Crown of Chaos

by Sarah E. Burr

  Ziri watched her commander disappear as a look of disappointment mingled with annoyance danced across her sharp features. Jax felt sorry for her. Once again, she’d been left to babysit.

  Shooting a glare in Duke Savant’s direction, Ziri grumbled, “For your own safety and the safety of your duchies, follow me.”

  Qylvard gathered his dressing robe tightly around him, glancing down at Florian. “And what? We’re just going to leave the poor man here like this?”

  Your concern is so touching. Jax found a sliver of humor in Savant’s flustered fear. It seemed the Duke now knew what it felt like to be hunted, to have a target on one’s back.

  Ziri took Jax and Perry’s flickering torches and placed them in the awaiting arms of wall sconces. “Once you are all secure in your chambers, and I have confirmed Duke Savant’s alibi with Duchess Tandora, I will move the Hestian’s body to the infirmary.” Ziri did not look back over her shoulder as she led the four of them from the room.

  Jax placed a comforting hand on Darian’s forearm as they walked. “I’m sorry things have gotten so out of control.”

  Darian loosed a light chuckle. “I should be the one apologizing, Jax. Savant is right about one thing. This all happened on my watch. Perhaps I did bite off more than I could chew.”

  “Nonsense,” Jax scolded him gently. “There is some darker power at work here.” She stared at the chilling glow of the moonstone, the only thing lighting the long hallway, now that they had left the entrance hall behind. She kept her voice low, out of Savant’s hearing range. “With the fire raging outside, it appears as though someone has gone through an awful lot of trouble to ensure the Knights of Grace are preoccupied from attending to their charges. Did anyone know you had hired the Knights to protect the War Council before we all arrived?”

  “No one.” Darian’s certainty did not falter. “No one outside my inner circle of advisors: Annette, Lord Cornelius, and Galahad.”

  She mulled over this information, not wanting to believe there was a traitor among a group she trusted with her life.

  “Galahad himself ferreted out Prelate Brath,” Darian added.

  Jax’s gaze flickered to Perry, who walked on her other side. Galahad was one of his older brothers, and having trained to become a High Courtier, accepted a post within Darian’s court when it was offered. Lord Cornelius, Perry’s father, had also gone to Cetachi to serve Darian once Perry assumed the throne of Pettraud.

  “I know how your mind works, Jax. What are you thinking?” Darian asked, prodding her arm with brotherly encouragement.

  Jax leaned in closer to her newly minted uncle. “I think the fire outside was set as a distraction, forcing our sentries to abandon their positions, leaving the sovereigns unguarded.”

  Darian dipped his chin. “With the fortress in a state of chaos over the blaze, it would have been very easy for someone to slip inside and kill Florian.”

  Jax sent him a wary look. “I’m not certain someone did slip inside. When Perry and I arrived at the entrance hall, Ziri was standing guard at the front gate. I doubt anyone could have gotten past without her being aware.”

  As her theory settled over him, Darian’s eyes widened. “You think the killer was already in the tower to begin with? One of the sovereigns?”

  Jax nodded, knowing each and every one of her counterparts was capable of taking a life for the sake of their own duchy. She knew this to be true because deep down, she solemnly acknowledged herself to be capable of the same.

  Before they could speak further, Ziri Axesinger came to a halt ahead. “Duke Fangard, your chamber, sir.” She pushed open the door and motioned Darian in.

  Jax gave her uncle a squeeze before Ziri locked him in his room.

  She and Perry held their tongues as Ziri marched them deeper into the belly of Fort Vyndheim. The corridor narrowed, forcing them closer to Duke Savant, eliminating any hope of having a private conversation. Luckily, Savant’s quarters were not that far from Darian’s in the western wing, so they only had to suffer his company for a few, albeit eternal-feeling minutes. With deft fingers, Ziri locked the disgruntled man in his chambers, muttering reassurances that he was not in any harm’s way.

  “Come,” she said, coaxing them to follow her once she was done. “I must lock the others in their rooms, as well.”

