Page 142 of A Ballad of Beasts and Brothers

"I thought that was implied." Thrane says nonchalantly, stepping over a dead body. "What king doesn't have protection?"

"A little warning would have been nice," Ronan crosses his arms over his chest and huffs.

"Wait," I say. "What are you two talking about?" My eyes dart to Thrane. "Did you know Bastian was going to be here?"

Thrane points at me and says, "I did not know about that."

"Then why warn Ronan?"

Ronan and Thrane exchange a look and I know they've kept me in the dark about something.

"Someone better say something and fast," I growl.

Thrane plops down on the dais steps, not put off by the splatters of blood staining the floor. "For years I have had my suspicions that Armas was involved in your disappearance. There were only a handful of people who knew of your birth, and they were kin or those who had died in the Great War. It narrowed our list of suspects down significantly, but I was a child, and no one listens to children's thoughts on matters of great importance. So, I kept my thoughts to myself. Besides, who in their right mind would accuse not only their king but their grandfather of being responsible for a child's disappearance?

"When you arrived, I watched as Armas' demeanor changed. He was on edge, and his need for privacy was at an all-time high. I decided it was time to find out if my suspicions of him were warranted. I took it upon myself to speak with Prince Ronan a couple of days after you arrived and wrangled him into my schemes. Bottom line was, you had to be protected, and he was fully on board with doing whatever needed to be done to keep you safe."

I glance at Ronan, who is leaning against one of the chairs that wasn't overturned in the skirmish. His eyes are heavy, and his shoulders are slouched. It is well known Ronan can't keep secrets, but for my safety, he managed to remain silent. Perhaps, he is learning the way of kings faster than I thought he would.

"Last night," Thrane continues, stretching his legs in front of him, "when Armas announced you were going to be swearing fealty to him and offering your hand in matrimony, I knew something was amiss. Every time he spoke with me, he said he wanted you gone. That it wasn't good for Sylvane's mental and emotional health for you to be here, and we didn't really know anything about you or your intentions. In the best interest of Elowen, he wanted you to go back to Tronovia. Then, all of a sudden, he was happy to have you stay and live amongst us. It didn't make any sense.

"I did my due diligence in warning you tonight that you'd made an enemy of Armas. When the king demanded I meet with you both in his throne room immediately, I tried to find you, but ran into Ronan instead. I gave him instructions of where he should be and when, and despite his tardiness, he fulfilled his end."

"There were elite soldiers – "

Thrane waves Ronan's complaints away. "Yes, yes, we all know there were soldiers blocking your path."

"So, you not only lied to me," I hiss, "you used me as bait?"

"And you played your role perfectly."

I grit my teeth, angry beyond belief that Thrane and Ronan, knowing my history of being lied to, would knowingly keep me in the dark.

"I swore an oath to protect you years ago and failed," Thrane's voice softens. "I had an opportunity to make things right. Keeping you ignorant of my plans was necessary for it to work. I'm sorry I wasn't forthcoming, but if I had to do it all over again, I would make the same choices. Being an effective leader means keeping some things to yourself."

He makes a valid point. It's very apparent I'm a terrible liar, and if I had suspected the Frost King of being the one who had wronged me and my parents, I wouldn't have been able to hide my hatred for him. I still don't like being kept in the dark and part of me wants to throw up all the walls I've slowly torn down, but then I realize, in life and in war, sometimes in order to protect those we love, we have to keep things to ourselves. Doesn't mean I have to like it, but I can accept they did what they thought was best.

Feeling his intense stare on me, I slowly glance up at Atlas, who looks like he's about to combust if I don't say something.

"So, you being ambushed and dragged to the throne room was planned?"

He rubs the back of his neck and grimaces. "Actually, I didn't know there was a plan, and being caught off guard certainly wasn't part of it. When I left your room, I had every intention of finding my brothers so we could get you out of the city. Clearly, I was distracted, and the Frost King's elite took advantage of it." When my bottom lip trembles, he reaches to touch me, but stops short, as if giving me an opportunity to avoid him. When I don't move, he cups his hand to my cheek. "Are you alright?"

"They hurt you." I glance from his bloody wounds to my mother. "They hurt both of you, because of me."

"Hey," he swipes my tears with his thumb. "Don't do that. You cannot blame yourself for what happened to us tonight. You saved us– "

"But your magic – "

"Will come back," Sylvane interrupts me. "In twenty-four hours, we'll be back to normal."

When I don't respond, Atlas twists his face to meet my downward gaze. "What else is bothering you? Talk to me."

"It's just…" My lip quivers. I breathe in deeply, and say, "It's just now hitting me that everything you told me about Bas is true. He is a monster."

Atlas wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. "I'm sorry you had to see him that way."

"I'm not sorry," I say, while listening to his heart pound against his chest – the chest Vesper scarred on Bastian's orders. "I'm glad I saw him for what he truly is. I'm only sorry I didn't see it before."

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