“Against you?”
“The Darklings work against us. Against me. Against Valaine. Against the entire system. So do their associates,” he said. “The logical conclusion here being that, if Beval’s words are true, then my friend has been my enemy this whole time.”
His voice broke. He couldn’t believe it. His suffering touched me, and I didn’t want him to jump to conclusions so quickly. Maybe we didn’t have all the facts yet. “Maybe it’s just a rumor,” I murmured. “Why don’t we talk to Trev about it?”
Kalon’s gaze settled on me, and I temporarily lost myself in the blue pools of infinity beneath his long, dark eyelashes.
“He’ll be at the tournament final today,” he said. “If he survives and wins the grand prize, he’ll want me to turn him into an Aeternae.”
“You can press him for answers then,” I concluded, my brain lighting up and making new connections, opening the doors to new lines of questioning. From where I stood, bringing Nethissis’s killer to justice was beginning to sound more like a possible reality and less like a wild goose chase.
I knew now that our next stop was the Blood Arena. Shivers rushed through me as I remembered the last time I’d been there, and the events I’d witnessed. There was something about that place that compiled the best and worst parts of the Aeternae—their prowess as fighters and predators, and their empty souls, for only an empty soul would have such disdain for eternal life to throw it away in that arena.
Nevertheless, we were going back there, and I was quite excited about the prospect. Not so much for the fighting, but simply because it would bring me closer to the truth. I’ll get justice for you, Nethi. I promise.
Tristan
Valaine and I had spent the past three hours watching Corbin as he interrogated the palace staff with regards to the Darkling attack last night. The more I listened, the more frustrated I got. The questions were simple and generic, not at all useful for this investigation.
“Did you see anything suspicious during your shift? Where were you when Lady Crimson was attacked? Have you heard any of the gold guards discussing the Darklings?”
None of the servants would’ve had the courage to speak up against the gold guards, since they were with us, in the room, assigned as protection detail for Valaine. I actually sympathized with the Rimians and the Naloreans here. I would’ve done the same, for fear of retribution from the potential Darklings still embedded within the gold guards’ ranks.
We weren’t making any progress. Every maid and valet had been telling Corbin the same thing. They’d come in at their usual hours. They’d done their rounds and chores without any disturbances and without seeing anything strange. They’d waited for the early morning shifts to come in before going home. That was it.
Valaine was losing her patience as well, while Corbin started interrogating one of the Nalorean nannies. She was a burly young woman with pale blonde, almost white hair braided down her back, and big blue eyes. Her cheeks were full and pink, displaying dimples at the faintest smile.
“Now, Eudora, I know you’ve spoken to my guards before, but I need you to tell me everything you told them, along with anything else you might have omitted,” he told the nanny, who settled in an ornate chair in front of Corbin. He chose to stand, towering over her, but Eudora didn’t seem intimidated at all. It was the first time I was witnessing a non-Aeternae servant looking Corbin right in the eye, fearless in her demeanor.
“Milord, I usually never leave Prince Thayen’s side,” she said, hands resting in her lap. Her nanny uniform was dark blue with white lace details, the skirt big enough to hide an entire kindergarten beneath it.
“You must’ve seen or heard something,” Corbin insisted, watching her closely.
“Prince Thayen?” I asked Valaine in a hushed voice.
She widened her eyes at me. “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met him. The Lord and Lady Supreme keep him rather isolated,” she whispered. “Thayen is their son. He’s only eight years old. They have a protection detail on him at all times. An army of nannies. Maids and valets. He’s not without… but to be honest, he is a little neglected.”
Thayen sounded like a well-kept secret of this palace. “He’s the heir to the Nasani dynasty, right?”
“The only one,” Valaine replied with a faint nod before she moved her attention back to Corbin and Eudora. “Hence why he’s not a part of their public life. He’ll have an introductory ball when he turns fifteen.”
“Eudora, were you with Prince Thayen at all times?” Corbin asked. There was tension in his whole frame, his brows pulled into a heavy frown.
“No, milord. I did go to the bathroom a few times,” she replied dryly, clearly uncomfortable with this line of questioning.
I scoffed, tired of listening to the same exchange over and over again. It drew me a scowl from Corbin. “Am I boring you?”
“A little, yes,” I said. “This isn’t going anywhere. You’ve got Darklings who have infiltrated the gold guards. Do you really think the servants will point fingers? They all want to live.”
Valaine was stunned by my remarks, but a sympathetic glimmer persisted in her black eyes. Corbin, on the other hand, was not my biggest fan. He turned around to face me properly, while Eudora stifled a smile, gaze fixed on the floor.
“Do you have any better ideas?” Corbin asked tightly.
I had a feeling that I might get my head cut off if I gave him the wrong answer. Corbin Crimson could easily make himself feared just by using the right tone of voice. That, combined with his massive figure and illustrious armor, was enough to make me take a step back.
If the two of us were to go head to head, Corbin had the advantage as an Aeternae. Faster, stronger, significantly more accustomed to violence than me. But I had to make him see past his own irritation, for there was truth in my words, by which I stood firmly.
“You’ve been grilling all the servants, but I haven’t seen you do the same to the golden guards,” I said. “If there are Darklings among them, at least one or two soldiers should be able to tell you something about it. A rumor, a change in behavior, anything that might indicate foulness. The servants fear your guards. They would never tell on them, for fear of retaliation.”
“Tristan is right, Father,” Valaine added. “I, too, find it odd that no one has interviewed the guards until now, especially since the Darkling we killed was one of them.”
Corbin stood before us, his expression set in stone and difficult to read. He definitely didn’t like what he was hearing, and I could see why. But the more he lingered, the more suspicious I got. It was his daughter the Darklings had tried to murder. I would’ve turned the entire golden guard upside down, if I were him. I would’ve strung them all up by their ankles, deprived them of blood nutrition… I would’ve done a lot more, until some answers emerged.
“You’re wasting your time with the servants,” I continued. “The Darklings did not enter the palace with their help.”
“All we have is one traitor. Do you expect me to doubt all the Aeternae in my service, in the empire’s service, based solely on the actions of a single anarchist?” Corbin replied.
He wasn’t convincing me at all, and that just made me angry. With everything that had been going on, I could no longer be bothered to care for his feelings. Someone had tried to kill Valaine. Someone had killed Nethissis. I was done playing nice.
Stepping forward, I braced myself for conflict, unwilling to give in to his intimidation tactics. “I find it quite interesting that no one knows what the Darklings’ agenda is, to this day. After thousands of years, not only have you all failed to catch them, you don’t even know what they want,” I said.
“Tristan, wait—” Valaine tried to stop me, but I was on a roll.
“Also, have none of you noticed that the Darklings’ attacks intensify before and during a Black Fever outbreak?” I went on, shocking both Corbin and Valaine. Hell, even Eudora’s face was blank, her blue eyes bulging. Looking around, I could tell that the guards were equally astonished. Somehow, no one had noticed the pattern.
“What are you talking about?” Corbin asked.
“I checked the records. Every time the Darklings’ attacks intensified, the Black Fever was making a comeback,” I replied. “Sure, they’ve killed between the outbreaks, too, but not at a high, memorable rate. It took me a couple of hours of studying your archives on this topic to figure it out.”