  Either by her design or by chance, Ziri revealed each sovereign’s assigned room to Jax and Perry. Jax kept a mental note of where everyone was situated as they wound their way around the seemingly endless first floor. At each stop, Ziri would knock almost noiselessly on the door before opening it a crack to check on its inhabitants. From their position out in the hall, it seemed the other sovereigns continued to sleep soundly despite the commotion. All their beds were occupied. Ziri even stopped and pointed out the door to Florian’s quarters before locking it.

  The only one to answer Ziri’s light knock was Duchess Tandora, looking the picture of a disheveled lover. Her gray wiry locks were wild and unkempt, her thin lips still pink and chapped from her encounter with Savant.

  “Back for more, Qyllie love—” Her raspy words of seduction died in her throat when she realized who stood outside her door. “What is the meaning of this?” She hurriedly pulled her dowdy dressing gown closed, but Jax had already seen enough of the old woman to scar her for life.

  “Apologies, Your Grace,” Ziri said with a bow of her head, “but I’m afraid ‘Qyllie’ will not be returning.”

  Jax swallowed a torrent of giggles at Delphinia’s speechless embarrassment.

  “Duchess Tandora, there has been an incident within the fortress,” Ziri continued, ever the professional. “Could you please verify your movements for the past hour or so?”

  “Incident?” Delphinia glanced at Jax and Perry, her eyes narrowed. “Why are you two here?” Her lower lip trembled, revealing a slight tick of fear.

  “I am escorting them back to their chambers for safekeeping,” Ziri explained on their behalf, not addressing the woman’s first question about what had happened. “Rest assured, they have already been questioned by the Knights and are being returned to their quarters. Your movements, please, Duchess.”

  Delphinia thrust her chin out. “I have been in my room, of course.”

  “Alone?”

  The elderly Tandorian debated her response for a long moment. “No.” She issued an annoyed sigh. “If you must know, Qylvard and I have been seeing each other of late.” She appeared more proud of the relationship than Savant had been back in the grand hall. “He left my chambers not twenty minutes ago.”

  Exchanging glances with Ziri and Perry, Jax frowned. Delphinia’s account did corroborate the alibi Savant had shared with them. Her haphazard appearance also alluded to lovemaking rather than recovering from a murderous rampage.

  “Thank you for clarifying.” Ziri again gave the woman a stately bow. “Now, for your own safety, I must lock you within your chambers. I suggest you return to bed.”

  Before Delphinia could protest or ask any further questions, Ziri closed the door in her face, the lock clicking with a condemning snap.

  Perry’s lips brushed against Jax’s ear. “Do you really believe neither of them had anything to do with Florian’s demise? They could simply be covering for each other.”

  While Jax knew it was a possibility, she thought back to Savant’s very real display of fear in the grand hall. She had a hard time believing the boastful man had feigned convincing terror over a killer being on the loose. “I think for now, we have no choice but to believe them.”

  Continuing down the hallway, passing door after door, they finally arrived at Jax and Perry’s chambers in the east wing.

  “Duquessa.” Ziri slowed as they neared Jax’s door. “You heard Prelate Brath state that defeating the fire takes precedence over Duke Hestes’s death for the Knights of Grace right now, yes?”

  Jolted from her own thoughts, Jax nodded mutely in answer.

  Ziri paused, seeming to debate her next words b
efore speaking. “I’ve heard many tales of your uncanny ability to find the truth in matters of murder. While the fire is a great threat to all within Fort Vyndheim, we cannot simply turn our backs on finding Duke Hestes’s killer. Who knows if others will be targeted, and I cannot simply stand idly by. I wonder…” Her dark gaze searched Jax’s face. “I know the Duke betrayed you by joining the Coalition of Right, but are you still willing to use your talents to help me bring his killer to justice, Duquessa?”

  Jax needed no time to mull over her decision, as she’d already made her own determination back in the grand hall. If she could prove she was not at fault for Florian’s death, perhaps Savant would reconsider his declaration of war. “Of course, Ziri. We both would be happy to.” She motioned to her husband to indicate his involvement was not up for discussion.

  Ziri bowed her head. “In that case, why don’t you change into more suitable sleuthing attire before we return to the scene of the crime?”

