With her current proximity to Sableton, she couldn’t afford to linger. The soldiers who’d spotted her in the city had put on hot pursuit with dogs, and it had taken all her skill to evade capture as she headed toward the mountains.
Ahnna plucked and gutted the bird, then gave a sharp whistle that had Dippy trailing after her toward the clearing where her supplies were hidden. He made soft little whickering noises, and not for the first time, Ahnna felt a sharp pang in her chest knowing that there would be a moment she’d have to leave him. Never mind that it would be impossible to transport him to Ithicana—her homeland was no place for a horse like him. He needed space to run, the freedom of wild open fields and crisp air to breathe. Not the dense jungle and tiny islands of Ithicana. To take him there would be cruelty.
But God help her, she’d cry bitter tears when it came time to leave Dippy behind. Bitter tears that she’d already wept for leaving Taryn and Bronwyn to the Harendellians, despite knowing that it had been the right course of action. To have gone to them would have rendered them complicit, as would have sending them any form of message. Both women had the skills needed to take care of themselves, yet it had still felt like a betrayal not sending them a warning.
Taking care to use dry wood to prevent smoke, Ahnna made a fire and cooked her dinner. Despite her hunger, she barely tasted the meat as she ate, her mind twisting with anxiety over how Alexandra’s schemes might already be impacting Ithicana.
For all she’d been warned about Harendell’s queen, Ahnna had sorely underestimated the woman. Not just in the skill with which Alexandra had framed Ahnna for Eddie’s murder, every piece planned with foresight that would have put even the Magpie to shame, but also in the lengths to which the queen had been willing to go to ensure that no one would ever suspect her.
The pheasant in her mouth turned dry as Ahnna rememberedhow Alexandra had shoved the knife through her own palm. Sliced open her own face. Stabbed herself in the abdomen. Courtesy of Nana’s teachings, Ahnna knew that the queen had selected injuries that would be horrifying without being lethal, butno onewas going to believe that Alexandra had inflicted them on herself.
This was a noblewoman who’d never used a weapon. Who’d never suffered physical harm. While poison would have made everyone immediately suspicious, this sort of violence was so far out of Alexandra’s character that Ahnna could not fault James for believing the scene his stepmother had painted for him.
A plot years in the making, and though Alexandra’s strategy had clearly shifted over time, the goal had not changed: She wanted the bridge.
Casting the remains of her dinner into the fire to burn to ash, Ahnna glanced at Dippy to ensure the horse was relaxed, for his ears were the first warning she’d get of a threat. He was focused on grazing, so she turned to stare broodily at the flames and lost herself in the scope of the threat facing Ithicana.
It had been in Sableton that the full scope of Alexandra’s ambitions had become clear. The moment Ahnna had seen the sign for Cartwright Foundries, she’d known that the weapons maker was the mysteriousC.F.she’d seen in William’s banking records. Alexandra had been paying the company through William using the proceeds from Maridrinian rubies. Cartwright’s transport of sharpened weapons through the bridge was what had armed Silas’s disguised soldiers during the invasion. A small yet oh-so-critical piece, because it had been those soldiers who had taken Midwatch. Silas had paid Queen Katarina of Amarid for the use of her navy via rubies hidden in bottles of cheap Maridrinian wine. Whether he’d separately transacted with Alexandra or whether Katarina had facilitated the payment mattered little, for it was abundantly clear that all three rulers had conspired together to take control of the bridge. When Silas had fallen to Lara’s blade, Katarina and Alexandra hadn’t given up their ambitions.They’d merely switched tactics, and Ahnna had been the unwitting pawn in their plans.
And she was not the only one they’d used.
Aren had played into Katarina’s hand by entertaining Amarid’s overtures, which, in combination with the false information Katarina then fed to Harendell’s spies, caused Edward to believe that Aren conspired against him. Trade agreement with Cardiff aside, Ahnna was quite confident that Edward’s belief that Aren was in league with Amarid had driven Edward to wholly turn on Ahnna and Ithicana.
All of which was but the tip of the iceberg of the machinations.
Sighing, Ahnna withdrew her mother’s necklace from the neckline of her coat, tracing over the map of gemstones. In her role as commander of Southwatch, one of her most time-consuming tasks had been to go through the endless spy reports that came in from the southern nations, most especially Maridrina and Valcotta. She’d never understood how people were so easily manipulated in what seemed obvious schemes. She’d thought the individuals in the reports to be stupid, ruled by greed and emotion. Having stood in a nest of scheming spiders, Ahnna now knew otherwise.
It was hard to see clearly when in the thick of things. It was easy to be fooled when emotions were high, when instincts were wrong. It was hard to be the cleverest when those around you deceived as easily as they breathed.
“Or maybe you’re as much an idiot as those you once judged,” she muttered, then shoved the necklace back under her shirt. Rising, she kicked dirt over her fire before dusk fell. She’d given Dippy as long a rest as she dared, and it was time to move on. Edward had been a much-loved king, and the hunt for his killer had intensified as word of the gory details of his murder had spread.
A hunt spearheaded by James.
As always, the thought of him caused a swell of complex emotions. Anger. Grief. Betrayal.
But also fear.
James had loved his father dearly, and he believed that Ahnna had brutally slaughtered Edward as vengeance for his choice to marry William to Lestara. His choice to put Cardiff before Ithicana. His choice to deny Ahnna the queen of Harendell’s crown.
If any of you come near me again, I’ll kill you all. I swear it.
She winced at the memory of her words. At how she’d set herself up perfectly for being framed. If James caught her, he’d kill her himself. Ahnna knew that, because if she was in his position, she’d do the same. They were not like Keris in seeking out the most perfectly terrible punishment—a knife across the throat and watching the light vanish from the murderer’s eyes would be sufficient.
If James caught her, there would be no explanation Ahnna could give that would convince him of her innocence. All the evidence pointed toward guilt. All she could do was continue to evade pursuit until she had escaped into Amarid, where James, at least, would dare not follow.
For while Katarina and Alexandra might be secret allies, Carlo and James were bitter enemies. It felt strange to seek protection from the Beast of Amarid, but beggars could not be choosers. And Ahnna needed to get back to Ithicana.
The sky grew darker, and Ahnna began packing up her supplies to continue her journey west. She was stroking Dippy’s nose and whispering words of apology when her horse abruptly lifted his head, nostrils flaring.
Ahnna went still even as she scanned the shadows for signs of movement.
Her heart hammered in her chest, fear firing through her blood as she reached for her bow. There were bears in these rolling hills. Mountain cats as well.
But a muffled curse warned her that this predator was of the human variety.
Slinging her bow over her shoulder, Ahnna jumped to catch holdof a branch of the nearest oak, and then she silently climbed until she was hidden in the shadows.
Forcing her breathing to slow, she watched the approaching lantern.
