A Dove's Tale

Chapter 182

"Tomorrow," Clavis declared.

I stared at him for a moment, as confused as everybody else gathered around the table for dinner. He was looking at me as if I should know what he was talking about. I didn't, but I recognized the danger in those glittering golden eyes and that bright smile, as did his brothers and the foreign princes, who exchanged wary glances.

"What is tomorrow?" I asked carefully.

"Why, our grand scheme of epic proportions, of course!"

I knew I should have eaten in my room.

"Don't we have enough trouble right now without one of your schemes?" Yves moaned, a sentiment echoed by the crowd. And they didn't even know what scheme Clavis had in mind.

I, unfortunately, did.

"You said that wouldn't happen for a few months," I reminded Clavis. "And I really think this isn't the best time."

"Nonsense. Now is the best time! You really need to learn to be more flexible, Ivetta. With an opportunity like this—"

"What about the mechanism you said you had to perfect?"

His smile widened. "I lied. So, tomorrow morning—"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

"Give me one good reason."

"I could give you many more than that, but I assume you don't want me announcing your plans to everybody."

Nokto gave me a chagrined smile. "Nice try, Ivetta, but there's no derailing Clavis when he gets going."

"Maybe I won't wait until tomorrow morning to leave," Silvio muttered under his breath.

"But how bad could it be this time if Ivetta's involved?" Keith wondered. "I mean, she wouldn't let him get too crazy, would she?"

If only they knew.

The final diagram in Clavis' poorly drawn plan depicted Jin and Theresa hanging upside-down from a tree, bound and tethered together. To be fair, it would be funny. Very funny. But neither Jin nor Leon was talking to Theresa yet, and her avoidance of them told me they still hadn't resolved things from her break-up with Leon. Forcing Leon's brother and former lover together at the same time that Rhodolite discovered Leon's biggest secret seemed like a terrible idea.

Although Clavis clearly didn't agree.

"When have my plans ever been bad?" he defended, feigning injury. "I always have the best interest of others at heart."

"Like when you used Ivetta as bait and tried to kill Chevalier?" Licht asked dryly.

Clavis' face fell. "I didn't say whose best interests."

"Nobody is supposed to die or get hurt this time," I reassured all gathered as I shot Clavis a pointed look. "But it isn't happening tomorrow, anyway, so nobody has to worry about it, either."

He ignored my glare, of course, and happily proceeded. "Cyran will be in his position at ten o'clock, which means—"

"Ya sure ya wanna give away the time?" A forkful of food hovered in front of Luke's mouth as he frowned at Clavis. "What if we jus' avoid ya, Cyran, an' Ivetta then?"

Leon shook his head. "That's part of the plan. He only lets something slip if he wants people to know. We try to avoid him at ten o'clock, and then it turns out he set a trap on the opposite side of the palace at eleven o'clock. He's done it before."