He looks away before sighing. “There’s something Kalise isn’t telling me. I think Penelope is holding some knowledge over her. I already signed the marriage contract and expected to be engaged to Princess Astoria or Princess Marielle. It wasn’t ideal, but I was the one who added that clause. But instead my sister keeps insisting she must marry Prince Gabriel.”
I mull that over. Penelope will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. But why is she so intent on joining the two countries when, for all intents and purposes, it appears she won’t relinquish power when the time comes anyway?
It doesn’t matter right now if I can’t get free. Leland’s right—my thoughts went first to Gen’s safety. But I need to know my chances.
“Are the lawyers good?”
Leland gives me a long-suffering look. “Do you think I’d choose anyone second-rate? They’re the best in Naseria. But there’s little time to prepare. The queen ensured it.”
A knock on the door. The guards step in.
“Time’s up.”
I don’t fight. Not now—not when I finally know there are people on my side, people willing to fight for me even after everything I’ve done to them. It’s a strange feeling, almost foreign after clawing my way out of the mines alone.
“Tell Gen to be careful,” I say. “Tell her not to do anything that could put her safety at risk. I’ll see her soon.”
The guards drag me from the room as Leland promises he will. I should have told him to say more, but speaking the words aloud feels too much like goodbye.
43
Genevieve
My hands shake as I meet with the team of lawyers representing Kieran. Leland must notice, because he gives my gloved hand a small squeeze before releasing it.
One of the lawyers says, “The charges brought against him would take weeks to build a proper case for. If the queen is moving this quickly, she must have been collecting evidence for some time.”
“What do you suggest we do?” I ask, trying not to give up hope. Trying with all my heart to do everything I can to save Kieran, to not betray his trust again.
I begged Gabe last night to let me see him, pleaded outside his rooms, but he wouldn’t tell me where Kieran was being held. Instead, Astoria made him see reason, and Gabe allowed Leland to know Kieran’s location—giving him the opportunity he’d taken from me.
Leland assured me Kieran wasn’t injured, but there was so much he wasn’t saying, his gift hanging in the air like cloying perfume meant to soothe me. It didn’t. It only sharpened my anxiety.
One of the lawyers clears his throat. “We need to identify the person responsible for the rot and the murder. Once we have that, we can move forward with clearing his name of the other charges.”
“The kidnapping too?”
The lawyer examines a paper in front of him, adjusting his spectacles. “Yes. That should be easy to refute. The court will listen to testimony from yourself and Prince Leland. It should outweigh a servant’s accusation. You are, after all, the future monarch. In two years’ time you could erase this trial from record entirely if you wished. But…”
Prince Leland frowns. “But what?”
“If we don’t find the perpetrator tampering with helachite, we won’t have a strong case for his innocence. And then there’s the matter of false identity. He’s guilty there—there’s no denying it.”
“So you’ll do nothing to fight those charges?” I ask.
“Your Highness, he’s been using an assumed name for years. Records go back eight years to when he first used the name Morris Blackwell.”
“How is choosing a different identity a crime?” What harm is there in changing who you are? He’s spent years trying to let go of his former self, so much so that he’s no longer the Kieran Greenbluff he once was.
“It becomes difficult to verify that he owns everything he claims. Taking on a nom de plume raises questions—are there other crimes he may have committed under that name?”
“Stop this.” The words come out sharp, steel-lined. All the men look at me. “Kieran has been running from his past because ofme—not because he’s guilty of anything—and I will do everything in my power to clear his name. This is my fault, and I won’t lose him again.”
Leland’s touch is gentle on my arm, the silk of his gloves a soft weight against my skin. “It isn’t your fault. It’s the queen’s. And wewillget him out of this. I persuaded Gabriel to use his influence with the guards and soldiers to search for the true killer. Your sisters and my sister are doing all they can as well. Someone will come forward with the evidence we need.”
I take in a deep breath, trying to ease the rising panic in my chest. We only have one day before the trial.
“When are you going to see him?” I ask the lawyers.
