Page 52

Stumbling over her skirts into her room, Ahnna slammed the door in his face.

James stood staring at the wood of the door, stomach twisted with nausea, feeling like the whole world had spun out of his control.

“Sir? Is the lady in her rooms?”

He turned to see the guards he’d dispatched to the ramparts approaching at a trot. “She is,” he answered, seeing them taking in his rapidly swelling eye. “Keep guard, but don’t disturb her.”

“Yes, sir.”

James started walking down the corridor, his stride increasing along with his anger, because he and his father would have words. Not just words about his choice to marry William to goddamned Lestara but also how he’d humiliated Ahnna in front of everyone.

But before he reached the ballroom, a servant intercepted him. “King Edward is in the study, my lord,” the man said. “He wishes to see you.”

Through the open doors, James could see William dancing with Lestara, seemingly entranced by her. A thousand little pieces fell into place, and he felt blind not to have seen it, and he silently cursed Keris Veliant for delivering to Harendell the final piece needed to secure an alliance with Cardiff: a bride.

Switching course, James stormed through the Sky Palace, slamming the doors to the study open so hard they rebounded off the wall. “What the fuck are you thinking?”

“Have a drink, Jamie,” his father said, shoving a glass into his hand. “And calm yourself down. I’ve already had to listen to Alexandra scream in my face for marrying her son off behind her back, and I’m in no mood for more of the same. Especially since today has given you everything you wanted.”

“What part of this did I want, Father?” James snarled. “The part where you use what was supposed to be an alliance of peace to pursue a war? The part where you marry William to my murderous cousin? The part where you humiliated the finest woman I’ve ever met, and very likely shattered the relationship with Ithicana beyond repair? Do tell, which part of that did I ever askfor?”

His father sighed, then reached out to raise the glass in James’s hand to his mouth. “Have a drink and I’ll explain.”

James only glared at him. “Give me a good reason why you want Lestara, who once sacrificed all of Vencia in pursuit of Maridrina’s throne, to be Harendell’s queen, and I’ll drink your stupid drink.”

“I can’t,” his father said. “Because I don’t. Lestara will never be queen, James. Nor will your brother ever be Harendell’s king.”

Shock radiated through to his core, and despite himself, James took a long mouthful of the bright-purple drink.

“Because once the dust is settled and the people have come to terms with the alliance with Cardiff, I will name you, my firstborn son, as my lawful heir.”

The blood drained from James’s face. “You can’t,” he said. “I was born out of wedlock. Unless you plan to change that law as well.”

“Oh, I married your mother, my boy,” his father said, motioning for him to sit. “I was married to her when I was dragged into the cathedral to appease an old agreement with Alexandra’s family, but those vows were lies, everything that came out of it for the sake of politics. It’s William and Ginny who are bastards, not you. I’ll get your sister married off to Georgie before I reveal that, though, so don’t fret about her.”

James’s tongue was frozen, speech having abandoned him.

“Keris sending us Lestara was only a happy coincidence, as she made short work of seducing your brother, which kept him away from Ahnna. Because the princess of Ithicana?” His father leveled a finger at him. “She’s for you. Ahnna will be your queen, Jamie. You two will create an alliance among Harendell, Cardiff, and Ithicana that will eclipse the southern alliance, and the peace that you have long desired will be yours.”

James stared into the drink in his hand, then downed it, the liquor burning his throat.

“It’s meant to be,” his father said. “Even if I hadn’t heard of your moment in the maze at Fernleigh, I knew as soon as I set eyes on the both of you that you were taken with each other. She’s a remarkable woman, Jamie. Far too good for your brother. While you’ll have your hands full earning her forgiveness for this little bit of deception, once Ahnna understands the long game, she’ll come around.”

James highly doubted that. “You humiliated her.”

“I know.” Edward sighed. “She wasn’t supposed to be there. Her bodyguards were supposed to keep her in her room, and I expect we have Alexandra to thank for slipping her past them. I took no pleasure in shaming her, but in truth, Aren is the target of my ire. He treated Ahnna horribly.”

“Alexandra told me the information you received, Father. I don’t think it’s accurate. Ahnna holds no ill will toward Aren or Lara—”

“If that is the case, it is because she is a good and forgiving woman, not because they deserve it,” his father interrupted. “Aren Kertell is the worst king Ithicana has ever seen. An idiot of the first order, making decisions with his cock because all he can see is the pretty face and large breasts that Silas so cleverly sent to be his bride. Every decision he has made since Lara arrived has harmed his people. Thousands dead, Jamie. Thousands, because of the choices Aren made, whereas Ahnna has been a stalwart defender of Ithicana since she was a child. She led them through that invasion, kept Ithicana alive, and do not for a heartbeat think that the Ithicanian people don’t have a favored Kertell sibling, and it is not their king.”

