Sapphire, then. He would track down Grizande and see what she had to say about her and Zoey’s adventure.
He and his men strode through the corridors until they reached the main library. As they approached, a door opened, and Daemonar heard Azara say, “The rest of you stay here and continue working. I’ll be back shortly.”
Azara and Grizande stepped out of the library. Azara looked uncertain about finding three Warlord Princes standing in her way. Grizande looked pleased.
“Found you,” Grizande said.
He didn’t point out that he’d tracked her down. “Trouble?” When she moved away from the others, he did too.
“Kathlene Queen needs escort to Queen’s square. Felisha Queen too. I escort Azara Queen.”
Daemonar tapped her shoulder. “If you’re going to be Azara’s sword and shield, you’d better shield as if you’re going into a fight. If you don’t, Lucivar will have some things to say to you about protecting yourself so that you’re prepared to protect someone else.”
“He would growl at me?”
“Ooooh, yeah. You could call it that.”
He watched her form a Sapphire shield as snug as a second skin, then form another one a finger length away from her body. He nodded approval. Then he leaned as close as he could without hitting her shields and said quietly, “Stay alert. You can trust the Warlord Princes here. Also Holt, Beale, Raine, Mikal, and Weston. Whatever is going on, they aren’t part of it.”
She frowned. “No females?”
He wondered if she would have asked that question a short time ago, or if she would have assumed no females could be trusted—except Black Widows. “You can trust Titian and Jhett. Brenda, Helene, Nadene, among the adult females, although I don’t think they would be much help in a fight. Afterward, sure, but not during an attack. Mrs. Beale?” He shuddered. “Let’s hope Mrs. Beale doesn’t need to enter the fight. And you can trust all the kindred living at the Hall.”
Grizande nodded.
“Come on. Let’s get this done.”
It didn’t take long to fetch Kathlene, telling the overly curious that she was helping Daemonar with an assignment for escorts. He and Kathlene headed for the part of the Hall where Felisha was supposed to be working, but they met up with Raeth, Trent, and Liath, who were already herding the other Queen toward the meeting.
Raeth looked at Daemonar. *I tried to tell Liath that we were supposed to wait for you because we weren’t the assigned escorts, and he growled at me. I wasn’t going to argue with him after that.*
*Smart choice, since he wears the Green.*
*I was thinking more about his teeth.*
They moved quickly, Liath in the lead, with Warlord Princes on either side of Kathlene and Felisha, while Daemonar covered their backs.
They turned into the last corridor before reaching the square and found an obstacle that stopped all of them—even Liath—in their tracks. Lucivar Yaslana, holding an Eyrien war blade.
The Demon Prince studied their formation around the Queens, nodded his approval, and stepped aside.
“Grizande?” Daemonar asked as he passed his father.
Lucivar’s lips twitched. “Already here. But considering the way the young Queen was panting by the time she and Grizande reached the square, I think Azara needs more time exercising if she’s going to keep up with your Tigre sister.”
He didn’t disagree with his father’s use of the word “sister.” In his own mind, Grizande had become family.
“Place your men, one on each side of the square,” Lucivar said. “You should stay in motion, checking on them. I’ll go downstairs and patrol those corridors with Liath.”
“You’re really expecting trouble?”
“Not serious trouble. But as a training exercise, you all need to learn that no entry means no entry—even when the person asking is a pretty girl.”
Daemonar snorted. “I already know that.”
“Yes, you do. Do those boys?” Lucivar turned away, then hesitated. “Keep it sharp, boyo. No matter how this turns out, not everyone is going to survive.”
Lucivar walked away, followed by Liath moments later.
Not everyone was going to survive. What had Uncle Daemon discovered that meant it was going to come to that?
SIXTY-NINE
Bracketed by Jhett and Arlene, Zoey waited for the other Queens to arrive.
Azara arrived first, red faced and sweaty. Grizande looked invigorated.
Not being a Sceltie, at least Grizande didn’t nip to encourage her sheep to hurry up.
Kathlene and Felisha entered the social room together.
“I thought this meeting was only for the Queens,” Felisha said, looking a bit put out.
“Jhett and Arlene are part of this,” Zoey replied.
“Then Titian should be here too,” Kathlene said. “I’m sure she’s part of this—whatever this is.”
Before Zoey could think of a reply, Titian hurried into the social room, then stopped when she saw the other girls.
“Holt escorted me here,” Titian explained. “Said my presence was required. I expected to get a scold from my father.”
Kathlene looked at Zoey. “You weren’t sick, so where were you that everyone covered for you?”
Zoey swallowed hard. “Grizande drove the Coach, and we went to the Keep so that I could talk to Witch and ask her advice.”
The other Queens stared at her.
“What did she say?” Kathlene finally asked.
Zoey breathed in, breathed out. “What is the Queen’s purpose?” She waited.
“To be the moral center of her court and, by extension, all the people in her territory,” Kathlene replied.
“What is the Queen’s duty?”
“To rule with honor, strength, and compassion because her will is the law. To protect her court so that they, in turn, can protect the rest of her people,” Felisha replied.
Zoey asked the last question. “What is the Queen’s price?”
They stared at her just as she had stared at Witch, so she answered the question. “To stand against what you know is wrong, no matter who gives the command. To stand and fight, no matter the cost to your court or to you. Especially to you.”
“Prince Sadi is disappointed in us,” Titian said quietly. “We’re here so that he can protect us the same way his father protected Witch and her friends, but we didn’t go to him when that first extra order was added to the assignments.”
“Giving that order was wrong, but it seemed so . . . trivial,” Azara protested.
Zoey shivered, remembering the disappointment in Witch’s eyes. “Witch said there are no small wrongs when you’re a Queen, because that’s how the taint begins.”
“What do we do?” Felisha asked.
Kathlene looked at Zoey, then at Titian. “I didn’t burn today’s assignment. I believe Titian took it to Prince Sadi.”
Titian nodded.
“Why did you do that? We’ll be punished!” Azara cried.
“Then we’ll pay that price,” Kathlene replied, sounding firm. “And we’ll offer to help him find out who was slipping those extra orders into the envelope meant for whichever of us was the Territory Queen that day.”
“He already knows,” Jhett said. “Cara is the one who was slipping the paper into the envelopes, but I think the orders were coming from Dinah or one of her other friends. The Prince used a summoning spell to connect the extra orders with a letter that had arrived for Cara.” She looked at Kathlene, then at the rest of the girls. “Today the Queens were supposed to order three of their people to whip three people in a lesser Queen’s court—using a riding crop.”
Zoey gasped. How had it gone from a hand slap to a whipping so fast?
Kathlene brushed the sleeve of her shirt. “I’m Territory Queen today, so I’ll request a meeting with Prince Sadi and tell him what we know. Yes, I’m aware he already knows this—and probably knows more than we do—but I think it’s important that I report to him.” She hesitated, then pulled her shoulders back. “And I will request that Cara be expelled for her part in this . . . treachery . . . for the well-being of everyone else residing at the Hall.”