Chapter 18 #2
“I’m sorry about Marian,” I say softly.
“I am, too. And for you,” he says. “I know she’d taken you under her wing.”
“Yes, she was very kind. Motherly,” I add.
“She liked you very much.”
“I liked her, too.” I smile.
“It’s unfortunate that she met her end in such a gruesome fashion. The poison wasn’t quick. Horrible to witness. My doctors couldn’t do anything. Not even reduce her pain. We had to sit there and watch her suffer until it finally took her.”
My stomach twists, and real tears blur my vision. My throat is so tight I can’t speak. Nobody should have to meet their end that way.
“Don’t worry, Princess. We’ve suspected a spy in our midst for a couple of weeks. We thought they were after you, actually.”
“Why me?” I ask.
“To prevent the alliance, of course,” he says.
I turn away from him, my mind a swirling tangle of thoughts. Of course, they’d suspect that. It’s exactly what the rebels did, and he doesn’t know they’d already succeeded.
But what if there’s others who want the princess dead?
I scan the room and find Brevan watching my every move. The tiniest smirk tugs at his lips when he catches my eye. He knows I was searching for him. I look away, my cheeks heating.
“They still might be after you, but when I showed up as a weak old man, they must have thought they could get to me.” The emperor leads me into a gentle spin.
I thought the same, so I don’t doubt him. I swallow hard, unsure of how I should respond to this information.
“But you don’t need to worry. Brevan will stay with you until they’re caught. And we will catch them. We always do.” He returns his hand to my lower back, resuming the dance.
“I’m glad you’re alright,” I finally say. “And I do feel safer with your enforcer guarding me. But I also wonder if that’s a waste of his skills?”
“His relic hunting can wait,” he says. “He only returned to Pendralia the day before you arrived. Spent the last two years tracking relics in the mountains near the Iskvalandian border. He even met your father a few times.”
“Two years?” I don’t mean to blurt it out, but it isn’t possible. If he’s been away all this time, Brevan couldn’t have killed my brothers or started that fire. If the Emperor is telling the truth, that means Lee lied to me. Why would he do that?
“I know that must seem like nothing to you. You’ve given up your home forever. And I should thank you for that. Your sacrifice—leaving your homeland and your kingdom to wed a stranger—will save so many lives.”
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Brevan hasn’t been in Pendralia for two years, but the emperor’s words only get worse.
“Save lives? Caiden told me you intend to give the Iskvalandian army magic. That you’re going to invade the Shatterlands.”
“That’s true. But they have wild magic. And they’re cultivating new relics from the stardust they mine. If we don’t stop them, they’ll be more powerful than the gods themselves.”
“Isn’t that blasphemy?” I ask.
“Why do you think the gods allow me to live so long? They have tasked me with this righteous purpose.”
“I’m lucky I’m here, then. And that I can help in my own way,” I say.
“I have a feeling you’ll help more than you realize.” He spins me again, then pulls me closer. Bile climbs up my throat and I resist the urge to push him away from me.
“I hear you spend a lot of time in the empress’s temple.”
“I do,” I agree.
“Then you are familiar with the prophecy of light.”
I nod.
“My wife thought it would be me and her, but alas, she didn’t receive light magic when she visited the temple.
And the gods never saw fit to grant me shadows.
Though, they gave them to my son. It must be him.
When you enter the temple, you will ask them to make you a wielder of light.
We haven’t seen one in three centuries. And the last one was killed before she could find her match. ”
“What if I don’t want magic?” There is no way I will enter that temple.
“You might not yet be married to my son, but you are now a member of my empire. And everyone in my empire does as I command,” he says, his tone stern but not angry.
“And if I don’t get light?” I ask.
“You will. The gods have told me it is time for the prophecy to be fulfilled.”
“I am not worthy of being part of the prophecy,” I lower my eyes.
“The gods are the only ones who can determine that.”
I face the emperor. “What if I die in the temple?”
“We’ll send in someone else until we find the woman who can match my son.” He smiles, but the words are clearly a threat.
“Then I better not die.” I smile back, knowing the only way to save myself is to make sure he’s dead first.
When the music ends, I curtsy, then leave the dance floor to find my ladies. Antonia and Genevieve are dancing with very handsome, well-dressed men. Charlotte and Katherine are watching, occasionally leaning over to whisper something to one another.
I join them, and they throw a barrage of questions at me about my dance with the emperor. I indulge them and tell them how kind and graceful he was.
A handsome, young member of the Night Legion approaches, and he bows when he reaches us. “Lady Katherine, would you honor me with a dance?”
His face is red, and he holds his hand out expectantly. He’s nervous.
Katherine bats her lashes and giggles. “I would love to dance with you, but I hurt my ankle in the garden yesterday. Charlotte is perfectly healthy, though.”
He moves his hand toward Charlotte. “Lady Charlotte?”
Her cheeks turn deep crimson, and she accepts his hand and the two of them get swept onto the dance floor.
