Page 38 of Upon the Riven Throne

“Oh truly? You expect me to believe that he has fallen in love with you, and you him?” She snorted. “Absurd. You come all the way from Norcliffe, show up on his steps like a lost pup, innocent and meek, and he’s supposed to fall for your ruse?” Her voice dipped dangerously. “He will never love you.”

Mireille’s palms broke into sweat and she did not know if the sensation was real or conjured by the queen. She only knew that both Alder and the queen had mentioned love, as if it were a term of their bargain.

Two bindings, a curse and a bargain. Two requirements to break them.

Maeve grinned at Mireille’s shifting expression. “I see he has not told you the full truth. And yet, you trusted him, fool that you are. You would not be the first to fall for it, I assure you. The prince does have a certain,” she rolled her hand again in that dismissive gesture, “charm, but I had thought you cleverer than that. Cleverer than the others.” She edged closer, and Mireille had to fight her every instinct in order to remain still. It was only a dream. Maeve wasn’t controlling her. She could not be harmed, not there.

Maeve whispered, “But I can offer you a way out.”

Mireille gritted her teeth. “I do not wish to escape. I have made my choice.”

“Princess, thereisno choice.” Maeve lifted her hands as she approached the curse clock. “Your wish is to save your kingdom, and I am the only one who can grant it.”

Mireille’s hands curled into fists. “You are the very danger it faces.”

Maeve shot her a self-satisfied grin. “Precisely. And so, if you would like to save your kingdom, you will do exactly as I say.” She stroked the hourglass, expression gone dark. “You will let Alder believe you are his accomplice until the last moment, but you will keep your distance, treat him as coldly as a viper, for that is what he is to you. You will tell not a soul of your plans. And when time is nearly up, when he believes he has won and outwitted us both, you will forsake him. When the moon is high, all of Rivenwilde gathered round, triumph will finally be mine.”

When it was too late for Alder to find someone new. But Mireille understood there was no one else. Only she was left as a threat to the queen.

And the prince’s time would be out. The price of breaking Mireille’s bargain with the prince was her cooperation. If she turned against him, chose her kingdom over defeating the queen, it would be to spend eternity in Rivenwilde. Not as Alder’s wife, but his prisoner. But the safety of Norcliffe would rely solely on the promises of a treacherous queen.

Maeve lifted a finely arched brow. “I see that you are concerned. If your fear is in regard to your bargain to marry the prince, do not fret. Once Rivenwilde is mine, I can set you free. You would not remain a prisoner of the prince for long. And I will never bother Norcliffe again. You would have my word.”

Mireille’s heart pounded in her ears. Surely, the queen meant that she would merely beherprisoner instead. And if she refused, well Maeve had proven what she wanted for Mireille. It was of no consequence how: a dagger, a fall, at the hands of her guard. Alder had wanted the queen near to win the protection provided by the laws of hospitality, and perhaps that was all that was preventing Maeve from ending Mireille right then.

With Alder’s plan, Mireille was walking a dangerous line, balanced on the edge of a blade. Now the blade itself offered a promise. She stood tall. “I will make my choice on the altar.”

“And what choice will that be? The false promises of a broken prince, doomed to lose all, or the vow of a clever queen who only grows in power?” Her magic swelled through the room. “It is not often I make such a generous offer to one such as you. I assure you, it will be the last.”

“I would be a fool not to take it.”

Maeve’s grin was full of teeth. “I see we understand each other.”

CHAPTER17

The next morning, Mireille was dead on her feet. Alder had not come for her in dreams. He had expected Mireille would rise from her bed under Maeve’s control. He would have been waiting nearby to save her, silently listening at the door, or watching her sleep from the shadows. They had bet on the queen breaking the rules of hospitality while a guest under his roof. Without Mireille having left the bed, he would have assumed the queen had not visited her at all.

But Maeve had broken no rules. Mireille had not been harmed. She had opened the door to the room that held the queen of her own free will. They had not trapped the queen. So, Mireille would make a choice—give in to Maeve’s demands, or trust that Alder would defeat her.

The prince’s plan still had merit. It had made the queen desperate enough to vow to give up Norcliffe. Mireille might never know the details of her bargain with the prince. It was the reason, after all, that they could not be spoken. If one could simply ask for help, cursebreaking would be far less complicated.

Would that Mireille’s own problems might be managed so easily, when the queen had twisted even Norcliffe’s most loyal against the kingdom itself. The only person who might have a chance to help was Alder.

A brief knock sounded at the door before Thomas let himself in. He looked as bad as Mireille felt, his blue coat wrinkled and his golden hair mussed. “Still alive, I see.” The playfulness she knew he intended fell a bit flat. Thomas was tired, and not just from lack of sleep.

“Have faith, Thomas.”

He raised a brow. “You look as if you’ve tussled a bear.”

She ran a hand over her hair, and it snagged on the cuff of her gown. “I am perfectly well. I have no other choice; there’s a long day of wedding planning ahead of us.”

Thomas stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Rei, talk to me. Let me help.”

She turned toward the mirror, making a show of sorting her hair.

To her back, Thomas said, “The queen herself is in this very palace, and you are acting as if it’s of little consequence. He betrayed you, before the month was even up.”

She dropped her arms. “Coming apart at the seams would do no good. Once the ceremony is over, I can quail about however I like.” One way or the other, it would be decided.

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