“Why didn’t you tell me this, Calix?” I asked him.
He didn’t meet my gaze. “Why didn’t you tell us about the lake?” he said. He turned to Danae. “Were you able to drain it?”
“Drain it?” I gasped.
He shot a glare at me.
“No,” she said. “It’s not possible; there’s nowhere for the water to go. And we mapped much of the bottom, but there are crags and outlets that we can’t get into.”
“Then take more men,” he said. “Take the yellow powder and burst it open.”
She shook her head. “That is neither safe nor possible, Calix. You can’t burn the powder underwater, and it’s as likely to collapse the whole place as to reveal the elixir.”
“You need an Elementa,” I told him, placing my hand on his arm. “Surely they would be able to feel something that interrupts their powers, or test that it’s there?”
He scoffed, pulling away from my hand. “Why would one of them ever help me?”
“There are many people who don’t seem to enjoy their powers,” Danae said. “If you paid them well, offered them an opportunity to get rid of it—I could find someone who would help.”
He looked between us. “Very clever. I find I like you two working together.”
I smiled at Danae, but it was false. There was an Elementa in pursuit of the elixir already, and perhaps Kata had little opportunity while Danae and the quaesitori were near, but if it could be found, she would have it in hand already.
And if it couldn’t … I didn’t know how my husband would react to that.
“There’s more,” Danae said, and the smile died on my mouth. “You should come to the courtyard.”
Calix nodded sharply, striding toward the door without hesitation. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to follow, if I was part of the intended “you,” but after a moment, I followed them.
The courtyard was nearly restored. Half of it was filled with new white stone to cover what had been lost, but the work had halted, and the gate hung open to reveal three smears of blood. Uniformed guards were dragging three bodies inside, and they stopped when they reached Galen, who was standing in the courtyard.
I covered my mouth. They were dead, their throats slit. Executed.
“Three of my soldiers,” Galen said, his face hard as he glared at Calix. “Tassos, Arius, and Magan.” He stressed the last name, and I didn’t understand why.
“Tassos?” I asked, looking at Calix. The spy from Rian’s camp? Danae, too, seemed to recognize one of the names.
“Calix, we need to discuss this,” Galen said. “Now.”
“Get rid of them,” Calix ordered. “We can discuss this in my chambers.”
Galen nodded and turned to issue orders to his men. I couldn’t look away, watching as the guards carried the bodies back toward the garrison until Danae turned me away from the scene, leading me back into the castle.
No one said anything more until we were all back in our rooms, and Danae sat me beside the fireplace. I felt ill and too hot.
“Magan, Calix?” Galen snapped, his hands on his hips. “Tell me, Danae, which of those names was familiar to you?” he asked.
Danae stood. “Calix told me he had a spy in the Resistance named Arius,” she said.
I gasped, and Galen looked to me. “Your wife?” he growled, pointing to me as he glared at Calix.
Calix shrugged. “You cannot break an enemy unless you understand the enemy,” he replied.
I blinked rapidly. “I don’t understand what’s going on,” I insisted.
Galen turned to me, the anger fading from his gaze but the tension remaining. “You knew one of the names, didn’t you?” he said. I looked from him to Calix, not wanting to betray something I shouldn’t. “My guess is Calix told you that Tassos was a spy inside the Resistance. And he told me the spy’s name was Magan, and he told Danae the spy’s name was Arius.”
I shook my head. “Why?”
“Because he had three spies,” Danae clarified. “And if one of them was revealed, it would mean that we were feeding information to the Resistance. Meanwhile, the other two would be safe. However, in this instance, the Resistance seemed to have discovered all three at once and sent us a message. This is a low move, even for you, Calix,” Danae said, crossing her arms and turning away from us.
I looked at Calix. “Is that true?” I asked. Kairos had warned me of such, but it wasn’t just me whom he’d distrusted—it was his siblings as well.
“Do not look at me like that,” he growled at me. “Like I have betrayed you in some fashion. I needed to be sure of your loyalty to me and not to your damn brother.”
“And were you worried about my loyalty, brother?” Danae said. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and she sounded heartbroken.
“All I knew was that we needed more information and you hadn’t delivered that yet,” Calix snapped at her. “You all have failed spectacularly at your jobs, and I took action. We are attacked at every turn, and my commander cannot counter it, and my spy cannot anticipate it.”
I looked up at him. “And your wife?” I asked softly. “What job have I failed at?”
He strode closer, leaning over me and pushing his hand against my womb. “You have failed at your only purpose, wife. Where is my child?” he growled. I felt fear rising in my throat, but refused to look away from him. “Why is your womb still cold? That is your sole value, and you cannot manage it.”
“Calix!” snapped Galen, but Calix didn’t tear his gaze from me, and I returned it, pressed back against the chair.
“That Abydos girl is expecting, and I have dogs that display more robust signs of intelligence. Clearly conceiving can’t be that hard, can it?”
“Why must you vent your rage on me, Calix?” I asked him. “None of this is my fault.”
“But Tassos is still dead, isn’t he?” he said. “Perhaps that is your fault.”
My heart pounded. “I never told anyone about that,” I lied.
“The only way all three could have died at once is if we were not responsible,” Galen said. “Calix, you know that. Stop threatening your wife.”
Calix straightened up. I looked to Galen, grateful, and despite how mild his words had sounded, his chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his face was etched with tightly leashed fury. He crossed his arms on his chest, the knuckles white as he gripped his bicep.
“Then give me a solution,” Calix demanded. “We need reliable information about the Resistance. All we know is that Rian is not the head that we can cut off. Today’s attack will give the vestai even more arrows to cast at my reign. Do something,” he snapped.
Attack. I felt dizzy and tired and my head hurt. As Galen and Danae argued with their brother, I went out to the balcony, forgotten. The cold air helped, but I still did not want to return to the room and risk confessing that I was the traitor they were looking for, that I was responsible for the “attack.” All because I couldn’t help the way I felt when Galen touched me.
Instead, they would use this as a reason to continue to hunt my brother, another crime to attribute to his cause. And I would let them, the silent, coward queen.