Hayes nodded, leading us to a cluster of healing masters. Once we’d woken them, Annora gestured for me to follow her back to the royal table. When we reached it, she revealed a final cluster of leaves in each hand.
It only took moments to wake King Marius and Queen Celestine, although it took a lot longer for first Annora, then Augusta, and then Drake to report on the situation. I hung back, unnoticed in the background, relieved to hear Drake’s assessment that an attack was no longer incoming.
“They were there, sure enough, Your Majesty,” he said. “Waiting to the north of our campsite.”
Zeke and I exchanged a look. We’d walked in the wrong direction.
“I sent out a couple of scouts, and they reported back to say that a large group of mounted warriors was moving upriver as fast as they could ride.”
“Are you in pursuit?” the king asked, fury in his eyes.
Drake shook his head. “By the time the report came back, Captain Huxley was awake and able to assess the situation. He advised that we didn’t have the troops to both ensure the safety of the tour and pursue the criminals. Especially not when we haven’t had the chance to do a full sweep and confirm there isn’t a second party hidden somewhere nearby.”
King Marius didn’t look happy, but neither did he dispute the captain’s decision.
“Many people have yet to be woken,” Annora said crisply. “And I’m sure we would all like a complete check by a healing mage to ensure sleep was the only effect of whatever concoction they used. Plus, we still need to investigate how a drug was slipped into our food in the first place. I am in complete agreement that we are in no condition to go chasing down a violent party of unknown strength.”
The king inclined his head. “You raise excellent points. Has anyone seized hold of the Master Cook?”
A guard shouldered his way forward, dragging an older woman who was shaking with sobs. At a barked order, she pulled herself together and curtsied to the king.
I expected him to start issuing threats. But to my surprise, it was the queen who stepped forward, a look of sympathy on her face.
“You have been with us for decades, Priscilla. I cannot believe you would turn against us now. But can you explain what happened here in any other way?”
“Of course I would not betray you, Your Majesty,” the cook declared, straightening to her full height. “Never would I do such a thing! It was those girls.”
“Explain,” the king said, in a shorter tone, but his face remained open.
She curtsied again.
“A number of my people came down sick, leaving me shorthanded for the evening meal. So, since we’re camped so near a town, I hired some girls to help out until we leave tomorrow. Lovely young things they seemed to be, too, but I see now they were snakes in the grass.”
“Where are these girls?” Captain Huxley asked, appearing from out of the night.
“Gone!” she wailed, throwing up her hands. “I went looking for them as soon as Hayes woke me, and not a sign can I find of them anywhere.”
The king drew a long breath. “Very well, then. We have our answer. Captain, you’ll wish to interview the rest of the kitchen staff, but I have no doubt you’ll hear the same story from all.”
The cook began to cry again, whether with lingering guilt or relief, it wasn’t clear. The guard led her away, much more gently this time, and the king turned to Annora.
“It was a neat trick, and a devious one. But I would like to understand more fully how it was foiled. Was someone able to resist the effects, or were we saved by someone’s lack of hunger?”
Annora hesitated, glancing at me.
“It was Zeke,” I blurted out, knowing an explanation was needed and that Zeke would be reluctant to put himself forward to receive all the credit.
Everyone turned to look at me, and I gulped at the weight of so many important eyes.
“We were late to the evening meal because he was telling me about his concern that something was wrong. He couldn’t tell what exactly, but he could sense that something around us wasn’t right. When we came to eat, we discovered everyone already falling asleep. At that point he identified it as a sleeping herb and was able to use a counter herb to wake his mother. The rest you know.”
“A sense of wrongness?” Augusta stepped forward to frown at me. “What does that mean, precisely?”
I could see Zeke over her shoulder, watching me with confusion. There hadn’t been a chance to tell him my theory, so he was hearing it for the first time along with everyone else.
“While I was assisting Annora, I was thinking it through. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence he had the sense just as the meal was being prepared. Since it was a plant that was put into the food—its properties boosted by both a healing mage and a plants mage, most likely—I believe Zeke was able to sense its presence. When we moved a short distance from camp, he said the feeling eased—probably because we moved too far away.”
For a moment there was silence as everyone considered my explanation. I stood my ground, convinced I was right and needing them to accept Zeke’s involvement without pushing further. It was true that he’d done most of the work.
“Is that possible?” King Marius looked from Annora to Augusta, the two most powerful plants mages present.
Annora regarded her son through narrowed eyes. “It is within the realms of possibility, although I must congratulate Augusta on her strength. I didn’t know she was capable of such feats—and therefore of bestowing such capability on my son. I can see I made the right choice in sending him to her to be activated.”
Augusta slowly shook her head, a thoughtful look on her face. “Reluctant as I am to reject a compliment, I don’t believe it’s earned. I sensed no such thing.”
My heart sank.
“You disbelieve the theory, then?” the king asked.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she said, causing my spirits to lift slightly. “I hope I’m woman enough to admit when someone outperformed me. I just worked beside young Zekiel in a moment of intense stress and pressure, and he utilized greater strength than I can draw on.”
Drake spoke into the deafening silence that followed. “We’re getting old, Augusta. Painful as it is to acknowledge it.”
“Speak for yourself,” she snapped with her usual spirit. “My physical body might be starting to weaken, but my ability is not yet failing. I’m telling you, Zekiel showed himself stronger than me tonight.”
A hubbub arose at her declaration, although when my eyes found Zeke’s he was silent, his face frozen in an expression of shock. The head of the delegation from Tribe Patrin stepped forward.
“That is now two young people under Tartoran tutelage who have shown greater strength than their influencers. What secrets are you hoarding, Marius?”
An angry murmur sounded from the scattered huddles of nomads, but King Marius turned a scalding look on each of them in turn.
“I am as eager for an explanation as you. If anyone has one, we are all of us listening.”
Another heavy silence descended on the group as everyone’s eyes darted around the rough circle, seeking anyone willing to speak. No one did.
“Consider for half a moment,” King Marius said when the silence had grown too long. “If we had such a secret weapon, would we use it on Annora’s son?”