“Have you no shame?” I seethed through my smile. “How could you treat our guest that way? She’s lost enough as it is, and her cooperation is crucial to our research.”
Solara finished in a free spin, two steps away, as all music except for the rumble of the bass line faded away. She smiled, an expression that didn’t match her serious tone as she murmured so only I could hear, “Father commanded me to make Qole leave.”
The music resumed. We moved without touching, in perfect sync with head and hands, a motion that rolled down our bodies to our feet. With a snap and a step, we were back together.
“What?” I covered myself with a laugh that to my ears sounded ridiculously hollow.
“I don’t know, but Nev, it seemed really strange. He was very clear.” Solara’s expression didn’t waver; it remained happy and carefree, even as I felt like I’d been gutted.
What was going on? Why would Father order Solara to do such a thing? For a split second, a terrifying thought flitted through my head, but I dismissed it immediately. My family would never…
My foot faltered a step. I recovered almost instantly, but had we been judged in this dance, Solara would have won. And yet, as the song ended to thunderous applause from the audience, I couldn’t have cared less who’d won or lost. I bowed to my sister, my thoughts already racing ahead. I needed to find Father; I needed answers.
But the king was nowhere in sight.
“Marsius! Have you seen Father?”
Marsius evidently knew of the same secret passageway out of the ballroom that I did, for which I had to give him credit—I had been at least two years older when I’d discovered that one of the curtained alcoves accessed a hallway leading to other parts of the palace.
He looked up and blinked from the deep concentration he had been bestowing on approximately half a cake. “No. How did you find me? Hey, do you want to play Assassins and Kings?”
I smiled hollowly. “Not right now, I’m afraid. I have something I must take care of. Soon, all right?” Guilt nagged at me, and I called over my shoulder as I passed, “I’m sorry that I haven’t spent much time with you lately.”
“It’s okay.” Marsius shrugged and went back to devouring his cake. “I had a great time with Arjan. He knew some really fun games. And he showed me some tricks with knives!”
That stopped me short. “Marsius, do you know where Arjan is?” Perhaps Qole was with him.
Marsius looked up at me and rolled his eyes. “How could I? He’s not here. But he got invited to the party so that’s probably where he is.” He shook his head in a very adult manner. “I don’t like this kind of party all that much.”
I hadn’t seen Arjan anywhere at the ball, but then, I had been entirely focused on Qole. I hoped he was at least having a better evening than she, and that Father hadn’t given any particular orders to embarrass him as well.
What in the systems was the matter with my family? It was time they started living up to the standards we’d long been spouting in our rhetoric and using to judge others. It was time I had a serious discussion with the king.
The delay it took to find Father in his private office had distilled my confusion, guilt, and misery into a towering rage. The room was as elegant and functional as he was, with a great semicircle of a desk, tall-backed leather chairs, and most importantly, network access to anything he might need. He stood at his desk rather than sat, still wearing his gray suit and no doubt expecting to return to the ball shortly. Disappearing to deal with a matter of urgency was not unusual for him, but right now, I didn’t care what it might be.
“Where is Qole?”
Father looked up from the series of images projected along one wall of the study. Everything from news feeds to security cameras was playing within the dizzying array before him. I had always been impressed with how he seemed able to parse all the information in seconds. For a moment, I felt reassured to see him standing there, the straight lines of his posture always making me think of the strength and confidence I had relied on so many times over the years. But then that was supplanted by the anger that had been building all evening.
“Hello, Nev. I see you decided to leave your ball.” There was a touch of disapproval in his voice.
“Never mind the ball,” I snapped. “Where. Is. Qole? No one knows, not security, nor even Devrak. I’ve looked in her room and checked in with her ship. She’s vanished, and you and the rest of the family are directly responsible for driving her off.” I was starting to hit critical mass. “Do you know how dangerous it could be for her? This place is practically crawling with Treznor lackeys.”
“Fortunately, I can assure you that she won’t be appropriated by them. And it’s safe to say that the rest of the family has had nothing to do with her disappearance…nor Devrak. Not even he is privy to this.” Father sighed and flicked a finger at one of the security feeds. It dimmed and vanished. Before it did, I caught a glimpse of an unadorned hallway. It was one of a hundred like it, and could have been anywhere.
Questions piled on top of one another, and it was almost impossible to pick one out of the mix. “What—what do you mean?”
“The Alaxan had to be taken for examination and testing. Something came up, and we could no longer wait.”
I gaped. “Testing? Tonight? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Father considered me. “You’re so focused on her that you won’t even ask what came up? But I’ll indulge you. It’s quite obvious you are smitten with her, and so I didn’t tell you because your reaction wouldn’t have been any more constructive then than it is now. I didn’t want to distress you—you need to at least look the part of the triumphant Dracorte heir for our guests, if you’re not going to behave like it. Which is perhaps more reason for us to move forward with the Alaxan tonight. The earlier you are separated, the better.”
Smitten? A little voice in my head questioned such an unceremonious term, whether or not it was apt. And how could it have been so obvious to him when I wasn’t even entirely sure? Right now, all I felt was sickening worry.
“Father…” I paused before asking the question that had formed first, but I had been most afraid to ask. “You’re not hurting her, right?”
“Not so far as I’m aware, but I’ve had more important things to do than memorize the specifics of what is to come for her. Does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters!” I almost yelled. I collected myself while he stared at me as if I were Marsius throwing a tantrum. “Is she comfortable? Did she consent to being there?”
“With this new turn of events, not likely. And no.”
I struggled to pick just one emotion to feel out of every one crashing into me. “What new turn of events?” I finally asked.
“She tried to leave, and we couldn’t allow that.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. She’d stormed away, not just to leave the ball…but to leave Luvos. Because of me. And now she was being held against her will—not by me, but I was the reason she was here in the first place.