Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(18)

The prince’s mouth tugged in an uncertain line, but he didn’t voice his doubts aloud. Instead, Darren twisted the door’s knob, waiting as two of our guards brought the first man forward.

Sir Gavin entered the prison chamber.

And so our investigations began.



*

The first two hours were the longest. A squad leader was the person most likely to take note of his men, and Darren pressed every bit of that advantage. Fortunately, from his line of questioning—like his shared confidence with Commander Nyx—I could see that Darren didn’t entertain any suspicion of the leader. Most of that time was spent learning about the squad itself.

Sir Gavin presented all of his answers with ease, and why wouldn’t he? As head recruiter, the man had spend a good many years lying to most of his squad. He hadn’t “noticed any suspicious activity” and he was “very concerned with the possibility of rebels in the keep.” He was even so bold as to redirect Darren’s attention to me. With a serious gleam he noted, “Your wife was a part of my squad. Were any of my own rebels, they would have pressed that advantage, no?”

Darren frowned. “If the rebels stationed recruiters in the keep, perhaps one or two working alone, they might have considered an attack too revealing.”

The commander blinked, startled that the prince wasn’t so easily swayed.

Even though I didn’t want him to discover the truth, I swelled with a bit of pride. My husband was nobody’s fool.

“It is possible, I suppose.” Sir Gavin paused. “What do you think, Ryiah? Did you notice anything suspicious?”

“I believe my questions are for you, not my wife.” Darren sounded just the slightest bit irritable. “Any concerns Ryiah had would have been reported long ago.”

“True.” The squad leader was back to nodding right along. The remainder of his time was spent detailing the last five years of his unit’s patrols and detailing the behaviors of the names and backgrounds Darren had picked out of the pile. By the time they were finished, both Gavin and Darren were on a first-name basis.

The knight was shaking the prince’s hand as he left, promising to report anything unusual in the days to come.

As soon as the knight had exited the dungeon, Darren turned to me. “What do you think?”

“About Sir Gavin?”

“About his men. Do you think he could have missed something because he is too close to his squad?”

Like you are to me? “Gavin is a good leader. I answered to Lief, but Sir Gavin was very aware of all of our squad’s goings-on, even the mages. I think he would have noticed if something was awry.”

Darren nodded absentmindedly. “I feel the same. A shame we still have to question all of his men. Twenty squads is going to make for exhausting work.”

“You would always wonder if you didn’t.” I walked toward the door as Darren returned to his pile of papers, sorting through the names. “Who would you like me to call next?”

The prince frowned at his scrolls and then sighed. “I don’t suppose it matters much, does it? I’ll see them all eventually. Send Ian in. The sooner we question him, the sooner I don’t have to think about him waiting outside that door.”

Might as well get it over with. I opened the door and called out Ian’s name, watching as Paige and Henry escorted my friend.

The brawny mage stepped forward, and I ducked my head, avoiding Ian’s gaze as he stepped past to come face to face with his former adversary.

For a moment, there was no sound. A quill could have dropped to the floor, and it would have made more noise than the two young men in front of me. I shut the chamber door, and the thud of heavy wood slamming against stone was enough to break the silence.

“Your Highness.”

Darren raised a brow. “After all these years, you finally use the title.”

Ian managed a slight grin. “‘Darren,’ it is.”

“I would say it’s good to see you,” the prince’s lip twitched, “but we both know that would be a lie.”

“And I would never want you to lie.” Ian folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his grin widening. “Let me guess, you think I’m a rebel?”

“Hardly.” The prince gave the mage a smirk. “Ian the villain? That would make my job too easy.”

I coughed uncomfortably. “Darren and I are only doing this to see if you noticed anything suspicious among the men.”

Ian glanced at me, and his eyes spoke the questions he dared not voice aloud. “I haven’t, and you know I grew up here. The keep’s men are hardly the kind to betray the Crown—that’s the southerners, no?”

“We think the rebels reside north.” I made myself look him directly in the eyes, conveying a silent message as I did. Don’t give anything away. “We aren’t certain, but the southern attacks could be a trick. Perhaps the rebels’ base is somewhere along the border, and they are recruiting from the keep.”

“I find it hard to believe a single one hides among us.” His eyes were asking questions in return. How much does Darren suspect? Do you understand what risks you are taking in bringing him here? The risks you are putting everyone through? And perhaps the hardest to ask: Do you forgive me for your brother and the lies?

“I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t try.” Darren’s voice was incredulous, and I watched Ian cringe. The prince was so, so close. He, like the rest of the king’s board of advisors, only believed the rebels to be two hundred at most. Nowhere near the size of the keep, give or take a hundred permanently stationed south.