Page 27 of To Save a Kingdom

“If it wasn’t Roland, then who?”

Elessan met her gaze, his expression somber. “I only know of one person who could drain magic like this. And he’s dead.”

Aliya swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “Malkov.”

He nodded. “Which means it’s someone who was close to him. Close enough to know how it was done.”

Her knees locked and she swayed, clenching her core to avoid tumbling into the puddle of blood at her feet. “Brooks.” The Arcane Inquisitor.

Elessan pressed his lips into a thin line. “Brooks.”

She glanced around the barn, but the action was futile. The man was long gone. “Any chance you can track him?”

“Maybe, but I’m not leaving you here alone, nor am I going to bring you right to him.”

Aliya opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand. “We are too closely matched for me to risk fighting him one-on-one. We need to be smart about this. If we go back to the castle, we can summon a whole squad of guards and hunt him down like the dog he is.”

“But if we wait, he may kill more innocent people.” People it was her job as queen to protect. And he’d gain extra power by stealing additional magic.

Elessan appeared in front of her. She jumped, having missed his movement. He laid a hand against her cheek. “He might, but I won’t risk you.”

She scoffed, brushing his arm away. “I’m no more important than anyone else, and I’m powerful. I can help.”

“You could, but your people depend on you. There’s no clear line of succession. What would happen to the kingdom if you died?”

Aliya opened her mouth, paused, then snapped it closed. Curse the mages. He had a point. At best, there would be a power vacancy that would throw the noble houses into disarray. At worst, civil war would break out and further devastate the realm. Not to mention, they were facing winter and a famine.

She sighed, her shoulders drooping. Brooks had her Whisperers, and he could use them whenever and wherever he wanted. And as soon as he did, word would spread to the elves and dwarves, and the fragile peace she’d negotiated would crumble to dust.

A wave of emotion slammed into her, battering her to the ground. She covered her face with both hands as the enormous weight settled. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Shh.” He pulled her head until it rested against his chest. His arms wrapped around her. “It’ll be okay. You’re not alone. We’ll figure this out.”

She took a deep breath, inhaling his woodsy scent. Sagging into him, she held back a yawn. If only she had stayed in bed tonight…this could’ve been a problem for tomorrow.

“We should keep this as quiet as possible,” Elessan said. “If word were to get out the Whisperers were missing, it would cause panic and mass hysteria.”

Just like it would if everyone found out there wasn’t enough food to last the kingdom through the winter.

Another ball of lead settled in Aliya’s gut. She needed to figure out a way to purchase more supplies for her people with the nonexistent funds in her treasury. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any way other than arranging a marriage.

“We should tell my father.”

“What?” Elessan’s surprise was so sharp, she startled.

Pushing away, she met his eyes. “He may be a royal ass, but he’s smart. He’ll understand the implications of this information getting out and the importance of hunting down the perpetrator as quietly as possible. Plus, it’ll give him something to focus on.” And it might distract him from harassing her about picking a husband, though she couldn’t put that off too much longer or it’d be too late to shore up their winter food supplies.

Elessan raised an eyebrow, his incredulity covering her skin like a sticky film.

She rubbed her arms. “Come on, we should get back before the castle starts to wake in earnest, or there may be questions we don’t want to answer before we locate the Whisperers.”

“Father!” Aliya stepped into his suite without bothering to knock. The early morning light cast the terrace outside his balcony in a golden glow, highlighting the baron’s gray hair.

He startled at her abrupt intrusion. Setting his fork down on the delicate china plate, he turned to face her. “Daughter.”

Crossing the room and pulling out the chair across from him, she sat, putting the windows to her back. “I have a job for you.”

He squinted, either in surprise or because she’d forced him to stare into the sun to meet her gaze. “Oh? And what makes you think I’m looking for any additional… jobs?”