“I was working in Storvatten, under direction of my kingdom,” I explained. “The Queen there felt unsafe, and I, along with my comrade Kasper Abbott, was sent to find out the cause of her unease.
“Upon returning to Doldastam, I discovered information that tied the problems in Storvatten to the Prince, Kennet Biaelse,” I went on. “When I tried to bring this to King Evert, Queen Mina blocked my attempts. Kasper and I explained the situation to her, and she accused us of treason and had us sent to the dungeon.”
“What did you say that made her allege treason?” Queen Wendy tilted her head, appearing interested.
“She said that simply making any claim against an ally was treasonous,” I answered.
Wendy sat up straighter and exchanged a look with her Chancellor, Bain. Then she looked back at me. “Go on.”
“I was afraid that we’d be locked away in the dungeon, so Kasper and I escaped in order to clear our names,” I said. “We went to Kennet’s room, since he was staying in the Doldastam palace. He admitted to his involvement in the attempts on both Queen Linnea and King Mikko’s lives in Storvatten.”
Loki let out a surprised whistle, causing Finn to cast a harsh look at him. For their parts, Wendy and Bain appeared unfazed.
“An altercation ensued between Kennet, Kasper, and myself,” I went on. “Kennet killed Kasper, and I began to fight with Kennet. During the struggle, Kennet fell out the window and died.”
Bain leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “So you think Kennet was behind everything in Storvatten? What about when you arrested Konstantin Black and Bent Stum for the crimes against the Skojare kingdom?”
“Kennet admitted to hiring them to do his dirty work,” I said, lying a little. “He wanted to be King himself, instead of his brother.”
Kennet had confirmed that he’d hired someone—he just never talked to Konstantin himself. Mina had been the intermediary, but I thought if I accused Mina of anything without substantial evidence, Queen Wendy would question everything I was saying.
I didn’t thinking aligning myself with Konstantin right now would help my case, and he was the only way I had been able to put all the pieces together. That meant that I had to leave out a few things and twist a few facts.
“But why wouldn’t Queen Mina hear you out?” Wendy asked.
“Her reasons were never made clear to me, Your Highness,” I said. “You’d have to ask her that yourself.”
Wendy leaned back in her throne and exhaled. “I don’t know what I should do with you.” She considered for a moment. “I know the Kanin would want me to return you to them so they could devise a punishment for themselves.”
“With all due respect, My Queen, if you send Bryn back to the Kanin, they will execute her,” Finn interjected. “Do you really think anything she’s done deserves execution?”
“And you have granted amnesty before,” Loki said with a sly smile, and Wendy cast him a look.
“Those were under vastly different circumstances,” she said, almost whispering.
“I am inclined to agree with Finn,” Bain said. He’d settled back in his seat and crossed his leg over his knee. “I worked with Bryn in Storvatten, and she seemed intent on serving her kingdom, not destroying it.”
“Since both Finn and the Chancellor are vouching for you, and my husband seems to think it’s a good idea, then we will grant you amnesty. For now,” Wendy said, emphasizing the fact that it could be revoked if she decided it should be. “Under one condition.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, feeling so relieved that I would’ve agreed to nearly anything at that point.
“Finn must keep an eye on you as long as you reside within the Kingdom of the Trylle.” She turned her hard gaze to him. “Any trouble that Bryn gets herself into falls on you.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
The Queen looked back at me. “The King, the Chancellor, and I will continue discussing these matters. But for the time being, you are safe and you’re free to stay here.” She smiled. “Welcome to F?rening, Bryn.”
TWENTY-TWO
domestic
As soon as Finn opened the door to his squat cottage tucked away inside the bluffs, children dove at him—two squealing balls of delight with mops of curly hair. Both of them had mud smeared on their clothes, probably from a day spent out in the yard on the warm spring day.
Finn scooped up both of the kids with ease, holding one in each arm. I’d met them before, at Ember’s house, since Finn tried to visit his family whenever he had a chance. Hanna, the little girl, was about five years old, and she was babbling excitedly about the adventures she’d had that day with her mom and her brother.