Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Sean would not like this. He wouldn’t be surprised, but he still wouldn’t like it.
“Do you know the identity of your potential assassin?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“One of the candidates?”
All of the candidates were guaranteed a one-on-one date with the Sovereign. Any other member of the delegations would have a lot harder time getting close to Kosandion.
“Most likely.”
Twelve beings, half of them not human. One was a would-be killer. Which one? Or was it Caldenia?
“I trust you to keep me safe.” Kosandion gave me a brilliant smile.
Sure, he trusted me, but not enough to share this assassination plot with me before we signed on the metaphorical dotted line.
Smacking the Sovereign of the Seven Star Dominion was out of the question. No matter how frustrated he made me feel.
“We will do our best, Letero.”
Kosandion studied me. Looking straight into his eyes was difficult. He drew you in like a magnet.
“Regrets?” he asked quietly.
“Too late for that.” We were committed now. “You know our reasons for hosting this event.”
“Have you heard from the kidnapper?”
“No.”
Six days had passed since we learned that Wilmos was taken through the portal gate from Baha-char to Karron. We had no idea if he was still alive.
“I have something for you.” Kosandion flicked his fingers at the tabletop, and Gertrude Hunt obliged with a holographic screen. I had instructed the inn to summon conveniences on command for him. The screen flashed and turned toward me. An energy read-out, waves of blue and white.
“What is this?”
“Feed from our sensors on Karron. There are statis pods in the facility, designed to be used in case of a catastrophe. Each pod emits a signal when it’s used. One of them came online 8 days ago.”
“Thank you.”
I had to show this to Sean. It wasn’t the proof of life we both wanted, but it was something.
Kosandion nodded. “You’re welcome. If I could impose on you for a small favor?”
I braced myself. “It’s not an imposition. Your needs are my top priority.”
Kosandion pushed the data cube with the ratings across the table toward me. “Make sure my aunt sees this.”
14
The First Trial is about to begin. Will Gertrude Hunt rise to the challenge of hosting? Will we survive the candidates’ wit? Let’s listen in.
“Do you think the data is real?” Sean asked.
We were walking through the short dim hallway side by side. Beast trailed me, and Gorvar trotted by Sean’s side. The two animals had decided to ignore each other’s existence, concentrating on guarding us instead.
“Kosandion is Caldenia’s nephew, so he’s devious enough to manufacture this energy reading and use it to manipulate us. But why bother? He could’ve simply asked me to hand the ratings off to Caldenia. I would do it because he is a guest. Instead, he felt that there was a value attached to me running this errand, and he compensated me for my effort.”
Sean’s frown deepened.
I had taken the data to Caldenia right after my conversation with Kosandion. I found Her Grace enjoying a lovely breakfast on our back patio. I’d placed the cube on the table and told her Kosandion wanted her to have it. She raised her eyebrows and said, “He did, did he?” She scanned the cube with her reader, and then she smiled with all her teeth, and I’d been low-key haunted by that smile ever since.
We stopped before a dark wall blocking our way. Sean’s eyes were still grim. I reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He blinked.
“We don’t know anything and it’s eating at you.” It was eating at me. “I know that you really want to go and look for him, and instead we have to do this.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t like surprises. And I don’t like being lied to. This was supposed to be straight forward: keep the candidates from killing each other. We were told that Kosandion would ignore Caldenia’s presence. Instead, the candidates are trying to kill him, and Kosandion and Caldenia are scheming, either together or against each other.”
“Nothing really changed,” I said. “When we took this job, we knew we had to keep Kosandion safe. This assassination plot doesn’t alter that. We also knew that Caldenia and Kosandion have a complicated history. Predictably, their present relationship is complicated.”
He made a low growling noise in his throat. Gorvar’s ears twitched.
“And that’s exactly what I find surprising. What is the nature of their relationship? Is she plotting to kill him?”
“I don’t think so?” I didn’t sound very convincing.
“Of all the places in the universe, Kosandion picked our inn. Is he planning to punish Caldenia for the murder of his father? If I were him, I would provoke her until she snaps and does something unwise. It doesn’t matter if she succeeds. As soon as she acts against him, you and I will have to expel her from the inn. She would be done. The bounties on her head are still sky-high. I checked.”