“Oh, James!”
The snarl that tore from James’s lips sounded barely human as he shouted back, “Fuck off, Carlo.”
The Beast gave a low laugh. “I think not, James. I have some crushing news that I’m desperate to share with you.”
Ahnna almost whimpered as James let go of her arm, the ache of being left on the brink of climax almost painful, but then Carlo said, “It is the beginning of the end for Ithicana.”
42
James
James’s fury at having beeninterrupted with Ahnna vanished like flames doused with water, replaced by dread.
Rising to his feet, he went to stand beneath the opening above and looked up. Carlo was nothing but an outline, backlit as he was, but he could smell the Beast’s cologne from here.
“There you are,” Carlo murmured. “In no way diminished, I see. Not even the Furnace is enough to break you.” Then his head tilted and he made a retching sound. “But God help me, you stink.”
“So sorry to offend,” James retorted, but his tone belied the panic churning in his stomach. “I’m afraid my cell wasn’t equipped with a bathtub. Or soap. It does, however, sit over a fiery pit of some version of hell.”
Carlo gave a soft snort. “Nothing so fantastical, I’m afraid. Just a large room with a big stove and a man who must be replaced every year because his lungs turn black from the labor.” He lay on his stomach, looking down at James. “This is beneath you, James. I told Mother that, but she says there is no other place we can be certain that you will be contained, which I cannot argue with. Still, it grieves me that you will meet your end rotting in your own filth. You deserve a glorious demise.”
“And yet here I am,” James said even as he silently screamed,Get to the point!
“Here we are.”
A cloud must have passed overhead, because the light of the sun fell away and James could make out Carlo’s face. His missing eye had been replaced with a polished red gemstone that glittered as he moved.
“Are you going to get on with it?” James finally asked. “Or do you just wish to discuss my accommodations?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me.” Carlo cleared his throat. “It has been such an uneventful span of time. Ithicana’s typhoons have prevented any sea travel south, so Mother’s plans to send Lady Taryn home to serve as our poisoned apple were much delayed. I have just returned from the deep south, where we were waiting for a break in the storms. I am pleased to inform you that Lady Taryn and Lady Bronwyn should be arriving in Ithicana shortly to begin making their appeals to Aren for an alliance with Amarid. Which will be timely, because Prince Keris’s messenger should be arriving at nearly the same time to deliver Alexandra’s threats. The titan of the north breathing hot fumes down Aren’s neck right as Mother’s poisoned apple promises deliverance. It is a beautiful thing.”
James’s chest hollowed.
“Mother has them convinced she’s terrified of the alliance between Cardiff and Amarid. Truly, she has such a gift for the theater. Though between you and me, I do think she fears the Crehan clan, Ronan most of all. Alexandra does as well, which is why she put an end to your uncle Cormac. Poisoned him right across the table from Keris himself!”
Cormac is dead?
“We’d always intended to kill him, of course. He knew the truth about William’s pedigree, and Mother has taught her protégée not to leave loose ends. But this was two birds with one stone, for now Keris believes that Amarid has grown so desperate to stymie the northern alliance that we have reduced ourselves to sloppy attempts to frame Harendell for assassinations. Alexandra has ensured that no onestands in the way of Keris’s messages back to Ithicana.” Carlo snickered. “I do not normally care for these sorts of manipulations, for they are a woman’s weapon, but it is delightful to watch nations north and south dance about on Mother’s web.”
“Mother’s? Or Alexandra’s?” James asked between his teeth. “She’s the bigger spider.”
Carlo made a soft humming sound. “That is why we keep you, James. The biggest threat of all to William’s reign is you. And you are ours.”
“Unless I rot to death.”
Carlo was silent for several long moments, the only sound the endless wailing of the Furnace inmates, then he said, “Cormac is just the first to die, James. Ronan will meet an accident soon enough, and then we will pick away at the House of Crehan until Lestara is the heir apparent. Or, more accurately, the child in her belly. The baby will be king of Harendell. King of Ithicana. King of Cardiff. Yet Alexandra will rule him, and Mother rules Alexandra. It is stunning, isn’t it? A proper masterpiece of plotting, because the largest roles of manipulation go to those Aren trusts the most.”
Logically, James had known that it would come to this, but hearing the plans to murder his family from the heartless lips of the Beast made them so much more real. So much morecertain.And trapped as he was, there was nothing James could do about it.
“Enjoy the balance of your day, dear nemesis.” Carlo got to his feet. “Not even the misery on your face is enough to keep me in this stink.”
The Beast disappeared from sight.
As he departed, so did the cloud cover, and sunlight streamed through the small opening, stinging James’s eyes. He endured it for a heartbeat, and then returned to the opening between his cell and Ahnna’s, leaning his back against the wall.
“I’m sorry, James.” Ahnna’s voice filled his ears, and he reached up to take her hand through the opening. It felt like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
“I hate this,” he replied, running his thumb over her knuckles. “I hate not being able to do anything.”
