Page 59 of Her Cruel Redemption

I held my breath as I waited on Gwinellyn’s response, praying that she was thinking of all I had said earlier and that I had finally found the trigger for her mettle.Come on, Gwin. Do it for me.Gwinellyn didn’t speak immediately, as if weighing her words carefully, considering the gravity of what she was about to do. And then, when she did speak, her voice was steady, a quiet force that cut through the room.

‘I want this alliance,’ she said slowly, her voice steady, ‘but not at the expense of being wedded to Prince Tallius.’

The reaction was instantaneous. The room stirred, murmurs like a rising tide. There was a flicker of something in Esario’s eyes, but his expression remained stony. Those members of Gwinellyn’s council watched on warily, already aware that this was coming but unsure at the end result. I wondered how long they would keep their mouths shut and refrain from jumping in to apologise on the behalf of their princess. Then I wondered if she would punish them the way she ought to if they did.

‘I see,’ Esario finally began, speaking into the stunned room with words carefully measured out like doses of tonic. ‘I’m sorry, Gwinellyn, but without the engagement, I just don’t want to involve Oceatold in a fight for the Brimordian throne. As my sister, I would do anything for you, but as my ally you’re asking too much.’

Gwin nodded, eyes fixed down, fingers splayed against the table. When she looked up, there was something fiery in her eyes I hadn’t seen before. ‘But what about what I can do for you?’

‘I don’t follow.’

‘No, but you will.’ She rose to her feet. ‘I have something to show you. Would you all please follow me out onto the sky walk.’ The swell of pride I felt as I watched her simply leave the table and head towards the doors that would lead her outside onto the ramparts was warm and foreign and entirely unexpected. She held her head high and didn’t glance back even once to see if anyone was following her.

Outside, the day was still but drizzly, with brief scatterings of rain sporadically wetting my cheeks as I traversed the walkway, followed by the confused gaggle of very important men who blinked at the daylight as they tried to guess what the princess was dragging them all outside to show them. Vic Gedelli slowed from a trot to a walk as he caught up to me and walked along beside me.

‘What’s all this about, then?’ he asked.

‘I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise,’ was the only reply I would give him. When Gwin determined we were far enough out to where the walkway jutted away from the castle and out over the ocean, she finally turned around.

‘You all keep telling me that all I have to offer is my hand in marriage,’ she began, surveying the group as they tried to shuffle onto the platform, with some still spilling onto the walkway when they wouldn’t all fit. I let them pass me, choosing to linger at the back as I watched. ‘I’d like to challenge that idea,’ Gwin continued, speaking directly to Esario, who stood at the head of the group with his arms folded. She extended a hand toward me, palm up. ‘Rhiandra,’ she said, ‘are you ready?’

A surge of anticipation ran through me as faces turned in my direction, the confusion thickening. What didthe whorehave to do with any of this, I could imagine them wondering. In a moment, they would understand that I was so much more than any of them had thought me. I wasn’t just a consort, a dowager, a traitor, a maisera, an orphan or a street urchin. And their days of trying to control me were at an end.

Well, they would understand it if I could manage to control my magic enough to keep it from striking the wrong spot and killing us all.

I exhaled slowly and raised my hands.

Lightning leapt to my fingertips, bright and searing in the grey daylight. The gathered men cringed and shrank as the air around us grew thick with static, lifting the fine hairs on my arms. The light in my palms pulsed and twisted.

Then, with a sharp flick of my wrists, I released it.

The energy burst forth in a blinding arc, slamming into the open sky with a deafening crack. Thunder rolled in answer, rumbling through the very bones of the castle. Wind rushed past us, sudden and fierce, sending cloaks billowing. A second strike followed, arcing high before splitting apart into a dozen smaller tendrils that lashed the clouds like a whip. I grit my teeth as I struggled to aim it, to control it, gritted my teeth and tried toforceit out towards the sea, but one fork arced back and struck the spier of a tower with acrack!The tower shuddered, rubble pouring down around it as a portion of the roof slumped in.

The lords reeled. Some stumbled back, crying out in terror, pressing themselves against the stone railing as if fearing the sky itself might collapse as shards of lightning crackled and popped in my hands, racing up and down my arms, the harsh, stark white throwing the whole group into sharp relief one moment and immersing it in shadow the next. The eyes of every man on the walkway were rendered strange, blank, like statues by the brilliance flowing from me, which made it even easier to hate them.

Lord Faucher was closest to me, and he was staring at me with a face slack with awe, eyes darting over me in a way that reminded me of a terrified animal, a mouse confronted with the might of a human opening the door and bathing them in a flood of light.

‘Are-are you a god?’ His question came out a stuttering squeak.

I smiled. I liked the sound of that.

‘If I am, shouldn’t you be kneeling?’

And to my shock, he bent one creaky knee, shuffling down to the ground with some difficulty, wincing as he went but never taking his eyes from me. A few nearest him followed his lead, sinking to the cold stone floor and craning their necks to blink up at me. Across the group, King Esario remained standing, arms folded across his broad chest and a stony frown on his face, and Lidello stood next to him wearing an expression of utter astonishment. Andgreed.

‘As you can see, I have more to offer as your ally than just a marriage,’ Gwin continued, her eyes fierce as she watched me, a slight smile curling her mouth. ‘I have allies of my own.’

‘This is blasphemy!’ Paptich Carrick sputtered, his mouth hinging open and closed as he stared at me. ‘This is profane! The magic of fall spawn and the Shadow Realm! This is—’

‘It’s alright, Carrick, we know,’ King Esario said, cutting him off. I let the magic recede, sinking back below my skin along with that rush of dizziness and nausea I was becoming so familiar with as Gwinellyn continued to speak.

‘Word that I’m here is spreading,’ she said. ‘My followers grow in number. And Rhiandra isn’t the only magic wielder from among those who crossed Brimordia to reach Oceatold with me.’

‘Isn’t she?’ Dovegni hissed, snapping his gaze round to her. ‘Don’t you think these are things you ought to have discussed with your own council before now?’

‘We can discuss it as soon as we leave this sky walk if you’d like, Grand Weaver,’ she said calmly, before turning and speaking directly to the King of Oceatold. ‘I know you love your people, Esario, and I know you want what’s best for your country. And as the rightful heir to the Brimordian throne, Iamwhat’s best for your country. I will ally my forces with yours to help you drive the invaders and the false king from your lands. In return, you will support my right to the Brimordian throne. My right as queen.’ She shot Tallius a venomous look. ‘Not as consort.’ The prince glowered back, clearly seething. If only my magic had struck him instead of that tower. I wonder if I could have got away with pretending it was an accident. Perhaps I would still strike him without even bothering to pretend.

Esario stroked his chin, considering Gwin with a grave expression. Then, he released a great bark of laughter. ‘Well, well, you are more your father’s daughter than I ever realised, Gwinellyn. This is quite the bargaining tool you’ve been secreting away.’ The look he shot me was less good natured. ‘It seems we have some more talking to do.’

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