34. The Divergent Path
The Divergent Path
T he numbness I’d fought so hard to stave off—that led me to make such a reckless choice—was an agreeable alternative to the horror and panic that swept over me like a vicious tide, stealing the breath from my lungs.
Lukas stared at me, dark eyes wide as saucers and hands trembling at his sides.
The hurt and betrayal written on his face struck painfully in my chest, and the darkthread trembled.
Asvoria, the Shadow said, rushing to awareness as my control slipped. What’s happened?
It took only a few seconds of silent observation for her to put the pieces together. The way I was laying on the bed, Trygg standing before me, was far from innocent. But Lukas’s open-mouthed stare was the most damning piece of evidence.
“Vor,” Lukas whispered raggedly.
The crack of his voice spurred me into a flurry of stuttering movement.
Sitting up, I tried to support myself on trembling arms. My shift was still gathered around my hips, but my fingers shook so violently I only managed to pull it down a few inches.
I jerked up off the bed, letting gravity finish the job of covering my shame.
Trygg stood there, silent. I didn’t spare him a glance, but his glittering, icy rage undulated down the bond between us. The Shadow shrank back from its force.
Dear gods, Asvoria… What have you done? she whispered.
“Lukas,” I stammered, steadying myself on the bedpost, “let me explain?—”
“Explain what?” he bit out. His face twisted into a mask of fury, the likes of which I’d never seen. “That I was right to accuse you? That you’ve been fucking these monsters for only the gods know how long? What would you like to explain, Asvoria!”
“Lord Aberg?” a voice came from down the hall.
My chest tightened painfully, constricting my air. I couldn’t think. The words wouldn’t come. The Shadow circled anxiously, heightening my own panic. “Stop, please, just?—”
A hand on the back of my arm stalled my protestation. Trygg’s touch sent a spark through my skin, but my heart dropped into my stomach.
Say nothing, he whispered through our connection. I’m so sorry.
I turned to look at him, seeing the grim set of his jaw and the tension bunching in his forehead. His frozen anger still clung to my chest, but underneath it, there was another emotion, more acidic and nauseating.
Regret.
He… regretted this.
“What’s happened, Lukas?” another voice said, snapping my attention back to the doorway. This time, I really did stop breathing.
Vilke stood next to her son, fixing me with her cold-steel gaze.
More footsteps pounded in the corridor, along with the heavy clanging of armor.
Lukas turned to the sounds, leaning over to his mother and saying something I couldn’t hear over the roaring in my ears.
As he spoke, she grew stiff and narrowed her eyes at Trygg.
She turned her gaze on me. “You stupid girl.”
It was weak of me—perhaps only because she was right—but tears pricked at my eyes and the back of my throat suddenly burned.
With a snap of her fingers, the footsteps in the hallway surged forward, and three Hersir crowded in behind Lukas and his mother.
“Seize him,” Vilke said stoically, stepping aside to let them pass.
Panic sliced through me.
“Wait.” I looked between her and Trygg. He stood there, staring hatefully at Lukas. Why won’t he say anything?
The Shadow shook tremulously. Asvoria…
Alfdis and Bera came forward with wary gazes, while Johanna stayed by the door, her spear pointed at the dragon prince. My gaze bounced frantically between them all.
“I command you to stop!” I cried out, voice wavering pathetically.
They hesitated a moment, looking back at Freya Vilke. She merely gave a curt nod and Alfdis moved forward, Bera following close behind.
My mouth dropped open, but words failed me. There was only darkness and silence in my mind, with the Shadow buzzing around it all. I could only watch in muted horror as they grabbed Trygg’s arms, and he allowed them to take him away.
They… they disobeyed me.
The thought sank bitterly in my chest like an iron stone burning through me. Another wave of anguish hit, strong enough to set me swaying on my feet.
Trygg cast a single searing glance over his shoulder. I’m sorry, he said again. And then he was gone. From the room, and from the connection binding us together. His rage and regret fled from my bones, leaving only my own shock.
“Take him to the gatehouse cells,” Vilke said as they passed her, keeping her eyes on me. “And find the other one.”
A shiver of fear knocked away the stupor holding me captive. “Corbyn has nothing to do with this. Let me explain?—”
“There will be time enough for that later,” she bit out. “For now, you will remain isolated in your quarters.”
Deathly stillness settled over me. “You can’t do this.”
