“She is but—”
“But you claim it isn’t you!” I shoved him away. “Lucius was the rebel’s enemy and now he is dead. How convenient. Who were those ‘fake’ rebels, then? Another group of fugitives set against the first? Pythians who were willing to kill their king’s heir to the throne? If the Pythians wanted Jerar they could have just struck an alliance with Caltoth; they needn’t have bothered with the farce of their negotiations! The death of their crown princess!” The words were tearing at my throat. “And the Boreans? They are the weakest country of all! Emperor Liang stands to gain nothing from the attack! The only answer is the rebels or Caltoth!”
I advanced on my brother, anger giving me the strength to stand tall. “Don’t you see, Derrick? You’ve been played. King Horrace played all of you. He got the rebels to do his dirty work while he sat there laughing on his throne, sending his armies to weaken our border. Even if what you said about Lucius was true—which I might believe for some, King Horrace could have taken advantage. Maybe those men weren’t your own rebels in Montfort. Perhaps they were soldiers of Jerar bought by the Caltothians! Did you ever think of that?”
Derrick glowered. “The ambassador shouted, ‘For Caltoth.’ Someone was clearly trying to frame Horrace and the rebels in one.”
“Or perhaps,” I said through clenched teeth, “Horrace really was condoning the attack and didn’t care who knew. Or maybe the Caltothians aren’t working with you at all, and Nyx bought off the ambassador!”
“The north can barely afford to outfit its own infantry!” Derrick raged. “You are a mage! You know nothing of what it is like to be a lowborn soldier with nothing to gain. The Crown sends us nothing. Nyx have no idea what it’s like! Nyx would never betray us because she is one of us—unlike you!”
I tried a calming breath to prevent the rage from making me say something I would regret. I didn’t know who the enemy was anymore, but whoever it was they were still out there. And I needed to convince my brother not to play right into the palm of their hand. “The enemy could be anyone, Derrick. Even your own.”
“There is someone you forgot.” My brother turned on me, twin storm clouds thrashing in his eyes. “Someone who was conveniently not injured in the Montfort attack.”
“There were a lot of people not—”
“Someone important.” Derrick took a step forward, backing me against the wall. His whole body was trembling. “Someone who stood to gain everything. Did you ever stop to wonder why?”
“Blayne?” I snorted. “Did you forget? He was poisoned.”
“No.” My brother’s eyes flashed. “Not Blayne. No one knows if King Lucius shared his schemes with his sons. But there is one who stood to gain the most out of the king and his heir’s deaths. Someone who could have decided it was time to take the throne—”
My brother stumbled back as my hand slapped across his face. Tears were stinging my eyes as I advanced on him, screaming, “DARREN WOULD NEVER!”
“Wouldn’t he?” My brother caught my hand before I could hit him again. “You are blinded by love, Ry. Did you forget Alex? Did you forget what you let happen to our own brother because you were too afraid to stand up to the Crown?”
“Darren never wanted that!” I yanked free of his grip. “His father was evil! Darren hated him! You have no idea—”
“Perhaps he killed him over hate.” My brother started to walk away.
“Derrick!” I chased after my brother. “We need to tell them what you told me. Darren and Blayne need to know the truth about their father!”
My brother turned around. “We aren’t telling them anything. You won’t tell them anything.”
“You were searching the palace for proof of Lucius’s orders, weren’t you?” I was pleading. “That’s what they told you to do, wasn’t it?”
My brother said nothing.
“Darren could help you. Even Blayne. If what you said was true—”
“The Crown can’t be trusted.” Derrick’s voice echoed across the stalls. “Even if the two princes weren’t involved in Lucius’s schemes, do you really think King Blayne would call off a war? With the Pythians’ support Jerar will win, and the Crown stands everything to gain.”
“Darren could help him see reason, Blayne trusts him—”
Derrick raised his hand. “Lucius raised Darren to be his brother’s right hand. He will serve Blayne above all else.”
“You don’t know him!”
“I don’t need to. They are the Crown. They will betray us.”