Page 222 of Sky’s Edge

“And for us, an early night.”

I grinned and repeated, “Works for me.”

He cocked his head. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

I shook mine. “No.” The moment I said that, something struck me, so I changed my mind. “Actually…”

“What?”

“When I sat down with Barret and Camaryn, Barret said something unusual.”

“What was that?”

“She said she put up with Tatra because she felt she had to ‘until the real king could take his throne.’ She’s been here over thirty years. The real king was on the throne until your father died.”

Tanyn thought on that for a few beats before he said, “Do you think she sensed something was wrong with my father?”

“Actually, when she said it, I noted it, but I hadn’t given it much thought until right now. But she, and any staff who’ve been around for a while, will have witnessed a great number of things. Though, I’ll warn you, not many of them have been around for a while. Due to pay and conditions, Camaryn and Barret told me staff turned over at an alarming rate. Still…both of those two have been around for years. They also informed me things got done if they circumvented Tatra and went to Arnaud. But this didn’t make Tatra happy. So maybe Barret’s mention of the ‘real king’ is about Tatra pulling the strings.”

“Maybe, but she should be questioned about this.”

I wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

“We’re in a battle to get the staff to trust us and be loyal to us, questioning them might not be a good thing.”

“And we’re currently in the uncomfortable position of facing an unknown with limited intel, what we have is trickling in too slowly, so the more we know…” He let that trail.

But he was right.

“Can you give me the time it takes to meet the staff, Camaryn and Barret to compile their reports, and the three of us going over them and making necessary adjustments so I can establish some trust with them that we’ll follow through on any promises before we start questioning?”

“How long will that take?”

“I know they’re keen to take care of their charges, so maybe next week?”

“I can give you that.”

That was easy.

Seeing as it was…

“Since you’re being so accommodating, I’d like you to consider back pay as well as salary adjustments.”

“I see you’re going to be hells on the castle’s budget,” he muttered.

“It’s only fair.” I replied.

“You’re right, baby,” Tanyn said.“But this could be considered buying their loyalty.”

“We must use every tool at our disposal, honey.”

To communicate he agreed, he brushed his lips against mine.

Then, regrettably, he said, “I need to get back to it.”

“Of course.”

“Pop in after you speak to Gayle. I’d like to know how she takes the news of looking like Selediel.”