“I should be the one apologizing,” Kaidren says. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t.” Any fool can see that’s not true. I clear my throat. “That’s Luc’s mother. My stepmother. I should—uh—probably go see what she wants.” I set my mostly untouched plate on the table. “Good luck in the Tournament.”
The smile he gives me is broad and teeming with misplaced confidence. “Thank you. But I won’t need it.”
I smile back as though he’s right.
Cutting through the crowd, I pretend to make my way to Yelina, but once I’m out of Kaidren’s eyeline, I shift direction to search for Luc instead. I find him on the edge of the dance floor. His eyes widen with guilt when he sees me. “I’m sorry,” are the first words out of his mouth.
I fold my arms derisively. “You promised you’d be by my side all night.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, but I was watching you the whole time.”
If anything, that makes it worse. “Your father left me withKaidren Vale.” I lower my voice, but frustration sharpens my tone. “He’s an isha. If he had touched me—”
“He didn’t.”
My nostrils flare. “You didn’t know he wouldn’t.”
“I knowyou. You’d never let that happen.”
I want to scream. “What if he had? Would you have bothered to step in?”
I watch him process the question. See more guilt flicker over his expression.
I’mmorethan angry. I’ve been angry my whole life—she is my close and personal friend. I know how to handle rage, how to trap it within me and frost it with ice and a smile. This is deeper than that. This is a visceral kind of betrayal thatfollows going unseen by someone you were foolish enough to trust.
I wish I was only angry. My heart is sturdy. Rage alone can’t melt it. It’s a lethal combination of fury and sorrow that causes me to falter—heartbreak.
Heavy, racing footsteps approach from behind. I know even before I turn who it is. Mathson and Yelina are bright and cheery to the casual observer, but I know them. I see the tension they carry in their shoulders, the way their grins are more eerie than kind. They are hungry for blood—mine.
Yelina takes my arm, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. “Why did I see you speaking with Kaidren Vale?” That narrow, vicious snarl she calls a smile doesn’t slip as she speaks through her teeth.
“Ask your husband. He’s the one who left me with him.”
Yelina doesn’t shift her gaze from me. “I’m not a fool. I saw the way you were looking at each other.”
I force my eyes not to roll out of my head. Kaidren’s act to flirt his way into my confidence had no effect on me, but clearly, it was convincing enough for Yelina. “The only thing I want from Kaidren is for him to drop dead. I assure you, the stars will freeze in hell before I allow myself to be charmed by someone like Kaidren Vale.”
My conversation with Kaidren wasn’t a total waste. He’s an isha desperate to prove himself, and now I know what bait to dangle before him.
Luc will win the first trial. I’ll make sure of it. The world will watch as he earns the throne for a second term. And then, I’m going to use Kaidren’s pride against him and trick him into quitting the Tournament altogether.
Win Luc the throne, and get rid of the only person in Widow’s Hall with the power to destroy me, in one fell swoop.
CHAPTER NINE
HOW TO STEAL A THRONE
First step to stealing a throne: get rid of the competition.
I wait around the corner of the Vale manor, watching his front door. It’s early morning, and gray clouds blanket the mountainside with snow. I’m wrapped up in a dress, overdress, coat, gloves, and sjaal, but I leave my face uncovered and recognizable.
I’m in the middle of a full-body shiver when the Vale door ekes open, and a figure steps out. Tall, broad, and muscular. His face is covered by a thick sjaal, but I recognize his build. Kaidren strides in my direction, boots crunching in the snow.
When he’s just a few paces away, I slip around the corner, gaze fixed on the toes of my shoes.
Two paces later, I collide into something sturdy.
