Page 79 of Lake of Sorrow
“You saved the king and the queen.” Kaylina hoped he forgave himself for the killing. Those people had been intruders, though she knew it wouldn’t have mattered if they hadn’t been. The beast would have killed them regardless. But that wasn’t his fault, and she hoped he wouldn’t come to believe it was her fault. But if she hadn’t been in danger, would he have turned into the beast? Likely not.
“This time.” Vlerion touched her hand on his arm and nodded to her. “And with your help.”
“Yes, my tide-turning sling.”
“Your sling was useful.”
“Thank you. Let me tell you the rest.” Kaylina glanced toward the root-cellar ladder, but no more footsteps came from the flagstones in the pantry, and silence wrapped around them. Hoping that meant the Virts had left the castle, she summed up what she’d learned from eavesdropping, including that the rangers had a spy or spies within their organization. She finished with, “We have to clear your name even more than mine. There’s a lot more at stake if your secret comes out, right? You’ve said as much. And the Virts believe the rangers have been protecting you. It could start a war.” She flexed her hand in the air, acknowledging there was already a war, even if nothing had officially been declared. But this could escalate matters.
“It touches me that you’ve come to care, but it’s not possible to clear my name. The beast… is guilty of some of the crimes of which it—” Vlerion touched his chest, not distancing himself fully from that part of him, “—has been accused.”
“But not the dead Virts that have been found these last few nights, right? The ones mauled by claws and left in the street by the canals.”
“No.”
“Oh, and there was a ranger. Just tonight. Did you know?” Kaylina wondered if he’d been back to his headquarters or if Targon had ordered him earlier to search the catacombs after finishing in the preserve. He might have recently returned to the city and come to check on her first.
Vlerion’s eyes widened. “No. Who? Where?”
Kaylina didn’t know the man’s name but described him and the male taybarri that had been with Levitke.
“Cursed craters.” Vlerion bent forward and gripped his knee, barely noticing when the lantern clinked on the ground. “That sounds like Ravcliff. He is—was a good man. He didn’t deserve that.” He shook his head slowly. “I was talking to him not two hours ago.”
Kaylina rested her hand on his back. “I’m sorry.” After a pause to let him process his grief, as much as one could in a short time, she added, “This is another reason to clear your name, though, right? We don’t want any of the rangers to read that newspaper and start to believe…” She spread her hand. He’d told her that only Targon and a couple of the rangers knew his secret. To the rest, it would be shocking news. They might turn their backs on him. That might sting him nearly as much as the death of a comrade.
“As I said, my name can’t be cleared. Not when I have killed.”
“If not clear your name, then we can find out who’s behind the murders. It’s someone—or something—with claws a lot like the beast’s. I saw the body, the marks.” Kaylina curled her fingers and slashed them in the air in front of her neck.
“Yes, I’ve seen the dead as well.”
“We need to keep the guy who saw you change—Hokkens, is his name—from telling more people about it. Definitely from printing it in that paper.” Kaylina didn’t know how to accomplish that. Find the Virt and bribe him? The way Targon was trying to bribe her? The Virt probably didn’t need help opening a meadery…
“Rebel or not, I can’t hunt him down and kill him to keep him silent,” Vlerion said.
Kaylina was glad he didn’t consider that an option even if it would have made the task easier. The Virts were humans—and kingdom subjects.
“No, I wasn’t going to suggest that, but he was part of the assassination attempt.” Kaylina waved her hand. “Can’t you arrest him? And put him in a cell far removed from other people? And then lose the key?”
“I suppose if we can find him, arrest is a possibility, but if he’s already told the other Virts…”
“He might be the only witness. And the others are skeptical. If you can silence him and make that newspaper disappear, then your secret won’t come out.”
Too bad Kaylina didn’t know how to find Hokkens or the press. She regretted not bringing her brother into the castle with her. She might be a natural schemer, but he was smart, organized, and liked to do research like this.
“Thank you for wanting to help,” Vlerion said quietly and pulled her into a hug, his arms shifting from her shoulders to her waist. He patted her gently, making her again long to solve his problems for him, to change the world—or at least his life—so he could find peace.
“You’re welcome.”
“I still want you to focus on clearing your own name.”
“I’m not unfocused on it.” Except that was exactly what she was, as her brother would be quick to point out.
Vlerion leaned back to give her a frank look, but his hands lingered on her waist, so he couldn’t have been too perturbed. “Once you’re safe, you can help me all you wish. I’ll keep an eye out and try to help you as well. As soon as the rangers deal with the Kar’ruk problem.”
“And you stop the Virts from blathering about you.”
He managed a smile, but it was far from a firm nod of agreement. “After checking the catacombs, I’ll talk to Targon and see if he’s made progress on finding the press. I also want to see what the rangers learned by questioning the Kar’ruk. As much as I would prefer my secret remain buried, the safety of the kingdom is my priority.”