Page 34 of A Tale of Treachery

“You don’t know her as I do,” I whispered. “She’ll forgive me.”

“You will not go to that meeting!” he shouted, drawing a line in the sand. The vein in his forehead throbbed like it was about to explode.

“Of course I’m going!” I yelled back at him. “This is my friend we’re talking about. If I don’t go, I’ll be dead to her. I need to explain myself. I’ll show up and accept whatever judgment she wishes upon me and hope to the gods she can forgive me.”

Redmond crumpled in his chair, throwing his head in his hands with resignation. “How did you grow up to be so stubborn?” He shot me a sad smile, a gleam hazing over his eyes. “I don’t know how to protect you anymore.”

I approached him, my throat closing as tears threatened to choke me. I’d never meant to cause everyone so much pain, especially him. I propped myself on the side of his chair and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “I’m a big girl now. You don’t have to protect me anymore. This is all my fault, and I will take care of it myself. I promise.”

He reached up to pat my hand and smiled sadly. “You’d better, or I might just lose my mind.”

I would go to Eulalia and beg forgiveness before her and the coven.

She would forgive me. She had to.

CHAPTER13

Idreaded meeting with the Gallows Coven tomorrow night. Anxiety gnawed at my insides, tearing me apart. After a few lengthy discussions, Redmond had reluctantly agreed that attending the meeting was the right thing to do, though the idea still bothered him. He’d insisted on accompanying me, but I’d refused. It was my responsibility to make amends.

I sat atop one of the spires of the sanctum, glaring at a gargoyle that refused to speak with me. I’d tried talking to it, tried offering it a piece of cheese, but it didn’t morph into a living creature.

Ryken had been pulling my chain, setting me up to be a part of some sort of joke. Looking out over the grounds, I searched for his smug face, hoping he hadn’t seen the absurd scene that had just taken place. Fortunately, he was nowhere in sight.

Defeated, I leaned against the gargoyle, using the craggy stone statue for support. Nothing was going right: Aiden was still away on the collection, Ryken was constantly in my space since he and Redmond had become inseparable, and Eulalia seemed to be out for my blood.

Bundled in my cloak, I took in the aerial view of the palace grounds, breathing in the fresh fall air. The stone walls of the palace across from me reflected an almost golden light in the setting sun, and it did something to calm my nerves. I loved it here. It was one of the few places in this world that was safe and protected, hidden behind high walls. The outlying villages could be seen from up high, nestled between rolling hills and surrounded by keeps of their own.

Nothing from my past could find me here.

The blare of trumpets drew my attention to the iron gates of the palace grounds. A squadron of soldiers rode in on horseback, bearing the flag of Cambriel and the crest of the royal family.

Aiden had returned.

He rode at the helm with George and Brandon on either side of him. Twenty or so soldiers followed, laughing and chattering at their happy return. The king and his advisors gathered along the staircase of the palace, ready to greet the returned prince and his crew.

I would have stayed up here, silently observing and waiting to speak with Aiden in private, but the sight of a cage attached to the end of the procession drove me from my spot.

No.

They’d collected something…or someone, and I prayed Eulalia wasn’t in that cage.

I climbed down from my perch and entered the sanctum through an open window. The pitter-patter of my feet echoed through the stairwell as I hastily made my way down to the courtyard, my heart racing with anticipation.

Please, don’t have Lali.

The hum of the wards tingled across my skin as I hurried through the entrance of the sanctum and made my way to the paved square sheltered between the sanctum and palace walls.

The men approached on horseback, the clomping of their horses’ hooves growing louder the closer they got, and I chewed on my lip and rose to my tiptoes, straining my neck to catch a glimpse of the cage. But my view was blocked by the large crowd gathering around the procession of soldiers.

Aiden spotted me as the men came to a halt and dismounted. He smiled briefly, but his lips pursed as he traced the direction of my eyes toward the cage.

The cage was too far away to be certain, but it appeared to be filled with women. Three of them, to be exact.

I moved closer to get a better look, but Aiden stepped in front of me and wrapped his hand around my arm, pulling me to a halt. “Don’t. Not here. Not now. I know you have a big heart, but my father is watching.”

When I glanced up, Aiden’s sights were zeroed in on his father.

The king was standing on the palace steps, surrounded by an entourage of advisors and servants, ready to greet his son, and impatiently waiting to catch a glimpse of the collection in tow. He was clothed in the finest silks of red and gold, the rich fabrics doing nothing to hide his potbelly or the mad spark that danced in his eyes.

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