Page 101 of Court of Vipers (The Lady of Innislee)

Voices filled the hall, some protesting on Farquar’s behalf, others attempting to make sense of all they’d heard and witnessed. Many studied Riona with a mixture of fear and respect on their faces. No one had ever looked at her that way, and the sight of the nobles doing so now had her standing a little taller, a little prouder. She was no longer the quiet, submissive girl she’d once been.

King Domhnall knew it, too. She had seen the moment he’d realized that he’d lost—that she held the future of his rule in the palm of her hand. With just a few words, she could take everything from him. He could sentence her to execution for revealing the existence of the eudorite mines to Kenter and Erduria, but in doing so, he would lose the chance to secure two allies in the fight to defend Rivosa’s land. Auberon and Drystan would return to Rivosa with an army at their backs, and they wouldn’t stop at claiming the mines. They would come for Domhnall’s life, family, and crown.

He lifted his goblet to her, his voice cutting through the clamor of the court. “I underestimated you, my niece. I was beginning to fear that Cathal’s murderer would never be found, and you have proven me wrong. As such, Lord Farquar is hereby sentenced to die at sunrise tomorrow.” Her uncle paused, taking a moment to dredge up the willpower to say, “What reward would you ask of us?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright, beaming grin break out across Auberon’s face. Today, they would end the slaughter of their peoples.

Riona smiled. “Perhaps we ought to discuss that in private, Your Majesty.”

ChapterSixty-Eight

The Liar

Auberon couldn’t take his eyes off Riona. They’d moved to an empty sitting room not far from the banquet hall, where Riona now stood on one side of the cluster of settees and armchairs, regarding the king with open hostility. Even in her fury, she was beautiful; her eyes like twin blue flames, power and unwavering strength rippling off her. The garish wound above her heart was plain to see, a line of stitches tarnishing her perfect ebony skin. Although she had to be in agony, not a hint of weakness showed on her face.

Auberon, Drystan, Valerian, and the others sat on settees and armchairs on one side of the low central table. Opposite them were the queen, the Crown Prince, Amaris, and Lord Lachlan, all of whom were eyeing the Kentari, Erdurian, and Rivosi guards lining the walls with unease. And at the rear of the room, near the closed doors, a bound and gagged Lord Farquar was on his knees between two stone-faced guards.

The lines had been drawn.

Riona gazed across the table at her uncle, a great and terrible beauty in her quiet rage. The sight made Auberon’s heart race. Her uncle was finally understanding what a grave mistake he’d made in trying to temper her clever mind and sharp tongue, in raising her to believe her ambition to be a flaw. If he had let her, she would have dedicated her life to Rivosa.

“These foreign royals have changed you, Riona,” King Domhnall said, his words clipped. “They have been manipulating you since the moment they arrived, trying to turn you against your family and your kingdom. And now she who claimed to care so deeply for Rivosa stands poised to bring about its downfall.”

If the words wounded her, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even blink. “They only helped me see the truth, Uncle.Youare the one who has made me your enemy.”

“Riona…” Amaris warned softly. “Remember what we discussed earlier.”

“Won’t you tell us what this is about?” Queen Blair asked, her braids swaying as she looked from her husband to her niece. “We’re family, blood of my blood. There are no enemies here.”

“Your husband would disagree, Your Majesty,” Riona said. “If he’d had his way, Prince Auberon and I would not have lived to see the dawn. The attack in the Royal Theater was an attempted assassination done on his orders, all to keep his precious mines a secret.”

Blair’s gaze dropped to Riona’s wound, and Auberon saw the blood drain from her face. She turned to the king. “Domhnall? What is she talking about? What mines?”

Riona’s father set a hand on the queen’s wrist. “Eudorite mines in the Howling Mountains. My brother has been running them in secret for over a decade, working to amass enough eudorite weapons to put an end to the war with Erduria.”

“Lord Farquar did not act alone,” Riona said, her stare still locked with her uncle’s. Auberon felt a sliver of fear slide into his heart. The Rivosi guards were shifting, their hands straying to the grips of their sheathed swords, and the Kentari and Erdurian men were tensing in anticipation of a fight. Tension hung in the air. One word from the king would turn this meeting into a bloodbath.

Undaunted, Riona continued, “The king discovered that Treasurer Cathal was planning to reveal the existence of the mines to the Selannic king in order to repay Rivosa’s insurmountable debt, but the king couldn’t afford to allow proof of his operation to leave Innislee. So he ordered Farquar to kill him, but not before Cathal managed to smuggle documents proving the existence of the mines out of the city.”

Faylen set the sheaf of papers on the table and slid them over to the queen, who spread them out with shaky hands as her son leaned in to read. Auberon watched their eyes widen as they moved across the papers. While they read, Faylen detailed the events of the morning Cathal had died, ignoring Lord Farquar’s muffled grunts of protest from where he was kneeling across the room.

Then Riona recounted her journey to Crafford and the mines, including the letters she had found in the overseer’s office, the wind-mad miner who had aided her, and Auberon and Amaris’s rescue. Callan and Halston—the brothers—provided details about the mines, painting a vivid and brutal picture of the cave-ins and Rennox attacks that plagued the men who had been condemned to live and die in those dark, dank tunnels.

Finally, Vick confessed to the parts he and Lord Farquar had played in the attempt on Auberon and Riona’s lives, shame scrawled across his face as Auberon wordlessly handed the contract to the queen. By the time they had finished, Queen Blair’s face was pale and horrified. She stared at her husband as though he were a stranger.

“How could you?” Prince Domhnall snarled, glaring at his father. “Your obsession with vengeance has blinded you, Father. Has the war not cost us enough? How much more blood must be shed before you see that this is not worth the cost of victory? We could have had peaceweeksago.”

“Am I to make peace with the men who murdered my eldest son?” the king spat. He shot a hate-filled look at Auberon and Drystan, and Auberon’s hand moved to the hilt of the sword sheathed at his hip. “Who murdered my sister-in-law? Would you have me spit on the graves of all who died in the war by joining our family with their killers?

“They would paint me as the villain in this story, when I have done nothing but defend my people since the day I was crowned,” he continued, seething. “I swore an oath to protect my subjects and my kingdom, andevery single thingI have done since those words fell from my lips was to uphold that vow. Do you think that Emperor Hyperion will not send his army to take the Howling Mountains from us once he learns of the mines? Do you think he will hesitate to turn those weapons on our people? I am doing what I must to ensure our kingdom survives againstimpossibleodds. We will have victory, or we will die.”

“We could have had peace,” Riona said.

The look he fixed on her was so full of pity and disappointment that even Auberon felt as if he’d taken a blow to the gut. “If you believe that, truly under the prince’s spell. I have heard quite enough of this, Riona. Master Kaiden, have someone find Prince Eamon and escort him to the banquet hall. We will sign the marriage alli—”

“Prince Eamon is gone, Your Majesty,” Auberon said, speaking for the first time since they’d set foot in the room. “He has rescinded his bid for the lady’s hand and departed for Kostos. He wishes you all to know how deeply sorry he is for wasting your time and calling into question the integrity of your niece, and he hopes you please excuse his blighted existence in this world. He can’t help being a bastard, you see. It’s in his blood.”

The king looked to Master Kaiden, who immediately sent one of the guards to confirm this information. “Why would he leave if he were going to win the marriage alliance?”

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