Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)(85)

“She was a Chambord, right?”

“Is a Chambord, yes,” Destin said. Granger had stumbled on the one topic that might get him killed, despite Destin’s best intentions.

“She’s still alive? I didn’t know that.”

“Yes. She is. She prefers to remain at her family’s estates in Tamron,” Destin said. “She and the general live apart.”

“His Majesty has invited Lord Chambord to come to court. Repeatedly.”

His Majesty’s invitations were more like orders—risky to disobey. But Destin’s uncle, his mother’s brother, had stayed in Tamron.

“Uncle Charles is devoted to my mother, and she is in delicate health,” Destin said. “As I’m sure he told the king when he sent his regrets.”

“People are saying that the Chambords are sympathetic to the rebellion,” Granger persisted. “And that’s why they are not at court.”

“Really? What people?” Destin said, his voice a river of ice. “Be specific, now.”

“I . . . ah . . . disremember,” Granger said, beating a hasty retreat. “So. All I’m saying is that you might be able to safeguard your future with the right marriage to someone willing to . . . overlook your baser proclivities.”

Proclivities, Destin thought. An oddly pretentious word for a gaoler. All in all, he was growing impatient with Granger and his volleys of verbal darts. Destin’s tolerance of fools went only so far.

“I think we agree that the king’s invitation to the families is gracious, and generous,” he said, forcing the conversation back where it belonged, “but I’m worried that this act of kindness might endanger the king’s agenda, and possibly his life.”

“You are?” Granger leaned forward, all ears. “Why is that? Are you questioning the king’s judgment?”

“Not at all,” Destin said. “I’m concerned that some of the thanelees might take the opportunity to embarrass King Jarat in front of his down-realm guests.”

“That’s no problem,” Granger said. “I’ll handle it. I’ll use the children as leverage.”

No, you will not, Destin thought.

“I will handle it,” Destin said, “but I will need your help. Queen Marina has asked me to accompany her into the—into their quarters. My role is to make the consequences of bad behavior plain. Her role will be to assess what is needed to make them ready for the reception. We believe that is the way to best assure their cooperation.”

“The queen?” Granger’s bluster faded a bit. “The queen—in the Pit? Absolutely not. That’s no place for a lady.”

“That’s just what I told Her Majesty, and she pointed out that there are at least a dozen ladies down there now—with their children. She is determined to go and invite them personally, then arrange for clothing, bathing, and so on. It would reflect badly on our king if they look as if they’ve spent months in a dungeon.”

The irony of this was, of course, lost on Granger. But the potential blowback from allowing the queen into his domain was not.

“I’ll—I’ll need a few days,” Granger muttered, visibly twitchy.

“We don’t have a few days,” Destin said. “The reception is a week away. We’re coming tomorrow. More importantly, I’ve received intelligence suggesting that the rebels are planning an attack on the capital while our down-realm visitors are here. They may intend to embarrass King Jarat—or they may intend to achieve through assassination what they haven’t done through force of arms.”

By now, Granger was looking a little ill, as if his hard-won role as gaoler and captain of the King’s Guard wasn’t sitting well. If King Jarat went down, he could expect no mercy from the thanes whose families he’d incarcerated.

Granger cleared his throat. “Isn’t it your job to prevent that?”

“It’s my job to alert the King’s Guard when the king may be in danger,” Destin said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. It’s the job of the King’s Guard to protect the royal family. Don’t worry, though. If anything happens, we’ll both be neck deep in it.”

“If we don’t know what’s going to happen, and when, then how are we supposed to—?”

“As I see it, the biggest point of vulnerability is during the reception, as the ballroom is outside the central keep. It was never meant to be a fortress. So. The king wants to fill out his guest list. The ladies will need someone to dance with. I want a squad of blackbirds in the ballroom. If anything happens, I want them to usher the royal family and the down-realm guests from the ballroom and into the keep. Keep them there until I give the all clear.”

“What about the hostages—I mean, the thanes’ families?” Granger said.

“In the event of an attack, we’ll want to segregate them from the down-realm barons and the royal family,” Destin said. “I plan to take them to Newgate and secure them there until the danger is over.”

“Ah,” Granger said, nodding, avoiding eye contact. “That sounds like a good plan.” His expression had shifted from panicked to calculating, and Destin knew he was considering how to turn the situation to his advantage, or find a way to blame Destin if it went wrong. All at once, he seemed eager to bring the interview to a close. “Is that all, Lieutenant? If so—”