“Where is it?” he spat, his spittle flying in my face. Ronad tried to step between us, but Jareth shoved him squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling through the door of a storage closet. I heard a clatter before Jareth turned the lock, trapping Ronad inside.
“Where’s what?” I countered, heart hammering in my throat as Ronad slammed on the door.
A cold sneer curled up the corners of Jareth’s mouth. “Don’t play coy, Riley! Where’s the comm device? What have you done with it?”
So, he’d figured out it was missing. I thought about telling him that I had it on me, tucked into my waistband, but right now we had bigger things to worry about. He had bigger things to worry about. Mort hadn’t specifically said when Gianne was arriving, but it could be any moment.
“Never mind that, Jareth. You’re in danger,” I began to say, but his hand slid around my throat, squeezing my windpipe, stopping the words dead.
“Where is it?” Jareth raged, gripping harder.
I could feel my eyes bulging, my throat closing. “Gianne… is… coming,” I croaked.
“Another sly tactic from your box of wily tricks! You can’t fool me, Riley. I know you’re a deceitful creature, intent on destroying my family,” he hissed.
Black spots appeared in my vision. “Gianne… is coming. Navan, too. Hide… me… and Ronad. Hide… the truth!”
I glanced at the storage closet. At least Ronad was safely out of the way, but I was still out in the open. I couldn’t be here when Gianne arrived, yet Jareth was forcing me to be. I thrashed against him, trying to break free, but his grip was too strong.
“What have you done with it? Have you seen what’s on it? Have you told anyone?” Jareth barked, throttling me, shaking my body like a ragdoll. My consciousness was slipping away, but I held on. I needed to get through to him.
“Gianne… doubts… you.”
He released me suddenly, throwing me backward. I sank to the floor, clutching at my throat, dragging air into my lungs. A second later, a shadow stretched across me, and I braced for the impact of his angry grip.
“Get up!” he spat.
As I rose to my feet, a knock at the door thundered through the house—an ominous percussion, signaling the arrival of an unknown visitor. Was it Navan or Gianne? I wanted to believe it was good news, but I couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach.
Chapter Nineteen
“Here,” I gasped, pulling out the silver box and handing it to Jareth. “Get rid of it… before she sees what’s… on it.”
Jareth eyed me suspiciously but took the comm device anyway. As his hands danced across the controls, presumably deleting any evidence, he gestured to the hallway behind me. “If you head down that corridor and follow it all the way to the basement, you’ll find a wardrobe at the back, covered in a sheet. If you open the—”
I stopped him. “I know where the escape tunnels are.”
“How?” he spat, his eyes narrowing to almost-reptilian slits.
“That doesn’t matter now. If that’s… Gianne… you don’t want to keep her waiting!” I urged, catching my ragged breath. As if to back me up, a second knock boomed through the entrance hall. “Will Ronad be okay?”
I knew he was better off hidden in a closet, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. I wasn’t sure if Gianne had ever come across him before, but his lack of gray skin would definitely make him stand out. With all the paranoia racing through her head, she was bound to fixate on every little peculiarity.
Jareth shook his head confidently. “She won’t search the house. Even if she does, she won’t think anything of me keeping a slave in the closet to clean up after us. She knows I’m a busy man,” he explained rapidly. “You, however, are wanted for treason. If she finds you, we’re both done for. Now go, before she breaks the damn thing down!” A third knock punctuated his remark, sending a shiver of fear up my spine.
Without another word, I crawled away, heading for the escape tunnels. However, I couldn’t help pausing at the far end of the hallway to make sure I was hiding for a good reason. If it was Navan, or even Mort, come back to tell me something else disguised as Doctor Ulani, there would be no need for me to hide.
Tucking myself into the shadows, promising to only look for a moment, I watched with bated breath as Jareth walked to the front door and opened it wide. Two figures stood on the doorstep.
Queen Gianne had arrived, and Aurelius was at her side.
