The Kept

The Queen

Vayk's slaughter of the Ithaans had be thorough. There were few surviving witnesses, and fewer still that were conscious when Nerys walked into the palace infirmary to have her reopened wound cleaned and dressed in fresh bandages.

Once they got over their initial surprise at being greeted by the new Queen, the survivors tearfully recounted what they knew of the attack. None of them had seen anyone matching the Maestro's appearance or what happened to Garin and Calliste. All Nerys knew for certain of the king and queen is that they were not among the dead, leading her to believe they had somehow gone with Vayk.

She had lost sight of him early into her battle with Xai, and by the time her party had fought through the false guards to catch up with Nerys, Vayk had completely vanished. Though every possible escape route from the palace had been searched at her request, Nerys could tell from the gentle suggestions for her to rest that she was being humored. She might have begun to believe she had mistaken someone else for him, but there was no mistaking what he had said.

Still stumbling into danger half-naked, I see.

It could not have been anyone but Vayk. That he and Xai were acting together on Ardin's behalf meant that Vayk had to have been the one who betrayed Havenwood from within, and the one who arranged it so that Aimery knew where to find her. The Tiarmni ship hadn't pursued them from Havenwood, it had been waiting for them all along.

Nerys realized that searching for Dadien's ship was probably exactly what Vayk expected her to do. With their attention devoted finding one specific ship, the rest would fall under less scrutiny once they were ruled out. The moment Dadien found his ship, Vayk would slip out with the other merchants that had been delayed– if he hadn't already.

"Damn him!" Nerys said.

She sat up from the bed where she had been coerced into laying upon with a tincture soaked towel draped across her back while she waited for news from the harbor.

The substance supposedly promoted quicker healing and stung a bit as the towel slid down from the wound and clung to her lower back, but she would have to take her chances. The only other person who knew Vayk had been there with as much certainty as Nerys did was locked away, presumably still nursing her grudge toward a dead man and hoping for another opportunity to take it out on Nerys.

"Your majesty!" An assistant physician who had been sent attend Nerys in her rooms rushed to stop her.

"The medicine needs to remain in direct contact, and the wound kept immobile for at least two hours for it to have the most benefit. I am afraid I must insist that you retire for the day and allow me to apply a new treatment."

"You can do that when I get back," Nerys said.

She tossed the towel to the physician and gingerly worked herself into a loose tunic. He looked helplessly at Esteri, who sat on the other side of the room beside where Nyx slept. She and Nyx had remained in her chamber even after Nerys forced everyone else out– using the excuse that they could not leave their Queen unguarded until they were sure there were no other traitors hidden among their people.

Nerys suspected the greater reason for declining to leave might have been that they did not wish to face their grief just yet. She allowed them to stay and had insisted they at least take turns resting since they had been up as long as she had. Esteri now reached to shake Nyx awake as Nerys stood.

"She's fine," Nerys said. "There are plenty of guards where we are going."

Like the rest of the palace, the wing where prisoners were held was surprisingly bright and airy. There was little to indicated its purpose, save for iron-barred doors that limited the inhabitants' view of the fountain and flower-filled courtyard.