you got!” Danika snapped. “As soon as you smelled a whiff of trouble, you disappeared!”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Because your first reaction after your husband’s death was to have us all arrested! That’s not how you treat your allies! Not after all the work we put into studying the Black Fever. Not after we gave you our word that we wouldn’t quit until a cure was found!”
Danika breathed out, and I could almost see her anger faltering like a bad circuit. Her shoulders dropped, and she stared at the papers in front of her for a good minute. Silence settled across the room.
“I’m old and experienced enough to tell that you’ve got an agenda of your own, now that the Lord Supreme is dead,” I said, unwilling to let her off the hook yet. “I’m not sure what it is, but I know it would make your husband sad if he were still alive. Legalizing the blood slave trade is—”
“My husband isn’t alive anymore, though, is he?” Danika hissed, rage glimmering in her eyes. “But I am. And I have a son whose future I must ensure. I cannot do that without the nobles’ support. Without the Lord Supreme, I am vulnerable! I need their votes to keep the Nasani dynasty at the helm!”
As much as I hated to admit it, I did understand her point of view. I didn’t have to like it, but I did see where she was coming from. “Okay, let’s say I accept that premise. Are the nobles also pressuring you to arrest and kill Valaine? Is the upper echelon of the Aeternae convinced the Darklings are telling the truth about her?”
“If you must know, some have begun voicing concerns about her.”
“Was that before or after you issued the arrest order?” I asked. It made her shoot up from her chair.
“Is this how you hoped you might sway me in your favor, Derek? By questioning every decision I make?” she demanded. “The fact of the matter is that the Black Fever has now begun to affect the commoners, and Valaine is still free. It’s my duty to do everything in my power to stop the disease from killing my people. And if Valaine is so convinced she is innocent, then she’s free to come in and submit to additional testing. I trust you and the other GASP members to perform these examinations, but it must be done under my conditions.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why do we have to be your prisoners in order for this investigation to happen? We’re obviously not running anywhere. This doesn’t make any sense, Your Grace. I’m trying to extend an olive branch here, to reach an accord. But you can’t expect us to come in, when what you’re offering is an undetermined period behind bars.”
“Because the upper echelon expects me to secure your cooperation, and they would all sleep better at night if they knew Valaine was apprehended.” Danika sighed. “We’re dealing with the beginning of mass panic, just as the Black Fever is spreading. You must understand, Derek—it’s nothing personal against you or Valaine. But the fact that you’re all running just proves we’re right to be fearful. You wouldn’t mind spending a few days in a cell if you were so confident about the test results where Valaine is concerned.”
She walked away from the desk and reached the window again. I was burning on the inside, wishing I could find the right words to make her understand that imprisonment wasn’t a good way to make us into allies again. But I also understood that she was being held accountable by the very people she was trying to get on her side. The Aeternae councilors and nobles had the power to either keep her on the throne or toss her aside.
I had a feeling the politics here were more complicated if the patriarch died. Still, we needed to find some kind of compromise, because I wasn’t remotely comfortable with the idea of Valaine coming back to a jail cell. Not after what I’d heard in the streets. Once Valaine was captured, there was no telling who might take the Darklings’ theory one step too far. The Darklings had already gotten a Nalorean nanny to do their bidding and kill the Lord Supreme.
“You’re playing into the Darklings’ hands,” I reminded Danika. “They killed your husband. Don’t you want to know why? Yet instead of investigating his death, you are so determined to catch Valaine. Why?”
Danika shot me a cold grin.