Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“ K yros!” I shout. “Kyros, wait!”
He’s got a good fifty yards on me, and I hike up my skirts to follow after him at a run. I don’t catch up until we reach the manor. Then I grip his arm and haul him up the stairs. His face is set in a stern line, but he follows after me. Clear up until we get to the duchess suite. I shut and lock the door, then pull him far from it so we cannot be overheard.
“Just give me a moment,” I say, panting, trying to get my breathing under control. I’d been breathing quickly before I chased after the footman.
Then Kyros begins talking. “You knew. All this time you knew he was a monster. Was the investigator all a ruse? You already have all the information you need to get rid of the pretend duke!”
I swallow before managing to get out, “I didn’t know all this time. I only just found out!”
“Yet you were kissing him! And getting ready to do far more by the looks of things.” He looks down at my grass-stained dress.
“Jealousy is unbecoming on you, Kyros,” I say, hurt by his words and wanting to inflict pain of my own.
“This goes far beyond jealousy, Chrysantha. He. Is. A. Monster. What the hell was that out there?”
“That was me getting him to reveal all his secrets.” Never mind that I already knew his secrets before kissing him.
“Really? That was the only way you could think of to get that information out of him?”
I hold myself up tall. “Don’t you dare talk down to me like that. I’m not the one who had a child out of wedlock.”
Kyros bites his lip from saying something he cannot take back.
“Just so we’re clear,” I say, “I was not about to do something more than kissing with him. I was pushing him. Seeing what would bring the beast out. How else am I supposed to prove to the Shadow King that he is the monster I claim he is?”
The taut lines on Kyros’s face calm. “Oh.”
The problem is I’m lying through my teeth. I’m not even so sure that I want to go to the king. I’m teetering on an edge, waiting to see which way I’ll fall.
I have no explanation for why I kissed him other than that I wanted to. I like kissing Eryx Demos. I’ve done it three times now, and I’ve not even begun where he’s concerned.
“What’s the plan?” Kyros asks. “And how can I help?”
“Is that your version of an apology?”
His eyes drift close. “Forgive me, Your Grace. I should never have spoken to you like that or questioned you or—”
“You might be employed by me, Kyros, but you know you are my friend most importantly. You always have leave to speak to me as a friend without repercussions.”
“I still overstepped. I should not have shouted at you or doubted you. A friend wouldn’t do that.”
I have to hide my wince. Yes, he should have doubted me. I still doubt myself. I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. I just want things to make sense again.
But the only thing I seem to know for certain or want above all else is Eryx Demos.
“I need to think,” I finally say. “Please don’t go anywhere or say anything,” I beg. “I promise that despite what you saw, he’s not dangerous. He would never hurt you or Nico. Don’t do anything rash. Just let me make a plan. Please.”
Kyros reaches out a hand, as though he means to touch me, then lets it drop to his side. “You have my support. I will be here.”
Then he lets himself out of the room.
When knocking comes later that day, I ignore it. Even when Eryx’s voice asks to be let inside.
“Please, Chrysantha, we didn’t actually finish speaking. I didn’t get a chance to tell you what I wanted. My plan for our future.”
“It has to wait. I need to think.”
What he wants. Our future.
I want to hear those words, but I have to find a way to keep my friend and keep him quiet. There is very little he wouldn’t do to protect me.
When Eryx’s footsteps finally leave, I climb into bed. I don’t let Medora in for the night. I don’t care about getting undressed or anything else. I feel numb. I feel torn two different ways. I am unable to see a path forward.
Remembering Alessandra’s note, I pull it from my skirts and read,
You, jealous of me? Now that is something I never suspected. Perhaps we always want what we don’t have, as the saying goes.
What do I do for fun aside from sewing? I enjoy spending time with my friends. We go for picnics on the palace grounds. Kallias and I take Demodocus, his dog, out for walks or to play fetch. As strange as it sounds, I actually enjoy problem-solving. When something happens to upset peace in Naxos or one of the conquered kingdoms, I love to find ways to fix it. Having Kallias listen to and trust me is heady. Calling him my husband is even headier.
