Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
What bothered Sabine most about the palace was that it stood atop a steep mountain.
It meant she couldn’t go outside for a walk unless she went into town.
She couldn’t ride a horse, go to an archery range, or spend time running through a field.
While she understood that no place would be like Bakley, she found herself feeling confined and caged in.
She wanted freedom. Even in Avoni, she and Evander had traveled on the canals, and there had been a sense of peace.
Originally, she’d been told a large part of the marriage negotiations had to deal with food—mainly, Lynk needed Bakley’s grain.
However, she’d been in Lynk long enough to doubt that reasoning.
Lynk didn’t seem to lack food, neither in the palace nor in town.
No one spoke of a food shortage. In fact, there was an abundance of fruit and other items that seemed to sustain them just fine.
A small part of her feared Rainer had said his kingdom needed food as an excuse to get Lynk soldiers in Bakley.
Yet, her father had informed her that Rainer pulled his soldiers out of the kingdom.
She hoped that was the case. Because if Rainer lied about the children he’d stolen to force Bakley’s hand, it made sense that he would have lied about the food as well.
Knowing all of this, she needed to tread carefully.
While Sabine had purposefully avoided Rainer after the ball last night, she needed to talk to him today.
Going over to the door that connected her room to the royal suite, she laid her hand on the wood, as if she could sense what was happening on the other side.
Sense Rainer’s mood. Sense if Heather was in there.
Sabine rested her head on the wood, next to her hand.
When they talked, she would pretend that Rainer was her brother.
After all, she’d spent years arguing with her brothers to get her way.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened and knocked.
The door swung open. Gunther, the king’s steward, stood there. “Queen Sabine.” He bowed.
“I wish to speak with the king.”
“He’s in his office.” Gunther opened the door wider, admitting her.
She entered the royal suite and crossed over to Rainer’s office.
She found the king sitting at his desk, a map spread out before him.
Instead of saying anything, she went into the room, stopping at the far side, where a wall should have been but instead, was open.
Standing at the edge, she could see the pool below. The view from here was stunning.
“I’m surprised to see you,” Rainer mumbled.
She shrugged, not looking his way. Silence stretched between them as she tried to decide the best way to handle the situation.
“I’ve been informed that Lieutenant Markis and Prince Otto left.” Rainer came and stood next to Sabine, both of them pretending to focus on the view that stretched out before them.
“Yes,” she replied. “My brother was eager to return home with the missing children. Since we didn’t know how long you’d be gone for, he decided not to wait. I’m sure you can understand that.”
“And Lieutenant Markis? I didn’t think he’d leave your side.”
“Now that you and I are married, he returned with my brother. I believe that was your stipulation? He could remain until we married.”
“I’d hoped to get to know your brother before he left.” He clasped his hands behind his back.
“I wanted him to stay longer since I miss my family so much, but he didn’t think it fair to put his needs above the children’s. That’s how we do things in Bakley—we put our people first.” It was probably an unnecessary jab, but she enjoyed taking it nonetheless.
“I’m your family now.”
It felt like a punch to her stomach, but she supposed it was his own jab. Even though they were married, Sabine didn’t consider Rainer her family. “If that’s the case, then why bring your mistress here?”
“I wanted you to know what it felt like to watch your spouse with another person.”
“You brought her here to hurt me?”
“To even the score.”
“But I haven’t been with another man. All you’ve accomplished is pushing me away.”
He eyed her. “I hear you traveled alone with Prince Evander.”
“I have not broken my marriage vows. I have never been intimate with another person. Can you say the same thing?” She folded her arms, not wanting him to see her shaking hands.
While she had traveled alone with Evander, she didn’t need to confirm it.
Especially since she had remained true to Rainer.
“Your sister and I had an agreement,” he reminded her. “We knew that both of our hearts belonged to another. It’s why we worked. You chose to take up your sister’s mantle without consulting with me. That is not my fault, and I will not be punished for your rash decision.”
