October 4, 1187
"Dead?" Though surprised, the king gave no indication of sorrow. Mernolt, sadly, was not surprised. Felron was his own brother, and he hadn't felt much either. "How?""Murder, it seems. But the details are..." What was the word for it? He wasn't sure there was one. "...odd."
"How so?"
A pity he hadn't had a chance to rehearse the story to his wife. He could stumble and stutter in front of Imena. King Oswald... not so much. If only he'd had that easy, personable nature of Garrett or Nythran. Either one would have been a better choice of informant. "Well... the steward found him on his desk, lying on his stomach. He was probably knocked out first--bruise on his head. Or maybe that killed him, I don't know.""If it wasn't that, then what?"
"Well... his tunic was slashed open, and he had some cuts on his back. Whoever did it used his own knife, it looked like; they stabbed it back through his hand after they were done. There was a lot of blood."
"Deep cuts, then."
"Yes, but..." Christ. Who had ever heard of such a thing? The killer must have been grateful for Felron's broad back. "Not so deep as to tear him apart. There was a message carved on his back."
"A message?" So perhaps the king had heard of such a thing. He was not so shocked as Mernolt would have guessed. "What did it say?""'Happy birthday, Rina'." Mernolt swallowed He didn't doubt that his niece would be no more worked up about her father's death than anyone else, but he feared the message may raise a few brows. "You don't think she had anything to do with it, do you?"
"I doubt it. From what I know of her, being a country away from him would be a better way to heal than going through the trouble of planning his death. But it does point to someone who cares for her." It did. Mernolt had feared that too. "I'll send Sidwein to inform Rina and Arkon about this; he can visit his brother while he's there. And I'm sure your mother will be able to manage the shire until Arkon graduates."
"She will, yes." If anything, it would take her mind off of things. It must have been a horrid feeling, losing a child you couldn't bring yourself to earnestly mourn.
"I've known her for many years. A very capable woman." The king crossed his arms, a flicker of fondness in his eye before the mask of serious business came down once more. "I suppose I should ask: did anyone at the castle report anything suspicious last night? Sounds? Sights?"
Ah, yes. Yet another question that would have been better left to Garrett. "Actually... a number of servants claimed to have seen my father."NEXT CHAPTER:
