“Perhaps he is on his way here with the Impartial Ministers.” Lithan shrugged. “I am not his keeper.”
I resisted the urge to snap at him, and instead petted the neck of the vulture, beyond grateful that I had not been left at Lithan’s mercy.
“Queen Trina arrives.” Lithan delivered the news with glee, looking off into the distance behind me. I spun around. Sure enough, I could see the distinct formation of three birds of prey soaring through the sky toward us.
This doesn’t look good.
Would Queen Trina dare to harm me before the trials had even begun? I realized, with a sinking feeling, that she would.
I buried my hand in the feathers of the bird. If I needed to make a quick escape, I could. There would be no bravery in trying to battle Queen Trina with only her cohorts around me. I had seen what she had done to Hadalix, and most likely Varga…I didn’t want to end up the same way.
“I wish you to locate Qentos,” I improvised. “He has something I need.”
“Now?” Lithan retorted. “The trials will commence shortly—I tell you, he is with the Impartial Ministers.”
“Now—and that’s a command, Lithan.”
I stared the minister down, noting with satisfaction the blood rising to his cheeks at the shame of receiving a direct order from the ‘kitchen boy’. He grunted, jumping up onto his vulture.
He slammed his heels into the bird viciously, and it squawked in pain, but flapped up into the air as it had been commanded. Lithan’s teeth were clenched with barely concealed frustration, and with one last, lingering look at Queen Trina’s approaching entourage, he flew off in the direction of the forest.
The second he departed, I heard the sharp pounding of hooves emerging from the western point of the pavilion. Using True Sight, I saw Memenion approach with his ministers, his gaze fixed up in the sky while he spurred the heard of bull-horses and their riders onward, evidently not wanting the queen to outrun him. The king could obviously see that I would be left at her mercy were she to arrive first, and as he sped on his horse, any reservations I still had as to whether I could trust Memenion or not disappeared.
Queen Trina landed, but only a few seconds before Memenion emerged from the thickets of the forest, his bull-horse grunting from the exertion. Trina scowled, disembarking from her bird as she looked warily from me to the approaching king. I grinned at her.
Better luck next time.
She turned away in disgust, speaking in hissed whispers to her ministers.
I walked swiftly toward the pavilion, hoping to have a word with Memenion before others arrived. The king caught up with me as I entered the dome of the structure, and, nimbly ascending the steps, he greeted me with a warm smile.
“That was a close call,” he said.
“I can’t thank you enough—I thought it might be my body tied to the arches this time,” I replied with grateful relief.
“Any news? How’s Tejus?” the king asked, solemnity returning.
“He believes the entity is now released. The stones from the castle have been taken to the temple of the Acolytes, and the human boy, Benedict, doesn’t seem to be under possession any longer…”
“But there have been no further signs?” the king deduced.
“None. Not that we know of, anyway.”
The king nodded.
“Then we wait,” he replied.
I nodded. I also needed to tell him about Varga’s letter, but I wondered if its contents should wait till after the trial. If Memenion knew about his son being a member of the Acolytes, he would no doubt be devastated, potentially distracting him from whatever the Impartial Ministers had in store for us. But he had a right to know.
“Spit it out, boy,” Memenion commanded, observing my hesitation.
“Varga’s letter,” I replied, looking around us to make sure that there wasn’t a soul who could overhear.
“Ah, I did wonder what that would contain. We found it tucked beneath the saddle of his bull-horse—the creature was wandering the Fells in a sorry state. Was there anything helpful?”
I nodded, hating what I was about to do.
“Varga was, in the past, a member of the Acolytes.” I paused as Memenion’s face drained of all color, but the king allowed me to continue without interruption. “He was silenced by their threats, and never told Tejus or anyone outside the cult what he was. In his letter, he divulged two members he knew were active. One was Lithan—”
“The swine!” Memenion bellowed. “He should be hanged for his disloyalty—though it comes as no real surprise. He was always a master manipulator, and I warned Tejus of this.”
“The second…the second was your son, Ronojoy.”