Page 46 of Her Cruel Redemption

I sat heavily, leaned back and crossed my legs as I surveyed the table. ‘Some of you seem to have overlooked the fact that Princess Gwinellyn is the heir to the throne and she doesn’t have to do as you tell her.’

There were a few beats of heavy silence.

‘And so speaks the wife of the Usurper,’ one of the Oceatold lords muttered.

I flushed hotly, and that reaction irritated me even more than the fact that he’d said it. How could I be so easily rattled by that one insignificant little word,wife? ‘Before that I was King Linus’s queen.’

‘Through enchantment and womanly wiles,’ another spat, bug-eyed and seething like a kettle about to boil. I dimly remember his name was Brannovix, a lord of some minor region near the Oceatold border. The man to his right murmured to him under his breath, but he smacked his fist on the table. ‘No, I’ll not sit here quietly while she lords over the room like she isn’t a traitor to the crown and the reason we are in Oceatold in the first place. We tolerated her when she was the late king’s wife, but to tolerate hernow,after what she has done, is ludicrous!’

There were a few murmurs of assent. If some of them had been planning on enduring me for Gwinellyn’s sake, they weren’t willing to jump in and defend me for it. I leaned forwards. ‘And whathaveI done, exactly?’

‘You married the Usurper!’ He leapt to his feet, waving a finger through the air like he was conducting an orchestra. ‘You stood by while he executed half the court, dismantled the Guild and the Sanctum and declared war on our allies! You have no business at this table! You should be standing trial for treason!’

There were a few cries of ‘here, here’ as the others grew bolder. King Esario was sitting back, seeming content to watch the chaos, and Dovegni was watching me, still not declaring his hand. A whip of fear snapped through me as I looked around at the angry faces, suddenly aware of how vulnerable I was here in Oceatold. Enemies on every side, no charming façade to hide behind, just an unwelcome visitor in a foreign country. Magic crackled in my blood, fizzing and popping, begging to rise to my fingers as more voices began to shout my crimes and my panic rose. I wasn’tpowerless. I wouldn’t be takenprisoner.I felt like baring my teeth, raising my hackles, and doing whatever it would take to get them to back off and stop thinking of me as a carcass to brawl over, just rotting flesh to feed their hunger for vengeance.

‘Enough.’ The word rang out in a voice as loud and clear as a bell, cutting over the melee with enough authority that the lords of the table simmered down. Gwinellyn had risen to her feet, her face set with determination; chin high, eyes staring steadily ahead, betrayed only by the flush of colour in her cheeks. ‘Rhiandra will not be held responsible for this war.’

‘With all due respect, Your Highness, I fail to see how you can say such a thing. She was by the side of the Blood King throughout everything he’s done. She effectively opened the door for him and he stepped right through it,’ Lord Brannovix argued, though at least he was settling back into his seat now.

‘She did,’ she agreed. ‘But she was acting under enchantment.’

Another wave of muttering swept around the table. We should have rehearsed this. There was no way they’d buy such a convenient excuse from their adolescent heir to the throne, not when they already believed her to be a mere playing piece to be pushed around a board. If they believed they could easily manoeuvre her, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to believe I already had.

‘Enchantment,’ repeated Lord Faucher with an incredulous twitch of a brow.

‘I believe you’ve felt the effect yourself, Lord Faucher,’ I retorted, ‘or did you mean to stand idly by while Lord Boccius was eaten alive?’

Silence fell, then, the muttering stifled as I conjured that moment for them all, when the court had stood fixated as Draven acted as judge, jury and executioner over one of the most powerful high lords on the council, declaring him a traitor and feeding him to a creature in the menagerie. I suppressed a shudder and buried the memory of his screams.

‘But at the moment when I needed her most, she defended me,’ Gwinellyn continued, her voice gaining volume and confidence. ‘When she fled the palace, she did so because she had rescued me from the Usurper’s captivity. I was also badly injured and would have died if she hadn’t got me to safety. She nursed me back to health, then agreed to follow me through a war-torn land and protect me on my journey to Oceatold in support of my campaign to retake the throne.’ She levelled a look at Lord Brannovix, one I didn’t know she was capable of. One that clearly saidunlike you. ‘She will not be put on trial for being my firmest friend in my time of exile.’

The lords at the table… remained silent. They were shifting in their seats, certainly, and shooting one another significant looks. Perhaps they didn’t entirely accept her story. But they weren’t arguing with her. I switched my attention to Gwinellyn herself, marvelling at her proud posture, the determined set of her brow. She was an entirely different Gwinellyn to the one who they had been bullying only moments ago. How had she summoned such a significant change? It was like when I’d seen her address the angry crowd at her father’s funeral. She spoke, and theylistened.Something had flicked a switch in her, and I needed to know what it was so she could do it again.

‘It sounds like there‘s a great deal more to Mrs Soveraux’s story than we’ve heard,’ King Esario said, still surveying the scene carefully. I gritted my teeth against his use ofthat nameagain, and for a moment felt certain that was exactly why he used it. Just a little reminder to set the suspicion aflame again. ‘But the fact remains that sheisthe wife of the creature who stole your throne. It won’t only be the people in this room who find it difficult to trust her.’ He tapped a finger against the tabletop, switching his gaze to consider me.

‘That can hardly be helped,’ I muttered.

‘What do you think of this Lidello? Soveraux is your creature, is he not? Is he capable of it?’ Esario continued, turning to a man I hadn’t noticed before. He leaned forward, revealing a face dominated by a long, straight nose set against waxy skin, and small, piercing eyes almost black in colour that were fixed intently on me. As I regarded him, he offered me an unpleasant smile that sent a chill down the back of my neck.

‘Ohyes,’ he said, his voice soft, like the rustle of parchment. ‘He is more than capable of it.’

And with a dawning sense of unease, I wondered what Draven beinghis creaturemeant.

‘I think we’ll postpone the remainder of this meeting,’ Esario continued, moving his attention back to Gwinellyn. ‘Your Lords and council have seen that you’re well and I’m sure there’s much they’ll be hoping to brief you on before we finalise the terms of our alliance.’ He stood, gesturing at Gwinellyn. ‘Let me show you the sky walk, princess. There’s a fine view over the city and the sea.’

‘Oh… yes… of course,’ Gwinellyn said, shooting a nervous glance at me, that compelling confidence disappearing as suddenly as it came. I didn’t like that the king wanted to speak to her alone, but I didn’t see how I could object to it either. She followed him to where a pair of attending footmen were parting a set of dark, heavy curtains, revealing a door and swinging it open. Brisk, salty air swept through the room for a moment, until the royal duo stepped through and it was closed behind them.

I quickly rose to my feet, conscious of the regard of the other occupants of the room as they spoke among themselves and readied themselves to depart. I wasn’t in the mood to linger alone, and the idea of trying to win favour with them made acid rise in my throat. I wanted to get away from them all, to find a quiet space where I could summon the sparks at my fingertips and remind myself that I wasn’t playing the same game anymore. I didn’tneedtheir favour anymore.

I departed the room before any of the others, keeping my gaze squarely ahead and avoiding acknowledging Dovegni. But I wondered about Esario and Gwinellyn’s walk to admire the view. What would he want to say to her that he didn’t want anyone else to hear?

Chapter Twenty-Two

My fingers finally stopped drumming against the table when Gwinellyn entered the room. She’d been gone for much longer than she should have been.

‘Where have you been?’

‘I just needed a little time to think. I went for a walk around the castle.’ She swept her hair back from her face, offering me a brief smile as she unhooked her cloak.

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