“What is going on here?” Master Philo asked.
“Lady Isa has gone completely mad!” Tatsuo wailed. “She attacked the royal couple, killed every guard surrounding the king’s home, and tried to kill me when I intervened.”
Master Philo raised his eyebrows at me.
“That’s not true,” Viggo said, coming to a stop at my side. “I was there. The general ordered Lennart to kill those guards and attack the king. Arrest Halvar!”
“He’s Lady Isa’s lover,” Tatsuo exclaimed. “Of course he’s going to defend her.”
“The general is lying.”
Tatsuo, Viggo, and I spun around. Torvald came to a halt a stone’s throw away, chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow. He thrust his shoulders back, dark eyes fixed on Tatsuo. “If you won’t believe them, then believe me, Philo. The general is at fault here.”
Master Philo nodded. “Then we will take him into custody, sire.”
“Stay where you are.” The king glanced at me. “His fate is yours, Asta. Do what you will.”
Tatsuo and I locked eyes. Even in his final moments, he showed no fear. Only defiance. I thought of my family, my friends, the servants who cared for me, the land that created me. I thought of the men who had so bravely defended us that day. I thought of the women and children who had been so ruthlessly cut down in the streets. I could almost picture the fires and hear their screams.
I marched toward Tatsuo, gripping the sword with both hands. “Torvald, close your eyes.”
With a flick of my arm, the sword sliced through the air. Tatsuo’s body hit the grass. His head smacked against the stone steps and rolled down to Master Philo’s feet.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Viggo grabbed a fistful of Tatsuo’s hair and pulled the head out of the bloody sack. Lady Helka leapt back into the corner of her cell with a horrible scream. Viggo advanced, holding the head out before him.
“Who else was working for Tatsuo?” I asked over Helka’s screaming.
“It was Tatsuo all along,” Torvald announced to the anxious crowd. “With the help of Lady Helka, he evaded execution and began building a new identity for himself. He procured fake documents, hired false witnesses, and spread rumors about himself in the hopes of being sent overseas on the Quest for Resources. Once he had worked his way into the counselors’ hearts, he was elected general. He forced my diplomats to be his prisoners once they reached the mainland and began his glorious, terrible war in secret.
“He used Lennart, my former Defender, and the counselors that remained who were still loyal to him to keep me in the dark. I blame myself. I trusted his word, the false accounts he brought before me every visit, and the men he claimed were ambassadors from the mainland. I supplied the men he needed to build up his army and the vessels he used to travel to our sister nations.”
I tore my gaze away from the audience to glance at my king.
Torvald was staring gravely down at his notes, lips pursed. Finally, he raised his head. “I doubted the word of an eyewitness and did the minimal amount of investigative work. I chose to believe in Tatsuo’s success and the promise of new supplies. Holger’s name will be forever shamed because of his greed and my ignorance.” The king cleared his throat. “Thanks to Lady Isa and Master Viggo’s efforts, not only has Tatsuo been stopped but his supporters have also been tracked down and imprisoned. Once tried, they will face proper punishment. New counselors have been instated, one of which is my grandfather, Makoa. They, along with my lovely wife, will rule Holger in my absence.”
The audience roared with questions and protests.
Torvald raised his hand for silence and the noise was quickly hushed. “I go to the mainland to make amends for mine and my father’s mistakes. I go to negotiate peace and offer whatever I can to convince our sister nations that the Quest for Resources is over. I take only my faithful bodyguard and a ship’s crew with me. I will make it clear that we Holgarians no longer wish to be known as barbarians, but friends.” He took a deep breath. “I will make this right.”
“Your Highness?” someone toward the front asked. “Without the Quest for Resources, what are we going to do about the supply shortage?”
“Where will we emigrate to?” another shouted in the background.
“I won’t return until I’ve made treaties with the mainland that will solve both of those problems,” the king promised. “Securing peace must come first. Thank you for your time.”
I took his arm and led him off the stage. The other guards created a wall between us and the people as I assisted the king into his carriage.
Bryn stirred. Viggo pushed away from the wall and moved to his friend’s bed.
I put my knitting needles and the three rows of stitches aside. “Hello there. How are you feeling?”
Bryn’s eyes swept the room and his body before falling on me. “I’m all right. What am I doing here? What happened?”
“You were stabbed with a two-pronged serving fork,” Viggo said. “You lost a lot of blood. Dr. Ichiro said you’re lucky to be alive.”
Bryn grimaced. “That’s right. Lennart was in a blood frenzy. I heard the sounds of a scuffle while I was in the kitchen and came out to see what was going on. General Halvar kept the king from escaping while Lennart murdered the servants and any guards who came to investigate. I’d never seen so much death… Poor Torvald was forced to watch.” He placed a hand over his chest, eyes hollow. “Then Lennart came for me. I was no match.”
“You did the best you could. Just be thankful you’re still alive,” I said.
Bryn nodded slowly. “Dagmar was having tea with the queen in the upstairs drawing room. Were they able to escape?”
My eyes dropped to the yarn and my throat grew tight.
“What happened?” Bryn asked upon seeing my expression.
“Dagmar is dead,” I murmured. “Tatsuo ran her through with his blade because she dared to say that Torvald was the better man.”
Bryn cocked his head to the side. “Tatsuo?”
“The general,” Viggo said, then he told our friend everything.
Bryn reached for my hand and I gave it. He squeezed my fingers. “I’m sorry, Asta. I know you cared for Dagmar.”
I swallowed with difficulty. “Not nearly as much as she cared for me.”
“A mother will always love her child more than her child loves her,” Bryn said, smiling.
I took in a shuddering breath. “I never told her how much I appreciated her. She was bossy and demanding, but she stayed up with me on those endless nights and she worried about my safety and reputation all the time and defended me from anyone she thought was the least bit threatening.” I was crying too hard to speak then.
Viggo was quick to wrap his arms around me.
“She really was like a second mother, wasn’t she? And now she’s g-gone!” I sobbed. “It’s been so lonely without her. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable in the king’s house again.”
“There now,” Viggo said in his gruff, uncomfortable manner. “She wouldn’t want you blubbering like this on her account. She did what she did because she wanted to, not because she expected you to appreciate it. You respected her, took her counsel when you thought it appropriate, and let her fuss over you while you were recovering from the explosion. I think that was enough for her.”
I sniveled and nodded into his shoulder, wishing I could believe him.
“Tatsuo’s dead.” Viggo pulled away to look into my eyes and grin. “Your family and your homeland have been avenged. The mainland is now safe from him forever. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
“Yes… and no,” I admitted. “My family is still dead. The families that survived his crusade are still scarred and broken. The mainland will never be the same again.”