She leaned forward again and lowered her voice. “It wasn’t until we’d been married for four months that we even, you know … shared a bed together. Mikko wanted to wait until I was completely comfortable with it.”
“He sounds like a very honorable man,” I said.
If what Linnea said was true, then he definitely was. But I was having a hard time reconciling this information with the cold, aloof King I’d considered him to be.
Although, when the Queen had been missing, a different side of Mikko had emerged. He’d been visibly distraught and inconsolable. At the time, I’d thought it was all a melodramatic act, but if Linnea was telling the truth, he might have been so afraid of losing her that he’d let his guard down and shown his real feelings.
Of course, that made everything even more confusing. If Mikko hadn’t grown tired of or irritated with his wife, then why had anybody wanted to get rid of her?
Not to mention the fact that Mikko had thwarted our investigation when Linnea was missing. We’d wanted to interview guards and look at reports, but we were denied access.
“Have you talked to Mikko about what happened before you went missing?” I asked.
“I talk to Mikko about everything,” Linnea said, and with her love of chatting, I had a feeling that was very true.
That probably made them very compatible. She enjoyed talking, and Mikko was more of a listener, so they balanced each other out.
“Did he say anything about Konstantin Black?” I asked. “Does he know anything about him?”
“Everything he knows, he’s heard from you.” Linnea shook her head. “He is grateful that Konstantin warned me to run away, though, and Mikko is relieved he wasn’t executed. Konstantin may have saved my life.”
I rested my arms on the table. “From whom, though? Does Mikko have any idea who might have wanted to hurt you?”
“No. He’s tried talking to the guard, but the unfortunate truth is that he’s been very hands-off about most things,” Linnea admitted, frowning. “His social anxiety makes it so hard for him to interact sometimes, so he’s really left Bayle Lundeen to handle everything.”
“Do you trust Bayle?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Her eyes widened, as if it had just occurred to her that she shouldn’t. “Do you?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure I trust any of the guards around here. It’s hard to tell who knows what,” I said.
“I know.” She nodded. “What I said the other night about overreacting and running away, that was for the benefit of the guards. I have no idea who we can trust anymore. But to tell you the truth, I’d never considered that Bayle might be involved.”
“He’s the head guard, and this is all happening on his watch. Either he’s involved, or he’s too incompetent to stop it.”
Linnea exhaled deeply and rested her chin on her hand. “Rune trusted Bayle and appointed him, and both Mikko and Kennet are loyal to him and seem to trust him. Their father was a terrifying man, and even after his death neither of the boys wants to defy him. But…” She chewed the inside of her cheek, pondering the situation. “You’re right, and I know you’re right.”
“I know it’s tough for the King to go against what he believes his father’s wishes were, but the guard needs an overhaul to keep you all safe,” I said. “Whether your husband is comfortable with it or not, he needs to start taking control of his guards. If he wants to keep you safe, the King needs to be in charge.”
Linnea nodded. “He needs to hear it from you though.”
“What?” I asked.
I’d gone into this luncheon thinking that Mikko might be the one behind everything, or at the very least a participant in Konstantin’s plot. But Linnea had just turned that theory on its head, and now she wanted me to go to Mikko and tell the King he needed to get rid of his top guard.
“You’re an expert on these matters, and you’re right.” Linnea pushed back her chair and stood up. “We should go now. He’s down in his office. It’s the perfect time for you to go tell him what you think.”
“We should set up a meeting with Kasper, maybe even your grandmother and the Prince,” I suggested, since I felt unprepared to present my case to the King—especially considering I didn’t completely know what my case was.
“We’ll have a proper meeting later.” Linnea waved it off. “Let’s go.”
The Queen had given me an order, so I had to obey. As we walked downstairs toward the King’s office, Linnea chattered the whole way, although I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not entirely sure what about. My mind was focused on trying to figure out what exactly I would say to the King, and how I should phrase everything.
Linnea pushed open the door to her husband’s office without knocking. I was still lost in thought, but Linnea’s scream pulled me into the moment instantly.
Mikko’s desk faced the water, so his back was to the door. He was hunched over his desk, hard at work on something, so he didn’t see the man standing behind him with a sword raised above his head, about to strike and cut off the King’s head.
TWENTY-THREE