Page 18 of A Court of Truth and Thorns (Royal Scout #2)

KALI

N ausea grips my throat, forging slowly into hatred. Owain knew—he knew what happened to Rune five years ago. What it did to him. And Owain had him whipped anyway. To make a point. To us, to Rune, to himself.

My mind jumps back to finding Rune hidden when we arrived. He wasn’t trying to deceive us or eavesdrop, but to grasp a moment of privacy to collect himself. To button a heavy coat over a ruthlessly timed beating.

The only decent piece of wall to lean against , he said. He never said he was leaning against it with his back.

Owain pours himself a goblet of chilled wine. “Do not keep our guests in suspense, boy. Tell them what you were punished for.”

My fingers curl into fists, my body going still as a poised viper. The magic stirs inside me, growling its rage and hate. It presses against me from the inside, pulsating with latent power.

Rune’s eyes widen and focus on me, the first sign he gives of being aware of my presence.

He holds my gaze now, his face a desperate warning to calm myself.

“I received six lashes for failing to protect Princess Raza,” he says evenly, the words uttered for his father, the tone kept gentle for me.

It’s all right , his tone lies. I don’t mind very much.

Don’t do something stupid. Not over this.

“Another dozen for impersonating the crown prince of Everett.”

My jaw clenches, but I yank my magic back hard. Calvin’s question comes back to me. Why aren’t we at the royal palace?

Because with enough distance from the throne, this meeting can be made to never have happened.

King Owain straightens his tunic. “Prince Rune of Everett is dead,” he says with a final, dismissive shrug.

“But to your point, Lady Kalianna, I suspect your assessment of Bishop Bahir is accurate enough, though outdated.” He smiles without humor.

“Not that it greatly matters, but he did not take the throne directly following the coup. He actually placed Princess Violet atop it. If my scouts’ reports are accurate, that is.

” Wil draws a hard breath. Owain smiles.

“A minor detail, really. No one imagines Princess Violet to be anything but a puppet. Would Your Highness agree?”

Wil clenches his hands in his lap but nods.

“Well then, young prince,” King Owain passes a goblet of wine to Wil and crosses his legs, “shall we discuss the final card you hold? Do not tell me the matter has failed to occur to you.”

Wil scratches the back of his head. “Your pardon, sir, but there are so many things that have failed to occur to me in the past months that narrowing them down to find the one you wish to discuss is more challenging than it appears.”

“Quite understandable.” Owain leans forward, a predator moving in for the kill.

“Given the trying times for our nations, Your Highness will surely forgive the direct words for the sake of clarity. Princess Raza was permitted to travel to Dansil for one reason only: to introduce King Firehorn to his future daughter-in-law.”

For an instant, I’m certain I’ve misheard Owain, or at the very least misunderstood. But Wil’s eyes are wide, and even Rune stiffens, which is a feat for someone already still as stone.

“I was unaware of this arrangement or negotiation,” Wil says finally, wisely avoiding offering an explanation for his ignorance. Whether he knew nothing because Firehorn kept it secret or because Owain just made it up now is of little consequence.

“I’m quite aware that the bride’s recent injury decreases her attractiveness, but Dansil’s situation has changed as well.

” Owain smiles coolly. “Everett is not in the business of taking allies on charity, especially not the nation that murdered so many of my kingdom’s sons.

If you wish to secure Everett’s assistance in reclaiming the throne, you shall bring something to the table more valuable than a sad handful of loyal servants. ”

“You want me to marry Princess Raza,” Wil repeats dumbly.

No, everything inside me screams.

“Yes,” says Owain. “Marry and crown as an equal, not just a consort. A dowry of Everett soldiers is a mighty offering. And we’ll have the girl wear a veil as a matter of course. It might even become a new fashion amongst the women.” He slaps his knees and rises. “Think on it.”

The queen, silent all this time, comes to her feet as well. As Owain opens the door to exit, she leans down to kiss Rune’s cheek. “I am pleased to see you well,” she says gently. “For however long you might stay.” Her gaze floats toward the door.

King Owain sighs, nods, and holds up five fingers before leaving without his wife. Five minutes .

Maria lays her slender fingers against Rune’s face. “Do not think he made this decision lightly, Rune. Your father may sound like things matter little to him, but he has weighed all the options over the past weeks. He believes it for the best that you remain... in hiding.”

A pleasanter way to say “dead.” Owain is a venom-filled monster , I want to growl. I hold my tongue, though. Rune would little thank me for interfering now.

