“Your Majesty,” one of the handmaidens said, bowing with respect. It was a woman about Bartholomew’s age with silver hair in a single braid that fell over her left shoulder. She was matronly, gentle, and respectful when she took Lola from him.

“Greta. Please make sure she is taken care of,” Russel said.

The older woman smiled.

“Of course, Sire,” she told him. “We will see to her. She is in good hands with us, I assure you.”

“Thank you. I will be in meetings but have a runner send for me if there are any problems. Any at all, no matter how small or trivial.”

“Yes, of course.”

Russel didn’t want to leave Lola but he needed to address everything that happened. He needed to find out how and why a Harvenk managed to get as close as she had. To protect Lola, he had to better understand this whole crazy situation.

As best he could anyway.

He took a few steps toward Lola and whispered to her.

“I’ll be close by. Get some rest, okay? I will be back in a little bit to check in on you.” He kissed the top of her head.

She continued staring ahead, her eyes still dazed but he thought she might have given him the faintest nod of her head as if to say, “Do what you have to. I understand.”

He hesitated though, torn between staying with her and making sure she was truly okay and dealing with the mess he was now faced with. It was hard. Almost torturously hard. He loved her. He loved her so much that it hurt to see her in so much pain.

“Sire,” Bartholomew said, his voice gentle but urging. “She will be safe. You must attend to other matters now.”

“Yes,” Russel said, still hesitating. It was only after Greta took Lola into the bathroom to get cleaned up that he finally was able to tear himself away. He turned to Bartholomew. “Right. I will be in the War Chamber with the others. I’m counting on you to keep me informed of Lola’s state of mind and her health.”

“It shall be done, Your Majesty,” Bartholomew said with a bow.

Russel gave one last, lingering look toward the bath and then walked out of the room. As soon as he did, he spotted the guard that had let Lola walk off still posted outside the door of his main apartments.

“You!”

The guard turned toward the sound of the king’s voice, a pale look on his face.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he asked, his face going even paler within the span of just a few seconds.

“With me, now,” Russel commanded. His voice was like steel.

The guard immediately marched toward Russel but before he could stop next to the king and await further instruction, he turned on his heel and started to walk away. Confused and not sure what to do, he stood there frozen for half a second.

“All of you except for the guards Bartholomew posted, follow me,” Russel said.

The guards obeyed. They followed after their king, walking through the enormous and elaborate castle until they all found themselves in the large, circular room known as the War Chamber.

“Find seats,” Russel shouted once everyone was inside.

The other members of the war council, including his four brothers, were still inside, right where Russel had left them. They had been hunched over the map in the center of the room. When everyone started filing in, all four brothers and the few military advisors looked up to see what was going on.

“What is the meaning of this?” Roland asked, irritated that they were being interrupted.

“Speak out of turn again and I’ll have you jailed,” Russel snapped.

Roland’s eyes widened slightly in shock and then narrowed in anger. He started to sputter, clearly wanting to speak again but Raylan nudged him with an elbow and he kept his mouth shut. Even Reid and Rutger wisely decided not to test Russel.

Their brother looked pissed.

Russel stood facing everyone but he said nothing. He just stood there, his face a mask of stern patience. He studied each person’s face as they all waited on him, trying to assess things. Assess intentions. Look for guilt. Something he could grab onto and understand. As he did, others started to filter in. Most of these were guards or soldiers that had been assigned to the castle gates or the perimeter wall.

Still he waited.

It took maybe fifteen to twenty more minutes before everyone was assembled. After they were, he waited some more. People were getting impatient and restless. His brothers were starting to fidget.

But even so, no one spoke.

Finally, Russel took a deep breath and addressed the entire room.

“A Harvenk spy infiltrated this stronghold and attempted to kill a guest of mine.” He stopped and scanned the faces again, looking for even the smallest hints of treason from any of them. HIs storm-blue eyes seemed to bore into everyone. “And I want to know how that could possibly happen. Each person inside this room is here to give me that answer.”

He let that information sink in for several moments.

“And if I find your answers unsatisfactory, it will not bode well for any of you.”