Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)(104)

Jonas had to know more. If this was true, and if she was still alive, he had to find her.

He lurched up from the table.

“Sit down,” Felix said.

His throat was tight and painful. “I have to go.”

“Not yet.”

“What?”

“Someone just walked through the door and I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to talk to her.”

Jonas turned, peering past the edge of his hood to see Nerissa entering the tavern. She scanned it, deep relief crossing her face when she spotted him. She hurriedly approached their table as Galyn excused himself

“Thank the goddess you’re here,” she said, grasping Jonas’s hands.

His heart pounded. “I just heard about the princess . . . that she’s missing. Is it true?”

“May I speak with you in private?”

Jonas was about to protest, to say that anything that had to be said could be said in front of his friends, but he held his tongue. After all, there could be others listening.

“Go,” Lysandra said. “And make haste.”

He guided Nerissa out of the main tavern and toward the staircase leading to the inn.

“This is private enough.” She looked around nervously at the small alcove.

“Is it true about Princess Cleo?” Jonas demanded.

“She’s gone, Jonas. No one knows where.”

“And Prince Magnus.”

“Him too. It’s a mystery, but I know this much. Two guards were slain in the dungeon, including the captain of the guard. It happened while they were on duty . . . watching Cleo, whom the king imprisoned for treason.”

The world before Jonas’s eyes blurred and darkened. “And now she and the boy she was forced to marry are missing.”

“Yes.”

“And the king? What is his reaction to this?”

“I have no way of knowing. He’s in seclusion. But I have heard that he fears Prince Magnus may have been taken hostage, or murdered, by whoever helped the princess escape. And Jonas . . . well, you have been named as the main suspect.”

Any other day, he might have found this amusing. Here he was, accused of yet another crime he didn’t commit.

Nerissa’s face was pale, worried. “I can’t stay, Jonas. And I won’t be able to meet you again for some time. They’re looking at everyone in the palace with suspicion.”

“Thank you for sharing what you know. I know how dangerous this is for you.” His mind was in turmoil, unsure how to process this information. He’d once hated this royal girl beyond any other . . . yet now he found his world turned upside down at the thought that she’d been in grave danger—that she was still in grave danger—and he hadn’t been able to do a thing to help her.

Nerissa clutched his arm, drawing his attention back to the present. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about your new friend, Felix.”

“Felix?” Jonas frowned, trying to concentrate. “What about him?”

“Our first meeting gave a bad first impression.”

“And here I thought you two hit it off well enough.”

“I know men, Jonas. I know when they’re hiding something. And I saw that in his eyes. I also saw that you trusted him, which worried me. So I did some digging, and I found some information.” She hesitated. “You’re not going to like it.”

Jonas looked her right in her eyes, steeling himself for more bad news.

“Tell me,” he said.

? ? ?

Nerissa shared her information with him, then promptly left.

Jonas returned to the tavern and swept his gaze across the large room. Felix was at the bar, talking to Galyn. Lysandra still sat at the table in the dark corner, studying the wall and sipping from her tankard of ale.

“Lys,” he called to her. She glanced over at him and he signaled for her to follow him.

He led her back to the alcove where he’d spoken with Nerissa, only this time he went up the staircase. He found a vacant room on the second floor, and pulled Lysandra into it with him, closing the door behind them.

She eyed him with wariness. “What’s happened? Did Nerissa deliver bad news about the princess?”

“Yes, but I can’t deal with that right now. We have a more immediate problem.”

“What is it?”

“Nerissa doesn’t trust Felix.”

“That makes two of us,” she said, but then grimaced. “Sorry. I know you’ve come to consider him a true friend. I must learn to respect that. And, really, he isn’t nearly as smarmy as I first thought.”

He hissed out a breath. “He works for King Gaius.”

Lysandra stared at him with shock. “What?”

She looked as blindsided as he’d felt when Nerissa told him. “He said he was raised by a group of cutthroats who worked for a rich boss, right? Well, that rich boss was the king. He’s a hired assassin for the King of Blood.” Jonas’s anger had started slowly, as cold shock, but had built quickly into something practically tangible, something he could hold onto. “That’s how he found me. Five weeks ago he was at the palace to receive his most recent assignment—to track me down and bring my head to the king.”