Lestara’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. “You can’t be serious. Why would she do such a thing?”
The next part was the lie.
“Katarina blackmailed her.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “It was Alexandra who killed my mother, and Katarina has proof. She’s been blackmailing Alexandra all these long years, and she forced her to murder my father as a last effort to forestall the alliance with Cardiff. Katarina is a braggart, and after Carlo captured me and put me in the Furnace, she took a great deal of joy in taunting me with her plans. She’s using Alexandra to manipulate William.”
“To what end?”
“The bridge.” He pursed his lips. “Katarina used Alexandra to threaten the bridge, and then pretended to offer an alliance to the Ithicanians. But it was a trick. By now, they are all dead or dying, andAmarid has control of the bridge. William has no idea, and Alexandra has been instructed to keep it that way or Katarina will tell everyone the truth about my father’s murder.”
Lestara’s face hardened. “The bridge is meant to beWilliam’s.He is to be Master of the Bridge, and my son after him. Katarina is a fool if she believes this can stand.”
“I told everything to Ronan under the belief that he’d march with William to attack Amarid, but he couldn’t see past his goddamned rage over my mother’s death. He insists that William give up Alexandra for execution, and he’s going to hold you hostage until William agrees.”
Silence stretched, and James watched the wheels in his cousin’s eyes turn. His cousin, who’d been used and betrayed by every man in her life, would expect no different from William. “He won’t execute his mother to get me back. William is…boundto her.” A tear ran down her cheek. “I hate her, James. She is so cruel to me.”
“Which is why we have to put a stop to her. But we have to do it carefully.” He leaned closer. “Katarina’s dark guild is hunting for me because I’m a liability, but worse, Alexandra will put an end to anyone she thinks knows about her crimes. We need William to learn that Katarina holds the bridge, but I don’t think I can get to him.”
“I can,” Lestara whispered. “Alexandra won’t suspect me. She dismisses me entirely.”
“Then let’s take advantage. Convince him to attack Amarid. Katarina will be forced to withdraw from Ithicana because she’ll need the manpower. She’ll retaliate by revealing everything about Alexandra in an attempt to undermine William, and it will be the people who force him to execute Alexandra for her crimes, not you and not Cardiff.” James gripped his cousin’s hands, staring into her amber eyes. “You won’t just be protecting yourself and your child, you’ll be giving our family the vengeance that the stars demand.”
Her brow furrowed, and he could see that she was tempted by the idea of proving her parents wrong in their opinion of her. Of finallyearning their respect. “I know I have done dark deeds, James, and I regret my actions more than you know. For as long as I can remember, I have been told that I am a curse. A scourge. And maybe I am, but I don’t want that same curse to touch my child.” More tears rolled down her face. “I don’t want people to look at him the way they look at me.”
“Then help me stop Alexandra. Help me rip the bridge out of Katarina’s grasp.” He tightened his hands. “Give your son the legacy he deserves.”
“You stand to gain in this as well, cousin,” Lestara said softly. “You will have vengeance for your parents’ murder, but I think you also desire to strike a blow against the woman who has treated you so poorly all your life. I know you hate Alexandra as much as I do.”
It was all true enough, so James only nodded. “Our biggest obstacle is Ronan. He sees the easy path to vengeance as ransoming you and the child for Alexandra’s head, which means we need to sneak you out of the palace. I have horses waiting. We’ll have hours of head start before dawn, and I know the land well. All we have to do is get you across the border, and your father won’t dare pursue. Can you get out without your mother realizing?”
Lestara gave a dark smile. “I grew up in this palace, so I know every secret tunnel like the back of my hand. As to my mother…I picked up a trick or two in Verwyrd. Whatever Caly sees tonight will be relegated to her dreams.”
“How long do you need?”
“I’ll meet you by the graveyard in an hour.”
James left the room, shutting the door behind him. Caly was leaning against the wall in the corridor, and she eyed him with her uncanny eyes. “Ronan says you’re going to Verwyrd to try to reason with William.”
“Yes.” It was the most answer he could manage given that it was because of her that Ronan refused to help. He started down the hallway, hoping to escape, but his aunt followed him.
“Quite a pivot, Jamie. You came here asking for aid in taking your brother’s crown, and now you leave with the intention of courting his mercy.”
A sudden wave of exhaustion passed over James, and he rubbed a hand over his face, finding it abruptly impossible to untangle the truths he had told from the lies. “What choice do I have, Caly? My wife and her people are hiding in the jungles of storm-battered islands while Amarid pours over Ithicana like a swarm of roaches. The Ithicanians don’t have the strength to fight back, and our plan is in shambles because ofRonan’spivot.” The last came out as a near shout, because his uncle had been the one person he’d been certain about and now he had to rely upon the one person he was least certain about. “William is my only hope. Ahnna’s only hope. Ithicana’s only hope, so I will risk everything to get to him and pray to God, fate, and thefuckingstars he is the man I need him to be.”
Caly tilted her head, the tiny skulls of her headdress swaying, golden eyes unblinking. “It will not be the acts of men that sway the stars,” she whispered, and without another word she turned and walked away.
78
Keris
“I regret to inform youthat I must be the bringer of bad news.”
Keris crossed his arms where he stood in William’s study, Zarrah at his side. “Bad news beyond the fact you are keeping us locked up against our wills?”
“Espionage is a crime, my good man,” the king of Harendell said after looking to Alexandra as though for encouragement. “If the pair of you were anyone other than who you are, I’d have your heads for it. Instead, all you have to suffer is being treated as honored guests until this nasty business is over. Which, in truth, is why I’m here.”
Unease gathered in Keris’s stomach, and reluctantly, he looked to Zarrah. Her expression was fixed, but he knew she felt the same. “Spit it out, then.”
“We won’t be going to war with Ithicana,” William said, then he grimaced. “Because there is no one to go to warwith.”
