“After we finish up here. We just need to gather our notes so we have something more tangible to present to him. I’m not going to give you false confidence, Princess. We need to know who is behind the rot.”
“I want to see him too. I need to assure him I’m doing all I can to get him out of there.”
Leland shakes his head. “That’s not a good idea. Even having you at this meeting is a liability to Kieran’s safety. If your mother is intent on carrying out this false trial, we don’t need to give her any other reason to feel threatened by your interest in him. Let her believe we’ll have our wedding. Let her see us working together to free our friend, but don’t give her cause to assume you’ll go against her wishes for your future.”
A lump forms in my throat as I think about Kieran alone in a cell, wondering if I would give up on him again. I can’t stomach the thought of him believing I would betray him again—not after everything that’s happened between us.
I push down my fears, nodding as I stand. “Prince Leland, will you escort me to my rooms before accompanying the lawyers to Kieran’s cell?”
He looks at me with such tenderness, and once again I wonder why I couldn’t fall for this kind, good man. Why has no one fallen for Prince Leland Frostclaw, when he has a heart so willing to give?
But the truth has always stood in front of me, just beyond my line of sight. I gave away my heart long ago, and there’s nothing anyone could do to take it from Kieran. It’s always been his.
“Of course,” Leland says, offering me his arm. I bow to the lawyers before adding, “Please keep me informed of any updates, and I’ll do all I can to find what we’re looking for.”
As we enter the hallway, Leland leans close enough for only me to hear. “He trusts you. He knows you won’t abandon him.”
“I just wish I could tell him myself,” I admit. “Will you tell him I—will you tell him I love him?”
He nods quickly. “We’ll get him out, and you’ll have all the happiness you’ve always deserved with him.”
I squeeze his arm in a friendly gesture, and he meets my gaze. “You deserve happiness and love too, Leland. You, more than any of us.”
He looks away before stopping at my door. “Yes, well, that isn’t as easy to come by as one may hope.”
44
Kieran
The lawyers left me hours ago, without the false certainty that this trial will end in my favor. To put it bluntly, they don’t know how they’ll secure a win—not without evidence proving I’m innocent of the more heinous crimes against me.
“Another visitor,” the guard says as he opens my cell. He holds out shorter cuffs and ankle restraints. “Just a precaution, but since you’ve been more cooperative, I don’t think we’ll need to result to violence this time around.”
I scowl but let the man cuff me without a fight. “Is it the queen?” Only one of the royal family would warrant this treatment. Not even Leland got this.
“Her Majesty has granted you an audience.”
“I’m to be brought to the palace?” I ask, hoping I might catch a glance of Gen, at least the comfort of knowing she’s safe.
“Yup. They’re sure making a fuss over you. I’d say just set the gallows and be done with it, but you’re to be given a fair trial. No one will deny justice was served when you hang.”
They march me through the dark, meandering tunnels of the prison until I’m loaded into a prisoner’s wagon. The drive is jostling and harsh as we rattle through the back alleys of Crawford, avoiding any place where a prisoner’s wagon might disrupt the pristine image the Ashcrofts work so hard to maintain. We reach the rear of the palace, where I’m unloaded like cargo and hauled through a set of servant’s stairs. I haven’t walked these old wooden steps in years, and the familiarity of them—of all the nights my father led me to supper or to evening entertainment with the other servants before guiding me back to our small cottage outside the palace—hits with a vividness that stings.
He’s been gone for years, and though I’ve tried to bury the painful memories of our last months together, it’s the good ones with their laughter and warmth that hurt most.
We exit into the Ashcroft family’s private floors, and I’m led to the queen’s office.
Queen Penelope doesn’t bother lifting her head from the paperwork on her desk. She simply waves me forward. The chains around my ankles clink with every step. There’s no seat for me. No polite gesture. Nothing like the previous weeks’ meetings.
“Leave us,” she says to the guards, who bow and exit. “One night in a cell and you already smell foul,” she mutters, bringing a handkerchief to her face.
“I shouldn’t have been subjected to a single night in your prison,” I retort, refusing to let her insult hang unchallenged.
At last she meets my gaze, eyes tight above the handkerchief. “Your first mistake was coming back. I told you never to return. Whether youthought it was Genny telling you or not makes little difference. You weren’t wanted here.”
I don’t let my emotions show, knowing she caused my grief and pain all those years ago. She deserves none of it.
“Your second mistake was meddling with Princess Genevieve. She’s above you in both station and comportment. You never deserved her, and I’ll be damned if I see my daughter married to a redblood servant. Oh—wait. That’s right. Ablueblood.A deceiving, malicious blueblood with intent to destroy the crown.”
