Hotbloods 5: Traitors

“Do you truly promise that you’ll pardon Navan if he comes back, Your Majesty, even though you’ve arrested his father for treason?” I asked. I wanted to gauge her reaction before I did anything to help Jareth.

She smiled, that same troubling glint in her eyes. “I never forget a promise, creature, and I think you’ve said and done quite enough for one day,” she said. “When Navan returns here, I want you to pass on a message to him. Tell him he must come to see me at the palace so that he may receive the honor of my official blessing toward the marriage between him and Ser… Ser-whatever.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“The moment he arrives. Does your tiny mind understand that?”

I smiled sweetly. “It does, Your Majesty. Do you want me to stay here to keep an eye out for him?”

“Where else would you be?” She looked down at me as though I were something she’d just stood in. “I don’t want you running around the palace, sullying my things with your foreign hands. You stay here, and you wait for Navan. It’s not that hard, is it?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“I will leave word with that trustworthy son to ensure you remain here. He can guard you all, see that you don’t get up to anything. I will give him the same message I have given you in case you forget. I don’t know how your brain works.” She sneered, breezing past me and heading out the door.

I followed her into the hallway, stepping over the still-collapsed figure of Ronad, who’d undoubtedly heard every word. I figured I’d come back for him later as I trailed the queen to where Kaido and Sarrask were waiting, on the landing by the staircase. Sarrask looked anxious, while Kaido seemed surprisingly unperturbed. I wondered how much he understood of what was going on.

“Your Majesty, have you arrested my father?” Sarrask asked, dipping into a low bow.

She smiled, brushing her forefinger against his cheek. “I have, and I must thank you for bringing his traitorous behavior to my attention. Had it not been for you, I would not have known he had a private lab here, where he could progress with the elixir at his leisure. Nor would I have thought to pay a surprise visit. It really was an excellent idea. He is hiding something, and my research team will find it.”

I stared at Sarrask in shock. True, I didn’t know him all that well, but he was the last person I’d expected to betray his father. I couldn’t believe what he’d done. Did he know the risks he’d taken, the lives he’d put in danger?

The queen turned to Kaido. “You must be the weird one—the one who offered to draw maps for my men?”

He met her gaze, unfazed by her status. “Yes, Your Majesty. I didn’t end up drawing the maps, because I didn’t know if you had my father’s permission, but then Sarrask assured me that he would take care of it instead. I am sorry if that has caused any inconvenience, but I’m sure it will be quicker if Sarrask just shows your soldiers the way.”

“Yes, I’m sure it will,” the queen replied, turning back to Sarrask. “Where were you, anyway?”

“I’d just gone out for a moment, Your Majesty, when you and your men arrived. My apologies.”

She flicked her wrist in dismissal. “Never mind. I ended up at the conclusion I desired, and you are to thank for bringing me here. Tonight, I shall rest easier, knowing I have one less traitor on the loose.” She sighed. “In the meantime, I have employed the services of this wretched creature, to pass on a message to your returning brother, whenever he chooses to arrive. We shall welcome him back with open arms, but I wish to see him first. As long as this creature remains in this house, I expect you to keep an eye on her—that aberration in the bedroom, too. Neither of them can be trusted. You will guard them and see to it that the task is completed, yes?”

Sarrask bowed again. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will return. Until then, I put this house in your care,” she added, before sweeping down the stairs and out of the mansion, where a sleek vessel was waiting for her. I caught sight of Aurelius peering out of the hatch, his expression anxious. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated for all of us, and, by the sound of it, it was all Sarrask’s fault.

I turned on him the moment the front door closed. “What the hell were you thinking, Sarrask?!”

His face fell. “I tried to give her what she wanted. She asked me to investigate the house and see what I could find out about the elixir, so I did… but I couldn’t find anything useful, and she was threatening me!”

“If you told her to come here, you must’ve known Ronad and I would get caught!” I jabbed a finger at him. “I can’t believe you’d betray us like this. Not just us, but Navan, your mother, your father!”

“I had to find another way to appease her!” Sarrask shot back. “I had to tell her about the lab, that he’d been working on things here, away from the palace.”

“Why?” I hissed.

“She offered me a position as Royal Head of Geological Explorations, all right? I have a nothing job at the geology center, and they were taking away my funding,” he explained solemnly. “I went to her to try and win her favor. I only wanted some more credits for my investigations, but she offered me a proper role, one in which I’d hold sway over where explorations went, and what they should bring back. I would’ve been in charge of an entire fleet of vessels, sending them wherever I wanted.”

Even as he spoke, I could tell the novelty had lost its sheen. Like Jareth, he was vying for higher status in the queen’s inner circle, but he seemed torn between wanting what people told him he should want and what he actually wanted for himself. I imagined Gianne’s offer had been a mixture of the two, and now he was doubting what he’d risked for it.

“There is no such position in the royal court, Sarrask. If you had come to me, I would have told you that,” Kaido said suddenly, looking puzzled.

“What?” A look of pure devastation rippled across Sarrask’s face.

“I do not understand why, but it would appear Queen Gianne made the title up,” he said bluntly. “There has never been a role with that name, and I do not recall reading of any newly introduced positions. Indeed, they are cutting back on exploratory branches at the moment, utilizing the fleet for military purposes instead of exploratory.”

“You made the wrong choice, Sarrask.” I sighed, feeling a little bit sorry for him. He’d clearly been duped. “Now, you’re going to make up for it.”

He looked crestfallen. “What do you mean? I can’t change anything. Gianne already took my father away. You saw her. When the researchers come back and ransack his lab, they’ll find something, and they’ll… kill him.” Sarrask choked on his words, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way—and I have a way,” I said. “First, we need to scour this place and find anything useful. That includes searching the lab. Then, we make sure everyone is out safely, before I implode the whole damn thing!”

“How do you plan to do that?” Kaido asked, with genuine interest. “Did you bring explosives with you?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t have to. There’s a lever underneath the trapdoor that leads to the lab from the underground tunnels. If I pull that, I’m pretty sure everything goes kaboom.”

Sarrask nodded eagerly. “The one time I managed to get into the lab, I saw weird blocks and wires set up at various intervals around the place. I’m guessing those are rigged explosives,” he said. “I didn’t get to take another look, because Father kept locking the door after that.”

“You really didn’t find anything to give the queen?” I pressed.

“Not a thing. All his notebooks were locked in the cabinets, and I didn’t want to break in, in case he noticed.”

“You could have picked the locks and then relocked them when you were done. It is a fairly simple procedure. All you need is a piece of wire and an electrical charge,” Kaido suggested.

Sarrask glared at him. “Not helpful, Crabweed.”