36. Welcome Home
~ VOSKI ~
I froze, but not before my reflexive jerk spilled a few drops of my scotch onto the thigh of my trousers.
I hesitated, only a moment, then brushed the alcohol off, my lips tight.
Mother returned to lean against the desk once more, as if she hadn’t just assaulted me—and I hadn’t just insulted her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she murmured calmly.
“Of course you don’t,” I sighed, still brushing at my trousers.
“Which is why you wouldn’t care in the slightest if I were to share with the queen what I know about the codes and their application…
the blood vows… the web you’ve woven. I don’t know how she feels about witches, but hopefully she has enough coin in the coffers to carry her and the kingdom through winter and doesn’t feel the need to appropriate yours. ”
There was a small bowl of fruit at the corner of the desk. She picked one of the grapes from a bunch with her long nails, then let me watch her squeeze it between her teeth until it exploded.
“You’re just like your father.”
“I dearly hope not.”
She laughed, then popped up from the desk, still chewing the fruit, and turned her back on me to walk to the window.
There was a moment, a breath, in which I saw myself throw the knife. I could hit her with precision from this distance.
Hell, if I was quiet, I could fist the damn thing and plunge it into the back of her neck, right at the base of her skull where—
“An interesting night,” she said casually, leaving her back turned to prove her disdain.
“My son, who disappeared over seven years ago and has never so much as sent a request for money, suddenly returns, haggard and travel weary—though very handsome!—because he’s in love and requires my assistance to save the life of the precious innocent he deflowered? ”
“Actually, I’m saving the life of my heir. Which would also make him yours, I suppose. We can’t know, of course, but a boy does seem likely, what with all your blessings.”
I smiled as my mother went very still. I breathed a little easier, seeing her catch herself.
It was the one power I’d always held over her. I was her only child by blood—and blood was very important to my mother. My offspring would be her grandchildren, and in her mind, her greatest triumph.
Which was precisely why I didn’t want to have any. At least, not while she lived.
She turned with a flounce to face me, her arms folded under her breasts, chin high, staring me straight in the eye.
I stared right back.
One could never break with Mother, or she’d know she’d won.
“She’s definitely pregnant?”
“She was. The way that asshole handled her, she might not be much longer—another reason I move with haste.”
“Is she a true noble? Or just a limp flower with an old name?”
“Her parents are received at Court—as is her betrothed, who’s a familiar of the king, apparently. Though I didn’t see him at the Festival of Lights, so it’s possible he’s exaggerated his intimacy. But he certainly acted boldly, entering Vosgaarde without warning, to retrieve her.”
“Why was she there?”
Tell the truth, until you can’t. “Because I took her.”
“So you’ve remained in Vosgaarde?”
“At times.”
Her lips pursed. “And your little, wilted flower?”
I snorted. “Please don’t call her that to her face. I watched her kill a man two weeks ago.” I took another sip and pretended to consider the statement. “On second thoughts, please do.”
Mother’s eyes went flat. But she didn’t respond. “If I do this for you, what guarantee do I have that you won’t simply take the child, and disappear again?”
“None. Though you’ll comfort yourself on cold nights knowing your blood runs in the veins of a boy born in wedlock, somewhere in the territories. A boy who will be strong, and smart, exceedingly good at riding horses, and probably also at killing men. His mother is astounding.”
“Why would I go to such lengths to save your little flower and her babe, if I gain nothing?”
I pretended offense. “Nothing? But, Mother, you have received your beloved son, back in your arms. A miracle, you called it! And his child… what more could a woman of such advanced years wish for?”
She huffed. “You’ll bring him here when he’s five, and leave him to be trained until he’s of age.”
“Not a whisper of a chance. But an excellent effort, Mother. Full marks.”
Her lips pressed very thin at my sarcasm. “You’re not listening, Vane, it wasn’t a request.”
I didn’t drop her gaze. “My hearing is excellent,” I said, barely above a whisper, wondering if hers had reduced in her advancing years. “I escaped this place with my life, and now I want to escape with his. What makes you think I’d even consider—”
“Because if you don’t, I will have the Lady Grace Barnslow killed before you can so much as locate Breckon’s estate.”
