Four Dead Queens(103)

“Who is it?” Arebella rose from her throne.

The guards pulled the two intruders forward.

“Keralie,” Arebella said, taken aback. Next to her stood her Eonist accomplice, his face set, shoulders squared.

Keralie lifted her lips into a snarl. “Queen Arebella.”

Arebella ordered the guards to take Keralie away, but her words were drowned out by the inspector’s when he said, “Keralie has some important information for the court.”

No. No. No. Not now. Not when she was about to get everything she ever wanted.

“Finish the coronation!” Arebella cried. But Alissa wasn’t looking at her.

“Queen Arebella,” Keralie said loud and clear, “is your true assassin!”





CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN





Keralie



Me? The assassin?” Queen Arebella asked with a laugh. She addressed Alissa. “Why are you letting her waste my time?” She waved her hand and sat back upon the Archian throne.

I tried to step forward but a guard clung to my arm, unsure who to believe. “But isn’t everyone allowed to attend court, my queen?” I sneered.

“Take her away.” She turned her face as though the mere sight of me stung her eyes. “She killed my mother and escaped prison. She’s a criminal!” Her voice grew shrill. “Take her away!”

The guard tightened his hold and started pulling me backward. But I wasn’t about to be silenced. “Yes, I am a criminal!” I shouted. “But I’m not an assassin, much as Mackiel wanted me to be. For you.”

“She’s lying!” Queen Arebella shouted back, leaping off the throne once more. “Why are you all gaping like fools? She admits to being a criminal, and yet you listen to her? I’m your queen. I order you to hang her! Now!”

Jenri glanced, bewildered, between Queen Arebella and the inspector. “What’s going on here?”

The inspector stepped around the guards to approach the dais. “Apologies for the confusion.” His voice was calm. “Keralie and this boy”—he nodded to Varin beside me—“found me in the infirmary. They shared some very interesting information. Information about the assassin that the court should hear.”

“But you have undeniable evidence, Inspector,” Queen Arebella interrupted, pointing at me. “She killed the queens.”

“That is true.” The inspector narrowed his black eyes at me. “Including evidence given by this young man.” He pointed a long finger at Mackiel, who was sitting among the advisors, as though he belonged there. But he didn’t belong anywhere but a prison cell.

Anger reverberated off Varin in waves. His stoic Eonist mask was well and truly gone.

“Then why are you wasting my time?” Queen Arebella asked.

“You admit it?” Jenri asked me. “You murdered the queens?”

“By my hand, they died. But not by my heart or mind.” I shook my head. “I would never choose to kill another.” It would take a long time to completely accept what had happened, but for now, I would push back the grisly memories and ensure my name was cleared. “I was being controlled. By comm chips. By her.”

There was an audible intake of breath from the crowd. Queen Arebella merely scoffed at the suggestion.

“What is she talking about?” Jenri asked the inspector.

The inspector let loose a slow smile. “Before Keralie approached me, I had a theory on the assassin, but the puzzle was not complete. All the evidence pointed to this young lady”—he gestured to me—“and yet something didn’t feel right. I began to believe her denials. I wanted further proof.”

“I’m glad someone was listening,” I muttered.

“I was”—the inspector nodded—“as I listened to everyone within the palace. Those old and new.” He glanced between Arebella and Mackiel. “Keralie being controlled was the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place.”

“What are you talking about?” Queen Arebella demanded. “Comm chips don’t make people do things.” She let out a forced laugh. “They’re for recording memories. We all know that.”

“Ah.” The inspector raised a hand. “A normal comm chip can’t, but there are some that can. I know all Eonist technologies, including the ones that have been banned from our quadrant. One such blacklisted technology was a form of emotion control. Rather than having to undergo years of schooling, Eonist children would ingest chips that suppressed thoughts and feelings. But the side effects were too severe, causing the children to act strangely, not of their own will. They also reported periods of blackouts. The trials were abandoned.

“Even though they were banned in Eonia, they found their way onto the black market in the other quadrants. Allowing them to be bought at the highest price by the lowest of folk.”

“Arebella hired Mackiel, and he tricked me into stealing the chips and ingesting them,” I said. “They controlled me. They made me . . .” I took a deep breath. “Forced me to do their bidding. Then when all the dirty work was done, Mackiel came to the palace to revel in his success.”

The inspector turned his gaze to Mackiel. “What do you say to this accusation?”

Mackiel tipped his gold top hat. “I know nothing of these advanced chips you speak of.”