“Viktor D?lig?” Evert asked. “You’re sure it was him?”
“I’ve been training as a tracker since I was twelve,” I said. “I’ve seen his Wanted poster hundreds of times. I’m sure it was him.”
Evert turned away, toying with his rings as he stared into the distance thoughtfully. The Queen looked like she had been punched in the stomach. Ridley’s hands were on the table, balled up into fists, and his breath came out in angry bursts through his nose.
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Evert asked finally, still looking away.
“Viktor slammed my head repeatedly into the stone wall of the dungeon,” I explained. “I couldn’t remember things very well at first, and I wanted to be absolutely certain before I said anything.”
Evert turned to look at me, his dark eyes on mine. “And you’re certain now?”
“Yes, I am,” I told him honestly.
“Did he say anything?” Evert asked.
“He just told Konstantin to kill me, and when Konstantin didn’t act fast enough, Viktor grabbed me and attacked me.”
“This changes everything,” Evert said with a heavy sigh. “We must prepare for war.”
“Based on the word of a tracker with brain damage?” Mina nearly shouted in disbelief, and I bristled.
“Viktor D?lig has already tried to kill me once,” said King Evert, “and he’s been on the run for well over a decade. I have no idea what he’s been up to in that time, but if he’s been working with Konstantin Black I must assume he’s grown even more dangerous. I will not let him make an attempt on my life again.”
“These are all assumptions.” Mina shook her head. “You can’t prepare for war on assumptions, especially when we don’t know what we’re up against or where our enemy might be.”
“Mina, I value your counsel, but on this matter, my decision has already been made,” Evert told her firmly. “We will find him, and we will destroy him, and that’s final.”
Mina lowered her eyes, holding Vita more closely to her, and she said nothing more after that. Evert stood up, saying he needed to meet with advisors, but he’d be calling on Ridley soon. If we were preparing for war, Ridley would have to gather the trackers and start readying them to be soldiers.
As soon as we were dismissed, Ridley stood up and stormed out of the meeting room. I followed quickly, but his strides were long and angry and it took me a moment to catch up with him.
“Ridley,” I called after him as we walked down the palace hallway, empty apart from a few maids with their hands full of cleaning supplies. “Wait.”
He whirled on me then, his dark eyes blazing, his lips pressed together. I couldn’t help but think back to when his eyes had blazed in an entirely different way a few days ago, when he’d pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips passionately against mine.
But whatever desire he’d held for me was gone, replaced by barely restrained anger. “You should’ve told me, Bryn.”
“I wasn’t sure—”
“That’s bullshit!” he roared, and I flinched. The maids were at the other end of the hallway, and they glanced back at us before hurrying on. “That may be why you didn’t tell the King right away, but you should’ve told me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, since there was nothing else I could say.
He ran his hand through his dark hair and looked away from me, his jaw set hard. “I know things have been … complicated between us lately, but that’s no excuse not to tell me this.”
“That’s not why.” I hurried to reason with him. “I just had to be sure. I couldn’t tell you something this big without being absolutely certain.”
He smirked darkly at me. “So you thought it would be better to blindside me in a meeting with the King and Queen?”
“No, I … I wasn’t thinking.” And that was the truth. Everything had been such a mess lately, and I hadn’t been able to think clearly—especially when it came to Ridley. “I screwed up. I’m sorry.”
“No.” Ridley waved his hands and took a step back from me. “I don’t need your apologies, Bryn. And I think for right now it’d probably be best if we stayed away from each other as much as we can.”
“Ridley,” I said lamely, but I didn’t argue with him.
Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing heavily in the empty hall, and as my head began to ache again I felt more alone than I had in a long time.
THREE
militia
When I stepped into the gymnasium, the noise from training fell to a dull murmur, and I could feel eyes turning toward me as the door groaned shut behind me. Thanks to my Skojare-esque appearance, I was used to being stared at in Doldastam—my blond hair and pale skin had always stood out in stark contrast to the tan skin and dark hair of the rest of the Kanin. But this was way beyond normal.