“I’m not hiding anything.”
But as soon as I say the words, they sound hollow. Untrue.
He knows it, too.
“You are,” he says, and his tone is grave. “But if she is to be a part of this alliance, she should know what has been done to her people. If she is to be aqueen,she should know what has been done toyou.” His eyes shift to his captain. “Make sure Lady Charlotte has enough silver to accomplish her task.”
Then he turns toward the staircase, barely waiting for me to follow.
This time, I don’t fuck around. I scramble to my feet before I have no other choice.
Chapter Nineteen
The Princess
My heart is pounding, refusing to settle. The men have followed me to the stairs, and their emotion radiates in the air around us. The king is angry, but Asher is almost worse. He’s never snapped at me before, and definitely not like that. His anger rattled something inside my heart. I’m angry too, but my stomach is churning. I don’t want to be alone with them.
Not because I’m afraid. Because I’m worried their anger isjustified.
Asher dropped to sit on the floor like he was used to it. He didn’t even look up when food was brought to the table, as if he didn’t expect to be fed.
The weight of everyone’s focus presses down on me as I take each step, and I wonder what they’re all thinking—either aboutmeor about Astranza. The king’s words about branding citizens like livestock are burning in my thoughts, and I wonder how many people heard that. For hours, I’ve been angry about the righteous fury in his voice when he mentioned Incendrian justice to my brother. I’ve been furious about the way he ordered me to leave the palace, barely giving me enough time to gather my belongings.
But I saw the severity of Asher’s wound, the deep purples and blacks from where a brand scorched a mark into his flesh. That had nothing to do with Incendar, and everything to do with my own kingdom.
It’s hardly the first time it’s been done, Ky said.
My heart gives an anguished squeeze. The older scar on Asher’s shoulder was barely visible, but I saw the edges of the raised welt that formed an X, just above the new one. Did that happen when he was first exiled? I never knew. He never said a word.
As we climb the steps, Captain Zale gives some sort of signal, and Nikko and Roman step away from the table.
Before they get far, Ky pauses on the stairs. “I don’t need guards, Sev.”
The other man snorts. “Humor me,” he calls back. “I know what happened thelasttime you were alone with these two.”
Ky sets his jaw, but he continues up the steps behind me. His two soldiers follow closely behind.
I still don’t know if I can trust him. He deceived us once. But that churning in my stomach won’t stop, and I can’t bear to look back at them. Their steps are heavy behind me, and that’s bad enough. Asher takes the stairs one by one, the chain between his ankles rattling on each board as he passes.
I open the first door that I come to, ready to storm inside—until I discover that this is a room meant for multiple people, with two small pallets along the wall and a straw mattress spread across each one. I stop short in the doorway.
The king comes up behind me, and I all butfeelhis presence at my back. “The other room is likely the same, Princess. But we can move to the other, if you’d rather.”
“It’s fine.” I square my shoulders and force my voice to be mild, completely unperturbed. But against my will, a blush crawls up my throat. I’ve never traveled without a royal retinue, and I’ve never slept in an inn. Until this moment, I hadn’t thought aboutallof us sharing rooms, much less beds.
I remember Asher gently scoffing at my idea of escape, saying I had no idea what life was like outside the palace. At the time, his manner was lighthearted, but now that I’ve seen him crouched on a stone floor, I wonder what else I’ve missed.
I think of that woman curled up on the fur. Asher never mentionedthiseither. I told Charlotte to pay for her release, but that’s more about my guilt than anything else. Is that kind of thing happening to people all across Astranza? If we’d arrived at the Three Fishes, would he have had to do that? Sit at my feet like a prisoner?
I swallow tightly.
Ky follows me in, with Asher in tow. The two soldiers are right behind them, but they stop in the doorway.
“When we retire,” Ky says to me, “you and your lady can have one of the rooms to yourselves, Princess. I don’t expect you to share with my soldiers.” He pauses. “Or with me.”
Aside from the nights Asher snuck into my bedchambers, I’ve never shared my sleeping quarters with anyone else at all. But much like the moment I realized his men would go hungry if I chose to take a stand in the carriage, it feels equally selfish to demand one room for myself when there are nine of us traveling together.
“We can share the space,” I say, though I’m not sure if I mean it. “Your men have been quite respectful. I was simply...surprised.”
