Dragon Blood (Reclaiming the Fire Book 4) by Alicia Wolfe

Author:Alicia Wolfe [Wolfe, Alicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Damn, I thought. Another one. Dread built in me as I imagined who might have been the victim this time.

“Speak,” said the Queen, and for a moment the simmering violence that had almost erupted died, and all bent their ears to hear the news.

“It is Neva Coolwater,” said the messenger. “She’s been slain.”

I closed my eyes. I hadn’t really known Neva, but I’d liked her, a pretty girl in love with a boy of the wrong house. It had been very tragic and romantic, I thought, and I’d been very sad for her that Therin had been killed. Now she was dead, too? It didn’t make any sense.

“How did she die?” asked Calista.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. But it was foul play. The Coolwaters have gathered their forces and shut themselves up in their bungalow. That’s where … the body is.”

Pain passed across Calista’s face, but she nodded, then turned fiery eyes on Jereth. “You see, Lord Greenleaf couldn’t have been the killer. Someone else was just murdered while he was here at the Big House.”

Jereth looked stunned, but he didn’t argue. Mentally I was thinking that Greenleaf still could have killed Neva, if he’d used his familiars like before.

But Jereth said, “Fine. I’ll withdraw.” Surprisingly, he turned his attention to me and Davril. “Your deadline still exists.” He glanced at the sky, noting the location of the sun. “It’s about three in the afternoon as humans reckon time. That gives you twelve full hours to bring this thing to a close or I’m taking my followers and withdrawing.”

“Is that what you really want?” Calista said, and I saw that she was directing her attention to House Strongwall. Lord Von Strongwall looked huge and grim in his armor, standing not far from Jereth and leading his own company of knights, among them his son Meril. “Do you really wish to return to a haunted castle under permanent siege, Lord Strongwall? Are you not a king? Don’t you wish to breathe the free air again?”

He lifted his visor, and his face looked hard. No wonder. His son had just been violently slain.

“I will follow Prince Jereth,” he said, without elaboration.

“Good try, Mother,” said Jereth.

He turned about and led his people away from the Big House. Above, Ainu on her flying carpet said, “That was a close one, Your Majesty. Please see that it’s the last one.”

“I will try,” said Calista, sounding tired.

Ainu nodded to her wizards and flew away, the mages on their own carpets following her. Frowning, Calista turned to Davril and me on our separate balcony.

“I guess you know what you must do.”

Davril inclined his head. “We’ll go to inspect the body immediately.”

“So I’m free?” said Greenleaf.

“For now,” Davril said. “But we’ll have more words with you later about what you’ve done, after we’ve spoken to the Queen.”

“And my ring?”

“We’ll hang on to that,” I said.

Without wasting another second, we trooped down the stairs and met the messenger that had come on the lawn before the Big House. The sun shone overhead, but I barely felt it.

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