I took off through the ground floor labyrinth, not stopping until I reached the covered wardrobe at the back of the basement. Yanking it open, I jumped inside and closed the door firmly behind me. After opening the series of panels and doorways, I found myself in the relative sanctuary of the escape tunnels, with three options before me. First, I could hide in the passageway itself, until Gianne left. Second, I could go to the alchemy lab and hide under the cupboard, the way I’d done when Mort had appeared. Third, I could sneak up to Lorela’s room and hide in there. After all, nobody would be crazy enough to check under the bed of a desperately ill woman. Plus, since the queen was here under the pretense of visiting Lorela, I could eavesdrop on her conversation with Jareth, in case Gianne revealed any useful information. It would be easy enough to slip back down into the tunnel and escape.
Deciding on the latter, I sprinted through the hot, dusty tunnel until I reached the right set of stairs. Flipping the latch, I carefully clambered up and stuck my head through, settling on a halfway approach instead. If someone did look under the bed, I could duck down at the last minute and put the panel back in place.
I heard people approaching. There were three of them—Jareth, Aurelius, and Queen Gianne. I could only imagine the panic Jareth was experiencing, having his business partner and his boss in the same place, at the same time, not knowing who knew what. I barely had any sympathy for Jareth, or the choices he was making, but even I felt a twinge of concern for the guy. After all, the reasoning behind his decision wasn’t ridiculous; it was the person who had been chosen to take Gianne’s place that was ridiculous.
Gianne’s voice cut through me like a knife. “You’ve been avoiding me, Jareth.”
“No, Your Majesty, I swear I haven’t,” Jareth replied nervously. “My wife is very sick, and much of my time has been spent taking care of her.”
“If she is that sick, then what does she matter? You know we do not tolerate weakness, Jareth. Are you weak? Take her to the wastelands and be done with it.” I wasn’t even remotely shocked by the coldness in her voice. I was, however, stunned by the way Jareth held his ground.
“I am not weak, Your Majesty, but I care for my wife. I married Lorela, and I will not abandon her in a time of great need,” he insisted.
“Surely, your queen comes before everything else? You have been absent at the palace today. I cannot have such absences in my time of great need. If your loyalty is waning, you know what the price must be,” she said. “If your wife does not improve, then you will force my hand. I will do what you cannot, to ensure the full attention of my trusted advisor. There are so few left; I would not see you join those who adorn the spikes of my palace walls by defying me.”
“You have my unyielding loyalty, Your Majesty. I have been with you since your coronation, and I will not disappoint you.”
The queen snorted. “See that you do not. What’s wrong with her, anyway?”
“The doctors can’t quite tell, Your Majesty, though they believe it to be a virus that has infected her mind.” A loud bang vibrated through the floorboards, and I ducked into the safety of the trapdoor. “What’s going on, Your Majesty? What was that noise?”
“Do not fret, Jareth. My men are simply searching your property, to test the truth in your self-proclaimed loyalty. If you are not guilty, you have nothing to worry about.” I could hear the menace in her voice, challenging him to prove her wrong.
“I have nothing to hide, Your Majesty, though I wish you could have warned me so I might have brought you anything you required,
” he replied calmly. “You and I do not need to go through this rigmarole, surely?”
The queen’s footsteps drew closer to the bed. “Why should you be an exception?” she asked sharply. “So many others have betrayed me; why should you be any different? I will scour the entirety of the South, weeding out every single traitor, if I have to.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I only meant that I have nothing to hide from you, but I understand that you must see that for yourself, before you may put your mind at ease,” Jareth said soothingly. “It is not an easy task for any ruler to endure—the ongoing struggles of war, and what may come after. Indeed, I have heard that you are having difficulty sleeping at night. Perhaps you might allow me to concoct something for you, to help you drift off?”
I heard the sharp sound of a slap. Evidently, Queen Gianne didn’t approve of his suggestion. No doubt she already had someone checking everything she ingested, for fear of being poisoned.
“Who is whispering these words in your ears, Jareth? Who is feeding you these lies?” Gianne spat. “Are you calling me weak, Jareth? Do you believe me incapable of sleeping soundly, just because there’s a war going on? I don’t see the dead when I close my eyes. I don’t see anything. I sleep like a newborn!”
