That sneaky little… She had smirked in my face as she’d agreed to my deal not to tell the king about our journey, all while she already knew about the plot on my life. Technically, she didn’t lie, but she must have had a real villain giggle to herself later on. Actually, it was probably my fault for not picking up the clues. She may have said something to that effect too, but the exact details were foggy.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cair asked, urging my attention back to him. He didn’t seem disappointed, but there was a slight snarl tugging at his lips, which suggested he was concealing irritation. It wasn’t directed at me, though.

“I thought it was another one of her idle threats, a way to get under my skin. She didn’t outright mention your father, so I didn’t think it worth mentioning. I’d just wanted to forget about that whole interaction at the time.”

She had threatened to kill us both, and Teighan, if I let slip about the whole dagger malarky, so I’d been a little preoccupied with that to ponder any hidden meaning in her words. I also distinctly remembered already being on edge because I was finally leaving the palace. Lapses in focus were to be expected.

Cair cursed under his breath. “I will wring her neck if she is involved.”

“If she is, then she’s playing both sides,” I said, struggling to stifle the note of awe in my tone. “Carrying out the king’s scheme while working covertly to ensure its failure? That would take a lot of nerve, even for someone as brazen as Maeve.” I shrugged. I wanted to know her motives, of course I did, but whether she was with us or against us, it wasn’t of great importance now. There was no point in digging deeper and riling Cair up when answers wouldn’t be forthcoming. It could be shelved for later. “Whatever her reasoning, if I had listened to her, this wouldn’t have happened. She wanted me alive, and even if she was under orders to help assassinate me, that fact can’t be overlooked.”

My mate released a heavy sigh. “I shall confront her in due course. Orian too. If my sister knew, chances are, my brother was associated in some capacity. They are both my father’s closest confidantes, after all.”

“Orian didn’t know.”

Cair tilted his head. “How can you be so sure?”