A Summit in Shadow

by Sarah E. Burr

  Looking at a wide-eyed George and Perry, Jax gulped. “That’s why we couldn’t figure out a motive for Lady Gwen’s death. She wasn’t meant to die. Annette was,” she explained, meeting her aunt’s shocked gaze. “Annette’s death would have been accompanied by a message threatening Grand-Père to comply with the Accord.”

  “But when the culprit realized they’d killed the wrong woman…” Perry started.

  “They fled the scene without a trace,” Jax finished. “That’s why Lucien was so keen to label it as an accident. He didn’t want anyone digging deeper to uncover the truth behind Gwen’s demise.”

  “So, you think he’s really the one responsible?” George’s brow furrowed into a hard line.

  “It’s all beginning to make sense.” Jax glanced at Roust, who nodded eagerly for her to continue unraveling the deadly events. “Lysandeir would have known ahead of the preliminary vote that Grand-Père would side with me, which is why the attack intended for Annette came the night before.” She continued putting the pieces of the mystery together for her companions. “Once he was able to confirm that both Pettraud and Crepsta would also vote against the Accord, he put the pieces in motion to ensure that wouldn’t happen.” She reached for George’s arm. “You must immediately send some of your men to Crepsta’s suite to watch over him and ensure his wife’s safety. With Pettraud already warned, he might be next on the list.”

  George nodded. “Right away. But what are you going to do, Jax?” he asked in return.

  “I’m going to collect Jaquobie and my grandfather, then have a word with Lucien to get to the bottom of this,” she replied with fierce determination.

  “I’ll bring Jaquobie back down with me, and then we’ll go get your grandfather,” George said. “Do not move from this spot, any of you.” He glared at Jax, Annette, Roust, and Perry until they all nodded in promise.

  “Virtues, what a nightmare,” Annette whimpered as George disappeared up the staircase. “That poor woman was killed because she was mistaken for me.” A lone tear slinked down her pale cheek.

  Jax squeezed her hand, trying to comfort the shaken woman. “I know it’s a lot to process, but I can’t help but be grateful it was her and not you, as awful as that sounds.”

  Roust wrung his hands. “If only I’d voiced my misgivings about the Duke’s intentions upon your arrival, I could have prevented all this.”

  Jax laid a palm on the man’s shoulder, knowing there were no words she could say that would truly comfort him.

  “Do you think my father is all right on his own?” Perry looked at her with concern in his eyes.

  “His vote is needed for the Accord. I don’t think whoever is behind this would look to eliminate him just yet.”

  Jax could only pray she spoke the truth.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After a few minutes of tense silence, footsteps were heard clattering down the west wing stairs. Captain Solomon arrived with ten of his men, each gripping the hilts of their swords in readiness. As Jax filled Jaquobie in on the latest developments, George dispatched five of the soldiers to find and secure Duke Crepsta.

  “The rest of you,” he said with bleak resolve, “follow me.”

  The tense group arrived at Duke Mensina’s doorstep in the eastern tower several minutes later.

  “What’s going on, Jacqueline? Are you planning a coup or something?” he asked, baffled by the Saphirian guards escorting his daughter and granddaughter.

  “I’ll explain on the way, Grand-Père. Right now, we must hurry.” Jax pulled him out of his suite, paying no attention to his fussy protests.

  Jaquobie took the lead from there, having visited Lysette in the central tower where the Lysandeir family resided. It surprised Jax that the sentries did nothing to stop them as the formidable delegation made its way up the winding stairs to the upper levels, arriving at the landing just outside Lucien’s study.

  Taking a deep breath, Jax rapped on the door, her stomach seizing as she heard shuffling on the other side of the thick wood. “Lucien, open up. We know you’re in there!” she yelled, slamming her fist into the door with greater force.

  A minute passed before the door inched open a sliver, red hair visible through the crack. “What is the meaning of this?”

  George pushed into the room, the Duke stumbling back as the door gave way. “How dare you disturb me in such a manner in my own home!” Lucien roared, his wild eyes darting around the chamber. “I’ll have my guards lock you up for this!”

