Chapter 209

I made a face at Charles and scrambled for my clothing, yanking it on. Instead of getting dressed, he twitched back my covers and took a seat inside my bed, covering himself with the sheets.

Someone pounded again, and I jerked open the door, surprised to find myself face the face with Theo. He didn't wait for an invitation, instead pushing me back inside by the shoulders and shutting the door behind him.

The look on his face, I couldn't quite read, but it was intense.

“What's going on?”

Theo crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me. “What did you do, Elena?”

I put my hands on my hips. “What do you mean ‘what did I do?’” I wanted to avoid having to tell him that I had sent the conversation between the king and me to Jasmine.

The muscles in his neck twitched with tension. “They've arrested the king.”

“What?” both Charles and I yelped at the same time.

Theo gave a short nod. “So, I'll repeat myself,” Theo said. “What did you do?”

I pressed a hand to my forehead, willing the room to stop spinning around me, and stumbled toward the end of the bed. I sank down and looked up at Theo, who had followed me across the room.

“I might have recorded the king when he threatened me and then set that to Jasmine to make sure that it got to a news outlet.”

“You what?” Charles snarled. Then he turned white. “Is that what you've been trying to tell me since last night?”

I latched on to the easy excuse and nodded. “One of a couple of things,” I admitted. “I had a talk with the goddess, and she encouraged me to take immediate action. “ I crossed my fingers. “I really hope that this trial condemns the king.”

“I hope so too,” Charles said, “or you may have signed your own death warrant.”

Theo shot Charles a hard look. “Then you and I need to have a contingency plan for her,” he said. “The two of us have got the means and the knowledge to get her out of the country.”

“From out from under the king's nose?” Charles muttered, scratching his head.

“If we have to,” Theo said. “David will help. I know he will.”

Charles nodded slowly. “All right. You and David consult on a back-up plan and then get back to me. Meanwhile, I will do my best to think of what resources I can pull to make whatever you come up with happen. And then we'll compare what we've got and make a final plan.”

Charles rubbed his face tiredly. “And in the meantime, I will hope this means that the king will find justice and Elena will finally actually be safe.”

“Now, what do I do?” I asked.

Theo wrinkled his nose and looked between Charles and me. “Now you take a shower and be ready for when they finally come for you. I just wanted to find you and make sure that you knew what was going on so that you weren't caught unaware.”

“Okay, beyond that,” I said. “What do you suppose comes next?” I looked between Charles and Theo, hoping one of them would answer.

They both shrugged.

“This kind of thing is unprecedented,” Charles admitted. “It's extremely unusual for an alpha to be formally charged. And I don't remember the last time an alpha king was. I expect he'll have some sort of trial. So, you should definitely be prepared for that.”

He continued speculating. “I would assume that he's going to do a standard defense to make it look like you took that conversation out of context. Or that you doctored it in some way.”

Theo gave a sharp nod. “That same guy that helped us before, my friend with the computer skills, I'll get in touch with him and see if there's any way that they can verify that a file is original. You still have it on your phone?”

I nodded.

He made a face. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” I said.

Theo held out his hand. “Give me the phone for safe keeping. That way, if they search you and try to find the original recording and try to do something like destroy it, they won't be able to find it.”

I got off the bed and rounded up my burner phone, handing it to Theo. “They won't think to look with you?”

He shrugged. “They'll look with Charles first. Then maybe with me. But remember, I'm still under the employ of the palace, technically. So if I tell them I don't have the recording, it will take them a while before they realize that they should come after me more seriously.”

“You'd put yourself at risk for me like that?”

He gave me a soft smile. “Of course. How many times do I have to tell you?”

I headed for the bathroom off the far side of my room. “I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm going to get myself ready for a trial,” I announced. “You boys had better be ready, too.”

I ducked into the bathroom and shut the door, feeling rather faint. This was not at all what I had prepared myself for or expected. Although, based on the goddess’ cryptic advice, maybe I should have prepared for something more along the lines of the king’s arrest.

A conviction in his trial wasn't a sure thing, though. We still had a trial to get through without the king, making me look like the villain. But I wasn’t going to sit back and let him lie to everyone in Orlune. Here was the ultimate chance for me to spread the truth and show everyone in the werewolf nation what sort of integrity they could expect from an heir. Too bad they couldn’t get it from their king.

I washed and dressed and came back into the main part of my bedroom within the palace. But my stomach and my heart hadn't calmed at all.

“You got a phone call while you were in the shower,” Charles said. “It was from that rat-faced looking manservant of the king's.”

I giggled. “Oh, good. I’m so glad I'm not the only one who thinks he looks like a rodent.”

Charles chuckled. “Anyway, mouse-man said that the king's trial is going to commence immediately, and you are not to leave your room in the palace. He warned that they’ve cut off your TV and they'll be by to collect your phone and laptop.”

“What? Am I on the jury or something?”

He shrugged. “Since you are a witness, you are not supposed to be biased in any way by any media coverage. And you’re not supposed to speak with the press or give out unauthorized information regarding the trial. Nor are you allowed to exit the palace.” He made a face. “In case your safety might be compromised beyond what Theo can accommodate. As if they care for your safety that much.”

“Then they're letting you and Theo stay with me?”

Charles nodded.

I let out a huge sigh, my shoulders drooping and tears burning the back of my eyes. I blinked them away.

“Thank goodness,” I said. “I was so worried that they were going to separate me from everyone.”

“They kind of did,” Charles pointed out. “But at least you have us.”

“And we’ll contact the outside world for you if you need us to,” Theo said. “Even if I have to resort to underhanded means.”

I smiled at him, knowing full well that he was just as active on the dark web as I was. It was good to know that I had someone like him on my side.