WAIT FOR LOVE (Lovemark #4)

4. Olivander-2

“Right.” Nodding as if he understood and agreed with my actions, the king threw me for a loop when he next asked, “So when again did you learn about Everett’s demise?”

Shit.

I paused, trying to remember what I’d said in my original report to Illwyn about Everett.

Quilla had actually been the one to tell Indigo and me that she’d originally been held prisoner by Indigo’s uncle, Everett, of House Teller. It was there she’d been tortured for weeks until her Graykey kin—disguised as the King of Lowden—had arrived and killed Everett so he could then take her as his own captive.

But I couldn’t make it seem as if I’d willingly and platonically spoken to a Graykey woman to get that kind of information, so I’m sure I had said Qualmer had been the one to confess his murder of Everett. Except I couldn’t recall if I’d had him announce his evil deeds in my fabricated version before or after—

Wait. It would make sense for him to say this after revealing his true self and being apprehended but before Quilla was discovered in the carriage. That way he could then confess that he actually had her in his possession, then Indigo would slay him in the heat of angered passion, and pandemonium would ensue.

Right.

Perfect.

Hoping my pause to think it all through hadn’t taken too suspiciously long, I sent my father a placid smile and said, “It was just after Indigo revealed the imposter’s identity and my guards seized him. Once he showed us who he really was, Indigo held a knife to his throat and demanded to know where his mate was. That’s when the Graykey man confessed that she was in the carriage and he’d just taken her from Master Teller, whom he had murdered.”

Muttering more expletives, my father shook his head and then bowed his face, murmuring a farewell to Everett, his loyal follower.

“It was then that Indigo sliced the Graykey’s throat and rushed toward the carriage to seek his mate. A moment of mad mayhem followed, and by the time we all had ourselves in order again, Indigo and his mate were gone.”

“And you have no idea where they are now?” my father asked, watching me closely.

A vision of the picture Dori had drawn earlier that was full of all the circles lined in a row entered my head.

Earth would be here in this solar system—the third planet from our sun—which is located on the Orion Spur spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

Assured that no one in all the Outer Realms, least of all me, knew where that was from here, I shook my head. “I have no idea whatsoever.”

“f**k,” the king hissed as he rocked back in his chair and looked down at the portion of steak he’d left uneaten. The fact that he hadn’t finished his meal let me know my account of what had happened truly bothered him.

I just hoped he was uneasy because his friend had been murdered, plus he needed to deal with finding a new leader for Lowden now and not because he thought I was lying to him.

With a sigh, he sat forward again. I held my breath, hoping he didn’t accuse me of treason.

“Well, I guess that’s that, then,” he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as he spoke.

If he did suspect any mistruth in my words, he had no facts to corroborate them, otherwise he would’ve said and done something about it by now.

So I decided I was safe for the time being, no matter what his intuition told him.

From his bed, one of the women cried out as if reaching the pinnacle of pleasure. We both glanced over, but I’m the only one who winced because she sounded a bit like a dying cat.

My father leered smugly, however. “I think that’s my cue telling me I’m needed elsewhere,” he announced and pushed to his feet, obviously finished with our conversation. “You’ll inform me immediately if you hear anything else about Indigo. Right?”

I stood too, bowing as I answered, “Of course.”

“Good.” Dismissing me, the king started toward the double doors that led into the room where the women waited, only to pull up short and snap his fingers. “Oh!”

He glanced back at me significantly. I kept my face placid even as I swallowed, certain he was going to reveal some evidence proving my story had been a massive lie.

But what he said was, “By the way, I thought it might interest you to hear I’ve appointed Xavier as the next King of Lowden since they’re lacking a leader over there yet again, and I’ve no interest in governing that cesspool myself.”

High Cliff had controlled Lowden ever since the Great Lowden War had ended six years earlier, but my father still allowed another crown to govern it as they saw fit, since he didn’t want to bother with it. As long as the other crown did nothing to go against High Cliff, that was, and he still profited from their taxes, he cared little about what they did.

I blinked, not fully understanding at first. Then I blurted, “You mean my cousin Xavier? Of House Kole?”

The king sent me a bored frown. “Do you know another Xavier?”

No. I didn’t. That’s why I was so surprised.

Xavier was a Lowden man, but more importantly, he was the son of my father’s younger half sister, Elda. And Father hated Aunt Elda.

He liked to blame her for the death of his mother, you see, even though she hadn’t even been conceived when my grandma Emily had perished.

Actually, it was probably Elda’s mother, Adeena—Xavier’s grandmother—that he blamed for Grandma Emily’s death, but honestly, it’d been Grandfather Ander who had slain his first queen when he’d found his one true love elsewhere in Adeena.

