"I never thought we would linger, but... plans were changed."
Damara laughed high and clear, and I basked in the sound.
I turned to Hilliard, who was grinning wide enough to show his missing tooth. "Lass, we worried sick about you."
He sat on the other side of me, and I embraced him as well. Countess Lorelle sat across from us. Beau did not sit but instead hovered by the door.
"I am sorry. Things have been complicated."
"So it seems." Damara smiled.
Once I had gotten over my initial elation at seeing her again, I felt uncomfortable. Not even a year had gone by that I had despised her because I thought she wanted to control me. She had only been carrying out my wishes. I had agreed to leave my memories of Johai behind in order to prevent the union of Adair and Sabine. The spell had gone wrong, and I had turned against everyone I once loved, and failed despite it.
"Damara, I am sorry for everything."
She waved away my apology. "You did not know. You were forgiven long ago."
I appreciated her quick forgiveness and decided to move on. "How did you discover it was me?"
"It was not you but Johai. I saw him in the duke's employ, and I knew you must be about. I never dreamed you would be his wife!"
I colored. "It was necessary to get closer to the Neaux court."
"Ah, and does he know who you are?"
I blushed harder. "Yes, he found us as soon as we came to Sanore."
Damara frowned but made no comment. "What are you doing here, Maea?" She shook her head in wonder, but there was a glimmer of doubt there as well.
"I think this is where our motives collide, I suspect. I am sure you are curious as to what brought us here to Neaux."
"We are dying to know," Countess Lorelle interjected. I was surprised she had stayed silent for as long as she had. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief.
To start, I told them my tale. I began with the loss of my memories and my search for the man who had taken them away. In the end it had led me to Johai and his promise to me. I told them of the first diviner's warnings and her hints that had led me thus far in my search for Sarelle's murderer.
"Then you, too, are searching for Sarelle's murderer," Damara said with a sigh. "It seems that her murderer laid their trap clean, and none remain who were connected. I have spent the better part of these six months following dead ends."
"I have made connections with Princess Arlene. I think she suspects Prince Reynard, but she will not say for certain. I believe whoever did it, they used the hunting accident to cover their foul deed."
"There are signs that point to him but no real evidence. He had no reason to do it," Damara replied.
That gave me pause. Did Princess Arlene lie to me?
"Princess Arlene claims Sarelle was plotting to kill Reynard. She interfered and stopped her. Perhaps Prince Reynard killed her out of hand in kind."
Damara tapped her chin. "Perhaps it is true. He is also a member of the Order, which may mean he does not know what he is working toward. Maybe Adair has deceived him. I do not think Prince Reynard would give over his kingdom lightly. Adair must have offered him some other bait."
"But what?" I wondered aloud. It felt nice to talk these things out and not worry about the looming matter of Johai.
"I cannot say. We shall need to do more investigating, I suppose," Damara said with a crinkle in her eyes. I admired her spirit of adventure.
Hilliard interrupted by saying, "I think it best if we left you ladies to catch up." He held out his hand for Countess Lorelle.
"A splendid idea," Damara said. She smiled at Hilliard, and he bowed to her from the waist.
Beau went with them though more reluctantly. Once they were gone, Damara turned a mischievous gaze towards me.
"And where is Johai. I thought he would not abandon your side now that you have remembered!"
Though I knew it was not her intention, her words reopened my wounds, and I cried anew. Damara jumped up and came to hold me with one arm and offered me a handkerchief with the other. "Maea, dear, what is the matter?"
"I have learned that I must kill Johai, and I am afraid."
She squeezed my shoulders. "Is it the specter, then? He awakens?"
I looked at her, wide eyed. It had never been discussed how much she knew, and now I wondered if she was aware the entire time. "Not quite but soon. King Reynard will die in three days, and his death will set off a chain reaction that will result in Johai unleashing his power and losing himself. Before the specter takes hold, I..." I took a deep breath. "I have to kill him."
