Page 91 of Sword of Rage
Harley sat there stunned. While she’d known about the occasional uprising, she hadn’t realized there were so many or that the military had to get involved. There were a few scuffles in Penlar, but they had been easily dealt with. Her father never spoke about unrest throughout the kingdom.
Setting that letter aside, she opened the next one and read it. Again, it was from Beck to his son. This one discussed the lack of leadership from the king. Beck claimed the king was more concerned with gaining wealth and throwing elaborate parties than he was in making sure the commoners had food on their plates and roofs over their heads. He said the rampant poverty seen in Melenia was not the case in other kingdoms.
Harley’s hands shook, furious that Beck had the nerve to accuse her uncle of being negligent. Her uncle cared about his subjects; of that she was certain. As far as the poverty suffered throughout the kingdom, she was aware of that issue. She saw it firsthand in Penlar. However, if there was a way to feed and shelter everyone, surely her uncle would have done something about it.
Looking at the rest of the letters, she debated whether she should continue reading them. Obviously, Ackley wanted Owen to see them for a reason. Maybe to establish why Commander Beck committed treason when he tried to kill Owen in Marsden. However, there could be more to it than that. A sick feeling took root in her stomach.
With a shaking hand, she picked up the next letter and read it.
Lyle,
You won’t believe what I discovered. The king has a dirty little secret. We can use this information to our advantage. Break off your engagement with Naia, I have someone else for you. Someone that will give us everything we want.
I’ll tell you about it the next time I see you. Stay safe. I know training under Captain Murgis is hard. Hang in there, for I’m certain your status is about to change.
Sincerely,
Your father
Setting it aside, Harley pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, contemplating what the king’s dirty little secret could be. No gossip hinting at something scandalous had ever reached her ears. And as for Lyle, he must have broken off his engagement with Naia to marry Harley instead. A queasy feeling overcame her. Beck could have used whatever information he discovered to blackmail Harley’s parents into accepting Lyle’s proposal to elevate Lyle’s position. Which led her to believe that her parents had to somehow be involved with the king’s secret. Her mother had said there were things Harley didn’t know. And she’d never understood why her parents had signed the marriage contract with Lyle in the first place. Since she was headed to Penlar, she could confront her mother, demanding to know the truth.
Little thoughts started to surface, scaring Harley. Things like why she spent every summer at the royal castle without her parents. Her mother had told her the king wished it to be that way. She’d never thought to ask why. How stupid and naive she’d been to not question things.
Glancing at the letters, she decided to scan through them to see if any mentioned her uncle’s secret.
Lyle,
Do not argue with me. See that it’s done. If we plan this right, she’ll be the only one left. Then we can reveal the secret. I got him to write a letter admitting to it all. I have it safely hidden. When I return, I will see you elevated to the position you deserve. Together, we can right the wrongs and make Melenia a better place.
Sincerely,
Your father
Nausea rolled through Harley. She was going to be ill if this letter meant what she thought it did. There was no way possible for her to be the king’s daughter, in line to the throne. Her mother loved her father and was the queen’s sister. It couldn’t be true.
However, deep down, she knew it was. It all made sense. The summers she’d spent at the royal castle, her mother’s refusal to visit the place, the way the king treated her with an almost fatherly love similar to Princess Oriana. Regardless, she wanted to be sure she wasn't reading too much into it. Perhaps there was a reasonable explanation.
* * *
The following day, Harley and Ledger set out early. Since she’d barely slept, exhaustion racked her body. She couldn’t stop thinking about the letters and what it all meant.
“Do you have the letters Ackley gave you in a safe place?” Ledger asked when they stopped around midday to rest the horses and take a quick break.
“How do you know about those?”
“Ackley told me.”
“They’re safe.” She lifted her arm to pat the inside of her cloak where she had the letters tucked into a pocket. However, she refrained from doing so, not wanting to give away their location. Maybe she’d spent too much time around Ackley and was being paranoid. However, she figured better safe than sorry. An idea came to her. She patted her horse’s saddlebag.
As she feared, Ledger’s focus went right to her bag. She pretended not to notice as she led her horse to a stream so it could drink.
“I don’t know why Ackley bothered going to Penlar in the first place,” Ledger said, leaning against a tree.
She didn’t want to discuss her mission with Ackley. Owen had asked him to go. He’d wanted to know if her parents were alive—which they were. They’d also discovered Penlar was untouched. “I keep wondering if our soldiers hadn’t been in Marsden, if they’d been here for the invasion, if we would have been able to fight off Russek.”
“I don’t know. With a vast majority of the soldiers stationed at the castle gone, security was sparse the night of the takeover.”
“You were at the castle,” she said, thinking out loud. “But not on duty.”
