Chapter 11 Aren #2
The thought ricocheted through Aren’s head right as horns sounded from the beach. All eyes shot down the slope, shouts of deception and treachery rising to lips, only to fade on the wind as the flag on the longboat snapped straight to reveal Valcotta’s colors.
The vessel ran up on the beach, and a familiar dark-clad figure climbed out, strands of blond hair that had come loose from the knot at the back of his head blowing on the wind.
“This meeting is between Harendell and Ithicana.” William’s voice was acidic. “Valcotta was not invited, nor is their presence wanted.”
“I didn’t invite them,” Aren replied. But damned if they are not wanted.
Keris strode up the slope with several Valcottans at his heels, all of whom Aren recognized as former prisoners of Devil’s Island.
“Sorry I’m late.” Keris clapped a hand on Aren’s shoulder. “Bad weather. I don’t know how you stand the endless rain, Aren. I feel like a drowned rat.”
“Keris Veliant, I assume?” William’s knuckles turned white from his grip on the table. “Valcotta has no part in this conversation. This is between Harendell and Ithicana.”
“Which is why I’m here to moderate. Keep the peace.
Unbiased third party, as they say, but one quite keen to learn the truth of this situation.
” Keris straightened his sodden cuffs. “My condolences for your father’s death, Your Grace.
Edward and I kept up correspondence, and he wrote the most entertaining of letters. He’ll be missed.”
“The truth of this situation is already known,” William snarled. “Ahnna Kertell murdered my father and attacked my mother. Anyone who stands between me and justice is Harendell’s enemy.”
“Allegedly murdered.” Keris’s azure eyes moved from William, narrowing as they fixed on Lestara. “Well, well, well. I see you finally managed to suck the right royal cock to get the crown the stars promised you, Lestara. You are tenacious, I’ll give you that.”
William’s face purpled even as Lestara retorted, “Fuck you, Keris.”
“I already declined that offer.” Keris’s voice was mocking. “More than once.”
“You call this keeping the peace?” Aren asked under his breath, but Keris’s only response was to step heavily on the toe of his boot. His brother-in-law had a strategy here, and Aren bit his tongue and readied himself to see how it would play out.
“You will mind your tongue, sir,” William said between his teeth. “Lestara is queen of Harendell, and we do not suffer slander against her name lightly. Make your apologies and excuse yourself from this meeting.”
“I speak no slander, only the truth.” Keris moved to stand at the head of the table.
“Lestara conspired with Petra Anaphora and committed treason against Maridrina, which cost the lives of countless civilians, including many children. Edward agreed to take her into exile as punishment for her crimes—to serve as her jailer and keep her in appropriate misery, but it seems he chose to violate the terms of that agreement. You have wed a murderess, William. A faithless creature who will stop at nothing in her pursuit of a destiny she believes the stars have promised. It makes me question if perhaps Lestara was not willing to wait for Edward to die of ripe old age and chose to speed along the process herself.”
Aren hadn’t even considered Lestara as a possible culprit behind the murder, but now that Keris had laid it out before him, it made infinite sense.
“I did no such thing!” Lestara’s hands balled into fists. “I was in my husband’s bedroom when it happened. It was Ahnna who killed Edward. All because she was angry I was chosen over her. That Cardiff was valued over Ithicana!”
“Where is your proof?” Keris demanded. “How do you know for sure that Ahnna was the killer? How do you know for sure that she had not been framed?”
“Because she attacked my mother as well!” William slammed his hands down on the table.
“You will cease with these baseless accusations, sir, for my own brother and his soldiers came upon Ahnna in the midst of attacking my mother, knife in her bloody hands! Ahnna Kertell is guilty!” He screamed the last, spittle flying from his mouth.
“Be calm, my darling.” A hooded figure at the rear of the Harendellian ranks stepped forward and pulled back her hood. “We know the truth and we will have justice for what was done to your father.”
This time, Aren couldn’t keep shock from his face as his eyes settled on Alexandra. Even Keris fell silent as the queen mother approached the table.
Alexandra’s face was swollen, a large stitched gash running the length of her cheek.
She moved stiffly, indicating more injuries beneath her clothes, and as she stopped next to her son, Alexandra rested her hands on the table.
Her left hand had a wound in the center of it, and it was an injury Aren had seen many times.
A defensive injury taken from trying to stop an attacker with a knife.
