the only one who should’ve ever gone down there.
All kinds of horrible accusations bubbled in his chest. Surely not. His cousin would not sabotage…
And the guards… They had let his cousin in. Ul sucked in a breath. What reason had they had for refusing him?
There was no proof of anything but last night’s attack. So he pushed aside his hurt at betrayal and need for vengeance.
The guard, still in his uniform, his markings glowing a soft yellow, dragged the other krakke toward him. His cousin’s tentacles extended stiffly from his body, his markings pulsing.
Ul nodded. The trap had caught the man responsible not only for the attack on Dawson but for a decade of misery, all because he wanted the throne for himself and his own young. It would be so easy to choke the life out of his cousin in the dark with only one witness, but his cousin’s district would forever raise questions.
He swam up to the surface, his tunic clinging to his body, and pulled himself up onto the stairs. The guard followed, hauling his cousin’s rigid body with him.
“What do you have to say for yourself, cousin? Speak while you still can.” There was nothing he could say that would calm the anger or close the wound in Ul’s heart.
“I request treatment and a trial. Me visiting the royal cave proves nothing.”
“You had no reason to visit. Not this time, not any time.” The cave was meant to be available to all royals, but he would change that ruling so this never happened again. “I cannot offer you treatment for statue venom because the law dictates there must always be one dose available for the king. And that is all that remains.”
“No! I have treatment at home.”
“You will not live alone enough to make the trip. And a runner will not be fast enough either. You have been undone by your own avarice.”
“You can’t leave me to die like this.”
“You were prepared to let my mate die like this. I deem it a fair punishment.”
“I have young,” his cousin begged.
“They still have a father and will be allowed to live. They will not suffer for your crimes, though they will be struck from the list of potential heirs, and while they may remain in the royal estate, their children will not inherit. They will be royal in name only.”
He glanced at the guard. While he had been down here, others had already gone to search his cousin’s rooms. His eldest child would be questioned, and Ul hoped that he knew nothing of his father’s doing. That was a mess to unravel later. “Assist him to his chambers.”
“Yes, sire.” The guard inclined his head.
Ul remained sitting on the steps, his back against the cool, slick wall. He cupped the stump of his arm, trying to will away the throb and the ache in the missing limb. His arm hurt less than his heart. He wished every wound healed with a few stitches and bandages.
