Chapter 158: Caught In the Trap

Gavin remained at the home when the attack happened, under the full watch of his staff so there would be ample witnesses. He’d sent a small group of his servants to the capital, just to pick up a few things and wait for their return.
As he sipped his whiskey and made plans for what he would do first, he looked through his records. His monetary trail had been covered up well enough. The gold he’d given to the assassin and the rogues who were staging the attack had come from privately held vaults nestled in a small bank at the edge of his territory. It was so obscure that no one would be able to trace the money back to it unless they could break the code on his logbook.
Basil was off on the border learning to be a soldier when he should be learning to be a king, so by the time Laurel was murdered and Adolph could even try to return, Gavin would fully be in the clear.
“Minister Mirabelle, Jacob has returned from the capital,” a servant said, huffing and puffing with shock. “He said there was an attack on the city!”
Gavin feigned shock and stood, “What do you mean? What’s happened?”
She launched into an explanation about a large band of rogues appearing at the edge of the city and running straight through the citadel, stealing and pillaging. They set fires in the lower town and all through the middle town where the hospital, orphanage, and school were.
“He said Luna Laurel was in the city…” She said fearfully. “H-He didn’t see anything else…”
“Ready my carriage,” he said, “I’ll need to be there for the council meeting regarding the attack.”
She hurried off, calling for his footmen as Gavin finished his tumbler of whiskey and prepared to put on his best show. It was so easy. Much easier than he’d ever expected to get Laurel out of the castle. Had she been stabbed with a sword or shot down with an arrow?
Had she bled to death on the streets or caught in a fire? He couldn’t know, but he relished the thought of what it was doing to Adolph. It would serve him right for getting in the way of Gavin’s plans for the kingdom and Basil.
Gavin got into his carriage and urged the driver to hurry towards the city. When he arrived, he rushed up to the council’s room and found, as he expected, most of the room talking animatedly, in a full-blown panic. Raven looked grim. Irene looked pale as a ghost. The generals were growling, calling for blood and furious.
“We’ve already sent word to the border,” Raven said, “But it won’t reach him in time…”
“What’s happened?” Gavin asked, “I was told there was an attack on the city? Was it vampires? Wiccans?”
“Rogues,” Dorian said coolly. “Pillaging. They’ve been subdued, but the damage has been done.”
They’d managed to retrieve Laurel’s body without the citizens being aware, but she had died before they’d managed to get her to her chambers.
Raven stood, “We’re having the city watched and put under a curfew until we can look into where these rogues came from and how they got into the kingdom.”
Irene suggested they interrogate the rogues that were held in the dungeon including Laura’s parents. Gavin nodded, making a show of agreement while smirking on the inside.
As soon as he’d managed to clear up the last loose end, everything would be perfect.
“What about Basil?” Gavin asked, “If the king is sure to lose his sanity…”
“As I said, we’ve sent word to the border,” Raven said. “Chasel will be able to handle Adolph for a bit…”
He’d forgotten about Chasel, but from what he understood of the man, it was more likely that he would end up dead trying to contain Adolph than successfully subduing him. It would be good riddance. Basil needed someone Gavin could easily control at his side.
They ended the council meeting half an hour later and Gavin left to take stock of the city. Soldiers roamed around, moving debris and hauling people out of the wreckage towards the hospital.
The air smelled like ash and smoke. They had done a good job, and he was glad he was smart enough to broker the deal through so many people that it would be near impossible to trace it back to anyone still alive.
He got out of the carriage in the midtown and worked his way through the city on foot until he reached his nondescript carriage as twilight began to fall.
He reached the townhouse soon after and entered through the covered entrance.
As expected, the assassin was there, waiting for him, seated in the corner. The two guards he’d stationed at the townhouse were there watching him as he entered.
The man offered him the page Gavin had stamped several days ago. Gavin laughed.
“As if I would ever leave a loose end so obvious!” Gavin scoffed, “Kill him.”
The guards didn’t move. Gavin frowned and looked at them.
“You heard me! Kill him!”
They still didn’t move.
“They’re not traitors..”
Gavin’s stomach jolted at the sound of Laurel’s voice.
The figure in the chair pulled off the hood and revealed Laurel’s face. Her green eyes looked at him and his heart lurched. It was impossible and horrible. What was she doing here?
Had this all been a setup? He thought of Raven and the rest of the council. Had they all been in on it? He turned to try and escape, but the two guards grabbed him and held him in place.
“Conspiring to murder the luna and queen. Intent to attack the capital… Acts of terrorism… Attempted murder of the king…” Laurel tutted, “Goodness Gavin, you’ve been busy these last few weeks.”
She removed her cloak, revealing her armor and her heeled boots. She stood, looking as pregnant as she had been the last time he’d seen her and glaring down at him.
“You made it so easy to catch you too. Thanks for that.”
“I’ll tell the king who you are, Laura!” Gavin hissed. “How do you think the king will feel about you after that?”
Laurel laughed, “Why would he believe a traitor?”
“I am the grandfather of the crowned prince!” Gavin huffed, “You’ve set me up!”
“I didn’t need to,” she waved the page in her hand, “This is proof enough. Testimony of the man you paid to kill me is proof enough…. And when Basil returns from the border, we’ll have all the other information we need as well.”
Gavin scoffed as his heart raced in terror, “He knows nothing!”
“Your little coded books?” Laurel asked with a slight lift of her shoulder, “The obscure banks and missing trails of money? I think he’ll know enough for us to have proof… Not that Adolph will need it to have you executed.”
She rubbed the swell of her stomach, “You tried to murder me, Gavin. You’re done and all of the Mirabelle line will probably suffer as well.”
“You can’t!” Gavin growled and gasped as he heard Laura’s voice in the back of his mind from that night.
*You can’t!*
She smiled, looking down at him with a cold light in her eyes, “You should know your place in the kingdom, Gavin.”
Gavin froze, looking up into her cold green eyes. He heard his voice from years ago, telling Laura the same thing. It felt like a bucket of ice water thrown in his face.
Adolph was going to have him executed, and all of the Mirabelle family would be implicated.
“What… have I done?” Gavin gasped and looked up at him, “It was only me! You leave Basil out of this! Leave them all out of it!”
“We’ll see,” Laurel said with a nod of her head, “Take him to the dungeons and have the entire Mirabelle family seized and detained. I’m sure my husband will have words for him and all of the others when he returns.”
Gavin struggled, trying to break free, “You can’t kill me! I’m the crowned prince’s grandfather!”
Laurel ignored him, turning and heading to the carriage with a little smile.
As if his relation to Basil would save him from Adolph’s wrath. She didn’t even think Basil would plead for his innocence. As she returned to the palace, she felt the last bit of tension ebb out of her.
Peace was on the horizon, and Adolph would be going home soon.
As they walked, Adolph didn’t want to admit how similar the two castles were. He hadn’t noticed it the first time he’d been to Ash castle, but now that he was exploring it without the need for blood and fear of being discovered, there were too many similarities to ignore.
He wondered if there had once been a garden behind the castle. It looked like it could have been ages ago, but the land was barren now.
Eden's Voice came from above, “It used to be beautiful.”