  “I think your guards might feel differently about following your orders once they hear you’ve turned your back on the Virtues, Lucien,” Jax challenged as she waltzed into the room with assumed authority. “I doubt they’ll be too thrilled to learn their Duke has been ordering the deaths of innocent people and beating his allegedly beloved children.”

  Lucien’s eyes fell on Jax, his face crumpling. “I swear, I never planned for those deaths to happen.” His whispered words reached her keen ears alone.

  “I find it hard to believe anything transpires in this castle without you knowing it, Duke.” She scoffed at his lame attempt to deflect the truth. “You’ve been trying to undermine this summit from the very start by colluding with Maegus Welles,” she accused.

  “Where is this outrageous claim coming from?” Lucien roared.

  Roust stepped forward. “Those of us in the palace can attest to your regular visits to Cetachi, sir.”

  “That means nothing!” The Duke’s face had turned as red as his hair.

  “Then explain what it does mean,” a smooth voice demanded from the doorway.

  Jax whirled to see Darian leaning against the frame, his brown eyes a well of dark rage. He strode into the room, his gaze never breaking from the Duke’s paling face.

  “Tell me why you have been visiting my nation in the shadows!” the Governor thundered, betrayal steaming from his pores.

  Lucien collapsed in the chair at his desk, his head falling into his hands. “Everything fell apart the moment this whole summit started,” he bellowed, shocking the room into silence with his confession. “I was just planning to secure the votes of Beautraud, Zaltor, and Crepsta with some trade agreements, like we did with Tandora. That’s all.”

  “And you were planning to do this all by yourself?” Jax queried the same time Darian asked, “What trade agreements?”

  Jax turned to the Cetachi statesman. “You weren’t aware that Lucien gave Delphinia access to harvest the Cetachi forests on her border in exchange for her vote?”

  His eyes doubled in size as he turned once more to Lysandeir. “You told me the old woman believed in my cause!”

  At that, the corrupted Duke bit out a laugh. “You think a Duchess who has reigned for as long as she has would agree with your pathetic vision? Virtues, you’re even more clueless than I thought.”

  George and Perry each seized one of Darian’s arms as he lunged for the Duke.

  “Darian, stand down,” Jax ordered. She met Lucien’s calculated stare. “Maegus is the one arranging those deals on the Cetachi side, isn’t he? He forged Darian’s name on the agreement you sent to Delphinia.” She recalled the stack of papers in the Duchess’s chamber.

  “I would hardly call Maegus a representative of Cetachi,” Lucien revealed with a wicked grin. “He was born in Lysandeir. Did your little investigation uncover that, Duchess? He was the son of one of my most brilliant political advisors. We sent him off fifteen or so years ago to gather information about the wilds of Cetachi. He came back after only three the leader of an entire region. He’s been feeding me information for over a decade, helping me plan the right time to march my forces out of these horrible lands and seize Cetachi for myself.” Lucien stood up from his desk, his face having transformed into a mask of composure. “We were waiting for just the right opportunity to avoid the wrath of the realm. Then we heard about a little inspirational speech a lowly baker’s son gave and we knew our patience was about to be rewarded.”

  His d
iabolical smile froze Jax to the bone. “I sent Maegus to befriend this new political hero and plant the seeds of statehood in his young, idealistic mind. All I had to do was play the role of the generous benefactor and the pieces would fall into place.” He stalked closer to her, causing half a dozen hands to fly to the hilts of swords. He didn’t even bother stepping back. “Cetachi would be declared a state and Darian would assume his position as Governor. Then,” Lucien turned his attention to the restrained young man, “an accident would befall him and Maegus, ever the devoted Warden, would assume the position in his stead. For the betterment of the people, he would turn the region over to me, and I would claim it as an expansion of my own duchy.” Madness simmered in the Duke’s eyes.

  “Then why did you deviate from the plan?” Jax asked, keeping her tone even.