You should come to the palace sometime. I think it could be fun to chat again face-to-face. Perhaps you might swing by for tea next week? Only if you want to. I’m sure you don’t care to leave your country estate more often than you have to, so I understand if you can’t manage.
~ Alessandra
The last words are so hesitant that they warm my heart. Maybe there is hope for us. Maybe I can rekindle this relationship. Maybe I can do away with this inherent sense of competition I seem to have where she’s concerned.
Another knock sounds at my door, though the sun has long since set. “Go away, Eryx,” I call out. “I’m still thinking.”
“It is Kyros, Chrysantha. You have a guest in the library.”
I sit up straight.
The investigator.
He’s returned to collect the rest of his payment, surely. But will he have more news for me? Does it matter anymore? I’m convinced that if I can just find a way to keep Kyros quiet, then maybe I can also keep Eryx.
Uncaring that I’m still in my grass-stained dress, I leave my rooms and accompany Kyros to the library. My friend doesn’t say a word the whole way, but I offer him a smile before I enter the library, to show him that things are good between us. Hesitantly, he returns it.
“Wait here, please,” I say.
“Of course.”
I straighten my shoulders and hold myself with all the grace expected of a duchess as I enter the library. If Mr. Tomaras is surprised or put off by my clothing, he says nothing of it. In fact, he keeps his eyes on my face as I approach. I gesture to the armchairs before the hearth, inviting him to sit, and take the other one.
“I’ll get right to the point, Your Grace,” the investigator says. “You’re about to be in control of the dukedom once more. I finally found what I was looking for.”
My heart skips a beat. “And that was?”
“A money trail. I’ve gone through Mr. Vander’s correspondences. In a letter to the duke, he mentioned a fondness for a particular painting. I took the liberty of searching your attic.”
“Why should that have led you to my attic?”
“You stripped the house of its old decoration, and you tasked your housekeeper with selling it. She informed me that what was left is being held up in the attic. It seems your late husband was fond of a specific painter. Mrs. Lagos handed me an itemized list of all the pieces cataloged in the attic, along with what had already been bought or sold.
“I paid a visit to Mr. Vander’s home and found one of the unsold paintings hanging in his private study. Its worth is estimated to be fifty thousand necos.”
I clench my jaw tightly, a feeling of dread causing goose bumps to prickle on my skin. “Could you put it plainly for me, Mr. Tomaras?”
The man crosses his ankles before him. “Eryx Demos is indeed the grandson of the late duke, but his mother—and Eryx by default—was ostracized. She was cut off from his will and money. Eryx paid off Vander with this painting in exchange for writing him back into the will and taking everything else from you. He was the heir, but everything rightfully belongs to you.”
My vision goes hazy, and I see red. Eryx did this. Eryx, who said he wanted no more secrets between us, was actually keeping the most chilling secret of all.
I barely manage to find my voice as I ask, “You have proof of this?”
“Of course, Your Grace.” He stands and reaches for a briefcase I hadn’t noticed earlier. He hands it over to me. “It’s all there. The itemized list of your husband’s belongings, the position of the missing painting in the house. The letters between Vander and Eryx that now read with their incrimination once you have the right context by which to observe them. In there is everything you need to bury Eryx Demos, the pretend duke.”
I clutch the briefcase to my chest.
“Thank you, Mr. Tomaras. I shall fetch the rest of your payment. You’ve done excellent work.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” He bows.
I leave the library, and though I’m weighed down by the evidence of Eryx’s treachery in my hands, I feel lighter than when I entered, for the path ahead is made blatantly clear.
I actually considered giving up everything that I fought so hard for to be with him! I considered not killing him. Of sharing all of this between the two of us. If he was willing to let me have all the things I wanted, then what harm would it do?
But all this damned time he’s been playing me. He was going to let me continue to think he was the rightful duke and what? Let me stay on at his side as his mistress? Is that what he would have proposed by the lake if we hadn’t gotten distracted by kissing?
No more uncertainty. Eryx needs to go, and I now have everything I need to bury him.
T HE FOLLOWING MORNING , I find Eryx in the study. He holds an envelope in his hands, twirling a corner on the pad of one of his fingers.