It suddenly felt very hard to breathe, and impossible to speak, because the injuries were proof that the Harendellians had not fabricated the attack on Alexandra.
Keris filled the silence. “My condolences for your loss, Your Grace, and I hope you have a swift recovery from your injuries.”
Alexandra inclined her head to Keris, but then fixed her eyes on Aren.
“I see in your eyes that you struggle to believe your beloved sister has done this. It is difficult to reconcile the woman you know and love with this act of violence, so to ease your mind, I will say that Ahnna was pushed to the brink by my late husband. To further his goals with Cardiff, Edward strung Ahnna along and made her believe that he desired her to be his heir in spirit. Made her believe she would become queen of Harendell, which would ensure our alliance with Ithicana was stronger than ever. Made her believe that she would have all that she desired, and then ripped that dream away from her in the most humiliating and hurtful ways.”
William’s lips parted, but Alexandra rested her injured hand on his to keep him silent.
“I, too, was crushed by Edward’s actions, by his choice to wed my son to a woman with no faith”—she cast a sideways look at Lestara—“behind my back. Which was why I went to speak with Ahnna late that night. I hoped to make amends, to find a way forward that was true to my faith. Whether my words would have made a difference, I don’t know.
All I do know is that they came too late. ”
Alexandra drew in a ragged breath, her eyes welling slightly. “Forgive me, it is still painful to speak.”
Aren didn’t answer, and Keris, for once, was silent.
“I came upon Ahnna exiting her room. She was dressed in traveling garments, well armed, and carrying light baggage. It was my assumption that she aimed to flee for home, for which I did not blame her, but I still wished to speak to her, so I called her name.” Alexandra swallowed hard.
“Ahnna turned to me, and her eyes were swollen as though she’d been weeping for hours, so I approached. ”
Oh God, Ahnna. Aren felt sick to his stomach.
“I told her that I was sorry for what had happened, but it was as though my words set her into a rage. She drew a knife and…” Alexandra broke off and drew in a steadying breath. “It was so quick. I screamed for help, and I think it was only by the grace of God that James and his men came upon us.”
“Not God,” William growled. “Guilt. My brother was following the bloody footprints left on the carpet by the one who killed my father. They led him straight to Ahnna and my mother.”
“It was God who ensured that her efforts to disguise her trail were not successful.” Alexandra used her injured hand to toy with the large pendant hanging from a chain around her neck depicting the symbol of the faithful.
The diamond at the center of it had to be worth a queen’s ransom.
“As painful as the truth may be, Your Grace, it cannot be denied unless you name me a liar. Unless you name James a liar. Unless you name every man in his company a liar, along with half the staff of the Sky Palace who watched your sister fight loyal men to secure her own escape.”
That was exactly what Aren wanted to do.
To scream in their faces that they were all liars, that his sister was innocent, that this was all a ruse to secure Harendell’s most important goal: profit.
But he suspected that a break in his composure was exactly what they wanted, so he clenched his teeth and said nothing.
“What is your goal here, Alexandra?” Keris finally asked. “Reparations? Because to pit two nations in a bloody war over the actions of one individual is not the path to justice.”
“Aren knows what it is we seek,” Alexandra answered. “Not reparations. Not gold. Not terms. Give us Princess Ahnna Kertell so that she may be executed for her crimes, and we will be content that Ithicana was not complicit. War can be avoided.”
No! Aren wanted to scream. You cannot have her! Instead, he forced himself to say, “To my knowledge, Ahnna is not in Ithicana. We do not know where she is. But I do know that you are holding my cousin Taryn Kertell against her will.”
Bloodshot green eyes met his, delving deep and seeing much. Then Alexandra said, “Lady Taryn is being kept in comfort as our guest. She will be returned to you once you prove your commitment to keeping the peace with Harendell.”
“Find Ahnna and turn her over,” William said softly.
“You have one week, Aren, and then we will take steps to blockade Northwatch. If that suffering does not serve as sufficient motivation for you to deliver her to us, know that once the calm season is upon us, Harendell will come to Ithicana and find her ourselves. And you can trust that we’ll leave nothing but ash in our wake. ”
Without another word, the Harendellians turned and walked away.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The only sounds were the wind and the crash of waves on the shore and the thundering beat of his heart. Then Keris said, “What do you want to do?”
Aren closed his eyes, the familiar sour taste of helplessness rising in his throat. “I don’t know.”