Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(84)

He reluctantly nodded, ceding to my wishes, but more worry sparked in his eyes. We all knew how dangerous this was, but it was the only way I could think of to weaken Maximus. I had to disrupt and sabotage his plans, just like Xenia had taught me. I had to protect my kingdom above all else, even my burning desire to kill the king.

“I want to congratulate Paloma on her win,” I said in a loud voice for the benefit of anyone listening. “Serilda, follow me.”

Serilda bowed her head and fell in step beside me. Together, the two of us crossed the terrace.

Our route took us past Maximus, who eyed me. But another Mortan was getting ready to fight, so he turned his attention back to the arena floor. Of course he did. Watching his gladiator advance in the tournament was far more important than whatever I might be up to. But his dismissiveness worked in my favor, and Serilda and I left the terrace without any interference.

We quickly made our way down the steps, then walked through one of the archways and back out onto the plaza. More people were moving through the area than before, but a large crowd was gathered in front of a nearby archway, and shouts rang through the air.

“Paloma! Paloma, sign my banner!”

“No! Sign my banner!”

“Paloma! You’re the greatest gladiator ever!”

I caught a glimpse of my friend standing in the center of the crush of people, smiling and signing autographs. She was playing her part perfectly, and now it was time for Serilda and me to do the same.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We both stepped forward, but someone glided in front of me, blocking my path.

Maeven.

She had been on the royal terrace when Serilda and I had left, and she must have had to hustle to catch us. I wondered if Maximus had sent her or if she had sought me out on her own.

“Everleigh,” Maeven said in a cold, if somewhat civil voice. “A word, please.”

“At last,” I drawled. “She speaks. Did you know that’s the first thing I’ve heard you say during the entire Regalia? I was beginning to think that Maximus had cut out your tongue.”

Anger sparked in her amethyst eyes, but she didn’t respond to my insult. Instead, she whirled around and stepped into the shadows of a nearby archway, apparently wanting some privacy. She must have come here on her own, rather than on her brother’s orders.

Serilda’s hand curled around her sword hilt, but I shook my head. Maeven wasn’t foolish enough to try to kill me here, with so many other people around to see her do it and Serilda just itching to cut her down.

So I stepped into the archway and faced the other woman. Maeven glanced over at Serilda, who gave her a flat look and kept her hand on her sword. She wasn’t going anywhere, so Maeven looked at me again.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.

“Well, I was going to congratulate my friend on her victory. Until you so rudely interrupted me.”

“My son,” she hissed again. “What do you think you’re doing with my son?”

“Nothing much,” I replied in a dry tone. “Just saving him from being assassinated.”

“What are you talking about? He was supposed to kill—” She bit back the you dangling on the end of her tongue.

“So you knew that Maximus sent Leonidas off to die last night.” I shook my head. “And here I thought you actually loved your son. My mistake.”

Maeven’s lips pinched together into a hard, thin line. “My son is a fine warrior. Maximus didn’t send him off to die.”

“Oh, yes, he did,” I snapped. “Leonidas might know how to fight, but I’ve spent just about every single day of the past year battling for my life. Who did you think was going to win?”

She didn’t respond, which was answer enough.

“Besides, Leonidas told me that you weren’t even there when Maximus and Mercer gave him the order, and I’m betting that you didn’t even realize he had been escorted out of the Mortan camp until it was too late.”

Agreement flickered across her face before she could hide it. So far, I hadn’t had a chance to implement the third part of my Regalia plan and manipulate Maeven, but this was the perfect opportunity to continue my long game with her, the one she still didn’t seem to realize we were playing.

“I’ve been watching you during the Regalia. All this time, all these months we’ve been battling one another, I thought you were this great leader, this important Morricone royal, but that’s not the case, is it?” I said in a mocking voice. “You just follow your brother around and do whatever he says, along with Mercer and Nox.”

“Maximus is the king,” she replied in a cold, flat voice.

I snorted. “King? More like a bloody dictator. A king listens to his advisors, but not Maximus. He never listens to you. Why, he’s barely even looked at you during the Regalia. I bet that he just orders you around, along with the other members of your Bastard Brigade. Funny, how I haven’t seen any of them at the Regalia, just you and Leonidas.”

I paused, hoping Maeven might say something reckless and give me a clue as to the location of the other members of the Bastard Brigade. She remained silent, so I continued with my taunts.

“You probably had to leave your bastard cousins back home in Morta. Or perhaps they’re out on other missions, spying, thieving, and killing. Either way, Maximus didn’t think they were worth bringing here. Why, I’m surprised that he brought you.”