  “I didn’t! I kept my end of the deal. I got Tandora and Hestes on board right away, and secured Zaltor’s vote by taking their Ancient Faith leftovers. After Beautraud and Kwatalar abstained in the preliminary vote, I knew I could find something to offer them that would make it worth their while.” Lucien’s eyes hardened on hers. “I knew there was no sense touching your prestigious group of allies, Duchess. You all were too set in your ways to fall victim to Darian’s charms.”

  Despite his wild expression, Jax felt he was telling the truth. “So, what happened? Why has someone been attacking my allies?”

  Lucien slammed his fist onto the desk, the quills and papers rattling under the pressure. “I don’t know! At first, I did think the lady’s death was an accident, but my physician warned me the markings around her neck were suspicious. I thought someone was trying to sabotage the summit from the other side of the aisle.”

  Jax remembered how he’d accused her of arranging the woman’s death. “What made you change your mind?”

  “That note on the body of Pettraud’s valet. It reminded me of something Maegus said. When I saw that message, I began to think he had taken measures into his own hands, that he was the reason for this unnecessary bloodshed. For the past few weeks, during our secret meetings, he’s been rambling about threatening your allies, Jacqueline, about how it would make our Accord have a stronger chance at passing if your allies were taken out, one by one.” He looked out the window at the blinding white snow. “And then you went and rattled him with your words this morning. You pushed him over the edge. You pushed him to do this.”

  “Blame me all you want, Lucien,” Jax retorted, “but Lady Gwen was dead long before I spoke out against the Accord. No, you’re the one who has been working with a killer from the start. I didn’t drive anyone to this madness.” She steeled herself for more harsh accusations, but Duke Lysandeir remained silent.

  He hung his head, shaking it with immense grief. “I just don’t understand why he would do this.” His voice cracked on the last two words. “We’ve been planning this for months. We were so close to having the Accord signed without any bloodshed.”

  “I think it’s time to pay my Warden a visit,” Darian growled, finally yanking himself free from the steely grips of Perry and George.

  Jax motioned for George and Roust to lead the way, feeling drained and devastated by what she had learned. This historic peace summit had never been more than a vile ruse. She couldn’t imagine how Darian must hate them all right now. She hated herself for the part she had played in the charade.

  After racing down a flight of stairs, they arrived outside the door to Maegus’s chambers. Jax gripped Perry’s hand for reassurance, as two of her guards dragged Lucien along behind them, keeping a close eye on the disgraced Duke.

  Darian took it upon himself to knock, having assumed he’d be the least likely to spook Maegus by paying the man a visit. “Maegus, I need to speak with you.” It appeared a struggle for the betrayed man to keep his voice neutral and even.

  He received no answer.

  Darian cast a strange look Jax’s way before knocking again. “Maegus, open up immediately.”

  Still, they heard no sound or movement on the other side of the stone walls.

  “Break down the door,” Jax commanded without hesitation, looking to George and few of his men.

  With four mighty kicks, the wood splintered open and they all poured into the room.

  The sitting area was empty, with no sign that anyone had been using it for at least a few hours. The embers in the fireplace held no warmth as Jax hovered her hand above them, testing their temperature.

  The accompanying guards spread out across the accommodations, but Jax broke away from the others and pushed open the bedroom door.

  Sprawled across the four-poster bed was Maegus, blood pooling under his exposed throat.

  Shock briefly assaulted her senses, but Jax fought against it and rushed to the man’s side. She heard gasps behind her as she touched his frigid skin. “He’s been dead for a few hours, if I had to guess.” She noticed a splash of dried blood on his right hand. “Darian, do you recall if your Warden was left- or right-handed?”

  He answered her from the doorway, his voice heavy with grief as he took in the body of his former friend. “Right-handed, Your Grace.”

  Jax looked at George and Perry as they drew closer to the body. “I think we can assume that the stain on his hand is Clouse’s blood. He was killed before he even had time to properly wash up.” Her keen eyes detected bits of food on his jacket. Must be left over from his run-in with Hendrie, she mused to herself.

  “Then who killed him?” Perry said, asking the obvious question on everyone’s mind.

