Page 49 of Sword of Desire
She rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning. In the dim torchlight, she had no idea whether it was day or night.
“Why the hell not?” Lyle asked.
“In order for this to be legitimate, there have to be witnesses. Usually, the entire noble class is in attendance so they can swear fealty. Without these basic traditions, the line will be questioned.”
“Fine. Then get out of here. I’ll let you know when you’re needed.”
Harley held in a smirk. Her comment to the soldier about Lyle not really being the king must have gotten to him.
Lyle came and stood on the other side of the cell bars, folding his arms, and watching her.
“Is there a problem?” she said, not bothering to stand.
“Everything is proceeding as planned,” he replied.
“Then why are you here?” She pushed her hair behind her ears, carefully watching him.
His right eye twitched. “I’m having you moved to different accommodations.”
“Why?” He had to enjoy seeing her locked in the dungeon.
“You need to be crowned so I can legally carry the line. Once that happens, then I can have you officially arrested for treason.”
She refused to go along with his plan. He was an idiot for telling her what he intended to do. Especially when her father and Rikter could hear every word he said.
“Let’s go.” He unlocked the door and held it open for her.
“No.” She preferred the dungeon to being locked in a closet.
“Why do you have to work against me?” Lyle stepped into the cell.
The area suddenly became smaller, and the air harder to breathe. With him in there, she had nowhere to go.
He squatted, now eye level with her. “We both want the same things.”
“I don’t think we do.” He had no idea what she wanted. He’d never bothered to learn anything about her.
“We both want what’s best for Melenia. We both care about our people.”
If he cared about the kingdom, he wouldn’t have invited a neighboring army in to destroy it. He wouldn’t have allowed Russek to kill so many of the people he claimed to care about.
“Why are you crying?” He cocked his head, studying her as if she were a puzzle he needed to figure out.
She wiped the tears from her face, shrugging. Honestly, she didn’t know why the tears were falling. Maybe it was the fact that so many had died, including her family. Or that her husband didn’t even know her. It could even be because the man she’d called Father her entire life wasn’t even her father.
“Let’s get you out of here and ready to be crowned.”
She shook her head, refusing to comply. “It won’t make a difference. Owen still lives.”
A devious smile slid across his face. “Not for long.”
Cold fear shot through her. “What have you done?” she whispered, half afraid to know.
“I haven’t done anything. You, my dear, took care of that for me when you sent him a letter.” He tsked.
She wanted to reach forward and strangle him. “You’re a monster.” She’d told Owen the soldiers’ loved ones were in Losger. Lyle must have set some sort of trap to kill Owen.
He chuckled. “Maybe you need to look in the mirror.” He stood. “Let’s go.”
