The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch

He stepped closer to Thorne. ”And Isolde’s family? House Greythorne? They have allies. They have influence. If we openly challenge them, they will retaliate. And they will make sure that Morgana suffers for it.”

Kaelen started pacing, unable to contain his agitation.

”So what?” he demanded. ”We just leave her in a dungeon? We just let them win?”

”No,” Draeven said. ”But we do it carefully. We do it in a way that doesn’t expose what she is or make her a target for every power-hungry bastard in the kingdom.”

Thorne looked at his brother with something close to disbelief. ”You’re suggesting we do nothing?”

”I’m suggesting we do something smart,” Draeven said. ”Something strategic. Something that saves her without destroying her.”

”Since when do we start caring about all this. Draeven?” Thorne asked his brother.

Draeven moved back to his desk and looked at both his brothers.

”Since we have daughters from powerful houses competing for the throne of a Queen,” he said, his voice cutting through the room. ”And we both know we won’t be able to save her from all of them if we do not have a good plan on how to keep her safe.”

He let that settle over them.

”Isolde is just one player,” he continued. ”But she’s not the only one. Every noble house in this kingdom has daughters here. Every one of them sees Morgana as either competition or an opportunity. If we claim her openly, if we make it clear that we care about her, that we want her safe, then every one of those houses will move against us. They’ll use her as leverage. They’ll try to capture her, control her, use her against us.”

Kaelen stopped pacing and looked directly at Draeven.

”So how do we save her?” he demanded.

Draeven’s expression was absolutely resolute. ”Carefully. Secretly. In a way that the council can’t use against her.”

Kaelen began to pace the room again, his pale eyes blazing, his entire body radiating barely contained fury.

”We should have sent all of them home earlier,” he said, his voice rising. ”We should have cancelled this fucking selection from the beginning.”

He gestured sharply, his frustration becoming increasingly physical.

”Because we all know none of them is what we want,” he continued. ”Not a single one of them. None of them is what we’re looking for. So why the fuck did we leave them in the palace until now? Until they’re causing problems for us? Until they’re setting traps for....”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He turned away, his shoulders rigid with tension.

Thorne was watching Draeven with an intensity that suggested he was beginning to understand the full scope of the problem.

”There’s something else,” Thorne said quietly. ”Isn’t there? Something you’re not saying.”

Draeven met his brother’s dark eyes.

”Isolde didn’t act on her own,” he said. ”She had help. She had knowledge of Morgana’s location, her quarters, her vulnerability. She had access to the necklace. She coordinated the inspection at exactly the right time. And she had the other daughters ready to testify.”

He paused.

”This was planned,” he continued. ”Weeks ago, possibly. And there’s only one reason Isolde would go to this much trouble, would risk this much, would orchestrate something this elaborate.”

Kaelen turned back to face him.

”Why?” he demanded.

”Because someone told her Morgana was a threat,” Draeven said. ”Because someone told her that Morgana was significant. Because someone told her that Morgana was connected to what we’re looking for.”

The realization settled over all three of them.

Isolde hadn’t just been jealous. She had been given intelligence. She had been warned about Morgana’s significance.

Which meant there was a leak somewhere. Someone within the palace knew about Morgana. Someone had told Isolde.

”We need to find out who,” Thorne said, his mind already moving in that direction.

But Draeven was already ahead of him.

Thorne looked at Draeven with a question in his dark eyes. ”What do we do now?”

Kaelen’s pale eyes were fixed on his eldest brother, waiting for the answer.

Draeven sat back in his chair.

When he spoke, his voice was careful and deliberate.

”We need to summon Simon,” he said. ”Tell him to enter the palace immediately.”

The name hung in the air like a summons.

Simon was not a guard. Simon was not a court official. Simon was something far more dangerous and far more useful: a spy. The greatest spy weapon the kings possessed. A man who operated in shadows, who could uncover secrets, who could find truths buried beneath lies and conspiracy.

Simon was the answer to problems that required more than force and authority.

Simon was what they needed now.

Thorne understood immediately.

”He can investigate,” Thorne said, his dark eyes brightening with understanding. ”He can find out who Isolde’s information came from. He can discover if there’s a leak. He can uncover the conspiracy and prove it.”

”Yes,” Draeven said.

Kaelen moved closer. ”And then what? Once Simon proves the conspiracy, once he uncovers Isolde’s handwork, what do we do?”

”Then,” Draeven said, ”we have options. Then we have leverage. Then we can act without exposing ourselves or putting Morgana in more danger.”

”But she’s in the dungeons now,” Kaelen said, and his voice carried desperation. ”We’re asking her to wait. We’re asking her to sit in a cell while we investigate and plan and calculate strategy.”

”Yes,” Draeven said, and the weight in that single word was absolute. ”We are. Because the alternative is to act rashly and destroy her in the process.”

Kaelen looked away, unable to argue with the logic even though everything in him wanted to.

”How long?” Thorne asked. ”How long before Simon can move? How long before we can act?”

”Days,” Draeven said. ”A week, possibly. However long it takes for him to uncover the truth and build a case that even the council can’t ignore.”

”And if something happens to her in the dungeons?” Kaelen asked, his voice sharp with fear and rage. ”If Isolde finds a way to hurt her, to harm her, to....”

”Then Simon moves faster,” Draeven said. ”Then we act. But until then, we wait. We plan. And we do this carefully.”

He looked directly at Kaelen.

”Because if we fail at this, if we move too quickly or too openly, we don’t save Morgana. We destroy her.”