  Already darting into her chambers to throw on a simple day dress, Jax paused in the doorway and reached for the acolyte’s arm. “Will Prelate Brath alert the other Knights of Grace as to what has happened?”

  The warrior shook her head. “Not until the fire is snuffed out. He won’t want the Knights or the ducal escorts distracted.”

  As Jax dressed alone in her room, her thoughts trailed to George. If he heard one of the sovereigns had been murdered, he’d no doubt try to gain access to the fortress himself and check on her, perhaps getting himself hurt by one of the Knights or by the raging fire in the process. Brath was right about one thing: The fire assaulting the outer buildings of Fort Vyndheim, barring their escape, was the greater of the two evils at work, at least for now.

  We must make quick work of this mystery, for all our sakes.

  ‡

  Ziri inched open one of the grand hall’s bronze doors and ushered Jax and Perry to follow her lithe shadow. They each took a section of the circular chamber, lighting the remaining sconces with their abandoned torches, flooding the room with a warm glow.

  Much better than that cold, haunting moonstone. Jax rubbed her arms, feeling a slight chill in the air. Whatever heat the moonstone maintained within its core had already begun to wear off as the night stretched on.

  Ziri stood over Florian’s body, her arms folded. “He has not been disturbed. That is a good sign, at least.”

  Jax knelt beside the dead man, taking more careful stock of the scene, now that they had ample lighting. Before Savant had come barging in, interrupting them, Perry had suggested they check Florian’s body for any signs of a struggle. “We believe he knew his attacker.” Jax pointed out the discarded sword to Ziri. “Florian was a skilled swordsman. Even though his health has deteriorated in recent months, it wouldn’t have been easy for anyone to disarm him and use his own weapon against him in such violent a manner.”

  Perry squatted next to her, his knee bumping her leg. “Though, it looks like he wasn’t completely taken off guard.”

  Following his gaze, Jax noted Florian’s left hand was covered with blood.

  “He must have fought back,” Perry guessed.

  She wasn’t so sure. “That amount of blood…it could simply have come from him grappling at his own wound.”

  Like a noiseless phantom, Ziri glided around the fallen man, her dark gaze darting all around. She paused, stooping to examine the gash across Florian’s disfigured neck. “It’s a clean cut, Duquessa. No bloody fingerprints to suggest he managed to raise his hand to the laceration.”

  Jax frowned at her pronouncement and edged closer to Florian’s bloodied hand. Besides the caked blood, she found nothing. “No cuts or even a bruise.” Strange, where did the blood come from?

  “Perhaps he managed to nick his attacker?” Perry murmured, more to himself.

  With her husband’s theory in mind, Jax’s gaze danced from the caked blood on Florian’s hand to the glistening pool fanning out around his head like a crimson halo. “Virtues,” she breathed, finally realizing what didn’t add up. “Florian’s blood is still relatively fresh.” She gingerly picked up Florian’s left arm by the cuff of his tunic sleeve. “This has been exposed to air for a significantly longer time. Look,” she said, scraping Florian’s palm with a tepid fingernail, “the blood practically chips off.”

  Perry and Ziri watched with growing intrigue as flecks of dried blood floated to the stone floor.

  Jax met each of their astute gazes. “Given there are no other traces of blood in the grand hall, I’d say Florian’s hand was bloodied well before he found his way in here.”

  Ziri’s full lips pursed in a concentrated frown. “If this isn’t his blood, whose is it?”

  There was only one answer that made sense, considering the circumstances. “Ziri, how long had you been guarding the fort’s main entrance before Perry and I arrived?”

  The acolyte answered quickly. “The fire broke out around two. The guards outside the fort rose the alarm, and the prelate pulled us from our posts and our quarters not ten minutes later.” Her tone soured. “I was assigned to guard the main door the moment I crossed the threshold.”

  “What about the ducal escorts in the guardhouse?” Jax continued her line of questioning, trying to formulate a timeline for the murder. “How long did it take to account for them all?”

  “Not long. Most were already helping the Knights gather water to fight the blaze. I believe Captains Solomon and Pettraud were the last to escape the building.”