I covered my ears as her voice rose to an eardrum-splitting screech. I could hear every doubt, every insecurity, every fear in the high-pitched tremble of her words. And it was all too clear that she was seeing the dead when she closed her eyes. No wonder she was losing her sanity. If she was losing her temper at something as small as a suggestion about sleeping tonic, what hope was there for anything else?
“I’m not calling you weak, Your Majesty,” Jareth assured her. “I simply overheard you speaking with a doctor a few days ago and felt concerned for your wellbeing. I’m sorry if I got the wrong impression.”
“Which doctor?” she asked.
My eyes flew wide with fear. If Jareth accused Mort of the so-called crime, he’d never get out of the palace alive.
“I don’t remember, Your Majesty. I think you told him you were fine—it is definitely my mistake. Please, accept my sincerest apologies for jumping to conclusions,” he pleaded, his words offering me a shred of relief.
I tried to get a closer look at the door as more footsteps approached, distracting Jareth and the queen. Moving around to find a better angle, I saw two pairs of heavy boots—presumably belonging to Gianne’s guards—moving down the hallway, getting closer to the bedroom. Between them, they were dragging a prisoner. I didn’t even need to see his face to know they’d captured Ronad.
“Nothing to hide, eh?” Gianne snapped.
“It isn’t a crime to employ the labor of a former coldblood, Your Majesty,” Jareth countered. “He was given to me as a gift.”
My heart gripped in my chest as I saw Ronad lolling between the two soldiers. His nose was bloodied, and bruises were blossoming beneath his tanned skin. They’d beaten the crap out of him, knocking him unconscious so he couldn’t defend himself. Or Jareth, for that matter.
“I KNEW you were lying to me, Jareth Idrax!” Gianne screamed. “Don’t try and fool me with all of this ‘gift’ nonsense. He’s not a gift, and he’s not a slave. I know exactly what he is… He’s your test subject, isn’t he? He’s the one you’ve been trying out all your secret batches of elixir on! I am correct, am I not?” Her voice was deafening. Even the soldiers were grimacing.
“He is my servant, Your Majesty, nothing more,” Jareth insisted.
“Look at the state of him! You must have done something to him! I’ve seen former coldbloods before, but I’ve never seen one like this!”
“I promise you, Your Majesty, he was given to me like this. My only crime here is accepting a present from my son, though he gave this slave to me before he disappeared. And, while you might have labeled him a defector in the meantime, there is nothing traitorous about his gift.”
She stamped her foot. “Take me to your alchemy lab. I demand to see it! You expect me to believe this aberration is not a test subject? Well, I require proof!”
“Your Majesty, I have not worked in my lab for months. It is a dusty relic—more of a study than a working laboratory. I will take you there, if you absolutely must see within its walls, but you won’t find anything,” he said calmly, evidently trying to soothe the wild beast. Unfortunately for him, everything he said seemed to have the opposite effect on Queen Gianne.
“You sound very sure of yourself, Jareth. A little too sure, if you ask me,” she muttered icily. “You’ve hidden it all, haven’t you? Somebody tipped you off, and you’ve hidden all the evidence!”
“What evidence, Your Majesty?” Jareth was losing his temper. “I haven’t hidden anything related to the immortality elixir from you—in my lab, or anywhere else.”
“Curious wording, Jareth.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
I watched her feet move as she stormed right up to him, undoubtedly getting right in his face. “If you’re not hiding anything that has to do with the immortality elixir, then what are you hiding? I know there’s something you’re not telling me. I can feel it, dripping from the air.”
“Your Majesty, I—” Jareth began, but she cut him off.
“Aurelius, smother his wife!” Gianne growled. I stifled a gasp.
I’d almost forgotten the wormy half-winged advisor was there, he’d been so quiet. I supposed it made sense for him to keep his mouth shut, considering who else was in the room. Aurelius wasn’t the kind of guy who’d risk anything, unless it meant saving his own skin. Right now, that skin was on the line, if he made the wrong step. Although, how he’d managed to avoid suspicion was beyond me. Perhaps Gianne simply thought he was too weak to be of any threat, not realizing that was what made him so dangerous.
