Igniting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #2) - Robin LaFevers Page 0,203

have seen all I need to see.” He clears his eyes of the horror he has just witnessed, lifts his chin to a royal angle, and squares his shoulders. “Hold,” he calls out as he steps to the edge of the gallery.

The men freeze. All of them have had occasion to see the king before and easily recognize him. “Although General Cassel is dead, he is being charged with treason. You may lay down your weapons and come peacefully, or I will send in the three hundred troops I have waiting just outside the holding.”

After a moment’s hesitation and a look around the room at Beast, Maraud, Andry, Tassin, Jaspar, and the others, Cassel’s men do as commanded.

I shoot the king a sideways glance. “That was quite a gamble,” I murmur. “You don’t have three hundred troops.”

The corner of his mouth lifts in the faintest hint of a smile. “I’d like to think that I’ve learned a thing or two from you.”

I nearly laugh then, for surely I have brought the greatest weapon in our arsenal—the king’s justice.

 Chapter 119

Five days later, we arrive in Nantes to the shocked stares of the people of the city, as well as the palace guard, who had not realized the king was not within the palace.

Once we are ushered inside, the king calls his council to him and disappears while the rest of us are treated with utmost respect and given every courtesy. Most of that honor is lost on us, for we are all so exhausted from our travels that we sleep for the next four days. Well, I do. Sybella spends much of that time tending to Beast’s wounds while Maraud watches and teases the stoic Beast about making such a fuss.

On the fifth day, I am summoned to the king’s privy chamber. I arrive at the same time as Sybella. “Do you have any idea what this is about?” she asks.

“None.”

Then we are ushered inside. The king is alone except for—I hear Sybella gasp—“Your Majesties!” She drops into a curtsy. I do the same, peering up through my lashes at the queen.

“You may rise,” the king says.

“Since I can see you nearly choking on all the questions you are dying to ask,” the queen says, “let me assure you I am fine. My health is good, and no, I did not risk it traveling to Nantes, as I came by boat, which was a most restful way to travel.”

“I am relieved to hear it, Your Majesty.”

The king silently drums his fingers on the arm of his chair. “You have both shown me the rot in my kingdom, as well as in your families and in my own. You have saved France, you have saved yourselves, you prevented war—and put down a rebellion!” He pauses a moment, as if overcome. “You managed to sneak a bear into my dungeon and exchange it for one of my prisoners. A bear!”

The queen bites her cheeks to keep from smiling.

Heartened by that, Sybella dares to speak. “Your Majesty, if I could be so bold as to ask, what became of the bear?”

The king gapes at her, then shakes his head. “The master of the hounds took a liking to him. He is now housed in the Louvre’s menagerie and treated like a royal pet.”

My heart lifts, for both the bear and also the further sign of the king’s true nature.

“You are forces of nature,” he continues. “Like a—a storm raging through the sky. Or—or waves, churning upon the sea.” He waves his hand, as if agitated. “You are like the demigods of Rome, when the gods walked among mortals and fathered children with them.”

I glance at Sybella, for that is exactly what we are, and though I have told him time and again, he cannot quite accept that I am speaking truth.

“You are outside every convention of society, and I have no idea what to do with you.”

As he falls silent, the queen leans forward. “Use them,” she says. “They serve us now. They have skills and talents that no one else in the kingdom possesses. Let them use those talents on our behalf.”

* * *

A week later, Sybella and I are told that our presence is required in a formal audience with the king in his throne room.

The first thing I notice when I enter is that the king—and queen—are in full court dress. A most formal occasion, indeed. The second thing I notice is that we are not the only ones who have