“Your quick thinking saved the Prince. The Queen will be grateful.”
I nodded absentmindedly as I swam back and forth, not caring even a little about gratitude. Dane could have died. That magic blade had been far too close to a major artery for comfort.
“There is no doubt now. There is a plot to kill you,” Annaruth said, the worried look in her eyes belying the calm sound of her voice. She looked at me. “Both of you. We weren’t certain before, but there’s no denying it now.”
“Why Dane?”
“Perhaps they aren’t happy with the current state of things. They would expect him to follow in his mother’s footsteps in terms of foreign policy.”
“My mother will rule for years,” Dane said. “Centuries, most likely.”
“No one can predict that, Your Highness.”
He had nothing to say to that. I paused in my restless swimming.
“Well, that explains Dane, but I’m nobody special. At this point, I’m not sure I’ll even make it to graduation, let alone dry land,” I said, allowing myself a moment of wallowing over how badly I was doing in Combat.
Dane and Annaruth both gave me nearly identical looks of disbelief.
“Don’t be foolish, child,” she said, though not unkindly. She started pacing. “We knew there was a plot to keep you from marrying the Prince or have you removed as Spark, but to kill a Royal, let alone the heir to the throne . . . that is grave, indeed. They are far more brazen than we imagined.”
She stopped and stared at us both.
“Regardless of your position and abilities, I care about you both very much. I will not allow anyone to harm you!”
She wandered off, muttering to herself, and I looked at Dane. He was stretched on a couch in Annaruth’s massive chamber. It was actually several chambers connected by open doorways with only one entry to the Palace hallway. I could see a massive bed in an alcove to our left. There was an open door that I hadn’t noticed last time. Through it was a room lined with overstuffed bookshelves brimming with scrolls and magically spelled books. That was where Annaruth disappeared to.
“Are you all right?”
“Thanks to you, it was just a cut.”
I shivered.
“It was not just a cut. Does it hurt?”
He shrugged. I knew it had hurt. Thankfully, Annaruth was one of the best healers in the Kingdom. It was a rare skill, and having a friend with the ability was very lucky.
“It’s already healing.” He stared at me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. There was nothing wrong with the crabs.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Dane lay back again, but he watched me. Clearly, he was not satisfied with my answer.
“Thank Triton you weren’t in the mood for pie.”
I bit my lip. I wish I had chosen the pie. The thought of someone hurting Dane scared me in a way I would not have thought possible. Not just because he was the Prince, either.
“Did they search the rest of the pies?”
Dane nodded.
“Yes. There was nothing else.”
“It is weird that they would only choose one pie with all that food . . . unless they were interrupted?”
We looked at each other. My mouth opened and my eyes grew wide.
“Or it was spelled to find its way into your hand?”
Annaruth reappeared with a spell book.
“That’s precisely what I was thinking, Tri. Well done.”
I gave Dane a conspiratorial look.
“She’s never used my nickname before,” I whispered.
“Nicknames are for two-leggers and the common Mer,” she said, snapping the book shut. “You are neither.”
“Could this have to do with the black robes? They clearly have a very powerful magician in their ranks.”
“Black robes?”
“The secret meeting I saw . . .” I trailed off, still angry that I hadn’t been able to catch them again or save the messenger. Triton knew, I had looked to no avail. I woke up nearly every night to sneak around and look for Mers up to no good.
I hadn’t even been able to find their secret meeting place again. It must be spelled to be hidden, I thought as realization dawned. I might have swum right over it. If they weren’t entering or exiting, it might not be accessible from the seabed at all.
“In the cave?”
Annaruth was tapping her lip.
“It has to be. I knew there were factions within the nobility, maybe even the Royal family, but this is something else. This is treason. And if they want you both out of the picture . . .” she stared at me, her mind whirling. “It must be a plot to overthrow the crown. The entire Royal family.”
“Or maybe just one branch of it,” Dane said, a dark look on his face. “Maybe I have cousins who think they deserve more power.”
“I’m afraid to say that may very well be the case.”
I looked back and forth between them as it sank it. It might be one of Dane’s family members behind all of this. My heart sank for him when Annaruth nodded.
“You must move out of the barracks.”
“No,” we both blurted in unison. I gave him a sheepish look. But I meant it.
“Not without Tri,” he added.
“Don’t put this on me! That’s not fair!”
“You must take all of your meals in the Royal kitchens, although we cannot be too obvious about that either.” Her eyes lit up. “What if we create an illusion that you are in your cots and eating in the mess with the others?”
“Illusions?”
“Wraiths,” Annaruth clarified.
I stared at her in fascination.
“You can do that?”
“It’s hard but not impossible. The trick is to keep everyone from talking to them.”
“Why?”
“Because wraiths are mute.” She wrinkled her nose. “They are . . . lacking in charm and personality. Something you both have in abundance.”
Dane and I exchanged a look. I nodded.
“All right. I’m game if you are.”
“Anything to keep you from putting yourself in harm’s way,” Dane said. “You really do have a death wish.”
I rolled my eyes, but secretly, I was glad I didn’t have to go back.
“All right.” I chewed my lip. “I can’t believe we didn’t even last one night.”
Dane laughed.
“You’ll get over it when you’re in your bed tonight. It’s a lot softer than the cot, isn’t it?”
Well, he had a point there.
“It’s hard to argue with that.”