Except my father hated his sister anyway because their father had executed his mother in order to marry hers.

And since Father did so adore holding grudges down a family line, I was left taken aback to learn he would appoint Elda’s son as the ruler of anything.

But at least it was a good shock as I quite liked Xavier and felt he’d be a just, hard-working, and fair king that strove toward serving his people instead of expecting them to serve him.

“Well, good,” I said aloud, giving the king a nod of respect.

My father snorted. “As if I was looking for your approval.” Then he turned away, dismissing me for good this time as he strolled into the bedroom, already untying the sash to his dressing robe and shrugging it off his shoulders as he went.

I grimaced and jerked my gaze away at the unpleasant view that followed and took that as my cue to leave, posthaste.

Once I stepped into the hall, the guard who’d escorted me here, pushed away from the wall, immediately alert and prepared to return me to my quarters, but I waved him down.

“As you were. I can find my own way back, thanks.”

With a nod, he returned to leaning against the wall and allowed me to depart on my own.

I kept my head high as I strode down the hall back toward my private room. I turned a corner at the end and then another before I let out a short, shrill, but also relatively quiet whistle from between my teeth. Within seconds, I was joined by a man who appeared at my side without a greeting.

Saying nothing, he walked alongside me down a few more corridors.

I didn’t acknowledge him either. We simply strode forward together and turned another corner before he finally broke the silence.

“He must know you’re not telling him the complete truth,” Erick murmured, keeping his voice low as he continued to stare straight ahead.

“Of course, he does,” I hissed. Dammit. He wouldn’t have summoned me for a recount of the events unless he thought I’d lied to Illwyn. He had been hoping to catch me in a trap of my own making, I was sure of it.

But apparently. I’d passed the test.

For tonight.

So all he must have were assumptions that I was keeping something from him. It made me wonder what from my report to Illwyn had sounded so false, though. I’d paid all the guards who’d taken that trip with me half a year’s salary for their silence. But if one of them had talked, Father would’ve had actual proof of my lies and he would’ve done something about it just now. So it had to have been something else that smelled fishy to him.

Grinding my teeth, I thought of a whole new dilemma. “You don’t think he’ll try to use Unity to—”

“There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll use her to bend you to his will and force you to reveal everything. That’s what he does with my wife. Every time.”

No, my entire being growled savagely. Not my little girl. Not Unity. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.

Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to face my brother fully as fear and rage lacerated my chest.

Staring into his eyes, I said, “But you’ll—”

“Of course,” he assured, gripping my arms and nodding solemnly. “In fact, I’ve already sent some of the fastest riders I know to Tipton to secure her.”

Fear chilled my bones. “Your men?” I asked.

He sniffed and sent me an affronted roll of his eyes. “Of course not. None of my men can be trusted. I sent yours but made sure they wore my colors so Father wouldn’t be alerted.”

I hissed out a breath of relief, even though there was still plenty to worry about. “Thank God.”

Erick only scowled harder. “It still chafes that you can find such loyal men to serve you, and I cannot. I’ve lost count of the number of times my soldiers have reported my comings and goings back to Father behind my back.”

But I waved a hand, dismissing his jealousy. “Only because you’re much more talented at subterfuge than I am. They all think you’re too similar to him, so the truly decent knights aren’t aware they can actually trust you, and thus you end up with a crew that’s more loyal to the crown than they are you.”

Grumbling out his aggravation over that irritating fact, my brother shook his head. “Well, whatever the case, I’ve sent your men disguised as mine to fetch your Unity.”

“And they’ll take her elsewhere?” I insisted. “Somewhere safe?”

He inclined his head. “I’ve instructed them not to tell even me where she’ll be taken. And once this is over, you can just follow your mark to retrieve her.”

Thank God for the mark.

“I’ll need to send her a message to warn her,” I started, not wanting her to be frightened.

Except Erick was already shaking his head. “I’d advise against that. Not even a coded message is safe at this point. With Father on high alert as he is, he’ll take codes as a threat.”

Well, f**k. “Do you think he’s already sent men to fetch her?”

With a wince, my brother admitted, “Yes. Most likely.”

“But yours—er, mine—will reach her first?” I pressed, my voice going tight. “Right?”

His smile was weak. “Let’s hope so.”

I ground my teeth. “That’s not what I need to hear right now.”

Erick sighed. “Of course, brother. Our men will reach her first. Have faith.”

It was hard to believe him, though, especially when I’d seen my father triumph so many times.

“I just wish I could warn her somehow,” I started.

“I’ve already done so,” Erick announced. “So don’t worry. The moment I heard Father had summoned you to his bedchamber, I acted. I’ve sent your signet ring with your men to give to Unity as a sign of good faith when they arrive so she’ll be more apt to go with them.”