Chapter 75 #2
‘Korvane gifted me a year of freedom before the shackles of marriage,’ Hew continues, ‘and I’ve been enjoying my year thoroughly.
’ He downs a hefty mouthful of wine before slapping Kyor on the arm.
‘Look, you can’t really be mad about the Kultavaris thing.
I was just taking a leaf out of your playbook.
’ With a slight laugh, he goes to take another gulp of wine, only to find the glass empty.
His face crinkles in confusion. ‘Well, this needs rectifying immediately,’ he says, turning on his heel and walking back into the palace like he hasn’t just dashed every single hope I had.
Hew won’t marry Acacia. He won’t acknowledge the baby. I feel sick.
And what did he mean by Kyor’s playbook?
A terrified part of me already knows he’s talking about Thea.
About how getting her pregnant was enough to see her stripped of her powers and thrown out of the High Hold, his problem erased.
But is Hew talking about me, too? Is making women fall for him only to ruin them Kyor’s idea of fun?
It’s with panic that I recall his response to finding out I was on the dealun seed tonic.
Was I wrong to assume the reaction was jealousy?
Was it actually because I disrupted his plans to ruin me? Is Kyor no better than Hew?
He has to be. I need him to be. There has to be another explanation for all this.
‘Kyor,’ I whisper.
‘We’ll fix this,’ he promises rashly. ‘Somehow.’
With no more words to say he leans in, ready to press his lips to mine, and for a split second I consider backing away. But I don’t. I need this kiss. Because I need to believe in him. Believe in us. That what we have is real.
As I let my body lose itself in the moment, the kiss grows deep and desperate. His hands tangle in my gown as he pulls me closer, only for a throat to clear behind us.
‘Well,’ Korvane Knavin drawls, ‘this is not where I expected to find the two most important people at the ball.’
I watch Kyor’s cheeks pale as he turns to face his father, his arm still around my waist.
‘I’m glad to find you two here,’ Korvane says, a dark smirk curling his lips. ‘Alone. You see, I’ve heard some quite concerning rumours about the pair of you, and it appears they were correct.’ The smile drops lightning fast, and in its place is pure threat. ‘It ends now.’
Panic surges through me, but I snuff it out. I know why Korvane wants this to end. But that’s only because he doesn’t know the truth.
‘I know why you think we can’t be together,’ I tell him.
‘Because I’m the Queenkiller’s daughter, right?
But I’m not, am I?’ I look at Kyor and will him to tell the truth.
‘Kyor,’ I entreat, ‘tell him. Tell your father what happened that night, how my mother could do nothing more. Tell him how she did nothing wrong.’
My breath trembles in my lungs as Kyor wets his lips. But no words come out. No confession is spilt.
‘Kyor?’ His name is barely audible on my lips, and a deep laugh escapes the king as he watches on, a casual ball of fire dancing between his hands.
‘Miss Kultavaris,’ he begins.
‘Lady Kultavaris!’ I snap, because no matter what, at least I have that.
He inclines his head. ‘Lady Kultavaris,’ he corrects without missing a beat.
‘You have received a great gift indeed. As the Goddess has seen fit to raise you back from your position in the slums, it is clear that she deems your punishment complete, and so it is.’ His eyes narrow.
‘But I did not err with my judgement, and my son didn’t lie that night,’ he growls.
‘My son would not lie, not to me. Not to the king. Because to deceive the king is to defy the crown, and to defy the crown is to betray the realm. And if the Crown Prince lied to me, well, then that would be treason, and I wouldn’t have a son at all.
And whatever power and wealth he was set to inherit would be gone, just like that.
’ The ball of fire in his hands leaps up, the flames suddenly big enough that we can both feel their deadly heat.
Just as suddenly as it flared, the fire is gone, winked out of existence in a moment.
Korvane continues, ‘As for his role in the north of the land, he would be stripped of that. And the men and women who serve him there …’ He holds my gaze for a moment longer before looking at Kyor.
‘Well, I am sure they would fare perfectly well under other leadership, don’t you think my son?
Yes, the punishment for lying to the king, even for a child, would be great.
So, boy, is there anything you want to tell me? ’
Kyor’s eyes lower slightly, and his hand drops from my waist.
The king nods with satisfaction. ‘As I thought. Come, Kyor. You have duties to attend to.’
Kyor steps away from me, and he rips my heart out as he leaves without a backward glance, the skin on my waist still warm from his touch. Korvane’s satisfied smile burns into my memory as everything I’ve built crumbles around me.
My knees threaten to buckle, and yet I stay standing.
The same way I have always stayed standing, whether that be through death, the deprivation of the slums, or the trials the Retterheld has thrown at me.
Not once did I break. Not once did I fall and fail to rise again.
And today, my day, will not be the first time I do so.
The monsters of Wrohelm may be the same as they always were, but I have a whole new set of teeth.