Aiden sighed. “Very well. I’ll find somewhere safe to keep it.”
There was a beat of silence where I didn’t dare to breathe or move a muscle, even as my mind screamed.
“He wants to meet you,” Melaena said. “Garyth.”
“It’s too risky.”
“But—”
“We’re so close, Melaena. Afteryears, we’ve almost reached our goal. I’m not going to throw all that away to soothe a noble’s fears. That’s why I have you. Deal with him.”
“You are not the only one who has sacrificed for this,” Melaena snapped. “I have lived here all my life, unlike you, and seen much worse.”
Aiden’s voice softened. “Forgive me, Mel. It was not myself I thought of. I will never forget what you’ve endured here. You, nor anyone else who has fought or died, hoping for a better world.”
“I will never understand why you hide who you are,” she said, her voice breaking. “You have all the power you need to unite this kingdom?—”
“I will never be king. The Falcryn line ended with my father. Betrayed by his gods-damned closest friend. I want no part of a life where I’m nothing more than a crown to steal.”
My heart stopped. My vision blurred.No.
But even as every fiber in my being tried to deny it, images flashed through my mind.
Falcryn. The house name inked on the royal history of Rellmira. The name just before the house of Torvaine. Falcryn, a falcon insignia. The inked falcon on Aiden’s shoulder. The gold falcon melded to a stolen ring.
Aiden mentioned the king when we played Death and Four. He’d respected the king’s treatment of the miners as well as his title. King Tristan Falcryn—his father.
Aiden was the original heir to the Rellmiran throne. Even if he didn’t want it. And if what he said was true, my father hadlied to an entire kingdom about the circumstances under which he became king.
Which was why he’d slapped me when I said he’d gotten the crown by chance.
My cheek burned with the memory, and my lips curled into a sneer. Pulling off such a betrayal certainly would’ve taken a great deal of work.
What had he told me once?“We were dear friends—Tristan and I. He trusted me implicitly. Which is why he wrote into law that I would inherit the throne if he passed without heirs.”
Without heirs. Had he known of Aiden? What happened to Aiden’s mother?
My world shifted further. It tipped and spilled a darkness over me like an overturned ink well. My entire life, and everyone in it, was stained with lies.
Aiden and Melaena were quiet now. I didn’t know what other conversation I’d missed. But I couldn’t reveal myself now. I didn’t know what in the deep, dark, wandering hell I was supposed to do with this.
I sank against the wall, rustling a few dresses hanging over me. I stilled.
Silence.
Then, “I’m sure Kiera will be back any moment,” Melaena said. But her voice sounded oddly shaky. She cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should wait elsewhere? Would you like something to eat?”
A rustling noise, then a door opened and closed.
I waited. More silence.
I’d need to sneak out the back door and then come in, pretending that I’d bathed at Asher’s.
Hands and feet numb, I crawled out of my hiding place.
“Hello, little thief.”
Chapter 26
