The heavy drapes were pulled back from the massive windows that ran along the rounded walls, leaving only sheer curtains to let light in, but I didn’t know if that meant anything. Though it was a lush suite, I noticed absently that the French windows were in need of repair—the paint was chipping and the wood appeared warped.
Confirmation that we’d found the right room came from the massive wardrobe across from the four-poster bed. When I opened it, I found a fur-lined parka and silver suits hanging up, including an all-too-familiar sharkskin one.
Kasper and I decided that our best course of action was to surprise Kennet, especially since we couldn’t know if he had a guard or two in tow, so we hid in his bathroom. Kasper stood slightly behind me, leaning against the embossed wallpaper, with Elliot’s sword still clutched in his hand.
We’d waited for what felt like eternity, but in reality, it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes until the doors finally opened. I caught a glimpse of a shadow—someone moving in the room—but I couldn’t tell who the person was, and if it was merely a maid instead of Kennet.
I leaned so close to the door that my nose brushed up against it, and finally he turned enough so I could see his face—it was Kennet. He took off his jacket and tossed it on the bed, and as far as I could tell he was alone. I decided to go for it.
The door didn’t make a sound when I opened it, and Kennet stood in front of the window, pushing the voile curtains aside to get a better view of Doldastam.
While we’d been waiting, Kasper and I had decided it would be better if I took the lead with Kennet, since he and I had a bit of a history. But Kasper stayed only a step or two behind me with his sword drawn, so Kennet would know we meant business.
“Kennet,” I said.
He whirled around, his eyes startled and wide, but within seconds, a smirk appeared on his face.
FORTY-FOUR
rivalry
“Nothing can hold you back, can it?” Kennet asked.
“No thanks to you,” I snapped.
“Bryn, that wasn’t my idea,” he reminded me. “You can’t blame me for your Queen being overzealous.”
“Yes, yes, I can. You did nothing to defend me.”
“What should I have said? ‘Yes, it’s true what she says. It’s all my fault. Lock me up and throw away the key’?”
“That would’ve been nice,” I said dryly.
“Look, I didn’t want you locked up, but I didn’t exactly have a choice.” Kennet held up his hands, trying to appear innocent. “You backed me into a corner.”
I shook my head. “You’re such a conniving weasel. I can’t believe I ever found anything likable about you.”
“Hey.” He scowled. “I liked you too. And despite everything else that’s going on now, I did have fun with you, and I’m sorry that things have gone the way they have.”
“Everything you said was a lie,” I hissed at him. “Your whole act was to keep me distracted so I wouldn’t notice what was really going on with you.”
“I’ll admit, I was told to keep you occupied so you wouldn’t get yourself into any trouble. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy my time with you.” He tried to flirt with me, but it just felt forced and sleazy. “Some things can be both work and pleasure.”
“You’re so full of shit. You’ve only ever cared about yourself,” I spat at him. “You’ve told me over and over that you love your brother, and look how you treated him.”
His expression hardened. “I do love my brother.”
“Spare me your lies, Kennet. We all know what you did.”
“You know nothing about what I did!” he shouted. “Mikko hated being King. It made him miserable. He never should’ve been crowned in the first place. But he had to take the job, not because he was the most qualified, not because he was the best one in our family for the position, but simply because he was born first, and Father insisted that Mikko fulfill his obligations.”
“So you have him imprisoned for life?” I asked mockingly. “That fixes everything?”
“Once this is all over and I’m officially King, I’ll pardon him and set him free. He’ll be fine, and he’ll be happier in the end.” Kennet tried to reason away his sins. “We both will.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you tried to kill the woman he loves,” I reminded him.
“Is that what Linnea told you?” Kennet rolled his eyes. “That’s some fairy tale fantasy she has. And that’s all beside the point, since I never laid a hand on her.”
“You hired the person who did,” I countered.
He sighed. “You make it all sound so evil, but it wasn’t. They told me that if I gave them sapphires, they’d help me dethrone my brother in a nonlethal way. Mikko has been so unhappy since he’s been King, and I was honestly doing this for him as much as I was for me.”
“If that’s what you tell yourself, go ahead.” I shrugged. “Maybe if you keep on going with that, your brother will pardon you after you confess.”