Chapter 14 #2
Riordan’s stone-cold expression told me everything I needed to know. We were losing them, and with the high lords’ armed bodyguards in the council room, the situation could turn precarious in the blink of an eye.
Yaran swirled his finger around the glass rim, the smirk still glued to his lips.
‘A contract? Do you know something I don’t, my lord?’ Riordan asked, a threat weaving through his voice. ‘I’ve heard no announcements. No bridal gifts have been exchanged, yet you claim to be privy to a secret hidden from His Majesty’s regent?’
‘It’s all because he’s infatuated with that damn commoner! We all know he visits her. The whore who frequents his quarters.’ The accusatory tone of his voice caused murmurs to ripple across the room.
Riordan sighed, shaking his head as if he were answering a toddler who asked too many silly questions.
‘Reynard Erenhart is a man of honour, and contrary to you, he would not cheat on his wife or betrothed. The fact he keeps a low-born mistress is proof that no marriage contract was exchanged and therefore none of the council’s business. ’
Several men, especially those loyal to the king, burst out laughing, and I had to congratulate Riordan on finding the perfect diversion.
Perfect, yes… but also painful in its simple truth.
For those gathered at this table, I could only be one thing: the king’s mistress, a woman clad in ridicule and disdain, shoved aside when the queen arrives. Even if he loves me enough to keep me by his side, I’ll be nothing but a burden. Is that what I want to be?
I took a deep, calming breath, my fist tightening as I steadied myself, focusing on the problem at hand. The issue, though, wasn’t the young noble who, like an obedient little sheep, bleated what his patron told him. The problem was Yaran, still defiant, still outsmarting my spell.
‘Lord Yaran, you’re strangely quiet. Don’t you have anything to add after your vassal expressed such a strong opinion?’ I asked, approaching him. His throat bobbed, then again. His silence drew the attention of his gathered peers.
‘I…’ he said, but couldn’t finish the sentence. ‘Who are you to question me, woman?’
‘She is the king’s loyal subject, appointed by his hand. Now answer her,’ Riordan said coldly before I spoke again.
Silence, but I had my answer. There it was, the fear I’d seen yesterday, the dilated pupils from the nightshade coursing through his bloodstream, and the sweat beading on his temples. I even noticed the slight twitch of his fingers marking my slow, purposeful steps.
‘Tsk, tsk… Did your little ploy not pay off? Your bluster won’t protect you.’ I crossed my arms on my chest. ‘Everyone here knows you’re in Tivala’s pocket. Did you think the esteemed duke would be grateful for you fracturing the king’s support?’
He must have sent his family away to somewhere he thought I couldn’t reach. Despite my threats and warnings, he’d decided to support Tivala.
‘Is that what you…’ He stopped when I leaned to his ear.
‘I’ll find them, and I’ll make them suffer for every word against the king,’ I whispered. Yarran sucked in a breath, meeting my gaze before swallowing hard.
Did you assume I wouldn’t challenge you? Motherfucker… Wrong call.
Yarran swallowed twice before finding his voice.
‘I acted in good faith. After all, each noble offering their daughters for marriage to the king was told he’d already chosen his bride.
’ He flinched when I rested my hand on the back of his ornate chair.
‘Even though I haven’t seen a marriage contract, it’s the only logical conclusion.
You can’t seriously believe the king would choose his lowborn dalliance as queen. ’
Gods! Another one who assumed that was how Rey saw me, as a whore, a nobody, a momentary distraction.
I’d never wanted to kill someone as much as I did right now.
My magic, awakened by the painful emotions burning inside me, wanted to reach out and disfigure him, to expose his rotten soul to the world.
I fought down the anger before I lost control, curling my fingers into a fist when flames licked over my palm.
I let Yarran see the unspoken promise in my eyes.
Sooner or later, I would relieve his wife and young heir from the burden of his existence.
He must have sensed the danger because he promptly added, ‘This discussion is pointless without His Majesty. Let’s focus on organising provisions for our troops!’
His vassal looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and betrayal before standing up abruptly. ‘My lord, what are you saying? You told me the king signed a marriage contract. You said we needed to make it known…’ The man slammed his palm onto the table.
‘Remove this fool before he spews more nonsense,’ Riordan said, and the guards instantly approached him.
‘I have the right to be here. You cannot silence me.’ He struggled, looking at his liege lord for support.
Yaran shook his head. ‘Not another word. Go with them and wait for me in my office.’
‘What the fuck just happened?’ Niemir asked, a deep frown creasing his forehead as his gaze shifted from Yaran to me, ‘Who are you, woman, that you can silence a noble in this council?’
‘A loyal servant of the War King,’ I said with a smile he couldn’t see.
I turned around and walked towards Riordan, placing my hand on my chest and bowing.
‘Regent, my work here is done. I shall await my orders in your office.’ After my intimidation of Yaran, this show of obedience didn’t go unnoticed, and several people looked at Riordan with new respect.
Smoke and mirrors could change a man’s mind faster than a knife to the throat. Countless nights of people-watching in the House of Lillies had taught me that. Still, this gamble left me shaking, and I needed to leave before the facade crumbled under the pressure.
Riordan waved dismissively, picking up on my clue. I bowed once more before striding to the hidden door and exiting the room. I’d won this battle, but once their heightened emotions subsided, many who’d heard the accusations would question whether the contract existed.
‘And if it suddenly appears, Rey won’t be just an oath-breaker, but the man who dallied with another woman while his betrothed waited for his attention,’ I muttered as I reached Rey’s office, knowing exactly what I had to do.
The question was whether I had the courage to do it.