Thea Harrison - Storm's Heart

“Don’t misunderstand, there are plenty of scents and plenty of tracks,” Aryal muttered. “We scoured every inch of the riverbank, and they’re all over the goddamn place. And almost everybody has something wet or damp in their possession. The whole camp has been down to the river at some point, to either wash or haul water.”

Rune opened the container of potato salad. He took the fork Niniane had left on her abandoned plate and began shoveling food into his mouth. He said, “I think the killer did the simplest thing possible and bashed her over the head with a rock, threw the murder weapon into the water and let the river take care of the rest. Maybe it was someone Arethusa trusted, or at least someone she discounted as a threat, or maybe it was someone capable of sneaking up behind her and catching her by surprise. It had to be one or the other. Arethusa wouldn’t have turned her back to just anybody.”

The thought of such quiet, calculating malice made Niniane shudder. Tiago cupped her cheek. His fingers curled around the back of her neck, underneath her hair, and he stroked her face with his thumb. He nodded to the manila envelope on the floor and told Aryal and Rune, “Look at what Arethusa left for me, in care of one of her men.”

Aryal pulled out the checkbook and papers. The harpy held them up so she and Rune could both stare at them. Rune murmured, “That’s motive right there, baby.”

“Here’s how I piece it together,” Tiago said. “Someone works on Geril and gets him to try to kill Niniane. That someone also has access to Urien’s mansion, finds this bogus company in his files and decides to use it. If Geril succeeds, he gets paid. If fallout from Niniane’s death causes an investigation that uncovers the payment, the Wyr get blamed. Only Arethusa talked to us, so she didn’t stop digging when she was supposed to, and she found this file. She kept quiet because she knew one of the Dark Fae had done it, but she wasn’t sure who.”

“She wouldn’t have had the authority to dig through Aubrey’s or Kellen’s belongings, not without creating a big stink,” Niniane said. “We would have heard if that had happened.”

“And we didn’t slink off in disgrace the way we were meant to,” Rune said. He sat forward, his elbows on his knees. “So—what, you think maybe someone discovered this file had gone missing? I wonder where it was when Arethusa found it.”

“Our someone wouldn’t have wanted to keep something so incriminating,” Tiago said. “The file was probably put back where it had been found in case it might be useful again, or better yet, it was hidden somewhere else, in a cubbyhole, or stuffed under towels in a linen closet. That was a big house. It had a lot of hiding places.”

“Our someone likes to hedge bets,” Rune said. “But he made another mistake by not destroying that file.”

Aryal yawned. She had stretched out on the floor, her long legs crossed at the ankle. She said in a drowsy voice, “I could start bitch-slapping people. Sooner or later somebody would squawk.”

Niniane was so tired. It had sunk deeper than her bones and become a cold ache that dragged at her spirits. It was exhaustion that made her eyes leak. It had to be.

She said, “I don’t know why you’re all being so circumspect. It’s not like you to dance around something instead of just saying it.”

Tiago’s arms tightened. He held her with his whole body, but it was Rune who asked, “What do you mean, pip-squeak?”

“Anybody who had been in that mansion could have found that file,” she said. “But the one who probably did was the one responsible for going through Urien’s financial papers, as well as for overseeing all the other Dark Fae financial matters.”

Aryal tilted her head to look at Niniane. The harpy wore a rare expression of sympathy.

Rune said, “You think the killer was Chancellor Aubrey.”

“I don’t want to think that,” she said. Her voice sounded small, and as cold as the rest of her had become. “But suspecting him without proof would have been more than enough reason to keep Arethusa quiet.” She tilted back her head to look up at Tiago. “What do you think?”

His hard-edged face was quietly savage as he looked at the pain in her face.

Aubrey had said to Niniane, If I had known you were alive, I would never have stopped searching for you . It had felt like the truth. What if the reasons behind the statement were much less benign than what Aubrey had inferred? Had he ever unequivocally refuted his distant connection to the throne?

Upon reflection, Tiago thought not. It disturbed him, especially considering how Aubrey was already centrally positioned in the Dark Fae government and secure in his allies and relationships. Now one of the major Dark Fae power brokers was dead, the checks-and-balance system built into their triad disrupted, and their army leaderless.

He kissed Niniane with lingering tenderness. Then he said, “I think we should get to Adriyel as fast as we can.”

Change of plans.

They could not take Aubrey into custody without proof, not with so many highly placed witnesses present, and they could not allow him to reconnect with his power base in Adriyel and possibly gain control of the army. The same applied to Kellen. Without proof, they could not conclusively clear Kellen of suspicion. For all they knew, Aubrey and Kellen might have struck up an alliance and were now working together. Niniane had to leave, and quickly, but she also had to travel in the right way. If it were a simple matter of who reached Adriyel first, Tiago, Rune and Aryal could shift into their Wyr forms and carry her to Adriyel in a matter of hours, not days. But she could not be seen to take power through the Wyr.

She said to Tiago, “The troops need to go with us.”

“Agreed,” Tiago said. “Yesterday Arethusa told me the trip would take the group three days from this point forward. We had an easy day, so our horses are still fresh. If we travel light and push it, we can make Adriyel in a day, maybe a day and a half.” He looked at Rune and Aryal. “You need to stay behind and monitor what everyone does when we leave.”

Aryal stretched and sat up. “Should be interesting.”

Cameron pushed through the hangings, shoes in one hand, scabbard in the other, her hair tousled and face creased. She said in a sleep-gravelly voice, “What about me?”

“You come up with us,” Tiago said.

Cameron nodded. She looked unsurprised. She slanted a grin at Niniane and said, “My sore ass can’t wait.”

Niniane snorted. “Mine either.”

Tiago passed a hand over Niniane’s hair. “Do you need to sleep for an hour or two before we leave?”

She shook her head. “I rested and ate. I’ll live.”

“Right. Here’s packing made easy for you. It’ll be a food, water and weapons kind of trip.” He stood and set her gently on her feet. “I’ll go muster the troops and get our horses saddled. Plan to leave in half an hour. Less if I can manage it.”

“Okay.” She watched him leave then she looked at Cameron. “That gives you time to eat something.”

Cameron looked around at the empty cooler and array of empty containers. Her eyebrows rose.

Niniane picked up her plate of food and handed it to the other woman. “I just nibbled around the edges. Mr. Incredible served me enough food to last a week. Finish that while I make us some coffee.”

“You’re the coolest princess I’ve ever met,” Cameron said.

She filled a metal pot with water and set it on the brazier to boil. Then Rune and Aryal took their leave to wash and change into clean clothes and, as Rune said, prepare for mass consternation and misbehavior. They each gave Niniane a hard hug. “See you at the other end,” said Rune.