40. The Better Heir
Chapter 40
The Better Heir
R aewyn
The sword in Stellon’s hand moved toward his brother again, and he pulled me to stand behind him.
“You are mad,” he said. “Raewyn is not an assassin. She saved my life in the Rough Market. Why would she try to kill me at the ball?”
From his position sprawled on the floor, Pharis glared at him. “Hey, I’m not the enemy here. Maybe point that blade somewhere else? There are things you don’t know about your beloved . She’s not just Raewyn. She’s—”
“Lady Wyn,” Stellon finished for him. “I already know. She told me. So you can save your righteous anger for someone else. Raewyn and I have no secrets from each other now.”
“Oh really,” Pharis said, unconvinced. “So she told you why she came to the ball that night?”
“Yes. She wanted to see me again,” Stellon told him, “because our first meeting affected her as deeply as it affected me. She came in disguise so she’d be safe among all the Fae. An Earthwife from her village helped to change her appearance for the night.”
“Oh, I know all about the Earthwife and her ‘help,’” Pharis said. “In fact, I just spent some quality time with her—down in the dungeon.”
My heart turned to pure ice and shattered. This is it.
It was over.
My time with Stellon. My life. I was going to hang, and my family was going to starve.
Pharis went on, digging my grave deeper with every word.
“Sorcha, her name was. Interesting woman. She told me all about your true love . Now I know why the matchmaker’s glamour told me ‘Lady Wyn’ was a terrible match for you. Not because she’s human. Because she was the assassin sent to kill you—and me and Mareth and Father.”
Stellon snorted a disbelieving laugh. “That’s ridiculous. If the old woman in the dungeon knows all about the assassination plot, then she was the would-be assassin. Of course she’d lay the blame on someone else. What, did she try to make a deal with you to win her freedom?”
He dropped his sword. “Don’t you see? She lied to you, brother, and you believed it because you wanted to.”
Extending his hand down to Pharis, Stellon helped him up from the floor. “Be patient. The right girl will come along for you, too.”
Pharis barked a laugh as he sprang to his feet.
“You think I’m jealous ? About her ?” He shot me a disdainful glance.
“I know you are,” Stellon said. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
Pharis waved a hand in front of his face, as if fanning away malodorous fumes.
“Do you not find it a bit coincidental that the old woman in the dungeon is the same Earthwife from Raewyn’s village? She’s the one who changed her,” Pharis said.
“Did little Wyn tell you that when the two of you were exchanging confessions?” he asked.
Taking in Stellon’s shocked expression, he said, “Didn’t think so. Sorcha concocted the poison Raewyn concealed in her handbag that night. The one she carried with her as you two stood at the seawall, kissing. The same bag she was digging through when I walked up and interrupted you. Or maybe it was her I interrupted—before she could dose you with the stuff.”
Since Stellon seemed to have lost the power of speech, Pharis went on.
“The Earthwife told me every ingredient in that poison concoction. I’ll wager Auspex Pavan will confirm it’s a perfect match.”
“That only proves the Earthwife was involved,” Stellon argued. “It doesn’t mean Raewyn was.”
“Has she explained to you how she got out of the palace that night with guards posted outside her door?” Pharis asked. “How her Fae features vanished at midnight, along with her ballgown and handbag? That’s how the vials came to be found on the lawn—not far from the vines leading down from her window. Go ahead, ask her.”
Stellon just stared at his brother, hatred visible in his eyes.
Pharis’ tone turned pleading. “You cannot trust her, Stells. You can’t even trust your own feelings right now. The old woman denied casting a love spell, but I think she lied. It’s obvious you’re not thinking clearly.”
Finally Stellon turned to me.
“Is it true?” he asked. “Is any of it true?”
It was a struggle to breathe, much less speak.
“I honestly don’t know about the love spell part,” I answered weakly. “But yes, I did come to the ball at the behest of the Earthwife. It was her idea, not mine.”
“She fed my family and healed my father,” I explained. “In exchange I was to perform a task for her once inside the palace.”
Stellon’s face darkened to a deep red. His eyes looked almost crazed. Touching his cheek, I kept him from turning away from me.
“But I didn’t know why she wanted me to come,” I swore. “Not until she confronted me during the dinner and put the poison in my handbag. I was stunned. I’d made the deal with her to save my family from starvation and sickness. I knew there’d be a price—but I had no idea that’s what it would be.”
Stellon started to pull away, his face a contorted mask of pain.
Clutching at his arm, I said, “I never really intended to use the poison. You have to believe me. I never wanted you dead, Stellon. You’re not like your cruel father or…”
Here I darted a glance at Pharis before going on.
“I promise, I never wanted any harm to come to you or your family, only to return to my own family and keep them safe from Sorcha. By not fulfilling my obligation to her, I put them in terrible danger. But even knowing that, I couldn’t do it… because I fell in love with you. I could never hurt you.”
There was an extended moment where he didn’t respond other than to stare at me, stone-faced. Every nerve was strung tight as I braced for his condemnation.
And then his hard expression crumpled, and he pulled me to him, holding me tight.
“Raewyn.” He breathed into my hair. “How terrifying for you. You were in an impossible situation. The Earthwife will pay for her treachery. She will not be allowed to harm your family, I promise.”
The relief was so powerful, my eyelids closed, and I nearly dropped to the floor, boneless. Stellon held me up, keeping me pulled tightly against his strong body.
His back was to Pharis now, his large form shielding my embarrassing near-nudity from his brother.
When I opened my eyes again, I could see Pharis’ incensed expression, his fire-bright eyes nearly burning a hole in Stellon’s back.
“Please tell me you’re not really this stupid,” he said.
When Stellon didn’t acknowledge him, the anger on his face morphed into hurt.
“I can’t believe you’re taking her word over mine. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but you’re going to be sorry you didn’t listen to me. Maybe I’d be the better heir after all if you’re really this big a fool.”
Stellon released his hold on me and took the crumpled shift from my hands, quickly dropping it over my head and arms to cover me. Then he turned to face Pharis.
“Maybe you should be Crown Prince.”
Pharis’ eyes bulged in either surprise or alarm—perhaps both.
“What?”
Stellon shrugged. “I don’t even care anymore. I was ready to abdicate the throne anyway, if that’s what’s required to be with Raewyn.”
“You can’t do that,” Pharis said. “Father will never allow it.”
Raising a pointed finger toward me, he added, “And he’ll never allow her .”
“He isn’t going to know about her, not until it’s too late,” Stellon said.
Pharis’ look of shock intensified. “Too late? You can’t mean you intend to bond with her. Wait— tonight ?”
Pulling me to his side and wrapping a protective arm around me, Stellon gave his brother a long, hard look, during which I assumed some serious mind-to-mind conversation was going on.
Pharis pulled his eyes away from Stellon’s to stare at me in disbelief and then returned them to his brother for one long moment before spinning on his heel and storming away.