A roaring in my ears drowned out the rest of his sentence. Every noble lord?
“So Tullus will be there.”
Valen looked up sharply and considered me. “Doubtful.”
“But you said every lord.”
“I suppose you wouldn’t have heard. You returned to Earth before it happened.” He turned his chair slightly to face me better. “It turns out his amazing winery was smuggled in from Earth. He got caught not long after the party. Normally, hecould’ve afforded the fine, but with a thief having absconded with his fortune...”
I smiled savagely. “He’s in prison?”
“Unfortunately not. He had to sell off all his possessions, but he managed to pay the fine.”
Rich bastard. People with money got away with so damn much.
Valen smirked as if reading my mind. “Don’t feel too disappointed. The scandal ruined him. Last I heard, he lost his manor and had to move in with his cousin. He hasn’t shown his face in public for months.”
It wasn’t enough, not if he still had a roof over his head and food to eat. But at least he’d faced some sort of consequences. And I’d helped make it happen.
“What did he do to you?” Valen asked softly.
I jerked, nearly falling off the desk. “Excuse me?”
“You obviously targeted him for a reason. The heist was about revenge, not just the money.”
I looked away, not knowing how to explain. I didn’t talk about my past. Even if someone cared enough to ask (which they didn’t), it was a dangerous topic in magic-hating Thallence. My mother had told me in a hushed whisper even though we’d been alone in a meadow. And she’d barely spoken of it since. It pained her too much.
“I apologize,” Valen said. “If you don’t wish to speak of it—”
“He’s my father,” I said before I could chicken out.
Valen blinked.
“I’d never seen him before the party,” I explained. “He courted my mother, promised her marriage and a life of luxury on the moon. But all those promises turned to shit when she told him she was pregnant. He left her—left both of us, I guess.”
“I’m so sorry.”
I couldn’t look at him. “Things are so different here. You can’t imagine what it’s like for unmarried mothers in Thallence. People see them as impure. Maman’s family kicked her out. No one would hire her. The only place she could find work was a brothel. She should have abandoned me and pretended she’d never given birth, but...”
“She loved you,” Valen finished softly.
“Yeah.” My throat felt raw. “So she suffered to keep us clothed and fed. Plenty of times we went to bed hungry anyway. I caught the pox that swept through town when I was a child. She picked up diseases from her clients. And all the while, Tullus was up here drinking wine and throwing parties.”
My hands were clenched into fists, my back so tight it hurt.
“When Maman was dying—” I nearly choked. “I burgled every shop and fancy manor in the city to get enough money for a cure. I found one of those wands that opens portals and thought of him.” I took a deep breath. “He owed us that money. If he’d had a shred of decency, we wouldn’t have been sick and starving.”
I slumped, drained.
Valen stood, hesitated, and then wrapped his arms around me where I sat on the desk. I half-expected a kiss, but he simply held me. The action, devoid of lust, felt more intimate than when we’d been all over each other in the forest.
I leaned against him, my body softening against his.
“I thought his punishment was fitting.” Valen’s voice had turned cold. “But it’s not nearly harsh enough.”
It was nice hearing him wish suffering on the man I hated most of all.
“Agreed.” I hopped off the desk and shook myself. “But I don’t want to waste any more breath talking about him.”