“What the—NO!” Jareth gasped, lurching forward, only to be held back by the two guards, who had roughly dropped Ronad to the ground.
“Tell me what you’re hiding, or I will have Aurelius crush the air out of your wife’s lungs!” Gianne screamed. “Well, what are you waiting for? Aurelius, pick up that pillow!”
I tried shifting around to get a better view of the room, but it was hard to do from underneath the bed. I presumed Aurelius had hesitated, not wanting to take a life, especially not one that belonged to his co-conspirator’s wife.
“Fine, if you won’t do it, I will!” she roared. “I am not a cowardly half-wing!”
“Your Majesty, I promise I am not hiding anything from you!” Jareth said desperately. “Please, do not harm my wife. I am begging you! I have nothing to hide. If you kill her, it will be for nothing!”
I knew he was between a rock and a hard place, but I cursed Jareth for being so stubborn. Lorela’s life was at stake, and Gianne wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. She’d kill Lorela without a moment’s regret, and we’d all have to live with the consequences.
It was Naya all over again, with him putting his own feelings ahead of the lives of others. He was lying to protect his reputation and his alchemical findings; he wasn’t lying to save anyone but himself. He would rather see the life squeezed out of his wife than out himself as a traitor to the queen. Confessing would mean his head, yes, but his family would live. He was the big fish she was after, and he was all that mattered.
I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t have Lorela’s death on my conscience. If Navan found out that I’d stayed under the bed and done nothing while his mother had been smothered to death, he’d never forgive me. Even if he were able to, I’d never forgive myself.
Lifting myself out of the trapdoor, I slithered across the floor beneath Lorela’s bed and emerged from my hiding place.
Chapter Twenty
Alarmed faces stared down at me as I got to my feet. Gianne was kneeling across the limp form of Lorela, pressing the pillow to her face. In her shock at the sight of me, she released her grip on the pillow. As it fell away, Lorela coughed loudly, wheezing as she recovered her breath. No
body ran to help her, and nobody seemed to care. Everyone’s attention was firmly on me.
I scanned the rest of the room, startled to find Mort standing in the hallway, in the guise of Doctor Ulani. He looked horrified by what I’d done, but what choice did I have? I’d done what was right, because Jareth wouldn’t. Ronad was still unconscious, his body splayed out on the ground.
The queen stared at me intently, her striking silver eyes narrowing. I could tell she was trying to place me. Sure enough, recognition dawned, Gianne’s eyebrows raising in surprise.
“You’re that little creature Navan had with him, aren’t you?” she whispered.
I nodded politely. “I’m part of the plan, Your Majesty.”
“The plan?” She shuffled off the edge of the bed and stood directly in front of me, more curious than suspicious.
“I’m bait, Your Majesty, to bring Navan back to your side of Vysanthe. This is his home, and this is where he belongs,” I explained, smiling sweetly. “Mr. Idrax only kept me a secret because he wanted to be sure Navan would take the bait. Mr. Idrax is eager to see him back here so you can pardon him, and he can marry his intended, Seraphina. He didn’t want to bother you with his family troubles until Navan had made it back safely.”
A gasp sounded from Aurelius’s turkey neck as his rheumy eyes turned toward Jareth with a look of hostile accusation. Clearly, he’d expected the marriage between Navan and Seraphina to be off, with Jareth allowing him to marry Seraphina instead. What he hadn’t taken into account was Jareth Idrax’s unyielding concern for his own reputation and status, above that of anyone else.
Haven’t you figured that out yet, you sick bastard? I thought.
As soon as Navan came back to the South and received his pardon, everything would go on as it had before. Despite the brief defection, the fact that Navan had been betrothed to Seraphina first still held a lawful sway. There was nothing Aurelius could do about it, though I couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to think that Jareth would just let him marry a woman who had been intended for his son.