Ice trailed from my scalp, down my spine, and froze my lungs. The effort to keep my tone flat was immense. “I should have known you already had eyes on her. She’s your type.”
Her lips twitched up on one side. “I had no prior knowledge of your association with either of them. But, what a happy coincidence that I’ve heard of the union, and the pompous prick unwittingly brought you back to me.
I will have to commend Breckon on that point.
He’s a total fuckwit, of course. But useful in his way.
” She scanned to my toes, then back up. “Surprisingly useful.”
I didn’t react, but my stomach roiled. “It’s of no matter if you know her.
I would have told you in any case.” I couldn’t let her see that I truly cared for Grace.
Had to convince her that it was the non-existent child that fascinated me.
“What’s important is the babe she carries.
And the fact that I can cause you great discomfort.
I do not wish to, Mother—believe me,” I said wearily.
“If I had my way, I would never have stepped into your presence again. Yet, as you’ve acknowledged, it seems circumstances were determined to bring us back together.
And so, I will aid you in continuing your line.
And you will aid me in ending this marriage contract.
And then we will go our separate ways, just as we did before. A mutually beneficial arrangement.”
Her tone was so casual, it took me a blink to register what she said. “Why would I trust any arrangement with you, a son who killed his own father?”
I didn’t blink. Didn’t cough. Didn’t hiss.
Didn’t let her see that the blow landed in the slightest. Let her believe me as lacking in empathy and human compassion as she was.
“Because, I know about the network. I know about the codes. And I know how and where the queen hunts and how close she draws to your web. Useful information, yes?”
“You believe a simple code implicates me in anything?” she actually chuckled. “A motto is hardly evidence of—"
“Mother, do not underestimate me,” I said very, very quietly. “I am, after all, your son.”
She closed her mouth, but there was no fear on her face. No flash in her eyes. I waited, because she was cunning, and probing, and searching for my weakness. But I knew her game—had been raised on it. I was determined to reveal her soft, white underbelly first.
So I leaned back and took another drink before I continued. “I stood in conversation with the Queen of Vosgaarde, just hours ago. She listened to me. Understood me. If you were to speak my name in her presence, she would ask personal questions after my welfare.”
Mother scoffed. “I don’t give two shits about the queen.”
“You will when she descends on your estate with might and power even you cannot resist. She is a formidable woman.”
Mother smiled. “So am I.”
I returned her cunning grin. “Did you know she removed the king from his throne and made it appear to be his health? Needless to say, I was reminded of you. Which is of no matter, because she doesn’t know you assisted him. However, when she learns that, she will not relent.”
“I’m certain she has far larger problems to solve—what with the sudden influx of crime in the city, and her soldiers deserting her. What energy would she care to give to the machinations of small, powerless nobles?”
“Let’s agree we won’t bother with the lies when there’s no one to hear them, shall we?
” I smiled and continued before she could respond.
“On my advice, and advice of the men I work with, the queen currently hunts everyone from foreign nobles, to stableboys that were in conspiracy to steal dragons and upend the throne. I am certain she’d take great satisfaction in tearing down the black widow who helped build the web.
Particularly because she will be affronted by your presence.
She’s looking for the men who sent the messages that included those codes.
Because only men work with dragons. But I’d be rewarded for leading her to powerful women who betrayed the dragons, and the men who ride them. ”
I let my eyes glitter as I took another sip of the scotch.
Mother remained blank-faced.
“Break the marriage contract, Mother. Pave my path to Grace. And in return, you will have the legacy you always desired—and I will conveniently forget what you did.”
“Don’t you think the queen might be a touch suspicious of a man—a spy, I assume—who reports his own family?”
“Oh, I’m not stupid enough to implicate myself. You raised me better than that. You should, however, be very concerned about your friends.”
“I have many friends.”
“All of them neck-deep in this, I’m sure.”
“In what?” she asked, faking innocence as if it amused her.
“I am a lonely widow, on a remote estate, with a tragic past, who wiles away the years enjoying the generous friendship of many wealthy families. They might have their fingers in political pies, but I couldn’t be expected to know everything they do, could I?
I stay out of the court, out of politics—”