“In the king’s court.”
My head jerked up, my eyes widening. In the fading light, he was little more than a silhouette.
“After my father died and I took his title, I made some powerful enemies. Men who wanted me gone.”
My heart pounded in my ears at the realization that Arcus was a titled lord. “Why?”
One broad shoulder gave a slight shrug. “I wasn’t what they’d expected. They wanted me to be like my father and I wasn’t.”
“And… you think these men sent someone to kill you?”
He nodded. “I believe my death was meant to get rid of me and to stir up hatred toward Firebloods, to look like an attack.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“You said I never tell you anything. I’m trying to change that.”
Warmth fluttered in my chest. He was finally trusting me with answers.
“Why would anyone want to stir up hatred when there was so much already?”
“The king at the time had plans to make peace with the Firebloods in the southern plains. There are barons who had laid claim to that land, whether it was theirs by right or not. Killing off or driving away the Firebloods benefitted them.”
Nausea twisted in my stomach. “That’s monstrous.”
“Yes. The king thought so, too.”
“So he didn’t hate us.”
“He had every reason to. His mother, you remember, was killed by a band of Fireblood rebels. But when he was a child, his tutor told him other truths. Fire and frost used to be allies. Long ago, one of our kings married a Fireblood queen. King Ilaien and Queen Rosamund. Have you heard of them?”
“I thought it was just another one of Grandmother’s stories.” As a child, I hadn’t believed that a Fireblood would want anything to do with a Frostblood.
“It was a very long time ago,” he said. “Hundreds of years. No one wants to remember times of peace now. But the king did. He’d seen his father do things that were wrong. He wanted to change the kingdom. But he was killed, and Rasmus took the throne.”
I shook my head. “You knew them both?”
“I grew up in the castle. Rasmus wasn’t always the way he is today. Though his personality was always… changeable, I’m convinced the throne corrupted him.”
“So you believe that nonsense about a curse?”
“I didn’t used to. But I’ve read the books and heard Brother Thistle’s evidence, and now I do. The throne has to be destroyed, and the king might be cured.”
My spine stiffened at the implication: Don’t kill the king. Heal him. “And why does Brother Thistle care so much? What made a monk of the Order of Fors turn against his own king?”
Arcus cleared his throat. “He was once part of the Frost Court, a decorated warrior after the Battle of Aris Plains. When he took his vows, King Akur chose him as the official representative of the order. But eventually he wouldn’t tolerate Brother Thistle challenging him over his treatment of Firebloods anymore. The king sent him away to this abbey, where Brother Thistle dedicated himself to researching the prophecies and educating the brothers and sisters. He truly believes that a Fireblood will determine the outcome of an ancient rivalry between the gods. And he was affirmed in his belief in divine influence when I came here.”
“How so?”
“After the attack, I was left for dead. I felt the life ebbing out of me. And then…” He waved a hand in the air, sending a cool breeze over my face. “It sounds fanciful. A woman with golden hair and golden eyes stood next to me.”
My scalp prickled. She sounded just like my vision in the woods.
Arcus continued. “Suddenly, my agony was gone and I was in the abbey. I don’t know if she was real and brought me here or if I was… spirited here somehow. But many of my burns had begun to heal. Brother Gamut worked tirelessly to heal me completely. It took many months.”
Although his suffering horrified me, my heart warmed when I thought of Brother Gamut’s gentle hands and kind heart, as well as Brother Thistle’s determination that the order would always help those in need.
“Did anyone here see the woman? Did she give you her name?”
“No. She said only one thing.”
He paused.
“What was it?” I asked.
He sighed. “She said that the Fireblood girl would be the key to peace. It seemed to hurt her greatly just to say that much, as if something choked the words. I… I think it was Sage, the one gifted with the sight.”
“You said you didn’t believe in the old stories,” I reminded him.
“I said I didn’t believe in the prophecies. I don’t believe they all come true. I believe we always have choices. Even Sage can’t tell us what is going to happen. Only what might happen. And sometimes prophecies are just wrong.”
“So that’s why you took me from the prison.”