  “Could anyone have snuck into the main building before the Knights had fully assembled in the courtyard?”

  Ziri shook her head. “Prelate Brath ensured Knights always remained posted at the tower entrance. I took over for three acolytes when I arrived outside.” She raised an eyebrow. “Prelate Brath thought the same thing when I told him about Duke Hestes’s murder,” she said, voicing Jax’s unspoken theory. “He believes the fire was a distraction, as well. But given our limited resources, we had little choice but to summon all the Knights to wrangle the blaze.”

  “Leaving the halls of Fort Vyndheim emptied, clearing the way for our culprit.” Jax’s tone held no reproach. If she had been in Prelate Brath’s shoes, she would have made the same call herself.

  Ziri’s features sharpened. “So, you believe one of the sovereigns is behind this?”

  Jax loosed a sigh. “We were the only ones left in the building. It had to be one of us.” She gave Ziri a pointed stare. “Unless you allowed someone to sneak past you.”

  The acolyte’s glowering expression revealed Ziri did not appreciate her failed attempt at teasing.

  Perry rose from his crouched position and helped Jax to her feet. “Who had reason to want Florian dead?”

  “I would have thought this was Savant’s handiwork, but his genuine fear of the killer suggests otherwise.” Jax tapped on her chin, trying to piece together the strange puzzle that lay before them now. “If we’re assuming Florian maimed his attacker, neither ‘Qyllie’ or Delphinia showed sign of injury.”

  Perry shuddered theatrically, likely remembering their visually shocking encounter with the barely dressed old woman. “We certainly saw enough of Delphinia to know she wasn’t injured, but what about Savant? He could have been hiding a cut under his tunic and dressing robe.”

  She glanced at Florian’s blood-soaked hand and tunic sleeve. “Something that elicited that much blood? I don’t think he could hide a wound like that without exhibiting any pain.”

  With surprising strength, Ziri scooped the dead Duke off the floor, cradling him in her arms. “I need to move him to the infirmary. Perhaps there, we can perform a more thorough examination of his remains.”

  Nodding agreement, Jax glided over to the discarded sword. Tearing off a piece of fabric from the bottom of her gown, she wrapped the linen around the bloodied hilt of the weapon and lifted it into the air, examining the heavy, crimson blade. Why leave the murder weapon behind? Had the killer left in a hurry, after hearing Jax and Perr
y arrive in the massive entrance hall on the other side of the bronze doors? Had she and Perry missed someone sneaking out of the grand hall without realizing it? Something didn’t sit quite right with the situation, but the answer remained beyond her grasp.

  With Perry’s assistance, Ziri carried Florian down a narrow stairwell shooting off the main corridor. It emptied out into a large, subterranean room that spread out as far as Jax could see.

  “Since Fort Vyndheim served as a garrison for the rebel army during the War for the Rebirth,” Ziri explained, sounding only slightly breathless from bearing the Duke’s dead weight, “the entire bottom level was reserved for tending to the wounded.”

  None of the moonstone down here glowed, having never touched the sun. Perry, who had grabbed a torch before leaving the grand hall, lit a handful of sconces to shed some warmth over the vast darkness. “Cozy.” The word echoed into the expanse.

  Ziri placed Florian on one of the cots that must have been set up as a precaution, in preparation for Fort Vyndheim’s new occupants. “The temperature down here should be cool enough to keep the body mildly preserved until a decision is made about his remains.” She pulled the master key from her tunic and waved it in the air. “No one will be able to disturb him down here.”

  Laid out on the cot, it was much easier to search the Duke’s body for other wounds, but they found nothing to suggest the blood on his hand had somehow been his own.

  “We need to attend to the other ducal leaders,” Jax said. “If any of them are injured, they might very well be Florian’s killer.”

  Perry pulled a white sheet over Florian’s face. “So, Florian gets in a fight with one of the other leaders, wounds them, they hunt him down into the grand hall and slit his throat?” His expression was riddled with doubt.

  Jax had to admit, the scenario sounded a bit half-baked. “We need to start somewhere.” She squeezed her husband’s forearm. “The old blood on Florian’s hand is really the only clue we have at the moment.”