Page 132 of The Twisted Throne

“A crime of passion,” Lestara whispered. “The tea leaves spoke true.”

My father is dead.

James wanted to fall to his knees. Wanted to press his forehead to the carpet and weep, because it should be him who was dead. Him who Ahnna had stabbed so many times, the wounds merged into one.

But he couldn’t weep.

Not with Will bereft and the palace in chaos. And the king dead.

His father, who had always seemed so indomitable and immortal, now still and cold.

He’s with her now,James quietly told himself.He’s with your mother, which is all he wanted in life. Now he’ll have it in death.

It was a hollow comfort. “Will,” he said quietly, knowing thatmany of his father’s plans had died with him. “You are king now, and though it is painful, you must turn your mind to Harendell. Amarid has crossed the border. We must join with Cardiff’s army and deal with that threat before anything else.”

“He’s right, my love,” Lestara said, pulling Will upright again, her skirts soaked with his tears. “You must be strong.”

Will wiped at his face, finding some composure as he nodded. “Yes. I…I am king of Harendell. I cannot weep. Amarid—”

“Can wait,” a garbled voice said.

James turned, shock filling him as Alexandra entered the room, supported on either side by Georgie and Ginny, his sister’s eyes swollen from crying. George had dried blood in his hair and a faint crimson spray across his throat that was partially smeared, as though he’d tried to wash in a hurry. James felt sick thinking of what his friend had witnessed as the physicians had stitched Alexandra back together.

“Ahnna Kertell murdered your father,” Alexandra said, her mouth struggling to form the words beneath the thick bandages. “But that is not the extent of Ithicana’s crimes. George, tell Jamie what you told Ginny and me.”

Georgie exhaled a steadying breath. “King Aren formed an alliance with Queen Katarina. From his own lips, my spies heard him the night he was here in Verwyrd.” He sighed. “I should have told you immediately after I discovered the information, but Ahnna told me to hold my tongue. Yet given the Amaridians had made another attempt on your life, I felt I could keep the secret no longer. I informed the king of what I’d learned, but he said that he already knew of Aren’s duplicity and that Ahnna was as much a victim of her brother as Harendell. He also told me to hold my tongue, butGod,I wish I had not listened.”

“The spies in Katarina’s court informed him,” James said softly.“Tonight, he told me everything, including his intention to fund a coup in Ithicana to overthrow Aren and put Ahnna on the throne in his place. He believed her wholly innocent of Aren’s conspiracies with Katarina.”

“Do you still think her innocent?” Alexandra asked, tears of pain leaking from her eyes. “Because I think Aren knew of Edward’s plans for an alliance with Cardiff and sent Ahnna here with the goal of undoing those plans. When she realized she’d failed, she became the beast we know all Ithicanians to be.” Gesturing to her face, Alexandra whispered, “I had gone to her to apologize for the embarrassment she’d suffered, and this is what Ahnna did, Jamie. That I still live is only because you arrived in time to stop her, else you’d be burying me alongside your father. She’s a vicious, murderous creature, and I have no doubt she scurries back to hide beneath her brother’s wing.”

Alexandra drew in a ragged breath, a soft sob of pain escaping her lips. “But there can be no hiding. Not for her. Ithicana must hand her over to be executed, or pay the price.”

“They are all masked monsters,” William hissed, eyes fixed on James, green orbs seeming to glow with the ferocity of his anger. “I must lead Harendell, brother. But you I set to another task. A task that is just as important, if not more so.”

James squared his shoulders, shoving down grief and guilt until all that was left was the cold need for vengeance.

“I command you to hunt down Ahnna Kertell,” his brother ordered. “And when you find her, which I know you will, I want you to drag her back to Verwyrd in chains.”

Ahnna crept through the darkalleys of Sableton, heading toward the glowing port.

She’d lost track of the number of days since she’d fled Verwyrd. The number of days since Edward had been assassinated. The number of days since Alexandra had framed her for the deed and James had chased her into the night. All she knew was that every one of them had been spent on the run, chased by men on horseback and their dogs, she and Dippy pushed to their limits to stay ahead of them.

Exhaustion weighed upon her like a shroud, her body aching from new injuries and old, but Ahnna pushed her personal suffering aside as she hid next to a wall, waiting for a pair of soldiers to pass.

They were everywhere.

With the speed of boats on the river, James had been able to beat her to the coast, and every man who could be spared was hunting her. Yet it was the civilians who’d kept her from making an escape.

Edward had been a much-beloved king, and the fury over his assassination that had exploded across Harendell was unlike anything Ahnna had ever seen. Militias patrolled the streets of even the smallest hamlet, the beaches up and down the coast guarded day and night. Vessels even patrolled the water, because she’d heard more than one person claim that she had the capacity to swim back to Ithicana, if given the opportunity. Worse still were the things they promised to do to her if they managed to catch her.

The soldiers moved out of earshot, and Ahnna continued her progress down to the water. It was a long shot, but she was hopeful that in the bustle of ships that were still, despite the impending war, doing busy trade with Amarid, she might be able to sneak onto a vessel destined for the other nation. From there, she’d be able to catch a ship to Northwatch, or steal something she could sail herself.

Because there was no traffic between Harendell and Ithicana.

All trade had been halted, and when Ahnna thought too hard about how much that would be costing her people, it brought tears to her eyes.

She darted between two buildings, moving closer to the noise of the port, which was loud even though it was the dead of night. Trade never stopped. Work never stopped—not here.

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