  “It seems every time we think we’ve gotten the final piece of the puzzle, another gap opens up,” George muttered under his breath, clearly unsatisfied with the quick death Maegus received.

  Jax backed away from the dead man’s side and strode back into the sitting room, where Lucien sat under guard. “I don’t think we’ve ever had all the pieces, have we, Duke?”

  The bravado he’d demonstrated in his study had abandoned him, for he sat shuddering under her stare.

  “I’ve been wondering this since my grandfather mentioned it,” she declared with a calculated look, “but why did you ride out to meet Maegus in person and escort him to the summit?”

  Everyone in their party gathered around the sitting room, waiting for his answer.

  “He needed my men to help transport something here,” the Duke finally mumbled. “He said it would be useful to our cause.”

  Jax pushed for the truth. “Do you know what it was?”

  Lucien’s red mane shook. “No. From the way he presented it to me, I thought it better if I didn’t know. It came in a large crate. Maegus asked me to keep it somewhere safe where no one would go. I had my men put it up at the top of the west wing tower and told everyone else it was under renovation.”

  Jax’s memory flashed back to the noises she heard coming from above her bathtub yesterday afternoon. Had the Duke’s men been securing the parcel? Wouldn’t they have done that immediately upon their arrival back at the castle earlier that morning?

  “Was it some type of weapon you were going to use to intimidate us?” Duke Mensina pressed, his arm hugging Annette close.

  Lucien’s mouth bobbed open like a fish. “I told you, I don’t know what was inside it. I figured it was better for me if I didn’t ask too many questions.”

  “Take us to where your men stored the crate,” Jax ordered.

  Duke Lysandeir hung his head dejectedly, but nodded.

  “Captain Solomon, have some of your men escort my grandfather and aunt back to their quarters,” Jax requested. To her family members she said, “I’ll come get you when this whole mess is sorted out, but right now I can’t be worrying about your safety.”

  Duke Mensina looked as though he might protest, but Annette silenced him. “Of course, Jacqueline. Be careful,” she said as she followed one of the Saphirian guards out of the crowded room.

  Jax ousted two more members of their party. “Jaquobie, I want you and Roust to go back to my chamber
s and check in on Uma and Hendrie.” She did not want George and his men to be spread too thin protecting the large group, considering they had no idea what they were up against.

  “I know it is useless to suggest, but you should come with us, too, Duchess,” Jaquobie said, giving her a lecturing stare.

  She didn’t even deem it worth a response. “Darian, you should return to your rooms, as well. Obviously, Maegus was not the friend you thought him to be. Who knows what could be waiting up in that tower?”

  “If you think I’m going to stay in my room and wait to hear about the other ways I’ve been stabbed in the back, you’re sorely mistaken.” Darian fumed with anger as he reached her side.

  She knew it would be cruel to command him to stay behind when he had so much at stake. “Very well,” she said with a sigh, her attention directed elsewhere. “Lead the way, Lucien.”

  Duke Lysandeir did not move fast enough for Jax’s liking as the remaining group climbed the steps to the top of west tower. Jaquobie and Roust ducked in to the Saphirian apartments as Jax, Perry, George, Darian, Lucien, and a handful of guards disappeared up the remainder of the dark stairs.

  Considering no one resided in this portion of the tower, the palace staff had not lit the torches lining the stairwell. George grabbed the last burning flame hanging from the wall, the lone light illuminating the eerie passage.

  “Do you hear something?” Perry whispered to Jax, gripping her arm tightly.

  She strained to listen past the sounds radiating from their party, but couldn’t hear anything of note. “No. Why, do you?”

  “I could have sworn I heard laughing.”

  His words sent ice through her veins.

  Shaking away the chill, Jax looked over at a sullen Darian. “You’re the one who knew Maegus best. What could he have smuggled into the castle that would be of any use?” She watched the sorrow deepen across his face.

  “I thought I knew him.” His voice was sad and distant, the emotional burden of it all hitting him hard. “I have no more idea than you at this moment, Duchess.”