I recognized the man who had apparently sent glass in my direction. He was a parliament member with the last name of Cartier. And he was known to be chummy with the king.
It appeared we weren’t the only ones with a ploy going on this night.
CHAPTER36
Amurmur rippled across the room as the lime green magic stopped, but Krew’s navy magic was still suspending the glass shards in the air.
People standing between the two men instinctively moved away, creating a pathway between them. The music stopped.
I am going to kill him,Krew promised me.
He took one step forward and without even raising his hand, sent more magic out of his fingertips toward the glass, the glass slowly starting to move back toward Mr. Cartier.
“What is the meaning of this?” the king’s voice boomed.
But I knew better. The king had either orchestrated this whole event or in the very least encouraged it.
Mr. Cartier took a step backward, looking to the king as if he wished for help.
Just when I could see the king as he made his way through the crowd, I saw a man bump into him from his left side.
I stilled, knowing this was not supposed to be happening yet. It was far too early in the night.
Unable to look away, I kept my eyes locked on the king. While he turned to likely yell at whoever it was, he bumped into a man on the other side. Faster than humanly possible, the second man must have reached over and unhooked the belt holding the sword and scabbard around the king’s waist because the belt and sword clattered to the ground loudly.
The king’s eyes filled with rage as he stooped down to pick it up.
But before he could, it was already gone. The first man who had bumped into him and shoved him into the second man had already swiped it off the ground and was gone into the crowd of people. It had all happened so entirely fast. If I had blinked or turned my eyes back to Mr. Cartier for even a moment, I would have missed it all.
And while the king turned to see who had stolen it, the man who had unhooked the belt spun just out of reach of a guard and took off running.
“Thieves!” the king boomed as he turned around, shoving a guard. “Seize them!”
“Seizehim,” Krew spat at the same guards, gesturing toward Mr. Cartier as he neared where the king now stood. His voice was cold and demanding. The guards felt it too, as they hesitated, unsure if they should go after the thieves or the parliament member. “This man has done more than steal; he made an attempt on the princess’s life.”
“I am your king,” Theon Valanova declared to the guards, looking quite bewildered, black magic swirling along his skin.
For now,Krew added.
Though I had only seen them from a distance all night, I felt Renna and Molly as they moved in to flank me.
The guards finally sprang into action to do the king’s bidding, and though all of this was a nightmare as far as royal wedding banquets went, I was hoping that Mr. Cartier’s feeble attempt provided enough of a distraction and hesitation in the guards that the crew from Rallis could pass off the sword and get out of there before any of the Enchanted in attendance really knew what to do.
“You might want to seize him before I kill him.” Krew increased the speed of the glass heading for Mr. Cartier at the same time he sent his magic snaking around his hands, rendering him incapable of retaliating.
Mr. Cartier looked to one hand, then the other, and began moving backward quickly.
“Would one of you, any of you, in this room find those men who stole my sword?” The king snapped. “My guards are not the only capable men in here!”
But precious seconds had already passed. By this point the sword should be hidden in the jacket of a man, out of view and on the way to the gardens.
And though the king was right, the room was filled with the Enchanted, the king’s army, I knew likely half of them loathed him. Why would they help him? It was just a sword after all. Meanwhile their princess had just been attacked. Should they concern themselves with an object and mere thieves, or an act of treason?
It was all playing into our hands so beautifully we should have thought it up ourselves.
Sasha Girard had made his way across the room, along with two other Enchanted men I didn’t recognize, though I knew one was one of the king’s commanders.
They each took an arm of Mr. Cartier.