She stroked my head and said some nonsense comforts. I regained my composure and asked what I had intended to from the start.
"Damara, you are not only here to find out about Sarelle's death, are you? Members of the Order have died, and I do not think that is mere coincidence."
She dropped her hands in her lap. "You have the right of it, but it is more complicated than you think. It is a long story but perhaps a more relevant one." Damara turned and faced me. "After my husband died in the war, I went to court looking for those that had been involved in the plot to kill him. I discovered the Order of the Oak. I joined them and became one of the few female members. I was young and foolish, and I thought I could dig deeper and destroy them from within.
"Prince Garrison allowed me into his inner circle, and I learned their true intent. They were not looking to change the succession though that is the cause they hide behind. No, it is something much darker and more sinister. The Order of the Oak aim to awaken the specter fully. He is the spirit of the first king of Danhad, who was a great sorcerer. He was also a ruthless ruler who killed thousands in a quest to destroy Neaux. His soul was sealed by a sorceress, and for generations afterwards, he had reappeared, nearly breaking free only to be thwarted in the end. The leaders of the Order learned of this spirit and of the power it granted and wished to bring its power to fruition in an attempt to strengthen our kingdom and Prince Garrison's might. By the time I learned this, they were already planning to bring Sabine over from Neaux. By that time I had gotten too deep, and the only way to escape was to ask a favor of my husband's sister."
"Queen Idella," I said in quiet awe.
"The very same. I begged her to tell the king what I had learned. I implicated his brother as the mastermind behind the plot, and at great personal and political risk to her, she publicly accused Prince Garrison of treason. A full trial was held, and the conspirers confessed and were killed. The deeper plot was never revealed in public, and I swore to the queen that I would not speak of it again. I, in turn, became beholden to the queen for her assistance back then. I owed her my life and that of my son's. She told me that she would one day call upon me to return the favor, and that day came. She asked me to help her put Sarelle on the throne of Neaux. I had to call in all my allies, and Johai assisted me in making the arrangements, and then... she was killed. The debt had not been repaid, and I came to Neaux to find the killer."
"Then you never intended Layton for the throne?"
She paused. "If it meant disposing Adair, I would have helped Layton take the throne. I think with the right guidance, Adair could be a good king, but he is impatient and rash, and I fear the rule he will impart now that his uncle is no longer able to rein in his recklessness. And with the resurrection of the Order, I fear what he may unleash."
"Or what Johai may unleash if I do not stop him," I replied.
Chapter Twenty
DAMARA RETURNED WITH me to Jon's villa because she was eager to see Johai again. Johai was coming down the stairs when we arrived, and his eyes fell on me first and then onto Damara. His eyes widened, the only show of his surprise before he smoothed it over and took the remaining steps down to the main floor. Damara walked briskly over to him and threw her arms around him.
He was stiff in her embrace, but his expression softened, and I could see a hint of the affection the two of them shared. She grabbed at his braid and tutted. "This c
olor does not suit you at all." She smiled, and Johai smiled down at her.
"It has been a long time," Johai said, and he stepped out of reach with his arms over his chest.
She looked him up and down. "It is so good to see the two of you whole and hale." She grabbed my hand and squeezed. "I prayed every night the goddess would keep you safe. It does my heart good to know you both are well. Now if only I could reach my son."
It had been my word that had led to Damara's exile from Neaux and from her son, Layton. She must have seen my expression because she squeezed my hand again and said, "Do not blame yourself, Maea. It was my choices along with your word that resigned me to this fate."
I nodded and smiled for show, but with everything I had discovered as of late, I was not feeling optimistic.
"Do my eyes deceive me, or is the infamous Damara Florett standing in my foyer?" Jon entered from the parlor. He stood with his hands on hips, regarding our party.
Damara turned to face him, and the easy smile had been wiped away, and in its place her brows were tilted inward and she had her hands on hips.
