Taillefer had a point, but he also had royal lineage his mother did not. “She may murder you in secret, but her claim to the throne would be more powerful if she tried and executed you for treason.”
“You’re right; it would be more dramatic. She’d prefer that to efficiency, I suppose. A trial and public hanging. Yes—makes for a good, sorrowful song. But she doesn’t need a legitimate claim; she has already moved the pawns into position for her power play.”
“Taillefer, again with the riddles, can we not—”
“She is to wed Domingu—it has already been arranged.”
Amarande’s eyes narrowed. “But he’s already married to Nania—”
“Very recently drowned, Queen Nania. So young, so unfortunate, sounexpected.”
Stars.The Basilican king was nearly eighty now, but a man who had stabbed his own brother in the back for a crown would have no compunctions in murdering a mere wife. Especially his fifth. And especially if it meant the chance to create a joint kingdom and produce an heir to go with it—Renard’s fears were coming true.
Taillefer continued. “Within days, my mother will marry Domingu. They do not need Ardenia’s approval to make it so—they already have the agreement of King Akil of Myrcell. Three heads of state in agreement do not need a fourth for a majority.” He paused for the barest of seconds. “That leaves Ardenia, with its new and inexperienced ruler both isolated and ripe for conquest by a new, powerful joint kingdom. It is not such a leap to believe that if Ardenia falls, so, too, will the entire continent.”
Amarande’s mind turned over the possibilities of what Domingu could achieve with the whole of the Sand and Sky under his thumb. Is this what her father had feared? And what of Ferdinand—andGeneva? Would they fight? Would they bow? Domingu was Geneva’s grandfather after all—was survival worth the evils of the imperial patriarchy?
Taillefer watched Amarande process this. “Do you see it, Princess?”
She did. Though she believed Taillefer was incorrect in claiming that they were each other’s only hope. Each of them was an obstacle in this plan cooked up by Domingu and Inés, and together they combined to be a bigger target.
Yet Taillefer was here, offering a way out. To Luca. Amarande chewed her lip. If she were to go with Taillefer, they might not make it to dawn without blood. Even if his aims of allyship were true, his torture of Luca was not something she could ever dismiss. “Why should I trust you?”
“Why shouldItrustyou?” Taillefer dropped his hands. “Believe me, Princess, it’s a surprise to myself as well that I am even here. You tried to stab me in the chest the last time we had the pleasure of being in the same room.”
Again, it sounded to her ears as if he was telling the truth.
“Why not run on your own? Why do you need me?”
“Because I don’t want to run. I want to fight. And I suspect you do, too.” His eyes flicked across her double-bladed stance. “Which is exactly why Geneva and Koldo took every precaution and hid you away, while handing the crown to your brother.”
It was clear he understood the nuances of it, whether from the spiders or birds. Just like he knew she would need him to escape.
He continued, his voice calm and devoid of any hint of the mocking tone that he so often used. “I watched the ceremony, you know. Watched as that lead councilor of yours announced to the people of Ardenia that you weredeadby my mother’s hand. It was quite the somber moment—a massive blow to your people—before the sudden,extremely convenientintroduction of an heir no one knew existed. Oh, the joy on those surprised faces, Princess. It was something. Quite fortunate for his stunning resemblance to Sendoa—makes for fewer questions and more blind, relieved acceptance.”
Taillefer gestured at their surroundings.
“This is a death sentence, Amarande.” For the first time in her memory of him, Taillefer appeared to be absolutely serious. “You stillbreathe, yes, but do you live? Is living being hidden in a tower? Being chained away? Being deemed a threat in your own home? It is a betrayal as much as it is the end of your life.”
He took a step closer. “And you know this won’t last. They may keep you a few days, a week, maybe even a month, as collateral. But once your usefulness dries up, you will disappear—for good.”
It was the truth. She’d known it since the moment she’d awakened in this bare cell—in her own home—imprisoned by people she had known her entire life at the behest of the only family she had left.
Amarande sucked in a deep breath. She would accept Taillefer’s help. At the moment, he was her only chance of escape. She had yet to press him on his plan—how he intended to fight for his birthright, and how he thought she could help him—but it didn’t matter. With him or without him, she would push into the Torrent to reunite with Luca. Then she would reevaluate.
Luca first, everything else later.
In one smooth motion, Amarande brought Taillefer’s sword down upon the manacle of her opposite arm. Once, twice, three times. The metal cracked in a hairline pattern. She shrugged out of the shackles and repeated the attack on the other side.
Free of the manacles, she faced Taillefer.
“The weapons stay with me. I lead—here and outside of this castle. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER18
THEvery first steps Amarande and Taillefer took were in opposite directions. She moved toward the window through which he’d come. He pivoted to the locked door of her cell.
“Princess,” Taillefer called over his shoulder, “while I can assure you that the top of this tower has a delightful view, we would break our necks on the way down. Let’s make this more simple and less painful.”
