Page 38 of Stars May Fall

I refused to believe that ignorance was a valid excuse for doing nothing.

I attempted another spoonful of soup, but my stomach roiled in response. The need to shoot something with a crossbow bolt grew. Far down the table, Kasten slunk away, his bowl already empty and a bread roll in one hand. Nobody else seemed to notice. I envied him.

Stirling approached my chair and laid a hand on my shoulder. “Mother asked for us. She’s not feeling well today. She asked if we could come after we’ve eaten as she’s feeling lonely. As if her whole retinue of ladies-in-waiting hasn’t been with her all day. We can go together. Moral support and all that.”

I nodded. “I’m not very hungry anyway.” I patted Venerick’s hand. “Excuse me.”

He stood as I did. “Of course, my dear.” He inclined his head as I left the table then went back to talking to Duke James.

Stirling followed me and sighed. “I meant after dessert, Annabelle, not right this second. But if you’re going now, I’d better go too or I’ll get called lazy.” He grabbed a plate of stuffed olives from a servant’s tray and popped one in his mouth.

I grinned at him. “You are lazy.”

He straightened up at once. “I’ve been working hard all morning in that room preparing for awar, Annabelle. And having to deal with that man...” He waved toward Kasten’s chair before realizing he had already left. Stirling sighed. “Anyway, how could you possibly call me lazy? What have you been doing all morning? Batting your eyelashes at Venerick?”

I snorted. “You’re too easy to tease, Stirling. I’ll only do it more once you’re king, you realize. Didn’t Father always say a king’s most important trait is his humility?”

Stirling scoffed. “I think he’s wrong. I think it’s putting up with annoying people. You’ve already ensured I’m well practiced in that skill.” His expression fell. “Keep away from General Kasten, Annabelle. He’s not a good man. He’s caused our father a headache all morning. He’s always been bad, but I’ve never seen him like this before. He argued againsteverything. The man is too paranoid to be leading our armies.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. If only he knew how reasonable Kasten’s paranoia was. “I’m quite capable of defeating anyone inthat room at conversation, I assure you. And anyway, Venerick was there at my side. Kasten’s always been civil to me.” Mostly.

My mind went back to the words I’d overheard. Lord Lyrason had said he had saved Stirling. I turned back to my brother. “Apart from that time you had pneumonia when you were a child, have you ever been badly ill? Or had any nasty accidents?”

He gave me a strange look. “I’ll never understand how your mind works. I’d like to think you’d remember if I had. It took me ages to recover from my pneumonia, remember? You always teased me when I wasn’t allowed to join in the games you were playing, even though I was older. It drove me mad.” He frowned. “Why ask such a question?”

I shrugged, thinking fast. “It’s just, well, Mother has always been quick to get illnesses and is on the frail side. You were sick as a child.”

Stirling stopped and took my arm, his expression softening. “I’m fine, Annabelle. I’m never ill now. And Mother will be fine too.”

I tried to respond with a smile. Lyrason had claimed to save his life, but how? If Stirling knew this, he was doing a very good job of hiding it. Apart from that single illness when he was a child, Stirling had always been well and wasn’t the sort of person to attempt any risky activities. I couldn’t think about when it might have happened. I was missing so much information.

When we arrived outside of our mother's rooms, Stirling knocked twice and opened the door, waving me through first. I hadn’t visited Mother in the last four days, and I braced myself for a scolding. But she was all smiles.

She held out her hands to me without standing from her couch. “How is my darling daughter? Your father told me you are negotiating with the envoy from Nibawae tomorrow. I’m so proud of you. You must have been busy with preparations. Tell me all about it.”

I smiled in response, but in truth I had been so worried about what Lyrason and Father were up to, I had barely written a few ideas down for the trade route negotiations. And Father had asked that I be seen by his war council every day getting on well with Venerick so our relationship would appear positive and stable.

Mother started coughing, and I immediately went to her side. “How are you feeling?”

She patted her chest. “The physician said I’m getting fluid on my lungs. As you know, my heart isn’t beating as strongly as it could. But I’m starting some new medicine that could help.”

I gripped her hand, feeling guilty that I hadn’t seen her the last few days, even though her heart condition had been a concern for months. “Did you know, I heard that Lady Sophie Batton is very knowledgeable with medications. Maybe we could…”

Mother forced a laugh. “You couldn’t be serious, my dear. The general’s wife? I don’t want him or anyone from his household anywhere near me. He would have me poisoned if he could. If I’d had my way, he would have been banished along with his mother when I arrived here from Cerith. Your poor father lives every day regretting his own kind heart that acknowledged him as his son and let the child stay. That boy has had an unnatural amount of luck in his life.”

I frowned, distracted. “Where was she banished to? Nobody ever talks about her.”

Mother’s face became hard. “Kollenstar? I think? And you're correct, she is not the subject of polite conversation, Annabelle.”

I closed my mouth and decided not to bring it up again. I was never going to change her mind. How did Kasten survive visiting this place? No wonder he spent so much of his time in Kasomere.

“Now, tell me about you and Venerick. I hear the two of you have been spending lots of time together. Have you fallen inlove? He has a kind smile. I’ve heard he can be on the boring side, but surely that’s because he’s very clever to do his job.”

I maintained my smile, eager to shut down this direction of conversation. “We’re very happy.”

Mother moved on to Stirling. I had learned at a young age that she only heard what she wanted to hear and it was only ever necessary to answer a small percentage of her questions.

Stirling sat down on her other side as Mother patted his knee. “How is the war council going? Those meetings must be hard for you. Especially with that general there. I don’t know why your father puts up with him, let alone puts him in charge of our armies. He could stab us in the back.”

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