“I’m not sure.” Caladras handed a goblet to Lord Morris. “Isn’t that why you’re here, my lord?”
“Aye.” Morris took a sip of wine. “I came to collect information from all the priests in Woodwyn who work for me.”
His spies. Jenetta set her goblet down with a clunk. “Is that all you offer the Circle of Five? A network of spies? I have spies, too. I should be in the Circle.”
Lord Morris arched a brow at her. “Then it wouldn’t be a Circle of Five, would it?”
She gritted her teeth. “I see only three people here. Who are the other two?”
Morris smirked. “You have to be in the Circle to know their identities. And you’re not.”
“Is it because I’m a woman? Do you consider me weak?”
“We know how ruthless you can be,” Caladras muttered.
She narrowed her eyes. They thought she was a mere pawn for them to use, the bastards. Disrespect. She’d dealt with it all her life. But not for much longer. “Woodwyn will be mine. Soon. Remember that.”
“And you should remember that you promised Gwennore to my son,” Caladras told her. “It was the price you agreed to in order to procure my help.”
Yes, he’d helped her. But she’d done her share of the dirty work. Even so, he wouldn’t have helped her if she hadn’t promised her daughter to his son. The general wanted Griffin to be king someday.
She snorted. Griffin would have to wait, for she intended to be queen for a long time.
A sudden thought jumped into her mind, so chilling that it caused a shiver to skitter down her spine. What if Caladras was planning to kill her after his son married Gwennore and became the heir?
She made sure her face remained blank while her mind raced. How could she stay alive? She would have to become queen before the wedding occurred. Then she could kill the general first. Yes, this made perfect sense. After all, he knew her secrets. It was simply too dangerous to keep him alive. As soon as she was crowned, she would declare him a traitor and have him executed.
“I look forward to the wedding.” She smiled at the general. “I hope you can capture Gwennore soon.”
“We will.” The general offered the last goblet to the Chameleon, but the shrouded figure refused it with a slight wave of a gloved hand.
“I’ll be so happy to see my daughter again,” Jenetta said with what she hoped sounded like wistful longing. “Do you have a plan?”
Caladras drank from the goblet himself, then set it on the desk. “We have a spy in the Norveshki army. A good one. He killed one of their lieutenants today. I sent him back tonight, roughed up, so it would look like he’d fought with our soldiers in order to escape. Paxell will lure Gwennore away from their camp, knock her unconscious, and deliver her to us.”
Jenetta nodded. “I hope it will work.”
“It will.” Caladras motioned toward the tent entrance. “Now, if you will excuse us, we have other matters to discuss.”
They were dismissing her? Disrespect. Anger surged inside her once again, so hot she could no longer contain it. “You think you don’t need me? Why? Because you’re so wonderfully efficient in getting things done? I thought you were supposed to have taken over Eberon, Tourin, and Norveshka by now. Years have gone by, and you have absolutely nothing to show for it. You only have Woodwyn on your side because of me.”
Lord Morris slammed his goblet onto the table. “Our plans wouldn’t have failed if those damned Embraced men hadn’t gotten in our way. That beast, Leo, cost us Eberon, and the accursed pirate, Rupert, made us lose Tourin.”
“You’re forgetting the contributions of their Embraced wives,” Jenetta muttered. So like these men to belittle the accomplishments of women. She pointed at the Chameleon. “You have your own Embraced creature. Why has he failed in every mission you’ve sent him on?”
The Chameleon moved forward so quickly, she hardly saw him until his arm shot out and he gripped her neck with a gloved hand. “I have killed three kings,” he growled in a raspy voice. “I would have no problem killing a princess.”
She sucked in a shaky breath. His grip wasn’t tight enough to completely cut off her air supply, but she knew, at any second, his hand could close like a vise.
“Back off, Chameleon,” Caladras said softly. “We need her.”
“Do we?” The Chameleon released her and shoved back his hood.
She gasped. He looked just like her.
“Do you think you can’t be replaced?” he asked in a higher-pitched voice that sounded much like hers.
“You monster,” she whispered as she stepped back. “Stay away from me.”
He smirked at her, still wearing her face.
Damn him. She lifted her chin. “I suggest you use your bizarre gift to track down the mysterious Woodsman. Or perhaps you don’t care if another Embraced creature destroys all of your plans?”
The Chameleon pulled the hood back over his head until his face was once again shrouded in darkness. “I will discover where the Woodsman and his followers are hiding. I will not fail again.”
“Good.” Jenetta gave him a regal nod, then turned to the other men. “You would do well to remember that I have spies of my own. And no aversion to murder. If you want my continued support, you will treat me with respect.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Caladras murmured, and Morris bowed his head.
With a swish of her skirts, Jenetta strode from the tent. Don’t show any weakness, she told herself as she hurried to her tent.
The whispering of the trees grew louder as she approached the edge of the camp where her tent was located.
We know what you did.
Murderer.
Slayer of innocent children.
Shut up! she mentally hissed at the trees. It was one of the unfortunate consequences of being a member of the royal family. She’d always been able to hear the Kings of the Forest and the Living Oaks.
There had been a time when she’d been grateful for their company. For seven long years she’d been imprisoned in the white tower, and the trees had kept her from dying of loneliness. They had been her only friends.
But no more! By the Light, she loathed just thinking about how weak and pathetic she had been back then. Now she was strong. She didn’t need the company of trees. Not when she would soon be queen, and every elf would have to bow down to her. Anyone who had ever looked down on her would pay for it!
We know what you did.
Murderer.
Slayer of innocent children.
Stop it! she mentally screamed.
We told Gwennore about your trap.
“You dare to betray me!” she growled.
“No, Your Highness!” her lead guard, Durban, exclaimed, and all six of her guards fell to one knee, their heads bowed. “We would never betray you.”
The men thought she’d been talking to them. Jenetta gave them a regal nod. “Then I will trust you to keep your word.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” they murmured, their heads still bowed.
“We leave for Wyndelas Palace at dawn. Have everything ready to go.” She turned and marched into her tent.
Once she was back at Wyndelas, she could take matters into her own hands. The king was becoming weaker every day, and she would play the role of the dutiful daughter who was frantically using all of her medical knowledge to keep her father alive.