“It’s with all that in mind that we have come here to arrest King Mikko Biâelse for the attempted kidnapping of the Queen, Linnea Biâelse, as well as hiring Cyrano Moen for a feigned assassination attempt,” Bayle said, and for the first time since he’d come in the room, his voice sounded strong.

“That’s treason!” Linnea was practically screaming now. “You cannot arrest the King!”

“Linnea, hush.” Lisbet put her hand on Linnea’s arm. “Let them sort this all out.”

Technically, a monarch could be arrested for breaking any of the laws of the kingdom. And while I wasn’t as familiar with Skojare history I was with Kanin, in the Kanin lore, I only knew of two monarchs ever being arrested—a Queen for poisoning her husband, and a King for stabbing the Chancellor in the middle of a party.

Kings had been overthrown. A few had been forced to step down, and a couple had even been executed. But they were almost never arrested. In theory, laws might apply to royalty, but in practice, they never really did.

“I haven’t done anything,” Mikko said, his voice a low rumble. “I’d never hurt my wife, and I never hired a guard to pretend to hurt me.”

But he didn’t threaten to have them banished or thrown in the dungeon. He simply denied the charges, and that emboldened the guards to come over and put Mikko in shackles.

Linnea began screaming at them, telling them that they couldn’t do this and that they had to let him go, and Lisbet had to physically hold her back. Throughout the whole display, Kennet never said a word.

As the guards escorted Mikko out of the room, he walked with his head bowed and his broad shoulders slumped. He seemed almost resigned to the position, and since he was a King with all the power in the kingdom to fight the charges, I didn’t understand why he was just taking it like this.

It did fit in line with what both Kennet and Linnea had said about him—that he would rather take what was given to him than fight back. But that made it feel all the more tragic to see the tall hulk of a man with his head hanging down as the guard he refused to depose escorted him out of the room.

Before Bayle left, I got up and ran after him, stopping him at the door. “We’d like to take a look at the records.”

“In due time.” Bayle was talking to me, but his eyes were directed out the door, following Mikko’s figure down the hall. “There’s a case we’re working on, and you’ll have your turn when we’re done.”

“No, we should be part of the case—” I tried to argue, but he cut me off.

“Excuse me,” Bayle said brusquely. “I’ve just arrested the ruler of our kingdom. I have more pressing matters to deal with.”

While Lisbet struggled to get Linnea to calm down, I walked back over and collapsed in the chair next to Kasper. He looked just as shocked as I felt, and considering Kasper prided himself on keeping his emotions hidden, that was really saying something.

“What the fuck just happened?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

TWENTY-NINE

quandary

“Miss! You can’t go in there!” the footman called after me, but if I wasn’t going to heed Konstantin’s warning of imminent death, I wasn’t about to listen to a servant worrying about propriety.

I pushed open the door to Kennet’s chambers without knocking and without waiting for anyone to let me in. He stood next to his bed loosening his tie, his suit jacket already discarded on a nearby chair.

“Miss!” The footman had hurried in after me. “You must leave.”

“It’s all right,” Kennet told him, but he kept his eyes on me. “She can stay.”

“If you are sure, my Prince,” the footman said, eyeing me with disdain.

“Give us a moment alone. And make sure you don’t let anybody get by this time.”

The footman bowed then turned and left, closing the door behind him. Kennet’s room didn’t appear all that different from my own, except the finishings were nicer. The wallpaper wasn’t peeling, and sheer silver curtains ran along the window that faced the water, giving the room a greater sense of privacy.

Kennet took off his tie and tossed it on the bed. “By the look on your face, I’m assuming this isn’t a friendly visit.”

“You know why I’m here,” I snapped.

“No, I really don’t.” He sat on the bed, sounding tired, and most of his usual swagger had disappeared. He seemed world weary in a way that I hadn’t thought Kennet capable of.

“Why didn’t you defend your brother?” I asked.

“Why didn’t you?” he shot back.

“Because he’s not my brother, and I’m not the Prince. They never would’ve listened to me.”

Kennet stared down at his satin bedspread. “They were arresting the King, Bryn. They weren’t going to listen to me either.” Then he shook his head. “I’m not sure he’s innocent.”

“You think he did it?” I asked.

He looked up at me. “You don’t?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Kennet motioned to me. “Well, there you go.”

“You still should’ve defended him.”

“Just because he’s my brother? Or because he’s my King? You think he should get a free pass?”

“No. Of course not.”

Kennet cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “You think I had something to do with it.”