Chapter Twelve: Preparations | Part 7
“You could just ask me, you know!”
Thirtyx was nearly as surprised by his outburst as his classmates were. One moment, he was walking quietly, and the next, he had halted and spun around, the intervening moments blurred by anger.
He channeled that anger before he lost his nerve. “Not a single one of you has asked me if I’m trying to hurt Grimmary—if I want to hurt Grimmary. I don’t. I certainly don’t want to hurt Rhea and Benn. I haven’t even spoken to a Verith in nearly a year, since Ambassador Taravian came for a guest lecture. But you didn’t know that, because you’re all apparently too shy to ask me your burning questions. So here’s your chance! Ask me anything! I’ll word it any way you want!”
Those nearest Thirtyx were gaping like he’d grown a second head. Those further back were muttering and giggling, which only stoked his fury. “No questions? It’s more fun to act like I’m evil than hear the proof that I’m not?”
“Why won’t you tell us how they escaped the lockdown?” someone demanded.
Thirtyx knew getting exasperated wouldn’t help his cause, but he couldn’t keep his jaw from clenching. “Have you noticed they won’t tell you, either? It’s protected information. If I wanted to hurt Grimmary, don’t you think I’d be leaking his secrets instead of defending them to the likes of you?”
“No rhetorical questions!” another voice snapped. “We know how Verith tricks work!”
As Thirtyx rolled his eyes, someone else piped up, “If it’s protected information, why do you get to know?”
“Because Rhea and Benn trust me, whether you do or not. And considering they know me far better than any of you, maybe their judgment should be worth something.”
“Say it, then—that you don’t want anything bad to happen to Grimmary.”
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to Grimmary! I want him to live a long and prosperous life, ruling for many more years before turning over his throne peacefully to Rhea once both of them are ready.”
“You’ve never wanted to hurt Grimmary?”
“N—”
Thirtyx was fairly sure no one heard the start of the syllable before his tongue failed, his lips refusing to part for the mendacious “o”. Fear surged through him. He hadn’t considered how his past would affect this conversation. Twins how much worse could it get if they knew? He’d be dead on the spot, protection spells or no protection spells, and the faculty would likely join in.
It was time to end this session of open honesty before he did something stupid. “Grimmary and his heirs have my full, unwavering support, and I hope they rule Lamiakk for generations to come. You can pick my words apart all you want, but you know what I said, and you know it’s the truth.”
He spun on his heel and marched down the path. Behind him, stunned silence gave way to snickering and muttering. Demands that he answer more questions. Speculation about other ways his words could be interpreted—maybe he didn’t want to hurt Grimmary but was being forced to, or he was trying to dethrone Grimmary so Rhea could take his place. Just before he made it out of earshot, they were debating whether he’d been given an incredibly valuable one-time-use lying potion to placate them while he enacted the larger plan.
If they chose to believe conspiracy theories over his words, he had no chance of swaying them. Besides, he had a door to barricade.
Calley Jones 