Page 3 of A Reign of Embers

I force my voice past it. “No amount of praise is going to change where we are now. I’m not going to tell anyone who you really are—they’d probably think me mad even if I wanted to try. You’re never reclaiming the throne.”

Marc’s gaze doesn’t waver. “I know. And your daughter will never be mine, and my father will never return from the dead. The gods deal out their justice in their own ways. We’d be in a very different place if I’d valued you as you deserve from the start.”

“Yes, we would.” I look down at my hands and then backat him, still grappling with confusion. “You could have discarded me this morning, consigned both me and your brother to the flames, emerged as sole emperor in a position to take a new wife and?—”

Marc’s voice comes out with the edge of a snarl. “I don’twantanother wife.”

With those words hanging in the air, we stare at each other through a few heavy beats of my heart. Then he laughs, hollow but not as awful as the anguished sound he made after I first confessed my crimes.

“You ran through flames to win my hand in marriage,” he says. “It was more than time that I did at least as much for you. I meant what I said last night. You won. You outmatched me—the empire is yours to claim. But you don’t have to rule it alone. I can be here for you as I should have been before. I can?—”

A snort rings out from the doorway to the bathing room. “She won’t be alone no matter where you are.”

As Marc jerks around, Raul stalks into the bedroom, flanked by Bastien and Lorenzo. The prince of Lavira’s pale blue eyes sear like flames amid his tawny skin. His massive frame looms a few inches taller and noticeably brawnier than the former emperor even when Marc has scrambled to his feet.

“How—?” Marc’s head ticks toward the walls around the bed. “You came ahead through one of the hidden passages.”

I push to my feet too. “Because I asked them to, because I wanted to have someone I actually trust nearby.” I glance past him to my three princely lovers. “You didn’t need to step in.”

Raul glowers at Marc. “I figured he’d spouted off enough pretty words trying to wheedle his way into your good graces. He’s already lucky you didn’t let us broil him—he should be happy enough with that.”

Marc’s attention ticks back to me. We never got into the reasons whyIsavedhimfrom the onslaught of magic my lovers aimed at him.

“I thought there was something worth preserving,” I say evenly. “It remains to be seen how much.”

Bastien steps up beside Raul, his arms folded over his lean chest and his dark green gaze intent beneath his rumpled auburn hair. “He can try to pitch more of a case later, if you have to let him. Youdoneed your rest. And before that, we have more important things to hash out—like what we’re going to say if anyone questions how we all got to your bedroom without being seen by the guards Linus sent down the hall.”

Right. We constructed our story about the fire on the spur of the moment without having any time to think the details through.

I rub my temple. “We won’t want to reveal the hidden passages. They’ve been too useful, and the information would raise even more questions. The only other direction you could have come from… Can we say that Marclinus invited his foster brothers to his apartment to celebrate the birth of his heir, before he came to see me and her? And that he left Marc on guard when he went to check on me?”

The prince of Cotea’s pale face turns pensive. “After which, we followed him when we heard a disturbance. That could work.”

Raul scowls at Marc. “As long as the ‘guard’ doesn’t dispute the story.”

Marc glares back at the other man. “Any doubt in our story would likely harm my position more than yours. I can stick to the same tale.”

Lorenzo moves past his foster brothers, giving Marc a wide berth, so he can slip his dark hand around my elbow. I lean into his well-muscled frame, craving the comfort.

If Marc’s jaw tenses, so be it. He won’t have any place here at all if he can’t accept the men who’ve become the real loves of my life.

The tongue-less prince signs his question rather than using his illusionary voice.Soldier attacked you. Why?

Bastien’s posture tenses. “Yes, we heard Tribune Valerisse tried to kill you. What in the realms is wrong with her?”

The memory of the high-ranking officer’s remarks turns my stomach.

I close my eyes for a second to steady myself. “She blames me for the empire’s struggles in the past year—she doesn’t think I’m capable of guiding it until Coraya is of age. She demanded that I step aside to let someone else take the throne and said that she has Sabrelle’s approval to turn the imperial army against me if I refuse. Then she lunged at me.”

Marc sucks a sharp breath through his teeth. “That’s ridiculous. As if Valerisse has a better claim than an imperial spouse who’s proven herself more than any consort in history. That fucking traitor. When we get our hands on her?—”

“It doesn’t look as if we will all that quickly,” Raul interrupts. “Yoursoldiers didn’t manage to catch her even in the palace. It sounds like she’s long gone.” His scowl deepens. “Probably running back to Lavira where she’s worked most closely with the army.”

The thought of all the problems still ahead of us rolls over me, and my balance tilts. Lorenzo’s grasp on my arm tightens. He gestures to the others.

Bastien’s mouth flattens. “If Valerisse is gone, then she’s no immediate threat to Aurelia. Our empress won’t be able to rule anyone if she’s mad with exhaustion. We can get a sense of the loyalties of the soldiers here at the palace while she sleeps.”

Marc squares his shoulders. “I’m staying here, to ensureno one makes another assassination attempt. It’d look strange for me to leave after she requested my presence.”

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