Chapter 10

Spy

Slowly opening his eyes, he stretched his arms and basked in the warm glow of the first rays of sunlight streaming through the window. For the first time in weeks, he had slept soundly, and the memories of the night before filled him with a sense of contentment.

As he sat up in bed, he caught sight of Queen Nymira standing at the window with Tartuf nestled in her arms, gently rocking him back and forth.

Nymira spoke, her voice strained and filled with regret. “What we did last night was a mistake,” she said without turning around.

His heart sank at the words. Was it all just a fleeting moment of passion, then?

“We did it for the kingdom,” he said, trying to reassure her.

He rose from the bed and walked over to stand beside her, feeling a mix of confusion and frustration.

Nymira turned to face him, her eyes filled with both pain and understanding. “I know,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “But that doesn’t change the fact that what we did was wrong. I am your mother...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a knock at the door interrupted them. “We did it for the kingdom,” he said firmly, his voice unwavering.

Darian’s heart raced as he suddenly thought of Braga’s lifeless body, left under the windows of his chambers. The memory was still fresh in his mind when the sound of heavy footsteps interrupted his thoughts. The door to his chambers burst open, and several armed guards stormed in, their weapons drawn.

Darian tensed, ready to fight, but before he could even make a move, he was quickly overpowered and handcuffed. He struggled against them, breaking the nose of one of the guards in the process, but it was no use. He was outnumbered and outmatched.

“In the name of the King, you are under arrest,” one of the guards declared, his voice cold and emotionless.

“I am the king, you fool!” Darian snapped.

“What is going on?” Queen Nymira demanded, her eyes flashing with anger and confusion.

In that moment, like a snake slithering into the room, Narim slowly made his way forward, rattling his walking stick in a menacing manner. In his hands was a bundle.

“Darian Serpent-Slayer, you are charged with the murder of the king,” Narim mouthed, his grin a wicked display of satisfaction. With a flourish, he opened the bundle, displaying the dagger.

“What are you doing, Narim. What are you doing?”

As Narim revealed the damning evidence against Darian, the queen’s expression turned from indignation to disbelief. She couldn’t believe that her son could have committed such a heinous crime.

“Darian, this is all a misunderstanding, isn’t it?” she pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion.

Darian’s heart raced as he faced Narim’s accusation. “I didn’t do that. You have to believe me. It’s a lie!” he protested.

She took a step forward, as if to embrace him, but Narim stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “You see, my dear queen, this is the kind of treachery that we have been dealing with all along. The Barbarians have infiltrated our ranks, manipulating and deceiving us to further their own agenda. Braga was right, Darian is the spy. And that’s why Darian killed him yesterday. And before that young prince destroyed the letter of Nome to usurp the throne.”

“No, no. What are you talking about, Narim?! What are you talking about?”

And then, in a sudden flash of realization, he understood.”It was you,” he said, his voice low and deadly. “Narim, you were the spy all along”.

But the queen, meanwhile, was not convinced. “This cannot be true,” she whispered. “Darian would never do such a thing.”

Darian felt a flicker of hope as he saw the conviction in his mother’s eyes.