Alabaster Cities (Kings and Thieves Book #2)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The assignment in Verignes was beginning to feel a bit like a puzzle; they kept picking up on a bunch of pieces, but Lyla had no earthly idea how they fit together.

"Do you remember, a few weeks ago, when we visited that old man from the village?" Eli said in greeting when he walked into the palace one day. Lyla was in the Great Hall, poring over a map of the "afflicted" houses in the village with Jamie, trying to look for patterns. So far, they hadn't had much luck.

"It's not exactly something we could forget." Jamie swept back a curtain of sienna hair. "Why?"

"He died this morning."

Jamie cursed. Lyla's heart sank; they were too late. Again. Poor Peter, she thought. And Edith— his wife would doubtless be devastated.

"Any word?" said Jamie.

"Nothing. He stopped speaking altogether a few days ago."

"Shit."

"Right." Eli plopped down on the cushion beside her, resting his legs on the coffee table in front of them. "Please tell me you two have had luck with the map."

"None." Lyla picked up her quill pen, biting her lip as she drew a large X on the brown house in the square. "Another death. They're all completely random. We already knew, but this just confirms it; there are no identifiable patterns."

"I expected as much. None of us were having much success before you came, either." He exhaled, his gaze traveling confusedly around the room. "Where are Ari and Aveline?"

"Investigating," came Aveline's weary voice, on cue as she strolled in with Ari. "We spoke with the physician who finally finished examining the Verignes recently deceased. He told us Peter died."

"And?" Lyla demanded.

"You know what he said?" Ari agitatedly rolled up his sleeves. "'Nothing out of the ordinary, sir.' He found nothing that seemed strange about their bodies, the fluids in their system... all normal."

Jamie sat up. "How is that possible?"

"It's not," said Ari. "Which is why we're sending the crew to retrieve Peter's body and take them to the witch coven for examination. Eli, do you suppose you could be sure that happens? I don't want your guards getting in the way."

Eli made a face. "Alright."

None of this made sense to Lyla. "I don't understand. Do you suppose the physician was lying?"

"He's either lying, or he's incompetent," Aveline explained. "If Peter was poisoned, it'd be fairly easy to find out. We'll have to see the coven tonight to ask for their help. Inez wants to come with us."

"Only because she thinks Dahlia's pretty," said Ari. "Let's keep out of the palace; we can finish this conversation on the ship."

Lyla thought on the matter more as they made their way over to The Merchant. It was difficult to find a quiet place without people lurking around in the Verignes castle, and Ari was still paranoid from their last anonymous message. (Lyla still had no earthly idea who could have been sending the notes. Most likely, it was the same party behind the village plague, but they hadn't any leads on that either; they were stuck.) He and Aveline spent most nights on the ship, taking care of the boys.

They saw Camille occasionally. Lyla took comfort in the fact that, for all her pomp and grandeur, she'd had the same reaction to the pirates that anyone else did. Strange, prettier than they had perhaps anticipated, and just generally unexpected.
She'd noticed them, Lyla was sure; she even occasionally scanned Lyla like she was staring down a cockroach.
Not that that mattered. Since when did Lyla care about what snotty princesses thought, anyway?