Page 42 of The Uncrowned Prince

“Because,” Senaya said bluntly, “I had hoped that if I left, he would gain the position he desired and cease with his unending bitterness and jealousy. Cease destroying others so that he could climb over their bodies and take what they had that he wanted.

“But he did not. He was not chosen, and he has likely never accepted that truth. And if that is the case, I want nothing to do with him. Given the choice, I would never even look upon his face again. He is entirely selfish, so whatever course he has set is for himself and his own advancement. Your being here will not aid him in his ambitions, and he will not be happy to discover that you have drawn your grandmother’s attention to these shores.”

Karreya fought with rage and helplessness, and the rage won.

“Then what isyourexcuse?” she snapped. “You were the first to run from your responsibilities. The first to leave your family for the sake of your own desires. You criticize my father for his failures, butyouleft the burden of the family’s future on his shoulders. For twenty-five years, you have lived here in peace and comfort, and now you will not help me try to fix the disaster you have created.”

“Let me be clear,” Senaya said, leaning back in her chair, her voice gone stern and cold, her hands folding together in her lap. “I creatednoneof this. My mother is a monster in human form, and I chosenotto become what she asked of me. She would have used me, broken me, and eventually cast me aside when I failed to be the heir she wanted, and then she would still have turned to another.” Her shoulders slumped, and a shadow of some terrible grief crossed her face. “And if you believe I have known any measure of peace or comfort, you understand nothing. Your grandmother hunted and hounded and pursued me to the point of utter desperation. I lost everyone I love—even the family I hoped to build—because, in the end, I could not keep them safe from her.”

Her eyes sought Karreya’s and held them with fierce, golden intensity. “And that will be your future as well, if you ever accede to her plans.”

“Then what would you have me do?” Karreya demanded, as her temper slipped its leash fully for the first time since she was a child. “First, I should not be here because my father will be angry and my grandmother may come for me, but now you would have me rebel against her plans? That is what I am trying to do! But you and Father have left me no choice.”

To Karreya’s shock, tears began to gather in the older woman’s eyes. “We haven’t, have we?” she murmured. “I am sorry that you are caught in this web of our making. I am sorry that I cannot help you. But I have forsworn my magic and paid a heavy price to protect what little I could. If I leave behind this exile I have chosen, the sacrifices made by myself and those dear to me will be for nothing. And I will not risk that.”

Her tone was quiet but firm, and as Karreya searched her aunt’s face, she saw no hint of a willingness to yield. If she had indeed been trained in the same school as Karreya, she knew the stakes and she knew the price. If she had truly made up her mind, there would be no changing it.

It seemed this line of inquiry had reached a dead end, unless she could succeed with one final plea.

“At least answer one of my questions,” she said, fixing Senaya with a pointed gaze. “You owe me that much. If my father is here, what is his goal? What does he stand to gain?”

Senaya sighed deeply, her eyes on her folded hands. “There is every chance that I will come to regret this, but… It is true that you are in an impossible situation, so I will tell you this one thing. While I can only guess at my brother’s purposes, I know he has always been attracted to power. To people and positions that give him an advantage over others. Wherever he is and whatever he is doing, he will be gathering the reins of power and influence in any ways that are open to him. He will have come here hoping that this land might offer him opportunities that the Empire never could.”

It was better than nothing.

“And if you must continue to pursue this course, remember”—Senaya paused before glancing up—“if he has chosen to risk removing the medallion…”

“It will make no difference to me,” Karreya replied. Her aunt’s lips parted in surprise, and she appeared to be about to ask a question, but Karreya was finished here.

“I thank you,” she said, with a slight bow. “I will see myself out.”

CHAPTER11

Vaniell lingered in the marketplace for an hour or more, but Karreya did not return. He asked a few questions, purchased black wristbands for himself and Karreya, and yet there was still no sign of her. Wherever she had gotten to…

He hoped she had found what she was looking for. He also hoped she was safe, but it seemed absurd to imagine that anyone in this city could threaten her. She was so overwhelmingly competent, so quick to appear and disappear. So very capable with pointy weapons.

What would Danric say, he wondered, if he discovered that his little brother had developed an unrequited attraction to a woman with more knives than jewels and a penchant for stabbing people who annoyed her? The older prince had always accused him of flirting with any woman within his orbit—and it was true—but none of those flirtations had been real. None of the women at court had ever stirred his heart.

And Danric couldn’t crow too loudly, considering that he’d fallen in love with the mage queen of Farhall.

With a bit of a wry grin and his hands in his pockets, Vaniell left the market and strolled down the main thoroughfare. The capital city of Viali was long and narrow, sprawling for some distance along the coastline, and Trade Street ran from one end to the other. It was the widest and busiest road, and as such, all of the most important traffic coming and going from the palace could be seen there.

The smoothly cobbled way was lined with brightly painted shops and inns, most of them tall and narrow, with gently sloping roofs. In the middle of each block, a stone arch spanned the width of the road, nearly two stories high at the center. Brightly colored flags hung from the arches during holidays and feast days, but today, the flags and banners were black.

As he meandered along, greeting those that he knew and observing the mood of the city, Vaniell became aware of a commotion approaching from behind him—wheels and hooves on the cobbles, the shouts of outriders clearing the way, and the offended cries of pedestrians who were crowded out of the street.

He turned to watch, tucking himself behind the end of one of the stone arches and tugging his black wristband carefully into place. The very picture of a casual onlooker, or so he hoped.

The procession approaching from the east was a significant one. Three riders led the way, followed by a coach and four, with a group of heavily armed guardsmen bringing up the rear. Either it was a very wealthy nobleman, or an envoy from one of the other Thrones…

The carriage had almost reached his position when Vaniell was finally able to catch a glimpse of the crest on the door.

The Garimoran royal seal.

Ducking further behind the arch, heart pounding, Vaniell reminded himself that the visitor would not behim. The man wearing Melger’s face would not come this far for anything short of accepting the Irian crown for himself. And it was too soon for the news of Trevelian’s death to have arrived in Garimore, let alone for them to have sent a delegation in response.

It was too long of a journey, particularly for a carriage that could not cross the Gulf of Iria by ferry. To traverse the land route from Hanselm to Viali, one must travel nearly all the way to the eastern coast of Abreia along the gulf before reaching the northern border of the Irian peninsula and traveling back to the west along its length.

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