Quilla sighed. The worst part was, the Queen wouldn’t be wrong to blame her. It was her fault. She had suggested it. Sure, she’d tried to take it back and Sinit?a had seemed to agree, but Quilla knew it must have planted a seed in Sinit?a’s head, one that grew over the next couple days. Yet another reason she shouldn’t have drunk so much that first night.


    The doors swung open and Princess Annai ran through the room in tears and out the opposite doors, slamming them behind her. One of the guards closed the doors she’d come through, just in time to dampen more screams from the Queen.


    Sinit?a had said she was going to do a painting of Garet. What would happen to that now? Was anybody else going to do anything for Garet’s funeral? Was Quilla even right to be so obsessed over it?


    The doors opened again, and this time, the Queen stormed out. Quilla braced herself, but the Queen never even looked in her direction. She stormed across the room and out the same doors Annai had left through, though she let the guards close them instead of slamming them herself.


    Quilla looked back at Zandrue, whose gaze had turned back towards the doors they were seated by. The King was standing just beyond the doors, looking into the room. Behind him stood Captain DeSelo?n and two Kingsguard. He scratched his beard, breathed deeply, and stepped into the room.


    “With respect, your Majesty,” Zandrue said, “Felit?a’s not here.”


    The King glared at Zandrue. His lips quivered, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he strode past her, Rudiger, and Quilla. He walked over to a desk by the wall and began fiddling with a potted plant there. After several moments, he spoke, “These last few days have been...I don’t even know how to describe it. You’d think I’d be used to tragedy by now.”


    The King shook his head. “I wish that were true. My wife believes it was to save your own life.”


    The King held up his hand. “I know none of you hold much respect for her, but believe me, she is my rock. I may not always agree with everything she says or does, but without her, this country would be in a shambles under the reign of Wavon the Incompetent. I deserve many of those names I’m called, you know. So even if she may sometimes go over the top in matters of family, I think the overall trade-off is more than worth it. And that’s where we get to Felit?a. I love my daughter. I adore her. But I must confess, I do not really know her, and I most definitely do not understand her. Cerus and Ardon have been passionate in their defence of her, but there is no changing what she did. She started a war.”


    “I don’t doubt the Volgs wanted to start this war,” the King said. “None of us doubt that. But that’s beside the point. Felit?a gave them the reason they needed. She gave them a way to claim we were responsible. If she had stayed out of it, they would have had to find another reason. Their hypocrisies might have been exposed, and more importantly, Arnor could not be blamed.”


    “To find Rudiger, your Majesty, in case Princess Sinit?a had gone to him or he had seen her.”


    The King crossed his arms. “I see, and did you truly believe you would find her there?”


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    Quilla tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. Zandrue was staring at her with narrowed eyes. Blame me, Felit?a had said. Well, that advice could be taken further. “Meleng sent her a letter, your Majesty. I delivered it to her. I don’t know what was in the letter, and I’m only guessing, but maybe…”


    Quilla bit her lip. Would he see right through her if she told him anything other than the truth?


    Zandrue shook her head. “I find it hard to believe Meleng would ask her to come to him, but if he did, he’d know we would be able to tell you his location. So he’d go somewhere else to meet her.”


    “No, your Majesty. If I had to guess, I’d say Beldrum. It’s relatively close and would be easy for Sinit?a to get to. However, Meleng’s smart. He’ll have anticipated anything we might guess.”


    “Didn’t think it would harm? Sinit?a is now travelling on her own because you didn’t think. She has no idea what the world at large can be like. She is too trusting by far. If any harm comes to her…” He paused, his lips trembling, face reddening. He turned away from her.


    The King rounded on Zandrue. “He wouldn’t need to. If he so much as mentioned where he is, it might have been enough to put the idea in her mind, whether he intended it or not. You tell me he is smart, but clearly he is not too bright in these matters.”


    “There is another possibility, your Majesty,” Zandrue said.


    And then the King strode from the room, servants opening the doors for him as he approached. The Kingsguard and a train of courtiers followed him. DeSelo?n was the last to leave. He gave a slight nod to Quilla, Rudiger, and Zandrue before he stepped through. A servant closed the doors behind him. Only two Palace guards and that one servant remained in the room with them.


    Zandrue glared at her and then over at the single servant by the door in this room. “Not here!” she hissed. She pulled away from Quilla, continued across the room, and out the next door. A befuddled-looking Rudiger followed her.


    “Because he would never believe it. Nobody goes to Beldrum! The best way to make a lie believable is to make it mostly true. So I said Porthaven and gave a reason for them to redirect to Beldrum. That’s the best I could do.”


    “You brought Meleng into this Quilla. You told the King about the letter. After that, I was just trying to cover for you because I’m a hell of a better liar than you. Hell, for all I know, Meleng really did tell Sinit?a to come to him in his little love letter.”


    “He doesn’t have to be interested in her physically to care for her and want to see her. But yeah, I don’t really believe he did that. But something put the idea in her head, and one thing I can be certain of is she’s gone to find him, so where does that leave us? Felit?a told you to blame her, remember?”


    Zandrue pulled away from his touch, but half raised her hands. “Look, there’s a number of ways things can go, and Meleng is safe in most of them. He and Jorvan might have already left before Sinit?a could get to them, and she’ll still be in Arnor City. Or she caught up to them, and they’re on their way to Isyaria, which is a destination nobody here is likely to think of if we never mention it. And other possibilities. And if they are caught, we’ll just have to trust Meleng to take care of himself. He’s a big boy now, you know, and he has Jorvan with him.” Zandrue paused and took a deep breath. “Now, if I’m going to continue to convince Annai I’m her friend, I need to go comfort her now that she’s been screamed at by her mother.” She backed away a couple steps, then turned and stormed away.


    Rudiger backed a couple steps away, then followed Zandrue, though more calmly.


    Quilla stood there awhile. “Fuck!”