She perked up at that, and dabbed the corners of her mouth. “Go on then.”
He cast an anxious glance toward Elora. “Should we maybe speak in private?”
“Nonsense. She is your future queen. It is imperative that she be informed of the ongoings of Irongate henceforth. So, what is it? What couldn’t wait?”
“It’s the traitor, Darius Graeme. He?—”
Elora choked on the bite of her peaches, cutting the guardoff before he could finish. Darius Graeme, King Everard’s most trusted knight. Oh, how that name alone had haunted her every waking moment. Although many of the knights of Caelora had a hand in her torment while she was their prisoner, he was the one who oversaw most of her torture, as if by request.
Her hacking continued, echoing around the room as both the guard and Queen Signe watched her curiously.
She was drawing too much attention to herself.
Elora reached for her goblet, downed half the water inside, and forced a smile. “Sorry. It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten food that required chewing. Please, continue.”
The guard nodded, easily convinced. But Signe’s inquisitive gaze lingered.
“Right. Well, I am pleased to inform you, my queen, that after all these years, Darius Graeme has finally been spotted.”
The queen finally pulled her dark eyes away from Elora. “He’s been spotted countless times. What makes this any different?”
“Our sources are credible; I can assure you. Besides, he’s been seen in Mutiny Bay numerous times over the years. But each time we’ve investigated, he’s nowhere to be found, likely keeping on the move or going back into hiding. But reports of his whereabouts are becoming more frequent. We believe he’s growing comfortable, getting sloppy with his hiding.”
“Letting his guard down,” the queen added.
“Indeed.”
“Well, this is fortuitous news.” The queen grinned wickedly, and the sight of those blood-red teeth made Elora’s full belly roil. “Prince Leighton left with a small convoy of the Thundersworn headed to Vallonde to fetch his father, just yesterday.”
“Fetch him…?” The guard stiffened.
Queen Signe waved off his nervousness. “He will return empty-handed and heartbroken, no doubt. But that’s not ourconcern. Send word for him to stop in Mutiny Bay while he’s down there.”
“Are you sure? If the prince is busy, my troop and I could easily?—”
“That won’t be necessary. Strangely enough, this aligns quite nicely with his fool’s errand anyway. If you tell him he might find the key to the curse there, he’ll willingly divert his attention to Mutiny Bay for a few days. And with any luck, your reports will reign true, he’ll apprehend the traitor Darius Graeme, and we’ll all be that much closer to learning how to end this forsaken curse.”
The guard dismissed himself with a bow before hurrying out of the room.
The queen summoned a servant forward to refill her goblet. She held it high toward Elora, a toast to a victory they hadn’t yet won.
But Elora was still frozen, her entire body numb.
That name, Darius Graeme, it had her in a spell.
When she dreamed, it was his face that ravaged her nightmares. His voice that taunted her thoughts. His hands that strangled her neck.
She wasn’t sure what Queen Signe had meant by claiming that Darius would know how to end the curse, but, if Darius Graeme had played a role in the curse, that meant Elora and Queen Signe had a common enemy.
This could be Elora’s chance at justice.
Her one shot attruefreedom—at healing from the cruelties that had been thrust upon her.
“Does this news trouble you?” the queen asked, her goblet still in the air. “I would’ve thought a former prisoner of Caelora would be overjoyed to learn that we may soon have a former Caeloran Guard in our custody.”
“I—I am,” Elora stammered, a frightening yet exciting ideaemerging in her mind. “More than you know. Darius Graeme was one of my…he was one of the guards who…” The words caught in Elora’s throat, because how could she explain all the ways in which he had harmed her, broken her, without it becoming a never-ending monologue of experiences that were too painful to recount aloud, especially in the midst of a queen she was still assessing.
But she needed this. Needed the queen to trust her enough to grant her this one request.
