One week ago

The sparring matches were as tiring as Kain anticipated.

Blood pebbled along the thin gash that traveled down his arm, before running into the thin fabric of his pristine sleeve. He silently cursed and picked at the fabric, hoping to keep it from staining further.

"That was a wonderful match, Your Highness."

His hand tightened around the hilt of his borrowed sword, but somehow Kain kept the reflexive tension from his face as he refocused on the group in front of him. Sir Keahi, a towering blond man, wore a beaming smile. It seemed odd, given the blood traveling from his temple, and the nearby squire fussily urging him to sit.

"I had heard that Sir Artemios was among the best, but still didn't expect someone with your history would be so skilled," the knight continued.

He dropped into a deep bow, sending his squire into a panic. "Sir, that's--"

"Forgive my ignorance!"

Kain wasn't sure whether to be insulted, or flattered. He settled for somewhere in the middle as he raised a hand to rub at his hair. "You're fine, Sir. I wouldn't have expected much out of myself either."

The knight straightened, looking like he would draw the conversation out further. However, something about the movement and the bloodloss must have gotten to him, because he nearly toppled over before a word could be said. With another loud, scolding call of 'Sir,' the squire finally managed to convince her knight to leave the training field. Before Kain could do the same, Lyre approached with a clean cloth laid over his arm.

"For you, Milord," the servant offered.

Kain smiled gratefully as he used the towel on his face. Whether he was a spy planted by Alekos or not, at least Lyre was good at reading the room. He hadn't started calling Kain 'Your Highness' like some sort of prince.

"There's no one after this, right?" Kain questioned.

"The only official meeting today was your breakfast with His Majesty," Lyre confirmed.

Kain held back a grimace at the memory. Alekos had spent the entire meal bragging about the quality of his knights. It hadn't been a baseless boast--Sir Keahi had drawn blood at the end--but had made for an extremely tiring first meal. Still, at least the early finish to his day meant a chance to join the others in the archive for their fifth day of searching.

He had been forced by circumstance to skip the fourth day--much to Kain's annoyance. Alekos had requested that one of his aides give Kain, Melitta, and Callias a thorough tour of the palace. It would have been fine if thorough had included the back corridors and anything that might give them a clearer idea of the palace's exact layout--but instead, they'd received a "thrilling" tour of each garden and artifact room.

Upon returning late into the evening, Rhode had disappointingly shared that while they had managed to uncover many of Alekos' personal journals, there were countless wrinkled and illegible pages in the last, and most important, of the books. They looked as if something had spilled over the top and despite an obvious effort to dry them out, the damage had been done.

Kain couldn't help but be suspicious that the damage was purposeful. If Alekos had been careless with his personal items, there should have been some wear on the others. But, they were near pristine despite their age. Which meant the king was careful.

So how was it that his personal recollection of the days leading up to his death had been ruined?

He could only hope that their recent search had been more fruitful. Just the thought alone made him hurry through cleaning up in his quarters, before stepping into the hall. His haste died, however, as he reached the floor beneath theirs and two voices captured his attention. They drifted through the closed door just barely loud enough for his enhanced hearing to pick up on.

"Have you seen that foreigner? Lady...oh, I cannot recall her name."

"The one who met with us at tea?"

Eavesdropping was a horrid habit, he reminded himself. Even knowing that, he didn't continue through the stairwell. There were very few foreigners at court as far as Kain was aware. And of those that were, even fewer were ladies of note.

"Yes, her. Well, I was strolling the gardens--you know the ones with the roses?--and I saw the oddest thing." Tension hung in the air as the first gossip fell silent.

"Well?" the second prompted her after a moment. "What did you see?"

"Well, when I rounded the rosi--you know, the blue ones--"

"Wyn!"

"The lady was practically collapsed in the roses. Why, her servant--you know the one, had a hand on her arm and was helping her up, but it did nothing for her dress. Poor thing had tears all the way through. Gastly, really."

Was the foreigner Mara, then, or someone else? Kain couldn't imagine Melitta collapsing in a garden. And the talk of a memorable servant pulled Dalphie to his thoughts. The green-eyed woman was as drawing as any siren. Kain's heart skipped a beat at the realization.

A siren.

He was so stupid. What human had such vivid, forested eyes? And even if that was possible--Kain hadn't met enough people in his sea-born life to fully discount the possibility--how many of them pulled attention like Dalphie? He hadn't truly noticed at the time, he'd grown far too used to the sensation after traveling with Rhode and his Dalphie for so long, but it was odd, wasn't it? Especially given the shared name.

"Was she ill?"

"Well, if you ask me, it's obvious that sh..."

The voices became too faint for Kain to hear, and he cursed his luck. Stepping onto the floor just to hear out the gossip would draw attention. And if they decided to question his presence on that level of the guest wing, he had no real excuses to give them.

