“If you are, it would get the heir part out of the way. I thought you’d be happy about that. Once I have an heir, you’d have a few years before you were required to produce another.”
“Is this really why you insisted I have dinner alone with you tonight?” I don’t hide my skepticism.
There’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Caiden calls.
It opens and several servants enter, carrying platters of food. They’re silent as they set them out down the center of the table, then leave quickly.
Caiden silently serves both of us while I wait for him to explain what he wants. I know him well enough by this point to know there’s a reason for everything he does.
He cuts into a piece of meat and takes a bite, then watches me while he chews slowly. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
I pick up a roll and tear off a little piece then pop it into my mouth. “Is this about Iskvaland? Is there some scheme you need me to help with?”
“No. It’s about you. Well, that night in the temple to be more specific.”
I still, a piece of bread poised to go into my mouth. Catching myself, I set the bread down on my plate. “What about it?”
“Well, I don’t really want to wait any longer to find out what magic you were gifted. I also want to see your complete mark. I know it extends beyond what I can see on your wrist.”
“Why?”
“For one, I’m your husband. It would be odd if I didn’t know. And two, I’m hoping it’ll give me a clue as to what your magic might be.” He takes another bite, then continues talking while chewing. “You don’t have anything to report yet, do you? Anything unusual?”
“No.” I say it too quickly, I’m sure, and know I need to distract him. “You’d rather discuss this than the multiple attempts on my life? How does it look when the emperor isn’t doing anything to discover who is after his empress?”
“Nice try, little raven. Now Iknowyou’re hiding something. The question is, what?” He sets his fork down. “And I have a whole team investigating the would-be assassin. Some of my very best. Did you know Brevan volunteered to lead them? So noble, that one.”
“None of this is helping me to like you,” I point out.
He sets his fork down. “I know. But I’m confident you’ll see things my way in time. We’re the same, you and me. Both of us driven by a thirst for power and need for revenge.”
I ignore most of what he said because one part stood out. “What do you mean by revenge? Are you saying you want to get back at Ludis for killing your father? He’s here. In this estate. Go on, kill him back.”
He laughs, a full-bodied, truly amused sound.
It sets my teeth on edge. My hand cramps and I realize I’m gripping my fork so tight my fingers have gone white. I set it down and move my hands to my lap.
“I can’t be killing him. I need his army.”
“You don’t. You just want to take over Iskvaland. You don’t need him for that.” Why am I encouraging him to overthrow a kingdom?
He smirks. “I have no interest in that frozen, backward wasteland. But I can admit, their army is well trained and ruthless.”
“So it’s the Shatterlands, after all. That’s the whole plan. You and Ludis ruling the world.”
“Trust me, it’s bigger than that. If you knew what they were hiding there, you’d be on my side.”
I lean toward him. “Then tell me.”
He chuckles. “So you can run off to your rebel friends and ruin everything? No, I don’t think so.”
“I don’t have any rebel friends anymore. Your father’s legion killed them all. Including my family. And you’ve got the only person I have left locked away in a tower.”
He smirks. “Did Brevan tell you that?”
“He told me where his sister was. I figured you had them together.” I lean back against my chair.
