Page 25 of Cage of Destiny
“Neither of you seemparticularly surprised to see me.” She set her spoon down. “How didyou know I’d come here?”
Kerdan’s mouth twitched as he fought asmile, suddenly very interested in his stew.
“You saw the letter,” shesaid to Darmik, everything starting to make sense. “That’s whyMother came to see me, to give me the letter knowing I’d go runningafter…” She couldn’t say Odar’s name, not in front of her fatherand Kerdan. She wasn’t ready to discuss or face that yet. Furybuilt inside of her. She hated being used and was tired of all thedeception.
“Your mother wouldn’tbelieve you were alive until seeing you with her own eyes. Theletter happened to arrive the same day. I opened it, read thecontents, and discussed the matter with Neco. He didn’t think theletter was from Kerdan, so we surmised it had to be from Jana andit was a trap. We assumed Nathenek would pick up on it.”
Leaving her to be the onlyone who hadn’t figured it out. She wanted to curse her ownstupidity. Kerdan’s leg bounced as he ripped off a piece ofchicken, shoving it in his mouth. He seemed almost… nervous.Nathenek’s words whispered in her head.Doyou trust him?
“Neco told me about yourencounter with Prince Kerdan on the way to Nathenek’s house. Heexplained the two of you are on friendly terms, and Kerdan isfighting for his throne. I thought it wise to meet with the prince,soon to be king, and take care of Jana once and for all. Jana mustdie for her cruelty to others, kidnapping you, and the Emperiondeaths she is responsible for. We made the mistake of not killingher when we had the chance and must now rectify our error. I thinkthe decision to send Jana into exile rather than kill her willhaunt your mother for the rest of her life.”
Rema shouldn’t feel guilty forAllyssa’s kidnapping. It wasn’t her fault. She had no idea thewoman would turn out to be a vindictive snake. And Allyssa had madethe same mistake with Soma. It was natural to want to spareanother’s life, to seek justice instead of vengeance.
“I was with my soldierswhen word reached me that Emperor Darmik and Neco arrived at DukeWomek’s. I immediately came here with my most trusted men.” Theintensity in Kerdan’s eyes startled her, making her feeloff-kilter.
“Now that we’re alltogether, we’re going to kill Jana?” Allyssa asked. With her fatherhere, the idea of killing the queen seemed within reach.
“No,” Darmik replied. “Theplan is for us to come up with a plan to kill Jana, to aid Kerdanin any way we can, and to keep you safe. You will not be involvedwith this in any other capacity than planning.”
“Then why am I here?” shedemanded. She could have helped devise a plan fromEmperion.
“You are here for tworeasons. One, Jana set a trap and it needs to appear that you arefalling for it. And two, you are safer here where you are leastexpected.”
“Your escort,” Kerdan said,“made sure to leave a trail so Jana’s spies would know you’d leftEmperion and were headed for the border town Jontis. Time is now ofthe essence. We have a very small window of opportunity toassassinate her.”
“Then why aren’t weplanning?” Why waste time eating? Darmik took a drink of his wine,a typical stall tactic. “What else?” she demanded.
He drummed his fingers on the table.“There are two issues that need to be addressed while we’realone.”
Kerdan shifted uncomfortably on hischair. Allyssa had thought it odd both Nathenek and Neco left soabruptly.
“Let’s sit closer togetherbefore the fire so we can keep our voices low,” Darmik suggested.He stood, pulling two chairs over to the hearth. Kerdan walkedaround the table and grabbed one, dragging it next to Darmik. Thethree of them sat, Allyssa and Kerdan across from one another,their knees only two feet apart, Darmik next to them so they formeda half circle.
The prince clasped his hands, restinghis elbows on his thighs, his focus on the worn rug at theirfeet.
“What is it?” she asked,keeping her voice low so it wouldn’t carry in the largeroom.
“We need to discuss PrinceOdar,” Darmik said. Hearing his name out loud made her cringe. “Heis due to arrive tomorrow.”
“What?” Allyssa said louderthan necessary. Why was he coming there? She didn’t want to seehim, didn’t want to have anything to do with him.
“Our spies reported Odaralso received a letter from Jana,” her father explained. “Upon hisdeparture from the palace, Kerdan ordered a small contingent of hismen to intercept the prince once he crossed into Russek and bringhim here.”
Tears filled her eyes, which onlyinfuriated her. She didn’t want to cry in front of her father. Hewould pity her. And she didn’t want to cry in front of Kerdan andhave him think her weak.
“I’d prefer to have nothingto do with Fren,” Darmik said gently, squeezing her hand. “However,Jana believes the two of you are in love. We can use this to ouradvantage.”
How would she behave around him?Friendly? Angry? She couldn’t be in the same room with him. Thethought of seeing him, talking to him, made her hands tingle andher stomach cramp.
Darmik reached out and patted hershoulder. “Which is what brings me to my second issue. Kerdan’sproposal.”
Well that was rather blunt. Shescratched her neck. He wanted to discuss this right now? She hadn’tfully explored the idea on her own yet. When she peered at Kerdan,she noted his face was beet red. Good. She wasn’t the only oneuncomfortable with this conversation.
Darmik leaned back on his chair,rubbing his chin. “I don’t mean to rush the matter,” he said. “Butwe need to discuss it before Odar arrives. Plus, if we decide tomove forward with a union, it will need to be done quickly, soKerdan can have the backing and support he needs to gain control ofthe Russek throne after we eliminate Jana.”
Kerdan ran his hands up and down histhighs. “I have no experience with marriage negotiations,” he said.“Now that my parents are dead…” He closed his eyes for a moment.“They cannot assist with the negotiations. I am at a loss on how toproceed.”
“We will discuss mutuallybeneficial terms. And, if we both agree, we’ll have a contractdrawn up. You have made a solid offer,” Darmik said. “However, myconcern is your relationship with my daughter.”
