Chapter 5
Elara
“Shall I get you anything else?”
I shook my head as Anesta poured the last bucket of warm water into the tub. She picked up the clothes strewn across the floor, where I had left them. It didn’t sit well with me. She shouldn’t have to pick up the things I’d scattered like some spoiled child.
“No, thank you. You can leave me be.”
She seemed hesitant to leave me alone. I felt a twinge in my stomach. Serving the queen was one of the most highly esteemed duties a person in this kingdom could have. By tradition, a queen had many ladies-in-waiting and servants, but I preferred that Anesta handle most of the tasks herself with the help of a maid.
It was ridiculous really. A few months ago, I was pickpocketing strangers and climbing trees.
Now, I couldn’t even draw a bath by myself. Not that I was ungrateful for having a warm bed to sleep in and a full belly every night. But having all this, while so many outside the palace walls suffered, seemed wrong. I was starting to become overwhelmed with guilt.
I sighed, tilting my neck back to allow my head to rest against the edge of the tub.
My arm stung from the warm water, but the cut was small and would heal quickly.
With all this power, I had yet to make any significant changes. In fact, after the past few weeks, including Lord Edgar and the maid, it was safe to say that I was only digging a bigger grave for myself. I felt doomed no matter what I did.
Perhaps I should pack a few things, slip into the stable at nightfall, and ride away as quietly as possible.
My cabin in the forest was still there and I had enough money to travel to the border and cross into Norrandale, but then what? Where would I live and what would I do? And what would happen to Everness? If I didn’t do something about the state of the kingdom, then who would? Lance... perhaps not.
I groaned, sinking so that the water engulfed me completely. It was comforting to have the warm water cover me. With my eyes closed, the world became dark and silent and peaceful all at once. My anxious heartbeat slowed down.
No wonder Lance didn’t particularly care to be king. I couldn’t imagine anyone ever wanting to take this position willingly. My lungs ached to breathe but I wasn’t ready to go back yet. I just needed a little more peace.
Rhen was right. I needed to do something drastic, and I needed to do it sooner rather than later. I emerged with a gasp, the water spilling over the edge of the tub onto the tiled floor. I had never expected this new life to be easy but becoming Queen of Everness required a lot more sacrifice than I’d been prepared for. How did people fight over these titles for ages? How did men kill each other for this position and this power? I’d been sitting on the throne for weeks and I’d yet to understand it.
The water droplets ran down my face and I brushed them away from my eyes. I knew what I had to do, but I really, really wished there were another way.
* * *
Lance sprang awake as the prison guards splashed a bucket of cold water onto his face.
“Good morning.” I leaned back against the hard metal bars of the prison cell. Lance coughed and recoiled in the chair he’d been snoring in. His black hair plastered his forehead, his long lashes fluttering rapidly.
“How can it be a good morning when you’re screaming and my head is pounding like a bloody drum?” he muttered. I realised that Lance hadn’t been sleeping — he had passed out drunk. I should have expected as much.
“You look terrible.” It’d been weeks since I’d last seen Lance. Weeks since he told me the truth about who I was. Weeks since everything changed. Lance’s hair had grown, forming slight curls to accompany the newly grown facial hair. It didn’t suit him. The sight of him brought back so many unwanted memories, and I wanted to hate him for all of it. But my feelings aside, I knew I needed him. Just for now. And then I could go back to hating him as much as it pleased me. But in that moment, he was all I had.
He heaved a little and tossed his hair back, properly meeting my eyes for the first time. “Well, you did throw me into a prison cell, sister. How did you expect me to look?”
I moved away from the bars and approached him. “Are you saying that you didn’t deserve it?”
He grinned almost devilishly at my words and my blood began to heat in small fury. Maybe coming here was a mistake. Was there nothing that could unnerve him? He was the one who was locked up. He was the one who was at my mercy. He lost and yet... of the two of us, he was the one smiling.
“Leave us alone,” I ordered the two guards, my eyes never wavering from Lance.
“Your Majesty?”
“Was I unclear?” My tone was dismissive enough that they left without another word. The prison smelled unpleasant, and it reminded me of the night I spent down here myself, not knowing if I was to be executed at any moment. It was almost as terrible as the night at Woodsbrook Manor. I tried not to shudder at the thought.
There would for ever be a small scar on my thigh because of Lance. Because of his greed and stupidity. Because he was willing to risk me for a stupid necklace that wasn’t worth more than any of the other jewellery in the palace. If Lance had no problem throwing his sister in a cell, even if it was to keep up appearances, then I had no problem doing the same to him.
“You never really wanted to be king?” I crossed my arms, staring him down as if I could intimidate him.
“You know I’m not fit for the role. There is no use in beating about the bush. And—” he gestured to the cell — “I didn’t have much of a choice with your little band of thieves.”
