“You were his companion?” the king pressed.
His man’s cruel fingers fisted in my hacked hair and yanked my head back on my neck, presumably to grant me a view of the king. I swallowed a whimper, committed to putting on a brave front—and determined to remember his voice, his faintly musty smell. I would not forget this man.
Steps sounded beside me, and then I recognized Prince Chasan’s voice. “Easy there, Harmon. It’s not necessary to cave her head in on the palace steps.”
My head throbbed. I inhaled through my nostrils and tried to quell the nausea, attempting to focus in front of me where I knew the king stood. “Y-Yes,” I stammered over the ringing in my ears.
Harmon’s voice growled in my ear again. “You will address the king properly.” He gave another yank on my hair, the roots dangerously close to being ripped from my head.
I swallowed a whimper. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“Is it true, then?” the king asked, unaffected by my suffering at the brute’s hands. Was ruthless indifference a feature among all kings? Was my father that way? From everything Sivo had told me, he had not been like that. Perhaps if he had been, he would have seen Cullan’s treachery coming. Perhaps then he would still be alive. “Your companion? He is the prince of Relhok?” Even though he asked the question, I sensed he didn’t care one way or another about my response.
Harmon’s grip tightened in my hair, prompting an answer. I gasped. “Why ask me? I’m no one to you.”
Harmon’s fingers twisted, but thankfully he didn’t yank again.
The king answered evenly, “True, but I’m curious for your answer. What do you know of your companion? How long have you been together? Liars don’t last very long around here. I have no tolerance for them.”
“He only introduced himself as Fowler to me.” Not a lie.
I knew Fowler didn’t want these people to know who he really was, but it seemed useless to continue pretending. He had tried to deny it earlier, but then I thought of him, lying on the ground in a broken heap as I went back and forth with the king of Lagonia. Suddenly it didn’t matter to me that Fowler wanted to protect his identity. I wanted him to live. With that burning thought, I admitted, “It was only recently that he revealed his true identity to me.”
Silence met my words. Even the onlookers held their tongues. I felt the king’s stare on my face.
Suddenly he laughed. “You’re correct, Breslen. You brought me something far greater than news from Relhok. You brought me the crown prince himself.” He clapped his hands. His joviality seemed to be the signal for everyone else. They all broke out in cheers and applause.
I don’t know what I said or did that convinced him I spoke the truth, but he believed me. “Guards,” he called. “Quickly. Carry him inside and call for my physician. I want him well attended. He must live.”
My shoulders sagged as movement broke out all around me. Fowler was going to be taken care of. He would heal.
“What about her?” Prince Chasan asked near me, revealing he hadn’t forgotten about me in all the revelry.
“A friend of the prince of Relhok must be our honored guest, too. Never let it be said that the king of Lagonia was a poor host. See to that she is given a room, fed, and bathed thoroughly. She offends my nose.”
Harmon relaxed his grip on my hair with a grunt, practically flinging me from him. My hands slapped palm-down on a step as he moved away from me.
Prince Chasan helped me to my feet. “There now. Keep telling the truth and no one will hurt you.”
I dragged a shaking hand down my face, wondering if that could possibly be true.
“Chasan? What are you doing?”
I stiffened at the nearness of the king’s voice, closer than before. I inhaled, catching the improbable aroma of roasted hog. I’d tasted wild pig only once. Years ago Sivo had caught one. I was very little, but I still remembered the rich aroma of the meat and the roasted acorns and wild berries that Perla had stuffed inside it.
“Just talking to the girl, Father.”
“Whatever for? Let one of the servants attend to her. You and I have much to discuss with Breslen. I want you there.”
“I’m seeing to her comfort, Father. I was thinking she might enjoy staying in the rose suite.”
“The rose suite? For her?”
I lifted my chin at his bewildered tone, my ego getting the best of me. Perla’s voice filled my ears, reminding me of who my parents were, my grandparents, the long line of kings and queens who came before me. Their blood ran in my veins. I could not stop myself from flinging his words back at him. “I am your honored guest, am I not, Your Highness?”
Suddenly my chin was seized in a brutal pinch of bony fingers. My face was turned hard left and right. I felt Tebald’s gaze, his hot breath on my cheek as he examined me.
“Have I seen you before, girl?”