Page 52 of The Twisted Throne

“I don’t want William to hate me.”

“Don’t you hate him?” There was incredulity in Taryn’s voice. “After what he said about Maridrina?”

“He said it to get a rise.”

“I’d have stabbed him for saying it.”

“Stabbed who?” Bronwyn appeared next to the bed, making Ahnna jump and reach for the blade sheathed at her belt before she realized who it was. The Veliant princess only smirked. “Feeling a bit high-strung, are we?”

“Ahnna’s betrothed hates her,” Taryn said. “He’s also a little pissant who’s clearly been indulged his whole life. James might have a stick up his ass, but at least he doesn’t snivel.”

“Ah.” Bronwyn flopped on the bed to Ahnna’s left. “So dinner went well.”

Ahnna snorted. “Where have you been?”

“Spying.”

Another glance revealed that Bronwyn was wearing a slightly dowdy dress cut in Harendellian style, her hair drawn back in a tight bun, a scarf pinned in place. “What did you learn? Anything about the new market?”

“Not a whisper. But I saw plenty.” Bronwyn grinned at Ahnna. “This palace has dozens of little curtained alcoves. I thought they must be places for secret conversations, so I hid in one behind the curtain to see if I could learn anything interesting. However, it turns out they are just locations for drunk nobility to have sex with those who are not their spouses, so the only thing I learned was who is having an affair with who, along with a few interesting techniques I’d never seen before.”

It was a deflection. Bronwyn told jokes to change subjects, which meant that she hadn’t been hunting for answers to Ahnna’s mystery at all. And some sixth sense told her exactly what Bronwyn’s real mission had been. “I haven’t seen her, in case you wondered. Could be that they aren’t keeping her at court.”

“Who?” Taryn lifted up on one elbow, and Ahnna didn’t miss the intensity in her cousin’s voice. Nor the scent of wine on her breath. Shit.

“My aunt,” said Bronwyn.

“Lestara,” Ahnna clarified, though Taryn knew about the harem wife. The Cardiffian princess that Keris had exiled from Maridrina. He’d called in a favor with the Harendellians to take her, and Aren had arranged an armed escort to bring her through the bridge to deliver her to Edward’s keeping. She’d been here for long weeks now, but Ahnna had heard little about how the ex–harem wife who’d betrayed Maridrina fared. “You can’t kill her.”

Bronwyn didn’t answer.

“I’m serious.” Ahnna sat up, abruptly concerned that she’d misjudged Bronwyn’s reasons for coming with her to Verwyrd. “If Lestara dies right after we arrive, we’ll be blamed. She’s the daughter of King Ronan of Cardiff, and there is enough bad blood between Harendell and Cardiff without us adding to the mix.”

“I’m not going to kill her,” Bronwyn grumbled. “I just want to make sure that she’s suffering as much as Keris thought she would.”

“And if she’s not?”

Bronwyn didn’t answer.

“You can’t hurt her.” Ahnna rolled onto her hands so that she was looming over the other woman. “Promise.”

Azure eyes glared up at her, the color nearly identical to Lara’s, though Bronwyn’s eyelashes were dark. “How,” Bronwyn said softly, “is it fair that you get to be an absolute bitch to my sister foraccidentally causing the death of your people, but I don’t get to be an absolute bitch to the woman who purposefully caused the death ofmypeople?”

Taryn started to rise, but Ahnna caught hold of the back of her cousin’s shirt and yanked her back down. “It’s not fair,” she replied. “Which is why I give you permission to be as nasty to her face as you so wish. But under no circumstances do you cause her physical harm. Like it or not, we aren’t alehouse barmaids whose fists only damage the faces we strike. Our actions impact entire kingdoms, and unless you want to potentially cause evenmoreinnocent people harm, you’ll curb your baser instincts.”

Bronwyn’s glower deepened. “Fuck you and your logic, Ahnna.”

“That’s ayes?”

“I won’t hurt her. Physically.”

“I hate how forgiving you are,” Taryn abruptly snapped. Jerking out of Ahnna’s grip, she disappeared into her own room with a slam of the door.

Bronwyn sighed, eyes on the closed door. “Sometimes, she’s fine. She sings to herself and laughs at my jokes, and being with her is like being in the presence of a shining sun. And other times, she burns so hot with rage I fear she’ll destroy herself and everyone around her.”

“It’s hard to see her like this,” Ahnna admitted. “She always saw the best in everyone. That’s why Jor made her Lara’s close guard—because she was the only one who didn’t cling to their prejudices against Maridrinians.” Ahnna inhaled a steadying breath. “Which makes it all the worse.”

Bronwyn was quiet for a long moment, then she said, “When I first arrived in Ithicana and saw how Taryn treated Lara, I knew she was a threat. Knew that if she had the chance to kill my sister, she’d take it, and I resolved to kill her first. Had all my plans readyto make it look like an accident, but Lara guessed what I was up to and stopped me. She told me about how when they made their move to take back Gamire, they came across Maridrinian soldiers trying to force Taryn to help them use the shipbreakers. She refused. After all those long months of suffering the worst my father’s soldiers could level upon her, Taryn was willing to suffer more to protect her people. Was willing to die before allowing herself to be used to take Ithicanian lives.”

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