"Duke Sixton, I heard you were in Sanore."
He laughed and leaned against the doorframe. "You should know; you were the one that convinced the countess to come back to court, and you were the one that supplied her with the serum you planned to use to get Danhadine secrets from me."
They stared at one another, neither moving nor denying the allegations. Damara was the one to break the silence.
"I know Maea trusts you, but I do not. I know who you work for, and I know what ends they seek. You may pretend to be amiable, but you are a snake in the grass. Nothing can change that."
"I am wounded, your grace." He pressed his hand to his chest and pretended to stumble over.
She huffed. I decided now was a good time to interject. "There is much we need to talk about and share, I think. Perhaps we should adjourn to the study?"
After a few more moments of silent posturing, everyone agreed, and we went upstairs to the study. Damara then recounted her experiences in Neaux to the group once more. She went into detail about their journey from Keisan. At the onset, she had been Duchess Florett, but by the time they reached Sanore, word of her alleged treason had travelled before them. She and Hilliard assumed the roles of commoners looking for work in Sanore. She went to the home of her long-time friend Countess Lorelle and begged for her assistance, and so their plot was hatched. Damara had posed as a lady's maid in order to infiltrate Neaux society without suspicion. Jon had been right; Damara begged the countess to return to Sanore and pretend to be a gossiping courtier in order to glean information about Princess Sarelle's death. What I wondered was how he knew? What network of information did he have that he had not shared with me? I was beginning to trust him, but this news made me wary.
"Servants talk just as their masters do." Damara smiled as she explained. "I learned much about the noble class in Sanore but little of Sarelle's death. What I managed to find was this." She extracted a letter from her bodice and read it aloud. "The plans have been made. On the eve of our wedding, I will lead R into the bedchambers wherein you shall be waiting. Here is the first half of your payment in good faith. The rest shall follow once the deed is done." Damara lowered the parchment and looked about the room at us.
We were spread out in front of her. Jon in a high-back chair by the fire appeared relaxed; he had one foot hooked behind the other. Johai stood behind my chair, his arms folded over his chest. Damara was sitting in one of the chaises with Hilliard beside her. Beau waited by the door, for all appearances disinterested in Damara's tale. I could see, however, how his head was tilted just enough that he could see everyone around the room without turning his head, and his posture, though relaxed, gave him easy access to his blade. He is on edge and maybe rightly so. Though everyone appeared to be working together, tension crackled beneath the surface.
"I can confirm Princess Arlene's account," Damara said. "Princess Sarelle planned to murder Prince Reynard; I can only assume at Adair's request."
"Well, of course it was Adair. He needed to stop the marriage somehow. How else would he secure his own marital alliance with Sabine," Jon replied.
"Then why would Adair order Prince Reynard's death with one breath and then make him a member of the Order with the next? Not to mention the Danhadine soldiers he gave to the prince to command in the fight against the Biski," I asked no one in particular.
"His plans changed," Hilliard said. "His initial tactic failed with Sarelle's death. So he made Prince Reynard an ally instead."
"How?" I asked.
"Mayhap it is the soldiers that are the answer," Damara said. "Attacks from the south threatened the borders. Adair offers more men to help defend and even gives Prince Reynard a position within the Order to strengthen their trust."
I nodded. It sounded reasonable, but something was missing. "What does Prince Reynard get from it other than soldiers, though? There has to be more."
"He gets an heir," Jon said. All eyes turned to him. He leaned over the arm of the chair and smiled. "You prophesized the coming of Sabine and Adair's son, the child of two crowns," he directed this at me. "Prince Reynard has never married. He has no heir, and a king without an heir risks losing his dynasty upon his death."
"It would bind our countries together even stronger than a marital alliance," Damara agreed, though she was frowning.
I, however, felt elated. At last the pieces were coming together. Even if I did not know how to stop them, at least I could see the bigger picture.
"If you knew about Adair's motives, why did you not share them before now?" Johai asked Jon.
