When she reached the entrance to the library, she saw Jarvik and Odar sitting inside at a table with a pile of books between them. Several Fren soldiers sat at nearby tables, also combing through books. No one noticed her hovering in the doorway, so she backed up and proceeded down the hallway.
Turning the corner, she headed to the north tower, throwing the door open and entering. She climbed the hundreds of stairs, her legs burning from exertion. When she reached the top, she opened the door and went outside, the cool air caressing her skin. Allyssa smiled, reveling in the feeling of being up so high. The sun warmed her skin, and a sense of calming peace filled her.
The guards remained inside on the stairs. Marek pushed past them and came outside to join her.
“Am I to have no peace?” She sighed.
“There is no such thing with war looming on the horizon.”
“I came here to be alone so I can think. I can’t do that with you here.”
He leaned against the waist-high stone wall. “I can’t allow you to be out here alone.”
They stood shoulder to shoulder in silence, overlooking the city.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked.
The image of Grevik bruised and strapped to the chair while the assassin sauntered around him, threatening him, was seared into her mind. She had to tell her father about the assassin, but she feared it would result in her never seeing Grevik again.
“Is there something going on between you and Jarvik?” Marek asked, reaching out and clutching her hand. “I’m the head of your personal guard and one of your best friends. You can tell me.”
“I came out here to organize my thoughts before I go and speak with my father.” She took a deep breath, holding tightly onto Marek’s hand. “Grevik is being held captive by an assassin sent here to kill the royal family.”
Marek rocked back on his heels. “The one we ran into that night?” She nodded. “You mean to tell me you left the castle without me—which you promised not to do—and went to meet him?”
“Yes.”
His jaw clenched and he released her hand, punching the wall. “Is this why you’re suddenly so close with Jarvik?”
“Yes, I took him with me.”
“You trusted the squire from Fren, but not me?”
“I knew you’d never let me go. I had to find out what the assassin wanted.”
Marek made an odd noise, shaking his head in disgust. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“He doesn’t know who I am.” She proceeded to tell Marek about her two meetings with the assassin, along with seeing Grevik last night and his cryptic message.
“Snake dealers?” Marek questioned.
Leaning against the stone wall, looking out over the city, she replied, “Yes. We captured many criminals over the past couple of years, but snake dealers weren’t among them.”
There was some commotion on the stairs behind them. A Fren soldier emerged out of breath. “Your Highness,” he said. “I was told to give this to you immediately.” He held out a piece of paper.
Allyssa took it, and the Fren soldier left. Unfolding the paper, she read a hastily scribbled note:
Found a reference to snake traders.
Emperion uses the term for traitors who are put into exile.
She turned the note over. There wasn’t anything else. Marek leaned over her shoulder and read it. His face paled.
“What is it?” she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.
“This term originated twenty years ago when your mother took the throne. My father said she couldn’t sign the execution order for Empress Eliza or Princess Jana.”
“Yes. Instead, she banished them to a remote place in Emperion.”
“Do you remember anything else from your studies?”
The air rushed out of her and her head spun. “Eliza and Jana were taken away on a wooden cart under the guise that they were illegal snake traders—which was rampant at that time—so no one would know who they were.” How had she forgotten that? “They lived in exile for several years until they suddenly disappeared. No one knows where they went or what happened to them.”
“My father suspects they left Emperion completely. He thinks they sought protection from a neighboring kingdom.”
Did her father’s half-sister Jana really send an assassin to kill them? “Do you think she wants to reclaim the throne?” Allyssa asked.
“Possibly, but the timing is questionable. I think this is somehow tied to Russek.”
Jarvik’s words came back to her—the king of Russek recently married a widower who came to court with her elderly mother. Could King Drenton have married Jana? If so, was it Jana’s daughter who went to Fren to woo Prince Odar? She recalled Jarvik saying no one knew who Princess Shelene’s father was.