Page 20 of Crown of Hearts
“Because I’m pretty sure half the council wants me dead. Rhen found out that the servant girl who attacked me wasn’t working alone. And it turns out the Duke of Darwick, and his son, know about my past and intend to use it as blackmail to force me into marrying Edgar.”
“Sounds like you’ve had an eventful couple of weeks.”
I clenched my teeth to prevent myself from spitting out something vulgar and sarcastic. I still needed his help, after all.
“Rhen says I need to marry in order to secure my throne and have an heir, of course,” I added, with a lack of enthusiasm.
“Rhen isn’t wrong.” Lance’s voice came from behind me, but I refused to look at him as he came to a standstill next to me, gazing out the window. He didn’t bring up the fact that he once had me believe he was going to have Rhen executed. That he had me believe, in his cruelty, he was going to murder my friend, when he only imprisoned Rhen to keep him from feeding information to the rebellion. I would never begin to understand my brother, but he seemed to know better than to bring up the subject, though Rhen would most likely have a fit if he knew I’d let Lance out.
“But if I don’t marry Edgar, he’s going to tell everyone about who I really am. Even if he’s bluffing, I can’t afford to risk it at this point. If the noble families find out I was the masked bandit who robbed them, I would be done for.”
“There is no way in hell that you are marrying Edgar.” I was surprised by the stern tone of his voice compared to the nonchalance he usually exhibited. “I will not have that dim-witted bastard wearing my family’s crown.”
I remembered how furious Uncle Arthur was when he found out about Lance’s engagement. He was rightfully worried that a royal heir would only make matters more complicated for his rebellion. I didn’t understand it back then. And, needless to say, once Lance was imprisoned, the engagement fell through. Lance didn’t seem too upset about it. I was pretty sure he had never even met the girl and would’ve only gone through with it to spite Uncle.
“Well, then, what do you propose? I can’t see how marrying another duke is going to solve the problem. Especially since the Darwicks are one of the most powerful families in the kingdom.”
“Then, my dear sister, you marry someone more powerful than a duke.”
I frowned, finally looking at him. I didn’t want to admit it, but I could see the similarities in our facial features. Most of the time, I avoided looking at the paintings of my mother and father. The parents I never knew. The two people who gave me my dark hair and high cheekbones. I didn’t like the fact that the more I looked at Lance, the more I started to see how we were related.
My brother. The thought was still foreign and somewhat unwelcome.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t marry a duke. You marry a king.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but they aren’t exactly just growing on trees around here.”
“You could always marry Cai.” The mention of his name brought an image to my mind, of Cai, during our stay together at Fairfrith. It was on the night of the solstice feast that Cai asked me about the necklace. The very one Lance had tortured him for. I wasn’t sure why I held on to it at the time. Part of me knew it was worth money and part of me stupidly hoped that it did, in fact, possess some sort of magic. A delusion I’d long since let go of. I’d had the necklace for months, and although it may have been a fine piece of jewellery, it certainly possessed no supernatural powers.
I was about to say something when the door swung open and a servant entered, carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups. “The tea you requested, Your Majesty?” she said with confusion, and I realised it must have been because of my shocked facial expression at Lance’s words.
“Yes, thank you. You can just put it over there.” I gestured to one of the tables. She obeyed and left the room in a hurry, closing the door again.
I sighed and placed a hand to my temple while Lance went over to the tea tray.
“Care to explain?” I asked.
Both Rhen and Lance had now said the same thing to me. But I was looking for every possible reason to avoid it. Cai and I had not parted in the best of ways and the silence between us only made it worse. He was the king of Norrandale now. Why would he want to marry someone who used to be a bandit? I faced the window again, staring at the outer world.
“Norrandale is a powerful kingdom, despite its smaller army. It would prove advantageous to Everness. After all, there is a reason the marriage with Eloisa was arranged in the first place. He isn’t a stranger, and by the looks of it at Woodsbrook, you two had taken quite a liking to each other.”
I swivelled to face Lance, feeling the frustration rising inside me. “Cai had taken a liking to me because you’d blackmailed me into manipulating him to do so.”
“Ah,” he said and handed me a cup of tea. “So, you don’t like him, then?”
I stared open-mouthed at him, not sure what to do or say, and surprised by his kind gesture. I didn’t know Lance was even capable of a kind gesture. I didn’t even really want the tea, but I took the cup from him anyway.
“I didn’t say that.”
“So, youdolike him?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“Fine.” Lance shrugged and plopped down on one of the chairs. “Don’t tell me about your royal infatuation. I don’t care. You’ve asked my opinion and I’ve answered you honestly.”
“He can’t be the only option.” I took a seat on the chair opposite him, taking a moment to adjust my layers and layers of skirts.