Keeping my face calm, I say, “I spoke to Kyros. He has no interest in divulging your secret and being thought of as a madman, but he has informed me that he can no longer work under this roof. Since he is my friend, I’m going into town today to help him find a new position. I figure it is the least we can do.”
His eyes widen. “He’s truly going to leave you? I thought the two of you were closer than that.”
“So did I,” I say, letting a tremble enter my voice. “I will miss him and the boy.”
Eryx clenches his teeth together. “I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. I never meant for you to choose between your friendship with Kyros or our—what we have.”
I nod and step around the large desk to the chair where I should be seated. Leaning a hip against the edge of the desk, I take Eryx’s hand.
Why is this so easy? Should it be this easy? And why does my chest feel like it’s full of bricks?
“It is what it is. It cannot be helped now, but I owe him this much. To see him situated in a new place. Him and the child. Writing a letter of reference doesn’t seem good enough. I’m to attend interviews with him in the city.”
“You put that together rather quickly,” he says.
“When you’re a duchess and the sister of the queen, people are more than eager to please.”
Eryx nods.
“I should return late tonight. Don’t wait up.” I lean down and press my lips to his in a quick kiss before heading toward the exit.
“Wait,” Eryx calls.
My body tenses as I turn, but I keep my expression normal.
Eryx rises and hands me the envelope he’d been holding. He won’t look at me as he laughs awkwardly. “I don’t know how to do this.” He swallows audibly, as though nervous.
Even now my heart swells to look at his unruly hair and beautiful lips. I have to steel myself. Remember what he did to you. This is all a joke to him. I know too much, and anything he says or does is just to manipulate me. Eryx never cared for me. He thinks me beautiful, of course. But he doesn’t want me any differently than any other man who has. Anything contained in this letter will only prove that. Any declarations of love or poetry will be pointless.
“I understand why we couldn’t speak yesterday, and I don’t fault you for it. You have much on your mind, and you’re losing someone you care so much for. Of course Kyros needs your time right now. I didn’t sleep last night, so I wrote down all my thoughts, everything that’s in my heart. Maybe during your journey you could read it. Take some time to think about it. And then I will abide by anything you decide.”
I take the letter and tuck it into the pocket of my dress.
“I would rather talk,” he continues, “but I realize that the turn of events doesn’t make that possible right now. And… I need to give you space. To think about what you really want. I just ask that you let us speak again before you decide anything.”
“Of course,” I say, truly perplexed by the exchange.
“Then you’d best be off. Do pass along my regards to Kyros, if you think it would be appropriate.”
I nod.
Eryx raises a hand and runs two fingers through one of my loose curls. “Safe travels.”
And then he releases me.
K YROS WAITS FOR ME by my carriage. He hands me into the interior, before trying to climb the seat to join the driver. “No. Please join me inside, Kyros.”
He meets my eyes and nods.
Then we’re off.
“Did he buy it?” Kyros asks when we make it down the drive. I spot the briefcase where he’s stashed it in the corner of the carriage.
“Yes.”
“Then why do you look… sad?”
“I’m not sad. I’m furious. He claims to have feelings for me. When he did this to me.” I gesture to the estate disappearing behind us. But perhaps, secretly, I am a little sad. For what could have been. Eryx Demos saw me in ways no one else did. Together, we could have been—
It doesn’t matter. He lied. He took advantage in a way no man has ever been able to. Because he saw the real me. The whole of me.
And he thought to make me small by taking everything I earned for myself.
“I am sorry,” Kyros says, and he does sound as though he means it.
I hold myself higher. “Why are you sorry?”
Kyros thinks about his next words carefully. “Because you clearly care for him.”
“I do not,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Perhaps not now that his treachery and monstrous form have been revealed, but before you knew… it’s okay if you did start to care.”
“That’s not why I invited you to sit back here with me.”
“Then why am I here, Your Grace?”
“Don’t call me that anymore. Please.”
He sighs. “What is it, Chrysantha?”
“Because you’re my friend, and I want you here.” And if I change my mind, I need a voice of reason to help me stay the course.
“Then I’ll be here,” he says simply.
Yet I can’t escape the feeling that he’s not who I want with me right now.