The Wrath of the King by Danielle Bourdon Page B

a passing vote from the majority. The phrasing made it sound like, by the time the public reads it, the country will already legally be split into territories. ”
    Chey sat forward as far as her stomach would allow. “ What? He did what?”
    “Yes. He told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. I can't help but think it's a test—one that I'm failing right this minute—to see if I go straight to you with sensitive information.”
    Experiencing fury that caused her jaw to clench and her spine to go rigid, Chey fought down the urge to call Paavo right then and tell him off. She looked toward the bed, at Sander stretched out with his tubes and wires, and wondered. Who wouldn't wonder if Paavo had something to do with the accident? This seemed too convenient, too planned. Paavo hadn't wasted a second, literally, to put the deed into motion. That alone raised suspicion.
    “Chey?”
    “What else? What else did it say?” Chey paced the room again, this time in agitation.
    “Only that more information would be forthcoming in the days following the release. I suspect he'll call another news conference after it hits the papers.”
    “He's getting it out there awfully fast. I agree, I think he's setting the stage for something bigger. Do you think Gunnar knows?” Chey thought not. She was close enough with Gunnar and Krislin to believe they would have come to her immediately with the information.
    “I doubt it. He was too adamant that this stay with me only, though with the wording in the statement, it seems he needed to talk to the council about it. So they should know already. Maybe that was part of his meeting today. Still, he knew before then that his plans would go through,” Wynn said.
    “I agree. Because he gave you that to transcribe before his meeting, right?”
    “Yes. Something stinks about the whole thing. I also tried to call Mattias several times and still can't get through.”
    “Keep trying. I need to think about all this,” Chey said, pulling fingers through her hair.
    “Just remember. No one is supposed to know yet.”
    “I know, Wynn. I know. Someone has to stop this from going through, though.” Chey had no idea how to make that happen at the moment. She needed time to plot and plan and strategize.
    “It's a lot, especially with Sander like he is. I know it's hard, Chey. Paavo might have been moving pieces around his chessboard before this, so the whole idea could be much farther along than we realize. Be careful, okay? We don't know what all Paavo has done.” Wynn started to say something, then paused.
    “What?” Chey knew when there was more to the story. Wynn hadn't told her everything yet.
    “It's just...he told me to show up for dinner tonight. Said he had more things to go over. Maybe I'll find out more about what's going on.”
    “ You be careful. What's all this with the dinners and everything?” Chey didn't like that part, either. Paavo didn't need to have dinner with Wynn to tell her things. Her question was met with another distinct hesitation. “Wynn?”
    “I—don't know. But I'll call you when I can. Bye.” The line went dead.
    Chey pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the screen. She frowned, unable to put a name on the fresh bout of unease slithering through her system. As if Sander's condition wasn't stressful enough, now there was this to contend with.
    Moving to the Contacts section, she found Mattias's number and dialed it.
    His phone rang, and rang...and rang.
    No answer.
     
    . . .
     
    “Hey, psst. Gunnar.”
    Hailed by a voice lurking in a shadowy niche in a long hallway, Gunnar stopped and took one step back. A body shifted into the light, proving to be none other than councilman Belmar. Gunnar, originally on his way through the castle to meet with this man via a note delivered just before dinner, took stock of the details: Belmar's shifty eyes, his black pants and white shirt usually reserved for staff, the hunkered way he held his