Forty-seven.
Forty-seven.
He pushed the vision of his father’s corpse out of his head. Ahnna had acted rashly, her choices fueled by extreme emotion, so everything she’d done since was reactionary rather than the steps of a meticulous plan. Ahnna had to know that there would be consequences not just for her but also for Ithicana, and guilt would drive her to take every risk to reach her homeland’s shores. What she hoped to gainthere, James didn’t know. Confession? Absolution? The chance to lift her sword in defense of the people her actions had thrown to the wolves? Perhaps some combination of all three, but regardless, James knew that hiding until the dust settled would be out of the question for her.
The guards at Fernleigh opened the gates and he trotted his horse up the main drive, the gelding’s hooves splashing in the puddles. The manor looked dreary in the low light, ivy hanging heavy beneath the onslaught of the storm—although perhaps he was only projecting his own exhaustion onto the structure. As he dismounted, a stable hand emerged to take the horse, but James didn’t immediately go inside. Instead, he stood outside the manor, the rain hammering down upon him as he tried to mentally compose a report that wouldn’t set William racing toward war.
All his mind would give him was,She can’t run forever.
So James took a deep breath and went inside.
To find Lestara standing in the main entrance, barefoot and wearing a velvet dressing gown. He hadn’t even known she was in Sableton.
“I sensed you coming,” his cousin said. “You’ve lost Ahnna’s trail, haven’t you?”
Lestara was the last person he wanted to talk to. “The heavy rains are causing the hounds some issues.” His throat tried to close up, but he forced himself to add, “Your Grace.”
The corner of Lestara’s mouth curved. “You don’t like it, do you? The idea of me as queen of Harendell.”
He hated it. “My opinion is not relevant, Your Grace. But I do have a report to give to the king.”
“William is asleep.” She blocked his path. “He tires easily these days, for he is not yet used to the weight of so much responsibility. You can give your report to me, and I’ll relay it when he wakes in the morning.”
James crossed his arms and said nothing. Though he knew that his father had never intended for Lestara to be queen, it was still troublingthat he’d supported her marriage to William. Since childhood, Lestara had cared for nothing but her own ambition, and she left pain in her wake from her efforts to achieve her goals.
Water dripped from his clothes to pool on the floor, the silence stretching between them, and then Lestara said, “William won’t admit it, but your affections for Ahnna hurt him terribly.”
James scoffed. “Please. I struggle to believe that my brother cared what Ahnna did or did not do given he was between your legs the entire time. Especially given it was Will who encouraged me to spend all that goddamned time with her. If you’re going to play the game, Lestara, you’ll have to do better than that.”
His cousin tilted her head, silver-blond hair spilling over her shoulder. “Will only pushed you in her direction on Edward’s orders.Encourage your brother to keep her busy so that she’ll not look too deeply in your directionwas what your father said. He feared that Ahnna would suspect his intentions to wed William to me and ruin everything, so we hoped to use you, and your rugged charm, to good effect. But I don’t think William ever believed you’d fall victim toAhnna’scharm.” Lestara sighed. “Though William cared nothing for her, it still broke his heart that you cuckolded him. That the one person he trusted above all others betrayed him.”
“I didn’t—”
“Don’t lie, cousin. Hazel managed Ahnna’s wardrobe, and she reported that the princess’s chemise was missing. Perhaps the tornado tore it off her, but I think it was another force of nature. A woman’s desire does leave a certain amount of…evidence.”
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
James listened to the water droplets fall from his clothes to pool at his feet, a fresh wave of guilt turning his mouth sour because he’d believed his brother wholly ignorant of that indiscretion.
“Even before Ahnna murdered Edward, Will hated her,” Lestarasaid. “He blamed her for stealing you from him, and he asked me more times than I could count whether Ahnna had put a spell on you. Wept when I told him she had not, because he so desperately wanted a reason why you’d choose her over him. If you don’t believe me, ask him. Ask your brother how he felt knowing that you were lying to him, that you were fucking the woman you believed he was supposed to marry. He’ll tell you the same as I have, although I suspect it will hurt more coming from his lips.”
“It was just once.” The confession slipped out, and James instantly regretted it. Not for the admission but because it sounded as though he was looking for absolution.
“Once. Twice. A hundred times, it makes no difference.” Lestara’s eyes burned into him. “You chose Ahnna over William, and he believes her continued freedom is proof you still love her more than you do your own family.”
James twisted away from his cousin. Though he desperately wanted to escape the guilt by fleeing out into the storm, he held his ground, William’s voice rising from his memory.You said you’d catch her. You said we’d have vengeance for what the Ithicanian bitch did to our father and king, yet Ahnna Kertell is still free. It makes me question whether your lingering fondness for the woman has influenced your efforts.
“Catch her and kill her,” Lestara said softly. “Not only to avenge your father’s death, but to prove to William that you care more about him than you do your murderous lover.”
James’s skin prickled. “Tell me, cousin, why do you care so much for repairing my relationship with your husband? You and I might be family, but we have never been friends, and you know I think Keris Veliant should have taken off your head. What’s in this for you?”
She closed the distance between them, her bare feet patting against the floor. Her amber eyes seemed to burn in the light of the lamps, and James’s palms turned to ice. He’d always dismissed beliefs that many Cardiffian women were witches, but his cousin tested his certainty almost as much as her mother did.
“For the sake of my people.” Lestara’s stare was unblinking. “For the sake of my beliefs. The alliance with Cardiff was Edward’s goal and Alexandra dared not go against him, but she has no such reticence against steering William’s course. How long until she convinces him to retract the changes Edward made? I can’t hold the course alone. I need you, James, as much as it pains me to admit it. And if you wish for all your life’s work to endure, you need me as well.”
