He strode to my side and caught me in his arms. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head and pointed out the window. He followed my gesture, giving a bark of surprised laughter.
“What about you?” I turned in his arms to face him. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” His eyes moved to the other side of the room, briefly meeting Benjamin’s before lingering on his prisoner. “I just don’t understand. Jerome? Is he the traitor, then?”
“I’m afraid so.” Weariness filled me.
“And you knew it?” Rek stared down at me in confused wonder.
“I guessed it,” I corrected. “But it was nothing more than a hunch based on his stance. I didn’t want to accuse him on a vague suspicion, and the only way to confirm it was for me to see them together.”
“Who?” He frowned. “Jerome and Esai?”
“Actually Jerome and Yasmine. And Yasmine and Isav, too.”
Rek still looked dazed. “What’s Yasmine’s connection to either of them?”
“That was also mostly a hunch. We should go to the others so I can tell everyone at once.”
Rek nodded agreement, but he kept talking as we moved toward the huddle of people by the far door. “I just can’t understand it. Jerome has been loyal to my family for decades—he was only sixteen when he joined the guards as a young recruit and worked his way up. He’s had access to sensitive information ever since he became a captain, but there’s never been any trouble before now.”
“I don’t think he turned against your family specifically,” I said. “Or the kingdom. I just think there are some loyalties stronger than anything else.” I looked up at him. “You should understand that. You told your father so yourself.”
“My father?” Rek frowned, looking at the cluster of prisoners being herded into the small guard room.
Jerome was at the rear, holding his back straight and his head high as he walked, despite his bound hands. When Yasmine appeared in the doorway, dragged by Nyla and a groom, he froze, however.
I caught my breath at the look on his face, but Benjamin shoved his shoulder, and Jerome looked down, shuttering his emotions as he disappeared into the room.
“We sent the household messenger to the palace,” Benjamin called across when he saw Rek looking. “Reinforcements should be here to transport them soon.”
Rek nodded, putting one arm around my waist, as if he didn’t want to risk our being separated, and leading me the rest of the way to join the others.
Yasmine had also reached the group and stubbornly stopped, clearly trying to resist being lumped in with the prisoners.
“I’ve never been treated so terribly in my life,” she said in strident tones. “Why am I under arrest, may I ask?”
Rek gave an incredulous laugh. “You tried to kill Zaria when she arrested a thief and a traitor. What did you expect to happen?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “I didn’t attack anyone. My knife simply slipped during the dance.”
“You can drop the act. We know about your treachery.” Rek was even better than Yasmine at adopting a haughty, commanding manner, and faced with his stern authority, she wilted. Tears appeared in her eyes, tracking down through the dust on her cheeks.
A single, pathetic sob shook her body.
“I’ve been so lonely since I lost my husband. I never wanted to do anything wrong, but he said he loved me and that we could be together if I just—”
Nyla shook her arm roughly, cutting off her speech. “That will be enough of that. I don’t know what’s going on here, or who you’re claiming to be in love with, but His Highness doesn’t want to hear any of your lies.”
Yasmine turned on Nyla, fury in her eyes, and I noticed the moisture had completely disappeared.
Nyla just gave her a sly smile. “I may not be as rich as you, but at least I’m not a traitor!”
Ali cleared his throat, reminding me we still had an audience. With the rest of the bystanders gone, only Ali, Mariam, and Azzam huddled in the corner, accompanied by the lone remaining servant. Layla had staunchly held her ground through the fighting and was still positioned defensively in front of Mariam, wielding a solid candlestick from a side table.
The sight of her made me grin. I didn’t know how much longer I would stay in this household, but I suspected Layla would soon be taking my position as Mariam’s personal servant—a worthy reward after the ordeal of isolation with Nyla.