Page 252 of A Touch of Poison
Bastian
Acouple of hours later, I stood back in that throne room, Asher at my side. With the bodies cleared and the floor cleaned, it almost looked normal.
Except Prince—no,KingCyrus occupied the Sun Throne. Beside him, the silver Moon Throne sat empty.
On his other side stood Sepher and Zita—proof that Dawn’s royal family had survived the attack. Queen Meredine sat near the edge of the dais, face ashen, expression blank. Soon, Braea would join us, proving she was also alive and well. That should be enough to quash the rumours that both royal families were dead.
The last thing we needed was anyone getting ideas about forming factions and leaping into a power vacuum.
For reassurance, I sought out Kat in the crowd. Still in her gold gown, with the blood hastily washed off her skin, she gave me a quick nod.
The gathered courtiers hadn’t changed from their wedding finery, but more Dusk folk swelled their number. They hadn’t been invited to the wedding, but they needed to be here for this show of unity.
The crowd shifted uneasily, and guards from both courts stood at alert. I glanced at the huge, arching windows that stood behind the dais. Their glass was stained golden yellow for Dawn, and the sun sparkled through it, but soon the moon would cut across its disc and bring darkness and the Night Queen.
The past couple of hours had been at once tense and yet somehow a chance to let out my exhaustion from the fighting and all the fear I’d felt while searching for Kat.
I’d spent it checking the secret passages, since the guards couldn’t sweep hallways they knew nothing about. I took Kat with me, telling myself it was because her poison would be useful if I came across a group of Ascendants holed up.
And it would.
But also, I was a weak fool and couldn’t stand to be parted from her after all the day’s uncertainty.
We found no sign of anyone, Krae included. And the guards hadn’t taken any Ascendants alive to question. Some had been spotted fleeing through the city, but their trails disappeared into the river and not even Fluffy had been able to pick them up again.
After the search, we had the joy of meeting with the Convocation, Cyrus, and the newly married couple, who’d got through the attack with nothing more than cuts and bruises.
I narrowed my eyes at that but kept my suspicions to myself. There was no love lost between Sepher and his father. I still found it surprising that Lucius had tolerated his return to the city, tail and all. Two living heirs and the promise of grandchildren must’ve been enough to tickle his desire to get one over on Dusk.
There’d been no time or excuse to go to Dawn’s side and retrieve my other self’s body. I would need to find out where they were being taken and find a way to extract him before he was identified asme.
Messy. Very messy.
I didn’t even know whether Dusk or Dawn were to blame. Not for sure. The attackers looked like they were from Dusk, but I struggled to believe it.
I met Kat’s gaze in the crowd. She put a lot of stock in these insignias, but standing here now, my doubts crept in. It could be they were newer and shinier, ready to celebrate Sura’s ascension to a unified throne when everything went to plan.
For all we knew, she’d offered King Lucius an alliance, promising to get Braea out of the way, and had turned on him. Was Krae one of the spies she’d mentioned? It wouldn’t be the first time folk from the two courts had worked together. I had my own spy in Dawn, after all.
More questions than answers.
Head aching, I gathered my scattered thoughts.
The long and short of the Convocation meeting was this: Dawn blamed Dusk. Dusk thought it was a Dawn trick.
And Cyrus was “such a hero” for getting stabbed.
Between me, Cyrus, and Sepher, we managed to broker an uneasy peace between the Convocation members. Not two people I ever thought I’d be allied with, but whatever it took. As long as we weren’t immediately trying to kill each other, that gave us time to investigate.
My head throbbed harder at the idea.
Brynan appeared at my side. “Her Majesty is here. She’ll be awake any minute.”
I glanced at the moon passing across the sky—once it touched the sun, her Sleep would be over for the seven minutes or so it took to complete the eclipse. “Thank you.” I patted his shoulder. “Go and join Gael. I know it’s been a difficult day.”
With a grateful smile, he slipped into the crowd and hugged Gael close.
I spared a smile for Kat before passing through Dusk’s door. In a small preparation room opposite, I found Braea posed in an opulent chair. Her attendants had dressed her and carried her here in a litter so not a precious moment of the eclipse would be wasted in the corridors.
