Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords #3)(72)

“I seen heaps, girly.” He jerks his thumb at Blaine. “This guy’s got a finger in everything from the whorehouses, to the pit fights, to the hounds.” Ice draws a rolled paper from his tunic as he speaks. “The barrack member named Hale is his main lapdog, and all Hale’s fighters are neck-deep in the crime throughout the Outer Rings.” He twists around to speak to those behind him. “Want to rape someone? Or cut someone? Hale’s the man to go to. In the two weeks I’ve had ‘em watched, Blaine and Hale met once. Rest of the time, Blaine’s lackeys met with Hale and then reported back to him. I’ve also seen him in Hale’s company three other times in the pits. Frost has too.”

“Who was the other person who met with Hale?” I ask.

“Him,” Ice says, pointing at Sole. The entire room stares at the timid man standing beside Macy.

“Thank you, Ice,” I say. Hope takes hold in my gut. The odds are stacking against the greasy delegate.

“Nope. I got this here as well.” Ice waves the rolled paper. “I’ve only had a couple of weeks, so I’m sure there’s more. But there are five weapon caches my team has found in the First, Second, and Sixth.” He unrolls the paper and slaps it down in front of Jovan, who views it with clenched fists.

I can venture a guess the king’s finally seeing the truth, and that the truth makes him feel like a fool. The part of me which views his behavior as a betrayal says it serves him right. If he’d just listened to me, we could’ve resolved this privately, without the audience. The rest of me mourns the fact that Blaine’s guilt will reinforce Jovan’s deepest fear that everyone he cares for will eventually be taken from him.

“What is in these stores?” the king asks through clenched teeth.

“Everything you’d need to defeat an army like yours, I’d say,” Ice replies.

Several of the advisors stand to look at the maps. I’m curious myself to see their location, as Ice hadn’t told me of this discovery.

Blaine doesn’t move. He doesn’t say a word.

“Sole,” I call. The advisors scurry back to their seats, eager for the last witness. The high energy that’s kept me going is starting to flag.

Sole hurries to take the seat in the middle of the room. I roll my eyes at his guilty demeanor.

“Sole, as Ice stated, you have been working on Blaine’s behalf. Can you tell us how long you’ve done this?” I ask.

“Fifteen years,” he says quietly, head down.

“Why have you done such a thing?” I ask, voice neutral.

“H-he threatened my sister. Said he’d break every bone in her body,” he says, trembling.

“Did he ever make good on these threats?” I ask flatly. He nods frantically.

“I refused to search the king’s rooms for messages from the Tatum.” He rushes and pulls up short, giving a quick peek over his shoulder. “That’s when Macy had her fourth miscarriage,” he chokes, visibly crumpling. This man has nothing left.

I lay a hand on his shoulder. “You have been oppressed for too long, controlled by fear for someone you love more than your own life,” I say softly and he lifts his head. “Tell us, Sole. What does Blaine want?” I ask.

“W-what he’s always wanted,” Sole says, wiping his nose on his tunic. He looks around as though waiting for us to realize the obvious. I suppose it is obvious to him after fifteen years.

“To be king,” he clarifies.

I question Sole for an hour. Much of it, I already know. Sole’s information is detailed, with names, dates, locations, and numbers. The king takes over partway through. It’s the sign I’ve been waiting for, that he believes me. The sound has steadily disappeared in the last couple of hours as the heaviness of Blaine’s doom becomes impossible to ignore. Jovan’s final question silences the room.

“Why, after all this time, when you could have gone to my father or come to me, have you decided to speak up?” the King asks Sole.

Sole gives me a wide-eyed glance and then settles his gaze at the king’s feet. “Well, you k-know this already. The Tatuma saved me from death on the Great Stairway. She broke her wrist and dislocated her shoulder.” He shudders. “I told her then that I was in her debt. She called me aside several days ago and told me this is what she wanted me to do to repay her.” He ducks his head. “The weight of this has been crushing me for so long, all I felt was relief at her request.” He stands and bows. “I would’ve come to you, my king, but Blaine watched me very closely around you. I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed, but there has been only one opportunity in the four years of your kingship for me to speak to you in private. It was when you interrogated each delegate after Prince Kedrick’s death. And Blaine warned he would be holding a knife to Macy’s throat in case I made the wrong choice. Blaine was so close to the previous king, I knew you’d have no cause to believe me,” the delegate says. Jovan’s head turns my way briefly. “I guess it became more habit than anything else. This fear is all I have known for so long. It stopped occurring to me to try,” Sole finishes.

The silence is absolute.

“You have no proof!” hisses Blaine. “You have the cheap words of a weak-willed man, a couple of whores, and a man who cheats on his wife. And this Outer Rings scum,” he spits at the barracks. I raise my eyebrows, but remain quiet. He’s showing his true colors. I’m not going to stop him.