Derek turned around when somebody called to him from the top of the stairs on the second floor. A subtle look of relief washed over his face. I could only see it because I’ve known him all his life. That was the look he got when his plan had succeeded.
Who was that calling Derek…? One of Octavia’s bodyguards?
I ascended the stairs, following my hunch. “Octa—”
But my relief over seeing my sister was short-lived. A soldier stood in front of her, hiding her with Blackfeather. And behind him was…a tuft of silvery hair and the dress Octavia was wearing. But it wasn’t her. It was…probably her other bodyguard.
Octavia wasn’t here and neither was that man, Klifford Alderton—the Emissary of Ongarne.
I opened the door to the room on the second floor. Inside was a lone woman. From her age and her facial features, she looked like—
“Are you…”
Edgar’s mother?
I shook my head, willing the searing pain in my temples to stay at bay. I needed to prioritize Octavia now.
“What’s going—”
I heard footsteps slowly ascending the staircase—Derek.
“You saw it yourself. Princess Octavia is not here.”
I turned my back on the room and asked Derek, “Why the decoy? Where did she go?”
“To the castle.”
To see Sil? No, was it to rendezvous with Nathan?
“Whoa, not so fast, Sirius. It’s not what you’re imagining. You’re way off.”
I swallowed the rage in my voice and asked, “How so?”
“See for yourself.” Derek tossed a piece of paper at me.
I froze. Is this…?
“It arrived immediately after Octavia entered this shop. As part of my solo operations for today, I had Nathan send me periodic reports from the castle, just like you got your messenger birds.”
“Why did Nathan send you messages directly?”
“Maybe because we were worried somebody might crumple them up and throw them away before you could see them?”
The words on the paper were in Nathan’s handwriting. It was clear he wrote them. His hand was steady when he wrote. So if I was to believe this letter and Derek’s assertions, at the very least, when Nathan wrote that letter…all was well at the castle.
—It was the complete opposite of the message Hugh had just received by messenger bird.
My mouth was dry.
“In other words—the name you didn’t give me last night…it was Hugh?”
It can’t be.
The ubiquitous words swirled in a vortex in my mind.
I can’t believe it.
At the same time, the thought, But what if it is true? swirled up from deep inside my heart.
Can you honestly say with confidence that during the past few months, you never thought Hugh’s words or actions were amiss?
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I wish I was wrong…I really do,” Derek said.
And then…everything clicked into place.
It’s not that Derek didn’t tell me… He couldn’t tell me.
“You should have showed me this immediately.”
Derek shook his head. “I had to make an escape plan, didn’t I? If you didn’t believe me, it would be game over then and there. Assuming Hugh was our culprit, that would mean everything would go according to his plan.”
“Octavia… Did she believe you?”
“She’s not here—does that answer your question? Hugh can be stopped, even if you don’t take action.”
“Even if I don’t take action” … He really had the nerve to say that?
“This puts Hugh and I on equal footing. We’re both equally suspected of foul play. Now that you have that information, Sirius—what’s your move?”
“You’re asking who I trust?”
“Yeah.”
I already knew the answer. “I don’t trust either of you.”
My heart was another story. I wanted to trust both of them.
But as long as there was reason to suspect them—then that put Derek and Hugh both into the same boat. And there was only one way to quickly determine the truth.
“I’m going to see for myself. Derek, you’re still under surveillance.”
“Yeah… Figured you’d say that,” Derek chuckled in relief.
“What?”
“Nothing… Just glad my worries were in vain.”
“You’re not making sense…”
You haven’t regained my trust, you know.
“As honored as I would be for you to trust me in these circumstances, it would just contradict your personality. The only person you’d make an exception for—if anybody—is Sil.”
“…………”
“I figured this is how things would go if you had to choose between me and Hugh, and both of us were suspicious. It’s just that I wasn’t able to get over my fear that you’d take Hugh’s side. You tend to get irrational when Octavia is involved.”
I had no idea I was like this… Or at least I didn’t, until a few days ago.
The pain in my temples. Once I became conscious that there were discrepancies in my memory, I started to become aware of many things about myself. And this awareness only got stronger the closer I got to Octavia.
It’s how I was able to realize something was amiss with Hugh—no, that was really just a mistake on my part. I always had a nebulous sort of trust for Hugh, for reasons even I couldn’t explain. And strangely enough…I still had that trust now. I always thought it was because of all the years I’d spent with him. But maybe—
“Hugh…please.”
Did I—ask something of Hugh in the past?
I violently shook my head side to side. I couldn’t remember, and I didn’t have time to rack my brain trying to.
“The survey is canceled. We’re going back to the castle, full speed. Tell all the men—”
But I cut myself off there—because I caught a glimpse of the soldier dressed as Octavia, and the other soldier holding Blackfeather.
On the surface, the survey was to continue, as scheduled. And if possible, that would be for the best. Even if I returned to the castle, as long as there were still people here completing the royal survey in our places, we could manipulate the public information later to a degree.
Follow a suggestion of Octavia’s? If I were in this situation a little while ago, I would never have even considered it.
“Heller Byrne. Guy Peutz.”
“Aye, sir!” They both saluted back.
“Keep playing the part of Octavia and her bodyguard—and get me a decoy as well. Finish the survey, and ride back to the castle in the carriage in disguise.”