“Don’t play games with me, brother. You and I both know you always have ulterior motives.”
“Oh, am I brother now?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “When exactly did you decide that you want to invest in our family? Was it before or after you were crowned?”
“We share the same blood, and I can call you my brother — it does not mean I have to care for or respect you.”
“True.” He pursed his lips for a moment. “If you did respect me, you wouldn’t have locked me in a cell without the decency to come and visit.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me about decency,” I cried. “You used me for your personal gain. You are the last person in this kingdom who deserves any respect. Uncle Arthur is dead because you were too much of a coward to put an end to the rebellion, and now I’m left to clean up your messes.”
“Perhaps.” Lance tilted his head, inspected me. “So why did you come to see me? Other than to remind me what a terrible creature I am.”
“Terrible is too good a word.” I sighed, looking away for a moment. I could still walk away while nothing had been said. The bandit in me wanted to take the easy way out. “But I’m here because I need your help.”
The smugness in Lance’s expression could not be mistaken. “You must be very desperate to come to me for help.”
I took a deep breath before answering.
“Then you should understand the severity of the situation,” I said through clenched teeth.
Lance lifted an index finger. “I have only one question.”
I looked into his eyes, wondering what was going on in his head, wondering what advantage he would try to gain from this. “Yes?”
“Why the hell would I help you?” It was not what I wanted to hear. It took enough trying to convince myself to come down here in the first place. I wasn’t going to grovel or beg.
“You said that you would do anything for your family. Well, look around.” I gestured with my arms. “I’m all that’s left here. I’ve taken the responsibility that you didn’t want, because if I don’t, Everness could have another civil war.” I stepped in front of him now and hesitated, hating what I was about to say but knowing it might be the only thing to convince him. “You were right about us.”
“Us?” He taunted me with the very word I hated to say. There would never be an us as far as I was concerned but, in this moment, I needed him more than I wanted to admit. After that he could rot in prison for the rest of eternity for all I cared.
“You and I. We do what we must to survive.” I reminded him of the words he spoke during our stay at Woodsbrook Manor. “No matter what it takes.”
“Well.” He nodded in thought. “I can’t argue with myself.”
* * *
Lance looked like his old self again when I met him later in one of the studies. He was clean and neatly dressed, his hair cut, and his scruff gone.
“Took you long enough.” I put down the book I had pretended to be reading. I got bored sitting still for so long but was too nervous and agitated to actually do anything.
“Well, all this doesn’t just happen by itself, you know.” Lance smirked, gesturing to himself. “Good things take time.”
“I would advise you not to waste mine.”
“Hey—” he raised his hands — “I’m here now.”
“You should be thanking me for letting you out of prison.” I stood up from the chair I’d occupied.
Lance didn’t reply. Only crossed his arms, awaiting an explanation from me.
Perhaps this whole affair would have been easier if I didn’t have to look him in the eye for the entire duration of the conversation.
“There was an attack.”
“I heard. That doesn’t mean you need me, though. You have guards for that.”
I probably should have asked just how Lance knew what was going on outside the prison, but I figured the less I knew about his scheming and twisted ways, the better.
I pressed my lips into a line and went to stand by the window, where I could see the city of Levernia in the distance. The Evernean Forest bordered the palace grounds and the city, while beyond lay rolling green hills with the promise of freedom. I looked out longingly as one of the palace hunters emerged from the stretch of woods. Dead pheasants were hanging over his shoulder. Had it really not been that long ago that Ray and I would help hunt for the camp? My heart ached.
“Because I’m pretty sure half the council wants me dead. Rhen found out that the servant girl who attacked me wasn’t working alone. And it turns out the Duke of Darwick, and his son, know about my past and intend to use it as blackmail to force me into marrying Edgar.”
“Sounds like you’ve had an eventful couple of weeks.”
I clenched my teeth to prevent myself from spitting out something vulgar and sarcastic. I still needed his help, after all.
“Rhen says I need to marry in order to secure my throne and have an heir, of course,” I added, with a lack of enthusiasm.
“Rhen isn’t wrong.” Lance’s voice came from behind me, but I refused to look at him as he came to a standstill next to me, gazing out the window. He didn’t bring up the fact that he once had me believe he was going to have Rhen executed. That he had me believe, in his cruelty, he was going to murder my friend, when he only imprisoned Rhen to keep him from feeding information to the rebellion. I would never begin to understand my brother, but he seemed to know better than to bring up the subject, though Rhen would most likely have a fit if he knew I’d let Lance out.
“But if I don’t marry Edgar, he’s going to tell everyone about who I really am. Even if he’s bluffing, I can’t afford to risk it at this point. If the noble families find out I was the masked bandit who robbed them, I would be done for.”
“There is no way in hell that you are marrying Edgar.” I was surprised by the stern tone of his voice compared to the nonchalance he usually exhibited. “I will not have that dim-witted bastard wearing my family’s crown.”
