Chapter 206

Rarely did Kit’s cousin Avinia call her by her nickname, so this was her making a point. Kit didn’t want to see her leave. She was worried enough about Gy and Seph, now that she’d let her go. “Please stay. Or change into your regular clothing first so that if they see you, they will only question why you are up and not your motivation. When my mother realizes my father has gone missing, she will start asking questions. She will believe he could not possibly have gotten out of the castle unassisted. Did anyone see you and Cassius?”

“Only Fim who works in the stables.”

“Did my father leave the castle alone?” The thought of the duke, who was in his late fifties now, riding out on his own to some distant land, made Kit uneasy.

“Yes, but he didn’t have far to go to reach his first destination. He will have an escort after that.”

She shook her head. Still terrifying. “How will we know he’s made it?”

“I already know he’s made it. They sent an owl, a sign of safe passage.”

The princess swallowed hard, wishing she had her own glass of water. Deciding not to question how Avinia knew the owl was a sign and not just a bird in the night, she took a deep breath. “I’m asking you not to go, Cousin.”

With a deep sigh, Avinia replied, “Very well. I’ll just stay here with you and have a remarkable time.”

Kit assumed she was making a joke, but it wasn’t funny. She pressed her palm to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“Do you need anything?” Jate asked in her ear. “Is your head troubling you?”

“Just a bit.”

“We have some of that powder Armant recommends.” Isla was out of her chair, fetching it. She brought it, along with some water, and Kit swallowed it down, praying they’d hear something more soon—hopefully that Gy had been found unharmed. Avinia was sitting cross-legged in front of the fireplace, a position her split skirt allowed, and Kit hoped she hadn’t made her cousin too angry by not allowing her to leave, but she really didn’t need yet one more worry.

Later, a knock at the door had Kit’s heart pounding. She sat up suddenly, not even realizing she’d been dozing on Jate’s shoulder until the noise brought her back around. Avinia was already up and pulling the door open by the time Kit remembered what had already transpired.

Galter stood in the doorway, a worn look on his familiar face. Behind him, Kit saw a few of her guards but also Landon, Reeve, and Danyen. She stood and beckoned her current commander to come inside. He motioned for the rest of the detail to stay outside, but allowed her Representatives into what was now a crowded room.

He let out a long sigh, his head downcast, and shaking. Kit looked at her own men and read the same expressions in their eyes, though they weren’t quite as affected as the commander, and she assumed that was because they had not known Gy personally. When Galter spoke, his voice cracked. “Gy’s body has been found, Princess, still wrapped in the sheets from Eli’s bed.”

Even though she’d assumed as much, the revelation was still painful. The princess’s hands flew to her mouth, and she was thankful when Jate’s arm came around her shoulders. Tears stung her eyes, but she pushed them aside, not wanting to show any sort of weakness now if she could keep from it. “Where did you find him?”

Galter’s eyes were unsteady as he seemed to debate whether or not to disclose that information. Kit was about to insist when he began to speak. “It was far from the castle, Your Highness. We followed the trail for quite some time, through the woods north of Wrenbrook, past the road that turns off to head to the maze, and even further. Back there, the land turns to swamp, and it is muck and mire. Now that it is fall, it has dried up some, but it was still hard going.” He lifted his boot to show caked on dry mud, and she nodded.

“We came upon a large pile of fallen timber that seemed slightly out of place, though unless one were specifically looking for something out of the ordinary, one might not question it. Beyond that, there was a bog, and that’s where we discovered his body, wrapped in the bedclothes.”

Picturing the scene in her mind had bile rising in the back of her throat and a fire burning inside her gut. “Could you tell how he had been... ended?”

“Not precisely. There were marks on his neck, but it looked as if he’d been beaten severely as well. However, if they wound him up tight enough in the sheets and carried him that great of a distance, it could be he wasn’t able to get enough air.”

“What a miserable way to die.” Grief overcame Kit, and she could only imagine how Eli would feel when he heard the news. He would likely blame himself for allowing Gy to sleep in that room, knowing there was a possibility Rona may come after him.

Before she could fully process the news, Danyen spoke. “There are others.”

Kit’s eyes shot up from the spot on the floor where they had fallen. “What’s that, Danyen?”

He looked at the other men, none of which seemed confident that he was doing the right thing by disclosing this information, but Danyen was always one to be forthcoming, as far as Kit could tell. “There are other bodies out there. Many. We could see some of them easily from the shore as their limbs were sticking up from the water. But upon closer inspection, it seems their placement next to the shoreline may be due to... overpopulation.”

Kit’s eyes flickered back to Galter before they returned to Danyen. “Are you saying there are so many bodies in this bog, they’ve run out of room.”

“That is precisely what I am saying.”

Clutching her stomach, Kit took a deep breath, waiting for the wave of nausea to pass so that she could speak again. “I wish to see.”

Galter shot daggers at Danyen with his eyes. “Princess, it isn’t safe at all. It’s a long way out there, and it’s still dark.”

“Then get my horse. I want to see.”

“I knew you shouldn’t have said anything,” Landon muttered, but Danyen had done right by the princess, as far as Kit was concerned, even though she couldn’t blame Landon for not wanting her to trek out there in the middle of the night.

“All of you may accompany me, but I want to go this instant.”

“Very well,” Galter said, shaking his head as he gestured for the others to head out the door. Kit grabbed her crown from where it rested on a side table next to the settee and straightened it on her head. So much for being discreet. If her mother could sneak into her Representatives’ Rooms in the middle of the night and whisk them away to death and destruction, then Kit could very well respond by showing her that her power was not absolute. If the princess had any say, Rona’s reign would soon be dissolved completely.