I move closer to Katherine so I can whisper. “Did you leave the message?”
“Yes.”
“We have a new problem, though,” I say.
“I can see that.”
“He said the gods made him immortal to save him after he drank the poison,” I say.
She looks over at me, eyes wide. “He didn’t even go to the temple?”
I shake my head.
Her face pales. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“He also knows there’s a spy in his court,” I say. “Maybe more than one.”
“We’re going to have to be more careful,” she warns.
“Yes.”
“They want you to kill him,” she says.
“What?” It’s what I want, but Lee warned me against it. “What changed?”
“They don’t think they can get close enough. They need you to do it. And fast.”
“I don’t know how to kill an immortal,” I hiss.
“Then we find out.”
“Before Darkfall,” I say. “Because I am not going into that temple.”
“They want you to go through the ceremony? To get magic?” Her eyes widen.
“Yes, but we both know I won’t survive,” I remind her.
“Alright. There has to be a way. The empress died. That means the emperor can, too. We’ll figure it out.”
Brevan walks toward us and I elbow Katherine. She presses her lips into a tight line, and I fix what I hope is a pleasant, non-suspicious expression on my face. When he arrives, he bends at the waist in a formal bow. “Princess, may I have this dance?”
Katherine pushes me toward him. “Go.”
I take his hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor. Flutters fill my chest, but I tell myself it’s nothing. Just proximity to an enemy. The same as Caiden or the Emperor.
But he isn’t the same. It doesn’t feel the same. And he might not have killed my brothers.
I look up at the enforcer as he leads me in the movements. He isn’t as graceful as the emperor or Caiden, but he knows the steps.
He’s a head taller than me, and he’s broader than I realized. I knew he was tall and well-built but being this close to him highlights the size difference between us.
When he spins me, I falter, but he catches me and resumes the dance flawlessly. “Thanks.”
“It’s nice to see someone who makes my dancing look good.” He chuckles and I can’t help but laugh with him.
His hand on my back feels steady and strong. Despite everything I’ve been through, and his reputation, I know he’d never harm me. Which makes no sense. I have no business feeling anything other than loathing for Brevan.
I’ve hated him since we met. More so since I found out who he is. Lee told me the enforcer was responsible for my brothers’ deaths. That he killed them personally. But if he wasn’t in Pendralia, how could he have?
That doesn’t make him a saint, though. Even if he isn’t the one who killed them, he already has so much innocent blood on his hands. He’s just as guilty as the rest of them.
“The emperor told me you were away for two years,” I say.
His eyes find mine. “Yes.”
“Aren’t you bored just standing outside my door after two years of burning down villages?” The question is a reminder to myself about who he really is.
“I know you don’t think highly of me, but you really aren’t in a place to judge, Princess,” he answers.
“I don’t kill innocent people for fun,” I say.
“Neither do I,” he replies.
“But you order your men to kill people. And we both know most of them are innocent,” I counter.
“Yes.” His jaw tenses and I get the sense that he’s holding back. Like he wants to say more.
“Why?”
He lifts a brow. “Why?”
“You could tell him no.”
“Like you did when your father demanded you marry a stranger?”
“I don’t have your skills. I wouldn’t last on my own. I can’t fight. Can’t defend myself. Can’t work as a mercenary or hunt. I wouldn’t make it more than a few weeks before I’d be dead. Or worse.”
He’s silent a while as he moves through the motions of the dance, but he looks like he’s far away from here. There’s definitely more to him. He’s probably got as many secrets as me. I step on his toe, and he winces slightly but doesn’t comment.
I crossed a line. Good. I’m not here to make friends. And even if he didn’t kill my brothers, he’s killed enough people to keep him on my list. He’s just as bad as the rest of them.
“You’re right.” He locks his eyes on mine.
“I am?” I can’t mask my surprise.
“I could survive on the run. I wouldn’t last as long as you think I would, but I could probably live a decent life long enough to enjoy it.” He’s studying me, waiting for my reaction.
I don’t break his gaze. “Then why don’t you? Or do you enjoy killing so much?”
“I don’t enjoy it. Sometimes there’s more to things than you know, Princess,” he says.
“Then tell me.”
“No.”
I roll my eyes. “You want me to overlook your crimes, but I won’t. I know what you do. I know how much blood is on your hands.”
“What about your own hands?” he counters.
I mentally scramble, trying to think of what he might mean. Did Sabina have a dark past? Was she killing people? Did she do things I don’t know about?
“Your union is going to cause more deaths than I ever could.”
“I can’t help that,” I say.
“Then, you understand my predicament.” The music ends and he bows. “Thank you for the dance.”
As he walks away, I remain on the dance floor, staring at him. He’s nothing like I thought he was, but there’s no denying that he’s dangerous. Probably more than I thought.
But if he didn’t kill my brothers, who did? Who raided us that night? Who burned down the Point? My neighborhood is in ashes and my family gone, but Brevan isn’t the culprit. And whoever it is still walks free somewhere. That is wrong. So very, very wrong.