Page 118 of His Noble Ruin

“Safe behind bars? Don’t worry. I won’t be returning to Cambria to steal your throne.”

I stared at him, stunned. “You knew. And you still followed me. Why?” I choked on my words and hot blood burned my waist. “Why didn’t you save yourself?Why did you come?!”

His face turned dark and somber. “You said there was a war.”

“But Graham . . .” My breath caught. I wasn’t sure if what he’d said was an accusation or if he still believed there was a war. If he did, he would learn the truth soon enough. And he’d know that he abandoned his duty, left his father on his deathbed, and got beaten and thrown in a pit for nothing. For absolutelynothing.

I sank to the ground, the ache in my heart more agonizing than the pain in my body. Someone pulled me to my knees gently. “Time to go,” said Elin.

“Get him out,” I said.

Elin didn’t speak.

Oliver looked either regretful or uncomfortable, I couldn’t tell which, but he made no move toward Graham.

Cael simply shook his head and folded his arms, his knuckles bloody.

I wanted to beat him like he’d beaten Graham. I wanted him to feel all the pain he’d caused. I looked at the pistol in his belt and tried to stand.

I fell back to the ground, the tears burning my eyes. “Get himout,” I said again, but my voice had grown so weak that it had no strength behind it. Still, they had to understand. If the war was only my father’s lie, they had no reason to keep Graham trapped in a pit.

“We promised Orrin we’d keep him here,” said Oliver, “so he stays.”

“But why?”

“So you can be queen,” he said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

I leaned over, peering back into the pit. Elin held onto me, but I wished she didn’t.

“We’re done here,” said Cael.

“Wait,” I said, reaching toward Graham.

He stared up at me. “Goodbye, Mara.”

I’d never heard my name spoken with so much bitterness. My hand still reached out, but I couldn’t get to him.

Cael picked me up in his rough arms and pulled me away from the one person I’d ever been willing to die for. Desperation raged inside me and sobs wracked my body, but even this much passion couldn’t overcome the weakness. I finally gave in to the darkness and lost my grip on my broken world.

ChapterForty

I woketo the rise and fall of the boat on the waves. The lower cabin of the fishing boat was dark, but a bit of sunlight streamed through the hatch in the ceiling.

I lay on my side with my legs pulled up to my chest. Nine days had passed since I’d left Graham on Tramore. I’d slept through most of them and we’d be back to Cambria by tomorrow.

The medicine had cleared up my infection and my wound was healing, but I still felt dead inside.My father lied to me, I repeated to myself for the thousandth time. I couldn’t believe that he wanted me to be queen so badly that he’d invented the whole war and manipulated me into fighting my way to the throne. Getting rid of Graham would force the crown to pass to the Third House—and therefore, me—but I never would’ve done it if I hadn’t believed so many lives were at stake.

He’d even pretended he didn’twantme to take the risk. For years, he’d been predicting the islanders would soon gather an uprising, that it was only a matter of time. After the two of us had secretly sailed to Tramore the previous summer, he’d told me, on these very waves, that it was finally happening. They’d even set an exact date.

And then he’d said, so casually that I never would’ve suspected a thing, that they’d call it off if I became queen.

So I formed my plan.

And I took every fated step that led to this moment.

I groaned and rolled onto my back on the hard, wooden floor, my body rising and falling with the boat and the waves.

The hatch in the ceiling opened and Cael climbed down a ladder. “Time to pull yourself together. We’ll be home soon.” He squinted at me under the sunlight from the hatch. “At least that mousy brown dye has faded from your hair in time.”

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