Queen Penelope only shakes her head and turns defiantly toward the open window as the carriage sinks into silence. I try again to catch Gabe’s eye, but he stares fixedly out the opposite side, as if I’m nothing more than a burden he’s been ordered to escort home.
“I’m so relieved you’re home safe!” Astoria pulls me into her arms, but I feel nothing as I make my way into the family sitting room. I wantnothing more than to retreat to my own rooms and devise a plan to free Kieran, but I’ve been ordered—pushed—into this room with my entire family.
“I was safe with Kieran.” I let my voice carry as I continue, “Mother is the reason Kieran left Fairbright all those years ago. She’s the reason I thought he was dead. She tried to separate us, and she’s doing it again. But I won’t allow it this time.”
Astoria blanches, and I can’t tell whether it’s because of my defiance or because she’s shocked that our mother could be capable of such cruelty.
“Don’t spread lies, Genevieve,” Queen Penelope hisses. “I didn’t do any of that to hurt you. I was protecting you, and I’m protecting you again.”
My rage builds, my hands curling into tight fists around the satin of my gloves. “I do not need your protection.”
Darian gives my mother a pointed look. “If Genny is telling the truth, then why arrest him? Let her have her happiness.”
My mother lets out a long-suffering sigh as Gabe speaks up. “Because she chose to make an alliance with Icelantica. It’s already been decided, and Genny needs to stay committed to her agreements. She can’t be seen as flighty or irresponsible when she’ll be queen soon.”
“Thank you, Gabriel,” my mother says, pressing a hand to her forehead as if our presence is too much to bear. “We need Mr. Blackwell to look the part of the guilty party. It cannot be known that Genevieve ran away with this man willingly—not if the alliance with Icelantica is to stand.”
Mari has been unusually quiet, her skin still ashen from her illness. “It’s wrong to charge Mr. Blackwell for a crime he didn’t commit.”
They keep calling KieranMr. Blackwell, as if the truth hasn’t already been spoken aloud—as if they’re clinging to Mother’s delusion of protecting me.
Queen Penelope fixes Mari with a sharp look, her eye twitching. “You will not speak of this outside this room, Marielle. None of you will. The damage is done, and Mr. Blackwell will stand a fair trial, like any accused man. I’m saying this as your queen, not as your mother.”
She rarely speaks to usas queen. Hearing it now makes bile rise in my throat. She’s crushed her adversaries with such perfect calculation over the years that I fear she sees me as more foe than heir. And as much as I want to fight her outright, I know that will not save Kieran.
I have to be strategic. I have to beat her at her own game. I need evidence—unshakable proof—that Kieran is innocent of every crime she’s manufactured.
“Now, Genny, you will go to Prince Leland tomorrow and find a way to assure him of your commitment to this engagement. We will have a wedding by the end of the week, and the alliance with Icelantica will go forward.”
I put on my sweetest, most demure expression. “Mother, I will go to him, but I will not force Prince Leland to accept me.”
The queen seems placated by this as she replies, “He will accept you. If not—Gabriel, be prepared to ask for the queen’s hand. It cannot fall to your sisters. Oh, Genny, you’ve certainly made a mess of things this time!”
That’s all she’s ever seen in me: someone to mold into the perfect heir, and when I fall short of her impossible standards, all she sees is failure.
I look at Gabe, and after how he’s treated me today, I cannot help the mocking grin I give him. His face hardens. “I will not marry that woman. I won’t be forced to give up my life to moveto Icelantica with someone just as frigid as her country. Genny, you’d better not muss this up any further. All of this is your doing.”
I ignore him, already thinking of how I’ll get Leland to see reason. And until then, I need to find a way to see Kieran—and soon. The thought of him alone in a cold cell sends goosebumps skittering over my skin.
My mother gives a curt nod. “If it’s settled, I’ll be retiring. This has been a most trying day.”
The queen turns to leave. Astoria slips to my side. “What do you need from me?” she whispers.
“Anything you can give. I have to get Kieran out of prison—and soon.”
“Of course,” she murmurs as we leave the room arm in arm. Mother is too deep in thought even to notice Astoria didn’t formally announce her exit.
She’s plotting her next move.
And I must stay ahead of her.
Kieran’s life—and our future—depend on it.
42
Kieran
Drip.
