All because the Black Mage feared for his brother.
I tasted bile and made myself swallow. I should have been ecstatic—Tallus was safe, the keep’s rebels were undiscovered, and, with our good time, I had an extra week to search the palace while Darren and the others inspected the Crown’s guard. After all, every second counted now that the Pythians had officially set sail, and I only had three weeks before they would reach our shores.
“Ryiah…”
I glanced up to find Blayne beckoning me forward with the crook of a finger.
I approached and the king gave me a lazy smile, leaning back against his throne. “Well, you look a lot more like your usual self, sister dear. I must say the dresses never felt sincere.”
I will never be your sister. My nails stabbed into my palms, and for a moment, I couldn’t move, save for the rise and fall of my chest.
“Ryiah isn’t a lady of court, brother. She’s a war mage.”
Darren’s voice brought me back to the present. Breathe. Over a month away from the enemy and I’d forgotten what it felt like. If I didn’t get control of my emotions, someone would notice—any of the guards or Mira who stood scrutinizing my appearance with a scowl. Good to see you, too. I looked up through sopping locks and pressed my lips into a shaken smile, listening to the drip, drip as slush collected on the tile beneath my boots. Breathe.
Now speak.
“Funny.” My voice sounded strange even to my own ears, hoarse and too high. “I was going to say the same about you. Sitting on a throne while your brother and I protect the kingdom. Anything more would be off-putting.”
Speaking such words at his father would have resulted in the guillotine, but Blayne was evil wrapped in grace. Verbal spars were nothing he couldn’t handle.
“How I have missed your humor.” The new king narrowed his gaze, fingers tapping loudly against his armrest. “And yet my brother informs me that the rebel escaped. Right under your watch.”
“He drugged our supplies—”
“Used in the meal you were cooking,” Mira interrupted callously. “How convenient.”
“Go ahead and say it. I dare you!” I started forward, but Paige jerked me back with a sharp tug on the wrist that stung.
I fought her grip, but the knight held me in restraint. “Don’t bait her,” she hissed.
Little did they know it was all for show.
I wrestled in the knight’s grip for a moment longer, playing up the part while Darren bristled in my defense.
“Ryiah is the last person who would help a rebel escape, Mira. I had to tear her off the man during interrogations. Believe me, my wife would have liked nothing better than to slit the rebel’s throat who recruited her brother to their cause.”
“Who’s to know he didn’t recruit the whole family? Or did everyone forget the year Ryiah served at the keep alongside both?”
“I never met the man!” I spat. “He wasn’t even on my squad!”
“Once again, a convenience!” the woman barked. “You are so full of excuses, and I, for one, am tired—”
“Enough.”
The room fell to silence as Blayne shot up in his chair, his heavy cloak snapping against the legs of his chair. His expression had shot from amusement to distaste in the blink of an eye. Now his lips were thin and his words were cold.
“I am done listening to this never-ending spat. Mira, Ryiah has more than proven her loyalty to the Crown.”
“But—”
“Not another word on the subject, not unless you wish to be replaced.”
Mira’s face darkened and her eyes sparked in outrage. When she looked at me, it was enough to peel flesh.
Why must you continue to bait her? I ground my teeth together. Mira was the chink in my armor, and I needed to hold my tongue. Blayne’s reprimand would only make her obsession worse.
“And, Ryiah—”
My gaze went to the young king.
“I am tired of finding you in the middle of these investigations. Do us both a favor and make sure there is not another.” Blayne heaved an irritated sigh. “Darren, what is being done about this runaway criminal? I assume you returned to keep watch over my court.”
“I have the rest of our patrol combing the countryside. I’d like to dispatch some of Audric’s men and send an envoy to Marius as well. Believe me”—Darren’s tone was ominous—“that rebel’s freedom will not last.”
“Whatever it takes.” Blayne’s drawl was hard to miss. “After all this effort, I’d hate to find an angry band of vigilantes when we are already engaged in war.”
“The rebel was injured, barely fit for travel, and he made his escape during the middle of winter.” I made my scoff mocking. “The traitor is more likely to die from black frost than anything else.”
“The true threat is here in the palace.” Darren studied his brother’s regiment with a frown. “What are the rest of you doing to root out the traitors?”