The Llacsan standing at the front of the group steps forward.
The messenger.
“Buenos días, señorita,” he says. “King Atoc, His Majesty of the upper mountain and lower jungle and everything in between, sends you his greetings—and a message.”
He pauses, eyebrows raised expectantly. He looks past me, toward the doors, as if he wants out of the rain and to relay his news within the keep. I scoff. I’ll die before I let a Llacsan cross our threshold. Next he’ll be wanting to see our mountain spring.
“Well? What is it?” I say, careful to keep my voice emotionless.
“His Royal Highness, the wondrous Lord of all the land and—”
“Spare me,” I snap. “What’s the message?”
One of the Llacsans murmurs disapprovingly. They throw uneasy glances at the Illustrians watching their every move. Some begin to whisper in their old language.
I don’t care un pepino what these people think about me.
The messenger’s brows slam together. “You’re to be his wife.”
I laugh.
Outrage erupts among our guards. They all step closer, snarling and cursing. Sofía glares at the Llacsan messenger and raises her sword until the tip is level with his heart. Another guard notches her arrow and aims it at the tallest Llacsan in the group. I can’t help but glance over my shoulder to our bedroom window, hoping she heard that outrageous proposition. Though I probably shouldn’t have laughed. It’s the kind of behavior she disapproves of.
“You’ve traveled all this way for nothing,” I say. “I’ll never be his wife.”
“That’s not the entire message. You’re to report to the castillo by sundown. Alone. Should you refuse, the Illustrians we’ve rounded up will be executed, one by one.” He leans forward and adds conversationally, “I believe you’re missing a certain general and her fellow soldiers?”
Ana.
The pain in my chest makes it hard to breathe.
My eyes snap to Sofía. She presses a fist against her mouth and lets out a high keen.
That bastard.I clench my fists, blinking back tears. “Where are they?”
“In the castillo dungeons. Or the prison. Or tucked away in some remote estate.” The messenger shrugs. “I honestly couldn’t say. They are out of your reach, that’s all I know. But their lives will be spared the moment you become His Majesty’s wife.”
The messenger turns to leave, signaling his companions to pick up their weapons. Our guards move out of the way to let them pass, but the messenger pauses. He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles again—catlike—his white teeth gleaming.
The smile snaps me back.
The words rip out of me. “Kill them all.”
The Llacsans barely have time to register the command before the guards start hacking. I turn away, Sofía at my heels, and stride to the double doors, the sounds of clanging steel and horrified shouts bellowing in my wake.
I wish I could’ve given the order twice.
CAPÍTULO
Catalina sits across from me at one of the rectangular wooden tables in the great hall, quiet and grim. The hall is empty and we’re alone. I fidget on a stool, catching myself as it wobbles under my weight. She fiddles with the sleeves of her cotton shirt, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Out with it,” I say.
She spears me with a glare. “What a time to lose your temper—you had themkilled?”
I almost choke on my anger. “They kidnapped Ana and the others. What would you have done? Invited them in for breakfast? Have them sit down with us, serve them eggs and coffee—without sugar, by the way, because we’re out—and eat together like we’re all—”
“I wouldn’t have acted impulsively,” she says. “You have no idea who that messenger was. What position he held in the castillo. Do you understand what I’m saying? You may have just murdered members of Atoc’s family.”
