Page 38

The grizzled rook pursed his lips. “You also have a point when you say he might not talk or make it to the dungeon alive.”

“So, what do we do?” Avera exclaimed. “I am tempted to walk away and let them have it.”

“Give up the throne?” Gustav ogled her in shock.

“I never wanted it,” was Avera’s sulky reply.

“Perhaps not, however, if you were to simply give it up, they win. Those who murdered your family, who betrayed Daerva, will have succeeded.” Josslyn spoke softly but passionately.

Avera sighed. “Very well, I won’t resign, but I wish I knew what to do. Every solution has a flaw.”

“Sleep on it,” Josslyn advised.

Advice Avera took, but a suggestion that failed. She woke with no clear idea of what to do next, and then word came to the palace.

Admiral Venne, their main suspect, had died, slipping and cracking his head after he left a tavern.

Plausible, but Avera knew the truth. He’d been killed, most likely because the other traitor found out he’d been compromised. The question being, how did they know? Someone must have spied on her, but who?

She and Gustav retreated to her office to discuss the situation in private.

“With Venne gone, we have no leads,” Avera stated without preamble. “I think we must revisit using me to lure them out of hiding.”

“And I still say it’s too dangerous,” a grumpy Gustav declared. The man was more loyal than her steed.

“We must act before they do,” Avera interjected. “If they’re planning an accident, then who knows when it will happen. There are so many scenarios we can’t necessarily prepare for. A runaway carriage that tramples me. Something falling from above and smashing my head. A slip and fall down some stairs. Wouldn’t it be better to control the narrative?”

“There is no guarantee they’d fall into a trap,” Gustav cautioned, rubbing his freshly shaven chin.

“No, but at least we’d be doing something.” Avera couldn’t live like this, always wondering if death lurked around every corner.

“We can’t do it in the city. There are too many places to watch.”

“It’s been ages since I’ve gone for a ride, and it wouldn’t look suspicious,” she suggested. Avera and her steed usually went for daily rides. Poor Luna, stuck in the stable since the murders. With the number of apples she’d been sneaking her horse, she’d soon get fat.

“That could work,” Gustav replied slowly. “Especially if we don’t give them much time to plan. We order your horse saddled and have you riding out shortly thereafter, forcing them to move hastily. You’ll take a pair of rooks with you.”

“Only rooks? What of you?”

“As you suggested before, I’ll be ahead, watching from the woods. Anyone familiar with you knows you always take Field Road. The farmers just cropped the fields, making it impossible for someone to hide. The road is paved and flat, making tripping unlikely. If anything happens, it will be in the concealment of the forest.”

“Do you think I’ll be attacked?”

“I don’t know what to expect,” he grumbled. “This whole scheme is foolhardy.”

“But better than waiting for something to happen,” Avera countered. “I’ll be armed.”

“Good, but I plan to bring enough men to counter any possible attack. You should pay more attention to low-hanging branches, possible rope strung across the road meant to tangle a steed’s legs. If you see a pile of leaves across a section, avoid it as it could be a pit.”

Her eyes widened because she’d never have thought of any of those things. “Surely they wouldn’t have time to do something so elaborate?”

“At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past the traitor.”

“What if nothing happens?” she asked. “Then what?”

“I don’t know.” Gustav sighed. “But you are right. We need to act before they do. Perhaps we’ll get lucky and the traitor behind it all will show up. After all, a simple fall might not kill you, meaning they’ll have a contingency to ensure you don’t return alive.”

A sobering reminder that the consequences of guessing wrong could get her killed, but a queen couldn’t be a coward. “Have my horse readied.”