Page 91 of To Kill a King

She pressed her lips together in a slight grimace and sighed. “You’re probably right. I—”

Someone knocked on the frame of her door. “Your royal highness? Come quick! Something’s happened in the Glade of Shadows.”

Elessan hesitated before standing and brushing the wrinkles from his tunic. The room spun for a moment as his heart thumped in his chest.

Tsara marched to the front door, yanking aside the curtain of ivy. “What’s going on?”

The faint hint of sulfur tickled Elessan’s nose.

The runner, a nondescript male, dipped his head to her. “They’ve assassinated Lady Brightleaf. Her nephew, Lindir, is in and out of consciousness. The healers are with him now. Please, for your safety, come with us. We’ll escort you.”

Elessan’s gut roiled as a bitter aftertaste filled his throat. Assassinated? It had been a lifetime since one elf murdered another. The messenger must be mistaken.

“Well?” Tsara eyed him, still standing over the map, and tipped her head in the direction of the glade. “Are you coming?”

He glanced at the diagram. There were no humans here to find it, and he no longer had to hide it from Aliya. Leaving the parchment where it lay, he fell into step behind the other two elves. Six more appeared out of the twilight to flank them. His gaze snapped back and forth between the escorts on either side.

There was a reason royalty had guards, even though he and Princess Tsara were both better with a bow than anyone here. He’d told Aliya the exact same thing a few weeks ago.

They certainly weren’t taking any chances with Tsara’s safety.

Sweat pooled at the back of his neck and trailed down his spine. His stomach burned, and he made a conscious effort to release his clenched jaw. Where was Aliya? His jealousy aside, if Lindir was hurt, she’d want to know. She deserved that much.

“Go find Aliya,” he said to one of the guards.

Tsara’s steps faltered, but after a heartbeat she nodded. At her permission, the elf broke off and headed back the way they came.

The scent of cooled blood tainted the air, as well as the faint hint of ozone he’d learned to associate with magic. Shuffling footsteps and murmured words floated through the trees as they approached the glade.

Their escort peeled aside. Several elves searched the corpses scattered across the clearing. A blanket concealed a body. Lady Brightleaf. The medic in her milky robes bent over an unconscious Lindir, where he lay near the edge of the water. A red stain covered his tunic.

Clumps of turf and moss disrupted the otherwise pristine landscaping. Patches of dried blood, looking black in the darkness, spotted the green grass and white sand boxes.

What a fight.

Elessan stepped closer. One of the bodies—human—lay on the ground, charred. His heart skipped a beat. Aliya? But that was ridiculous. She was back at their lodgings. He turned out the human’s pockets, searching for a clue to his identity. Two objects the size of the bone on the end of his pinky finger tumbled out of one pocket. They were soft wax, designed to be molded to fit into a small, irregular area.

Elessan glanced back at Cressida, judging the trajectory of the man’s burns. Had Lady Brightleaf been able to conjure and throw flames like Aliya? He never thought to ask.

The ground to his right was torn up. He bent down to examine the grass. Another combatant had been here. He studied the blackened corpse. The fire blast hadn’t originated from Cressida’s direction.

Elessan sprinted to her body.

Tsara reached out to intercept him but stepped back at something in his face. “What’re you doing?”

The heaviness in his stomach coalesced to lead. Valek. “There are no footprints around here.”

The princess shrugged. “So?”

He opened his mouth but snapped it shut again with a shake of his head. She wouldn’t care.

He stood, gaze scouring the clearing. “Where’s Aliya?” She’d been here, too. His gut screamed it.

The other elves in the vicinity stopped to give him quizzical glances before going back to their investigation.

“Where is she?”

No one answered him. With a growl, Elessan leapt over Cressida and fell to his knees next to Lindir.