Page 51 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
“Because he didn’t love me! Because no one has ever loved me…” She seized his arms and turned him round to face her, pressing her hands to his cheeks. “Apart from you.”
“So… so you killed him?”
“Like I said, I didn’t mean to. I just snapped. And then after he died, I realised Eirwen would be next in line to the throne, that we had only a few more years…”
“We could have just gone back to Florin! You didn’t have to kill her–”
“The people of Florin hated us!”
“They hate us here too, mother.”
“No. Here, they fear us. As they should. Fear, my son, is far more reliable than love and hate.”
“But why? Why do any of this?”
“I told you; it is our right!”
“You just told me you aren’t even royalty!”
“Exactly. For years I served that ungracious family, cleaning their filth, taking care of their every need. Not a word of thanks, of acknowledgement, not even when my fingers bled from the work, when my back felt close to breaking…”
“You’ve become what you hated.”
A sharp slap cracked through the air. “Hold your tongue, boy! You don’t know how hard I’ve fought for you!”
I really have no idea what my mother would do if I stood against her,Cole had said. Eirwen wasn’t sure she wanted to know now, either.
Cole put a hand against his cheek. “Forgive me, Mother. I don’t know what came over me.”
He took her hand, pressing his lips to her long, white fingers. He slid the truth ring off, an action that went unnoticed by his mother.
“Please, allow me to return to the festivities. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
He slipped out of the room. Eirwen pressed her hand against the panel and felt its give. How easy it would be, to slip in now, to confront her, to take the dagger hidden in her skirts and plunge it into her heart. She deserved death. Eirwen deserved vengeance.
She did not know what stopped her. Fear of repercussions? Fear for her soul, of becoming as bad as her enemy?
In that moment, she would have borne the stain willingly. She did not care.
But the Queen swept out before she could move, and the moment was lost.