“Were you going to allow Alina to be with the man she loved?” Sabine turned to face him, wondering if after she gave him an heir, if he’d release her to be with Evander. Not that Evander would want or be able to be with her since she was married. Regardless, the thought intrigued her.
“No.”
It felt like the door to her cage just shut and locked. “So your arrangement was that you could be with someone you loved, but my sister couldn’t? That hardly seems fair.”
“She was free to write to him,” Rainer admitted. “That was all, though, because there couldn’t be any question as to who the father of her children was.”
So Rainer could sleep with whomever he wanted while he had expected Alina to remain true to him.
“Alina knew what she was getting herself into,” he said. “You can wipe the look of disgust from your face.”
“I doubt she knew your sister intended to kill her.”
A flash of fury flitted across his face. “Lottie didn’t kill Alina.”
“She hired an assassin. Same thing.”
“This is never going to work if we’re fighting all the time,” Rainer said as he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. “What is it you want?”
She stood there staring into his eyes, trying to determine if this was some sort of trick.
“Tell me,” he insisted.
She decided to be truthful. “I want your sister to pay for killing Alina, and I don’t want you to go to war with the other kingdoms.” There, she’d put it all on the line.
“Finally,” he said, releasing her. “It’s nice to see you’re capable of being honest for once.”
Another jab. She swallowed her retort though the irony wasn’t lost on her. Questioning him about the Bakley children and the need for food would prove him the liar, not her. However, it would get her nowhere. As to why he thought she wasn’t truthful, she had no idea.
“You keep talking about war,” Rainer said. “Why is that?”
“Because it looks like you’re preparing for war.” She tried to keep her face straight so as not to reveal every emotion and thought she had.
“I don’t plan on going to war.”
“Then why all the troops at the border? Why the ships off the coastline?”
He chuckled, the sound low and menacing. “Oh, I plan on taking over Carlon, Nisk, and Bakley. I just don’t see them putting up a fight. My soldiers will go in and establish control. No fighting. No war.”
She didn’t know the state of either Carlon or Nisk’s armies, but she knew Bakley’s army was basically non-existent.
It would be so easy for Rainer to take over.
Anton’s words from the ball last night came back to her.
He’d said her father had agreed to have Carin come to Bakley to marry Viktor, bringing along with her ten assassins to train with their army as part of the marriage contract.
Perhaps her father feared Rainer would invade.
While ten assassins didn’t seem like a lot, she knew how lethal and potent they could be.
“And what about the League?” she asked. “They’ll never approve of you ruling over other kingdoms.”
“Then it’s time to dissolve the League. It has served its purpose, now it is no longer needed.”
“And that’s it? Your mind is made up?”
“It is.”
“I came to Lynk thinking we were going to be partners,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “While I wasn’t naive enough to believe this was a love match, I at least thought you’d look to me for guidance and support. I can see now how wrong I was.”
Rainer’s eyes narrowed. “Partners? I’m the king of Lynk.”
“And I’m its queen.” While she understood that Rainer had grown up without a mother and queen, she thought he’d want those things. He had no idea how powerful the two of them could be if they worked together.
“In name only,” he said, clearly annunciating each word. “Once you’re cleared to have marital relations, you have two months to give me a child.”
That sounded like a threat. “Or what?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer. “You can’t take Heather’s baby and pass it off as mine. It’ll never work.”
He went over to his desk and picked up a letter. “King Kai wrote to me. He offered his daughter, Princess Gemma, as a replacement for you.”
A replacement? Surprise filled her. Evander had mentioned that Avoni had plans, but she’d had no idea it involved something like this.
“Are you saying that if I’m not pregnant with a child in two months, you’ll kill me and marry Gemma?
” This family was even crazier than she’d thought.
It felt as if her cage got smaller, pressing in on her from all sides. Sooner or later, it would kill her.
He took a few slow, menacing steps toward her.
“No, I’m saying once you’re cleared to have relations with me, then you have two months.
I can’t afford to waste any more time. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to keep the royal throne.
” His eyes bore into hers as if trying to sear his words into her brain.