James’s skin prickled. “What do you intend?”

His father’s smile was vicious. “To give Ithicana a ruler they deserve.”

“A coup?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You plan to overthrow Aren Kertell? Father, Ahnna will never support that.”

“She will if we do it right. We’ll offer the Ithicanian people an opportunity in Harendell under the patronage of their princess. Bring them here and show them just how good life can be under the right rule, and build Ahnna an army of supporters. Think of dear Taryn, living and thriving in our conservatory, full well knowing that the opportunity came to her via her cousin. Ahnna already has a lifetime’s worth of goodwill; we’ll merely take it to the next level, and then the Ithicanians will do the hard work for us and depose their king.”

“And through her, you’ll then control the bridge.”

“Have primary access to the bridge,” his father amended, giving him a pointed look. “I’ve no desire to annex Ithicana, nor interest in the war that would require. Not everything has to be achieved through force, Jamie. Sometimes one must just back the right horse.”

“She won’t agree to this plan.”

“You’ll convince her. We will create a triumvirate of power in the north that no one can stand against. Valcotta and Maridrina might gripe, but I believe Sarhina and Zarrah are the sort of rulers who will see that Ahnna as queen of Ithicana is best for the people. They can take Aren and his murderous wife under their wing as royals in exile, and everyone will be content.”

James highly doubted that. His lips parted to argue, but his father swiftly said, “Aren has negotiated an alliance with Katarina. He’s promised Ahnna to the Beast of Amarid. Our spies heard Carlo bragging about how he’d relish bedding an Ithicanian princess. Only a handful of individuals know this information, and I’d like to keep it that way to protect Ahnna and her people from anger that only her brother deserves.”

It was a struggle to breathe. “You can’t be serious?”

Rising to his feet, his father opened a locked box and withdrew reports, tossing them on the table. “Unless Aren has betrothed his infant daughter to a grown man, there is only one other princess of Ithicana alive that Carlo could be talking about.”

James’s eyes skipped over the reports, which all mentioned variations of the same. That Katarina’s agents had traveled to Northwatch to meet with Aren. That an alliance had been agreed upon. That the agreement included a princess bride.

“I can only assume that either his spies learned of our conversations with Cardiff, or Katarina informed him. Either way, his retaliatory actions are the last idiot move I’ll accept from that man because I will allow no more harm to come to Ahnna,” his father said. “We’ll shatter Amarid, remove Katarina’s head, and then remove Aren from power. After that, it will be profit and peace.”

James let out a slow breath, shaking his head at the audacity of this scheme even as he saw the logic of it. “What does William know?”

His father made a face. “Very little. Your sister even less. William is dancing around with his madwoman of a bride under the deluded belief that they’ll sit on the throne together. That he’ll be the one named in the history books for uniting Cardiff and Harendell.”

“Is Ronan aware his daughter will never be queen?”

“Yes. He no more wants Lestara and William on the throne than I do. He wants you to inherit, my boy. What he is unaware of is my intention for you to wed Ahnna, and in truth, that should come from you when the time is right. He holds you in such high esteem that when you approach him with your desire to take Ahnna as your wife, he’ll concede with smiles.”

“And Alexandra?”

His father’s smile was cold. “She will have to come to terms with the knowledge that she is not queen. And never will be.”

Except Alexandra wasn’t the sort of woman who would lie down without a fight.

Rising to his feet, his father retrieved a bottle from the sideboard and set it on the table. Then he moved to rest his hand on James’s back. “I know it is a great deal to take in, Jamie. I know that you are angry about my methods, about my deception, and about the embarrassment that Ahnna has endured. But I hope that you will come to see that everything I’ve done is for you. And to see you have the opportunity to wed for love makes all the heartache worthwhile.”

He squeezed James’s shoulder, then left the room.

Outside the window, brilliant lights burst bright over Verwyrd, the noise of the revels filling his ears.

James didn’t move for a long time, and when he finally did, it was to drink straight from the bottle. His father might believe that Ahnna would easily forgive, but James suffered no such delusion. Because after tonight, whatever love Ahnna might have had for him had been burned to ash.