It wouldn’t be my husband’s fault if he made the same mistake for Blayne. Darren’s father had groomed the second-born son as his brother’s protector through years of abuse, and when one spent so many years protecting someone they deemed a victim, it became impossible to see them any other way. Even after everything Blayne had done—assaulting my best friend and tormenting me all throughout the apprenticeship when he thought I was just some pitiful lowborn that had caught his brother’s eye—I had still pitied the heir.
Besides, there were some choices one should never have to make, and I never wanted to give Darren that choice. I didn’t want to let him choose wrong. I didn’t care how selfish that made me. If he went to his brother first, if he gave Blayne a chance to explain, the evil king would have the whole world up in flames before Darren had a chance to recoup his mistake. Two of the country’s most powerful mages were nothing against a king’s army. Everything would burn and shatter, and every one of the rebels would be put to death at the crack of dawn.
Not me, of course. Blayne was too shrewd, too calculating. He disliked me from the start, and yet he had made me a part of his plans. As sick and twisted as the king was, he cared for his brother and wanted his support. Until Blayne could turn Darren against me, the king would have me rotting in a cell. And once he’d succeeded, then he’d take my life.
And then the king would go to war—a pointless, costly war that his father had been staging for countless years, all part of an elaborate scheme to portray Jerar as the victim and Caltoth as the aggressor. The other two countries in our nation’s Great Compromise would break with King Horrace, and Jerar would become the country with the biggest army, and the wealthiest.
No, I couldn’t tell Darren, not until I had undisputable proof and the other countries’ support. Because right now, all I had was the ranting of a madwoman.
Darren had never seen the little girl in the stands of the Candidacy. He wouldn’t be able to piece together her face with the noblewoman and her daughter we’d stolen away in a mission to Caltoth so many years before. The blackmail of Lord Tyrus and the murders during the Victors’ Ceremony were all parts of the same ploy to frame King Horrace and win the support of two skeptical nations.
Darren would only see a lowborn who had never liked his family, a girl who had lost her youngest brother and was desperate to clear his name.
And even if he saw past all of that, I couldn’t risk the chance he’d choose wrong.
I had chosen wrong just two months before. What was to stop Darren from doing the same? There were too many lives at risk. This was bigger than the both of us. This was the world.
And if he never forgave me for my breach of trust… well, that was my cross to bear.
An invisible hand squeezed my chest. I knew I was making the right choice, but it felt wrong. Two hours into our new marriage and already I was plotting to betray my husband.
“The two of you should make an effort to question the villagers while you are in Demsh’aa.” Blayne leaned back in his seat with a lazy smirk. He had been listening in on our conversation.
I flinched as the king’s gaze caught on mine.
“My apologies, Ryiah, but I doubt you sought to question them during your last visit… you had more pressing affairs at the time.”
Like breaking my family’s heart? Telling them their youngest was dead? Watching Alex scream that he’s never coming back? My best friend following after my brother, knowing both could die for the rebels’ cause? Nails dug into my palms, and it was with the greatest effort that I unclenched my fists.
A second too late, I realized I had still been holding onto Darren’s hand. The prince’s startled gaze fell to mine, but when it did, it was sad.
His thumb pressed against my palm and he shot his brother a scowl.
“That’s enough, Blayne.”
“Your wife isn’t a fool. Her brother was a traitor and put our whole kingdom at risk. Surely she doesn’t fault me for considering her village a possible base for rebel activity. Do you, Ryiah? After all, we’ve never investigated the towns of the north.”
Play the part. That’s the only way you can honor Derrick’s sacrifice now. Show your hand, and this plan will be over before it has begun. “No.” I made myself meet the king’s gaze head on. I made myself breathe. “Of course not.”
Blayne smirked. “See? Even she understands.”
“It doesn’t mean we have to talk about it.” Darren’s voice was low and imploring. “Please, not tonight, brother.”
The young king’s eyes slid from Darren to me, and he heaved an impatient sigh. “One day you must tell me what makes this one so much more special than the rest.”
You’ll know the moment my blade is at your throat. I made myself scoff outwardly; Blayne would expect as much. I wasn’t known to back down from a challenge. Holding on to silence would only garner suspicion. “Don’t worry, by the end of the year, I’m sure you’ll find out.”
“Ah,” the king played along, enjoying our little game, “preparing something big?”
At least I didn’t have to lie. “Saving a kingdom from corruption.”
“After the rebels?” Blayne’s brow shot up. “And here I thought you would want to take on the villainous king himself.”
My heart stopped beating and my body drew cold, the color draining from my face.