“Yes, I can.” Her fists clenched at her sides, and I swore the ground beneath us shook. “Our laws allow any of the Jarlum to call for emergency powers if a queen is cast in suspicion,” Vilke continued. “We must determine what’s to be done.”
Her words pierced like a frozen arrow. Brutal. Unforgiving.
Gods above and below, the Shadow breathed.
“You will not leave your chambers,” Vilke said, leaving no room for argument.
It didn’t matter—I didn’t have any fight left in me. Not after the huathe. Not after the flight from the library and what transpired afterwards. Not after looking Lukas in the eye and knowing he’d seen everything.
Vilke stormed away, leaving Lukas standing there alone. I stared at him silently and he gazed back without a scrap of sympathy.
A cruel, mirthless smile twisted his face. “I hope it was worth it, Vor.”
He slammed the door shut, sealing me in my own tomb.
Hours passed, and no one came.
After sunrise, I gathered enough strength to attempt a look in the corridor. Though the door was unlocked, two Hersir spears crossed the opening, their owners refusing to meet my eye. The one on the left, Catrine, I didn’t know well, but to the right…
“Johanna, please,” I begged. She didn’t spare me a glance. “At least let me speak with Lenn.”
“Thane Reijason is indisposed,” was her only reply. The vagueness of it sent my imagination running wild. They wouldn’t isolate Lenn too, would they?
I slunk back into my quarters after that, the numbness of disbelief creeping its way back in. Shafts of sunlight came through the window. Their rotation across the floor was the only indication of time passing. And it moved like tree sap in winter.
The Shadow tried to console me, but I would have none of it.
The reality of the situation hadn’t sunk in yet.
I had no idea what was going on outside the confines of my room.
There was not a single whisper of movement in the corridor beyond the occasional shuffling of feet from Johanna and Catrine.
They kept their watch, as Vilke had commanded, disregarding my position.
‘ Emergency powers, ’ Vilke said. Was she trying to claim I’d lost my mind? The same thing happened with my grandmother—after the terrible incident with her Talon—but this was an entirely different situation.
And what did she mean they had to determine what came next? I wasn’t naive enough to think I could get away with this, but there was no precedent here. Kadia the Seventh had been smart enough not to get caught. What punishment could they possibly prescribe?
The torrential questions sent my mind into a panicked spin. I shook my head, as if that could banish them, and drew in several slow, deep breaths.
What should I do? I asked the Shadow pitifully, burying my face in my hands. She’d been quiet these last few hours, seemingly wrestling with her own thoughts, as I was.
I don’t know, Asvoria, she replied. Vilke will almost certainly call for a Tribunal, and you’ll have to explain yourself.
I groaned quietly at the spike of pain piercing from the darkthread. What will they do to me?
The Shadow was silent for a long time, but I didn’t feel any uncertainty. There was only an aching severity that deepened the pit in my stomach.
Vilke was a young woman at the end of your grandmother’s reign, she began, but she was already renowned as a fierce warrior, and had only recently been named the Jarla of Clan ?asgrin.
When your grandfather died, and your grandmother succumbed to the mind sickness, it was Vilke who discovered what she’d done.
And it was Vilke who kept her from murdering her other Talon.
I had no idea, I breathed, drawing my trembling hands away from my face.
She called for emergency powers then too, and your grandmother’s Tribunal was what eventually led to the amendment of the Drakon Treaty.
The Jarlum… They declared Queen Karin insane and sentenced her to confinement for the rest of her days.
She took her own life after her sentencing, and your mother became Queen.
That part of the story I knew, but an uneasiness passed through me at the Shadow’s words.
I don’t have an heir, I breathed. So I’m to live out my days in confinement and… what? A sudden flash of anger pounded through my veins. Am I to become a brood mare until I produce a child and they can move on to the next Erling queen? The thought made my skin crawl.
The Shadow deflated along with her sigh, her weariness seeping into the marrow of my bones. We can’t be certain, but…
How could I let this happen?
She didn’t answer. There was nothing to say.
My own selfish folly led me here. I’d wanted too much—been careless with my judgment.
It seemed the same recklessness that plagued me as a child still haunted my steps.
I’d given in to it, convinced myself the price would be worth the pleasure.
And though the pleasure had been… considerable, it could end up costing me everything.
A sudden click pierced through the silence, drawing my attention to the door. It swung open on silent hinges, but my pulse hammered in my ears as I saw who strode into the room.