I remembered how furious Uncle Arthur was when he found out about Lance’s engagement. He was rightfully worried that a royal heir would only make matters more complicated for his rebellion. I didn’t understand it back then. And, needless to say, once Lance was imprisoned, the engagement fell through. Lance didn’t seem too upset about it. I was pretty sure he had never even met the girl and would’ve only gone through with it to spite Uncle.
“Well, then, what do you propose? I can’t see how marrying another duke is going to solve the problem. Especially since the Darwicks are one of the most powerful families in the kingdom.”
“Then, my dear sister, you marry someone more powerful than a duke.”
I frowned, finally looking at him. I didn’t want to admit it, but I could see the similarities in our facial features. Most of the time, I avoided looking at the paintings of my mother and father. The parents I never knew. The two people who gave me my dark hair and high cheekbones. I didn’t like the fact that the more I looked at Lance, the more I started to see how we were related.
My brother. The thought was still foreign and somewhat unwelcome.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t marry a duke. You marry a king.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but they aren’t exactly just growing on trees around here.”
“You could always marry Cai.” The mention of his name brought an image to my mind, of Cai, during our stay together at Fairfrith. It was on the night of the solstice feast that Cai asked me about the necklace. The very one Lance had tortured him for. I wasn’t sure why I held on to it at the time. Part of me knew it was worth money and part of me stupidly hoped that it did, in fact, possess some sort of magic. A delusion I’d long since let go of. I’d had the necklace for months, and although it may have been a fine piece of jewellery, it certainly possessed no supernatural powers.
I was about to say something when the door swung open and a servant entered, carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups. “The tea you requested, Your Majesty?” she said with confusion, and I realised it must have been because of my shocked facial expression at Lance’s words.
“Yes, thank you. You can just put it over there.” I gestured to one of the tables. She obeyed and left the room in a hurry, closing the door again.
I sighed and placed a hand to my temple while Lance went over to the tea tray.
“Care to explain?” I asked.
Both Rhen and Lance had now said the same thing to me. But I was looking for every possible reason to avoid it. Cai and I had not parted in the best of ways and the silence between us only made it worse. He was the king of Norrandale now. Why would he want to marry someone who used to be a bandit? I faced the window again, staring at the outer world.
“Norrandale is a powerful kingdom, despite its smaller army. It would prove advantageous to Everness. After all, there is a reason the marriage with Eloisa was arranged in the first place. He isn’t a stranger, and by the looks of it at Woodsbrook, you two had taken quite a liking to each other.”
I swivelled to face Lance, feeling the frustration rising inside me. “Cai had taken a liking to me because you’d blackmailed me into manipulating him to do so.”
“Ah,” he said and handed me a cup of tea. “So, you don’t like him, then?”
I stared open-mouthed at him, not sure what to do or say, and surprised by his kind gesture. I didn’t know Lance was even capable of a kind gesture. I didn’t even really want the tea, but I took the cup from him anyway.
“I didn’t say that.”
“So, you do like him?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“Fine.” Lance shrugged and plopped down on one of the chairs. “Don’t tell me about your royal infatuation. I don’t care. You’ve asked my opinion and I’ve answered you honestly.”
“He can’t be the only option.” I took a seat on the chair opposite him, taking a moment to adjust my layers and layers of skirts.
He wore a sly grin. “Why do you think I didn’t want to be king? If it was easy to rule a kingdom, everyone would do it.”
“Yes, thank you. Remind me to think up some gruesome punishment for you regarding that.”
“You left me to rot in prison, dear sister. Haven’t I been punished enough?”
I clenched my teeth.
“Now I get to enjoy the parties and the drinking and the women and the food, all without taking any responsibility. So, if the people get restless and want to decapitate the monarch, I am completely safe and sound.”
“If I couldn’t trust that you don’t want me dead, you’d still be in that prison cell.” I rolled my eyes at him. He wasn’t exactly the ally of my choosing, but I needed anything I could get at this point.
“Of course I don’t want you dead. That means no more drinking or women. My face is too pretty to be decapitated.”
I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response.
“So, what, I invite Cai over for tea and politely ask if he wants to marry me?”
“Of course not,” Lance scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Cai is never going to come here now. You must go to Norrandale.”
“And who will rule in my place while I’m gone?” I took a sip of the tea. There wasn’t any sugar in it, and I wasn’t sure if Lance somehow knew that I didn’t have sugar in my tea or if he’d just forgotten to put any in. I was going for the latter of the two.
“I wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on things for a few days.”
I had to fight to keep from spitting the tea back into the cup.
“You’re not serious? You want me to leave you in charge. After you’ve just, once again, reminded me why you should not rule?” The fool wasn’t making any sense.
