Page 56 of Hollow Court
Present Day
The next fewdays saw Gwyn and I sleeping in shifts with one eye open.
We may have known that Scottie and Arran were traitors, but we had no idea how many of our other men were tainted by it.
It was a relief when the white stone turrets of my home came into view. Though I had no desire to face what was coming next, at least the pretense would finally be over. At least I would finally know that Galina and my family were safe.
The black iron door gleamed in the late afternoon sun, opening as my parents and Gallagher came to greet us. Their concerned expressions raked over my cousin and me as we rode up to greet them.
My gaze flicked behind them, searching reflexively for Galina.
“She’s upstairs, dressing for dinner,” my mother said quietly, leaning in to embrace me as I dismounted my horse.
My shoulders eased, some of the tension ebbing away.
“Do you want us to send someone for her?” Da’ asked, clasping my fist with his and pulling me in for a hug.
When I pulled back, I rubbed a hand over my face. “No. I have something to take care of first.”
My mother’s assessing gaze narrowed slightly. “Well, I do hope we can handle it quickly. Remember that we have guests.”
It was a careful reminder that there were more than the usual eyes on us. So, it was undoubtedly a good thing that we hadn’t made the arrests as soon as we rode into the courtyard.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Gallagher asked, crossing his arms in a move that mirrored his sister’s current position.
I let out a slow breath. “Unfortunately, yes. We need to call a formation.”
After a brief explanation, my parents went back inside to distract the courtiers while my cousins and I headed to the barracks.
Three sharp whistles signaled the soldiers to line up. It was an uncomfortable harkening back to the morning at the inn. We had told the men on the way here that we would be doing this—lying, of course, about the reasons why.
As far as they were concerned, it was to let them all know what had happened on the road. What they didn’t know was that we would be searching them for signs of their allegiances.
One by one, we led them to a side room off the barracks, beginning with Scottie.
As soon as the door shut behind him, Gwyn held his arms behind his back while Gallagher forced his mouth open with a wooden bit to remove the poison.
His face reddened, his fury palpable as Gallagher held the fake tooth in his hand, examining it closely. While he did that, I stepped forward and sliced the laces of his shirt open. As the fabric fell away, it revealed a bit of angry-looking skin in the shape of a serpent and crown.
“You. Bastard,” I gritted out the words, not even giving him a chance to respond before ordering him to be taken to the dungeons.
From there, things continued to go downhill. Of the ten men that had traveled with us, three were with the rebellion.
By the end, we had discovered thirty-two rebels among the several hundred of our soldiers. Four of them got to their poison before we could stop them, leaving our dungeons filled to the brim with twenty-eight traitors.
Granted, it could have been more. But it was still thirty-two too many. Thirty-two would-be assassins who had been living under my roof, who had sworn allegiance to me.
“Well, at least we have them now,” Gallagher offered, though his expression was just as somber as mine and Gwyn’s.
“You weren’t there, Gal,” his sister said bitterly, her boot scuffing the stone floor. “This isn’t the end of it.”
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. With a nod, he acknowledged that he knew that much as well. We all did. It wouldn’t be this easy.
With that auspicious thought, we headed back inside the castle to entertain the courtiers and pretend that the enemy hadn’t just made arses of us all.
* * *
Like every timeI walked these halls, I looked straight ahead as I made my way through the family wing, avoiding the portraits that haunted me from either wall.