He looks up, meeting his mother’s brilliant green eyes. “Raza has changed.”

She sighs. “You must understand that you were the one raised for the throne since swaddle clothes, not her. To rise from a sibling’s shadow to being heir to the throne has been a hard journey for her.”

“She isn’t a child, Mother.”

“She’s been the heir for less than five years. You must give her leeway.”

Rune’s face darkens, his eyes flashing with anger for the first time. “Leeway to do what, exactly? What she did in Camp—”

“I will hear no more.” Maria draws herself to her full height.

“Do not try to goad me into politics or playing favorites with my own children. I love you both, just the way you are.” She gives him an indulgent smile.

“Plus, when she is married, she will change once more. They always do.” This last part, she directs at Wil and then, with a wink, she disappears out the door.

I stare after her.

Wil puts his undrunk goblet of wine on a side table and rises, running his hands through his hair. His bewildered eyes skip around the room. “I think I need a walk.”

“Of course,” I say, starting to rise.

Wil shakes his head. “Alone. I need to think. Please. Leave me be.” Turning on his heels, Wil strides from the room, leaving me, Rune, and silence.

The click of the door behind him shoots inexplicable panic through me. I press my back against the couch, my mouth suddenly dry, my palms sweaty.

“Are you all right?” Rune asks.

Of course I’m not all right. Nothing about this is all right. From the thrice-damned alliance that King Owain just proposed to the blood soaking Rune’s shirt and the unjust fact that I feel more for the man standing before me than I was ever meant to.

I don’t know what to say. Where to look. How to escape. “Are you?”

Rune shakes out his coat and sticks his arms into the sleeves, only the slowness of his movements belying any discomfort. “My father puts Everett first. As he should. He is a good ruler. That is more important than being a good father.”

My head snaps to him, the last of the tethers holding my emotions at bay cracking like a dry twig.

“He whipped you for being alive, Rune.” Just saying the words sends molten iron through me.

I want to burn Owain for hurting Rune—and throttle Rune for being hurt in the first place.

It makes no sense, but nothing about Rune does.

He raises his chin. “He punished me for trying to strong-arm the public image of the throne. Tell me you don’t understand. Look me in the eye and tell me your master would have done any different.”

I rise, stepping toward him. A harsh, humorless laugh escapes my throat.

“You want to know whether I understand? I do. Owain used you to send a message about his power. The same way he’s used you for the past five years.

As a message. A banner. An idea. You can feign blindness and justify his intent all you want, but I’m done with lies.

Including lying to myself.” I turn to the door.

“Go to hell, and take your father with you.”

“Wait.”

I keep walking.

“Kali.” His voice softens. “Please.”

I hesitate. Leave. Leave now, a voice inside my head warns.

I turn.

“I’ve not lied to you,” says Rune. “I just want that set straight before you leave.”

My nostrils flare, my hands curling slowly into fists.

“No, you’re right. You kissed me, let me think you cared, let me.

.. let me fall in love with you.” I don’t expect myself to say the words until they’re out of my mouth, and I’m too angry to take them back.

My pulse races, my breaths coming quick and shallow as if I’m readying for battle.

The rest tumbles out so quickly that the sentences trip.

“And then you told me you were leaving, and did—without ever looking back. The man who woke the morning after our last kiss had no interest in me, or room for me in his life. So no, you never lied, Rune. You were upfront and honest when you decided to trample on me.”

Rune steps toward me, his eyes wide, his head shaking. “No. That’s not—”

I step back. “Enough.” My eyes sting with tears, which only makes me angrier.

“You don’t get to rewrite the past any more than you get to spin your father’s horridness into wisdom.

” My chest heaves with hollow breaths, heart racing to outrun my own words.

“What was I to you, Your Highness ? A conquest? A distraction?”

“No.” He lunges forward before I can move again and grabs both my shoulders.

The strength of the warrior he is sings in every fiber.

His face lowers to be level with mine. “You think I kept my distance because I lost interest ? Stars. That would be like losing interest in air.” He gives me a small shake.

“ Kissing you was the most self-indulgent, selfish thing I could have done. You deserve better than an irrelevant symbol who couldn’t even stop Luca’s words when they cut you.

I overstepped when I kissed you last time, and I’ve struggled to undo the damage every moment since.

” He releases me as if dropping a scalding kettle, and we stare at each other across a foot of sizzling air.