“Ruling as regent for a short period and as king for the rest of my life aren’t exactly the same thing. Call it a family favour.”
“Don’t push me, Lance. Even if I did go over there and...” I hesitated, “propose... who’s to say Cai’s even going to say yes?” I couldn’t imagine looking like a bigger idiot than if he rejected me.
“He can’t exactly say no. He’d already agreed to marry you.”
“What?” I said, a little too loud, and my teacup clattered in the saucer.
“Cai signed a marriage contract back at Woodsbrook. He agreed to marry the eldest daughter of King Magnus. His signature is on the paper. He can’t take it back now.”
“But surely you gave him a falsified document to sign?” I gently put the teacup down on the table.
“No,” he responded nonchalantly.
“But you knew that was me and not Eloisa. Why the hell would you let him sign it?”
“For a day such as this when it could be necessary to help us.” Us? There was that word again. I was starting to regret every life decision I’d made up until this point.
“Lance, you have to stop blackmailing people.”
He took a small flask out of his coat pocket and poured the liquor into his tea. “And you need to learn that sometimes to be a monarch you have to make difficult choices.”
“Well, what if I don’t want to make difficult choices?” I threw my hands up in the air.
“Then abdicate. Run away. But you’ll never be able to blame the problems of this kingdom on anyone else. Not when you had a chance to fix it.”
I hated the fact that he was right. Hated that for most of my life I’d complained about the way this kingdom was ruled and now I actually had a chance to make a difference.
“What about Eloisa?” She was next in line for the throne after me. And if I hadn’t been born a few minutes earlier, it would have been her sitting here today.
“Well, no one’s found her yet, right?” He took another sip of his tea as if he was pondering his next words carefully. “And to be completely honest, I think you’re much better suited for this role than our sister.”
I huffed out a laugh. “How on earth can I, a thief, be a better queen than a princess?”
“Eloisa is . . . special.”
“That’s a nice way of saying someone is troubled.” Whether or not I was ready to hear more of the truth, it needed to come out.
“Eloisa is many things, but a ruler isn’t one of them.”
“Where is she?” I didn’t expect him to know. No one knew. It was like she’d disappeared off the face of the earth. But I asked him anyway.
“I don’t know.” His slightly worried expression made me believe him. The subject clearly bothered him, but he didn’t look eager to share more on it.
“Well, are you going to send someone to find her?” He was the one responsible for her when she’d gone missing. He knew the best place to start.
“I have. More than once. No one has returned with any news of her.” I considered for a moment that somewhere along the road something could have gone terribly wrong and Eloisa might no longer be alive.
“I’ll see what I can do about it.” I attempted to regain focus on the important matter at hand. “A lot of loyalists won’t be happy if I marry a Norrandish king.”
“You can’t make everyone happy, Elara.”
I suppressed my discontent at his use of my real name. “Still. If the people are happy, they’re not trying to assassinate me.”
He put his cup down and leaned forwards, his elbows resting on his thighs.
“Well, if you cannot be loved, then you must become feared.”
“Wise words from a former king,” I muttered.
“Norrandale has had a long line of prestigious queens, and it would not be easy to measure up. If you want to be accepted, then you must be respected. By our people as well as theirs.” It felt like asking an awful lot of someone with no experience.
“As well as Cai,” I added.
“You don’t think Cai respects you?”
“I have no idea what Cai thinks,” I replied in earnest. “I was so angry when I found out he knew the truth about me that I told him to leave and I haven’t heard anything since.”
“Cai might have been a bit hurt.” Lance stood up, pulling his tunic straight. “But I do doubt he hates you.”
“You seem very confident in my ability to pull this off.” I cast a side-eye in his direction.
“I’ve always been confident in your abilities. Even if I didn’t show it.”
“You know most older brothers would just settle for giving me lessons in sword fighting or something.” I scrambled for the right words.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he attempted to hide a grin. “But I’m not most brothers, am I?”
I didn’t reply.
“You don’t have to do this. But it could be your best chance at a successful reign. And you can do a lot worse than Cai.”
I certainly could. But Cai could also probably do a lot better than me.
“I thought you two didn’t like each other? Why would you want me to marry someone you were willing to torture?”
“He is a little... princely for my taste,” he admitted. “But what happened at Woodsbrook had nothing to do with Cai and everything to do with the necklace.”
I caught him looking at my neck, which was free of jewellery. “Princely?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “All heroic and dashing, always saving everyone and following the rules. I don’t know how he doesn’t bore himself to death.”
I bit my tongue to refrain from defending Cai.
“Yes,” Lance continued. “The charismatic prince and the rogue bandit. What a lovely couple you’ll make.”
I took the last sip of my tea and placed the cup on the tray. “Well, as much as I enjoy your company, you’ll have to excuse me. I have a kingdom to save.”
“Oh no, you’re already starting to sound like him.”