Chapter 199: Does he Think We Are Fools?

Carrick’s expression tightened.

He opened his mouth as if to protest, but Thorne continued speaking, his voice dropping lower, carrying a note of finality that made clear this was not a negotiation.

"We would discuss this further in the morning," Thorne said. "When cooler heads might prevail and clearer thinking might allow for more productive conversation. For now, you will retire to the guest chambers. You will be provided with whatever comforts you require. And you will remain there until I send for you. Do as you are told, Lord Carrick. We would discuss this tomorrow morning."

Carrick understood, even if he did not accept, that he had been dismissed.

He bowed....the gesture stiff. "As Your Majesty wishes," Carrick said coldly.

He turned to the white-haired girl.

"Come," he said simply.

The girl looked at each of the kings in turn.

Her pale eyes moved from Draeven to Thorne to Kaelen, assessing them, understanding them, registering something about each that seemed important to her understanding of the situation.

Then her gaze shifted to Morgana.

It was not a casual glance.

It was a deliberate look, held for just long enough to communicate something, a warning perhaps, or a promise, or simply an acknowledgment that they had been in the same space and that both of them understood something significant had transpired.

The girl pulled the cloak back over her head.

Then she turned and followed Carrick from the throne room.

For a moment, no one moved.

The throne room seemed to settle into a new configuration, a new understanding, a new reality shaped by what had just transpired.

***

"What nonsense is going on here?" Kaelen demanded, his voice echoing through the throne room. "Why are you indulging him? You know he’s lying. So why is he inside the palace rather than in a dungeon? Does he think we are fools?"

He moved toward the raised platform, his entire body radiating fury and confusion and something underneath both of those emotions....fear, perhaps, or uncertainty.

Draeven and Thorne exchanged a look.

It was the kind of silent communication that passed between brothers who had learned to understand each other through years of rule and warfare and shared responsibility for a kingdom.

Thorne spoke first.

"You felt something when you entered," he said quietly. It was not a question.

Kaelen stopped moving.

He turned back and looked at Morgana, who was still standing where he had left her, near the entrance to the throne room. His pale eyes held her for a moment.

Then he turned back to face his brother.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked slowly, carefully, as if the answer was something he did not want to hear but needed to understand. "Are you implying she is...."

"No," Draeven said sharply, shaking his head. "I don’t believe she is what Carrick claims."

He stepped forward, his golden eyes intense.

"But the signs are there," Draeven continued. "And I can also feel INFERNUS fighting it. He is trying to resist something. He is reacting to something in that girl. Something that calls to him. We still don’t know what it is about. But we need to find out as soon as possible."

Kaelen’s jaw clenched.

"Because if Lord Carrick takes this information to the Council of Elders," Draeven finished, his voice dropping lower, "we are going to have significant problems. The council already questions our motives. This will give them ammunition. This will raise questions we cannot afford to have raised."

Thorne relaxed back into his throne.

"No," he said simply. "We won’t."

He paused, letting that statement settle.

"But I won’t mind indulging him for a while," Thorne continued. "Let him believe his gambit has worked. Let him believe we are considering his gift. While he is occupied with that belief, we can investigate. We can understand what he truly brought to our palace. We can determine whether the girl is a genuine threat or simply a distraction."

His dark eyes shifted across the throne room, and when they found Morgana, they softened.

"Morgana," Thorne said, and his voice carried a gentleness that sounds entirely different from how he had been seeaking just few seconds ago. "I hope you had a wonderful time with my brother."

Morgana performed a slow curtsey, the movement graceful and respectful.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said softly. "I did."

Kaelen moved across the throne room toward Morgana.

When he reached her, he did not speak. Instead, he simply reached out and cupped her face in his hands.

His palms were warm, his grip gentle despite the fury and confusion that had been radiating from him moments before.

"Go back to your chambers," he said softly. "I will send for you when I am done here. I have to speak with my brothers."

Morgana looked up at him, and she shook her head slightly.

There were questions in her eyes. Concerns. Confusion about what had just happened, about the white-haired girl, about what the girl’s presence in the palace meant.

But she did not voice those questions.

Instead, Kaelen leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Wait for me," he whispered against her skin.

He stepped back and gestured for a servant who had been waiting near the doors.

The servant bowed and moved toward Morgana, ready to escort her back to her chambers.

Morgana took one last look at the three kings, then she turned and followed the servant from the throne room.

***

Kaelen returned and stood before his brothers.

"Now," Kaelen said, his voice carrying the frustration of someone who wanted answers more than he wanted breath, "what trick is Carrick playing?"

He clenched his hand, a gesture that suggested he was restraining GLACIUS from transforming, from demanding answers in the most primal way possible.

"We know that girl is not...." Kaelen began.

But Draeven interrupted him.

"But you reacted to her, didn’t you?" the First King asked.

Kaelen’s pale eyes flashed with something that might have been anger or might have been understanding.

"And what is that supposed to mean, brother?" Kaelen demanded.

Thorne leaned forward on his throne.

"It’s either that she is real, or she is an imposter," the Shadow King said simply. "And either way, we need to find out which. We need to know whether the girl is a distraction he’s using while he pursues some other agenda."

He paused, settling back into his chair.

"Let’s talk about how you took Morgana out of the palace without informing us," Thorne said, his dark eyes fixed on Kaelen.