Reluctantly, he continued his trek to the library. His mind spun with apprehension, his uncertain realization mixing with the possibility that the woman they spoke of was Mara. He had agreed to wait until the trail, but if she was suffering that much, was that truly the right choice?

He pushed open the door to the archive, shoving the thoughts to the back of his mind. There was no way to be certain. It would be better to check for himself, and there was only one more day left between them and the opening evening of the banquet. He would be able to see her there without drawing attention. One day. He could handle that much.

Natia's head lifted from her paws as Kain entered. He offered a smile, resisting the urge to pet her head. Her gaze lingered for a moment, nostrils flaring as she seemed to scent something of attention, before lowering her head again. Was it the wound? It hadn't been deep enough to justify Isidor healing, so Kain had just bandaged his arm when cleaning up. Subconsciously tugging on his sleeve, he turned his gaze to the others.

Callias sat on the far end of the room, his back to the wall as he flipped through a record book. Seated in a chair nearby, looking every part the ideal noble lady with the elegant, half turned way she sat, was Rhode. A leather-bound journal rested in her hands, a small frown on her lips.

"Find anything interesting?"

The siren pulled her eyes from whatever she was reading, seeming to think for a moment before shrugging. She closed the journal and settled it atop the table next to them.

"Callias is looking through entry logs. There are a handful of names he recognized."

"From...before," Callias added. His gaze didn't shift from the book in question. "When I lived in Reotak."

"Recent records?" Kain questioned.

Rhode shook her head. "No. From Akaikos' reign."

Callias recognized names from over twenty years ago? The memory of him quoting his actual age to Melas flicked through Kain's mind. He was only two years older than the newborn prince would have been. It was odd. Unless...

"Were they demons?"

The merman's fingers tightened around the book. "Some. More importantly, my--Ayo. The reason I recognized them was because they only showed at the estate when Ayo was planning something big for the emperor."

A shiver crept down Kain's spine. The cold edge to Callias' tone told him that those plans couldn't have been pleasant ones. Which meant the names were important. His attention flitted to Rhode's choice of reading, only then noticing its damaged state.

"Is that Akaikos' journal?"

Despite Kain's even tone, his words still brought a flush to Rhode's cheeks. She stood, strolling over to one of the shelves and pulling out another book. "Yes, that's--I--"

"No one will judge you for being curious, Rhode," Kain interrupted gently.

She dropped the book. The heat in her face only deepened as she bent to retrieve it. "I know."

It hadn't occurred to him when she was telling him about the discoveries, before, but for Rhode, reading the journal had to be a surreal experience. Recorded within the binding was a record of a husband she couldn't remember, and of a her only recalled in the curses of the public.

Uncertain of what to say, Kain looked to Callias. The merman offered no help, his eyes still focused on the palace logs. If he had heard their conversation at all, he gave no sign of it. Kain bit back a sigh and pushed his fingers through his hair.

How did you comfort someone in this situation? Reassure her that you were there to prove her innocence? Remind her that, from what Melitta had told him privately, Akaikos had recorded nothing but her praises when he wasn't inscribing issues of state?

He settled for letting her bury her face in another book. Saying something insensitive would likely be worse than saying nothing at all. So, silence it was.

The next hour passed in a blur of ink and parchment. The demons Callias had recalled only appeared in one other record. It was so slight that they would have missed it if Rhode hadn't thought to recheck Alekos' memos.

Two days before Akaikos' deaths, Alekos' aide recorded a passing statement to an official that he needed to finish their talks early because he had a meeting with some old friends from the empire.

"What sort of work did they do for Ayo?" Kain asked. His question was soft, the answer hanging in the back of his mind even before Callias spoke it into existence.

"They solved inheritance issues. If someone at court was being...difficult, they handled it."

Assassins. The word refused to budge from Kain's thoughts as his mind spun. Alekos had met with assassins.

Akaikos' journal was full of praise for his convicted murderer, while his brother had secret meetings with imperial assassins.

An accusation hung in Kain's throat. It was heavy.

It would change everything.

Was this the assumption that the queen mother had wanted them to find? Did she expect them to do something about it?

Would Rhode?

This was bigger than a squabble between a duke and a prince. It was bigger than accusations of murder and bribery. It was a matter of kingdoms.

It was fratricide. Regicide.

"He did it."

Rhode's voice was broken. At some point while Kain was spiraling, Akaikos' journal had found its way into her hands again. She clutched the book to her chest, something lost in her eyes.

"Alekos killed him," she whispered. "And...he killed my son." 

A/N: 

Dun dun dun. 

I'm curious how many of you expected this discovery. Do you think they're right? Or are they jumping to conclusions? 

And do you see the implications of this particular method if they're right? Thoughts on it if you do?