Johai's scowl was fearsome to behold, and I thought of the night Johai had lifted Jon off of his feet with nothing but his powers. Jon did not seem to share the same memory, because he stared back at Johai with a cocky grin. I looked between the two of them and to Damara, Hilliard and Beau. All of them had the same wary expression. They didn't trust Jon. I did not before either, but he has proven to be true thus far.
"We've known from the start that Adair planned to conjoin the two nations," I said, hoping to ease some of the tension. "Jon is innocent of any concealment, surely."
I tried to meet Johai's gaze, but he looked away from me. Damara smiled at me, but it did not light her eyes as it should. They all doubted him despite my reassurance. They think I have been deceived just as Adair deceived me. But I would not be that foolish again. I could not. I looked at Jon. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say it could not be helped.
"We cannot discount Princess Arlene," Damara said, changing the subject. "She gave you information, to be certain, but that does not mean she is innocent. She has plausible motive that could have been manipulated to the Order's ends."
"Why would Adair choose Arlene? She does not have any power here?" Jon replied as if Damara's input was childish.
She did not seem fazed. "You do not see her as a threat because she is a woman. However, she is the sole speaker for King Reginald, and for every one of the ten council members that were slain, she has replaced them with her own men. She is cunning and not to be discounted. "
"Then she cannot be a member of the Order. Those men were members. Why would she kill them and replace them with new men?" I asked.
"I cannot say. She may very well not be of the Order, but I do not trust her just the same," Damara replied.
"What about the queen?" I suggested. "She does not seem troubled by her husband's illness, and Arlene has the lord of the privy seal spying on her for some reason. Not to mention the Danhadine soldiers that surround her; does that not strike you as odd?"
"She enjoys the attention she is afforded by having her husband bedridden," Jon remarked. "I do not think she is much for politicking. My suspicion is that Prince Reynard is trying to use her somehow, maybe her influence? She is very popular. Reynard controls the Danhadine soldiers in the palace, and if he has surrounded her with his men, I suspect it is to keep her from stepping ou
t of his command. What say you, Duchess Florett?" He tilted his head in her direction.
"She appears unaffected by her husband's condition for sure, but Jon is correct. She keeps herself separated from political matters. To put it bluntly, she is vain and self-indulgent. I would not worry about her. Arlene and Prince Reynard are the most likely culprits; they have the most to lose and to gain."
I felt foolish for approaching Princess Arlene when Damara was convinced she was against us. I warned her about her father's death. Was that a mistake? She knows who I really am, and she could use that against me. "Then we have returned to the princess," I said.
"It's clear we will need to keep a close eye on her movements. We know she wants to be queen. What we need to discover is to what lengths will she go to get the throne," Damara replied.
"What about these Biski tribesmen attacks? Do you think it is connected to Adair?" Jon asked.
"I was going to ask you as much," I said to him. "When I arrived at Keisan, the Biski had just attacked Blackthorn. It increased Adair's popularity greatly. Could it be that he orchestrated it somehow, to give Prince Reynard an edge?"
"Mayhap. If the Order had dealings with the Biski, I heard none of it. But if it were true, Duke Wodell would benefit greatly from such an arrangement. He received an increase in the allowance for his men-at-arms after that attack, I believe."
I stood up to pace the floor. "What if Adair convinced Duke Wodell to stage an attack, and with his gained popularity, he returned to Keisan and began garnering followers for the Order. Once they had collected enough influential members, they turned their sights to Neaux and Sabine. He sent agents to Neaux to have Sarelle killed and have his marriage to Sabine secured." When I finished speaking, I was standing in front of Damara.
"It is a sound theory, but Adair and Sarelle were very close before she was sent away. No matter how cold he is, I do not think he would have her killed," Damara said with a small frown.
I sighed. "Then why would the royal family risk killing Sarelle? What could they possibly gain?"
diviners curse Page 24
