Page 44 of Lady Dragon
“I am Her Highness’s captain! I won’t—” Jamsens drew up short at the sight of the princess, eyes wide.
Branon held a finger to his lips. “It’s all right,” he called to the guards outside. “Let him be and keep your distance. One visitor is fine, but the princess needs her rest.”
“Herrest?” Jamsens hissed, spinning on Branon. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Your party was supposed to be searching the southern hills,” Branon said flatly. “You disobeyed a direct order—that’stwonow, with you forcing your way in here—and, last I understood, I still outranked you.”
Jamsens stood his ground. “Somehow I knew following you would be the correct course.” His eyes darted to the princess. “I wasn’t wrong, it seems. Why is the princess bound while apparently wounded?” he asked dangerously, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword, outranked or no.
A fierce swell of gratitude blossomed in Samansa’s chest, even if it was no match for her fear.
Branon didn’t rise to the challenge, his tone only growing calmer, more concerned, in response. “She is not well. The dragon has affected her mind. I thought Kirek had abducted her, but it turns out they were both trying to flee together. I’m trying to keep the princess’s conditionquiet, so rumors of the daughter heir’s loss of reason don’t spread like wildfire and put our realm’s stability at even greater risk.”
Oh, he wasgood. Even though Samansa wanted to deny him, she wasn’t entirely sure how she could without blaming it all on Kirek or sounding insane.
Let me explain—first I kissed the dragon girl, then the Heartstone burst andIturned into a dragon…
Worse than sounding insane, she might get herself or Jamsens killed. As if to remind her, Branon glanced down at the hidden dagger tucked against his leg.
Jamsens, to his credit, still looked entirely doubtful. “I think you should let the princess speak for herself. Alone with me, if need be.”
Branon scoffed. “She can no longer be trusted to speak the truth, never mind speak for an entirerealm. You know as well as I, Jamsens, that she is not and never was cut out for this role. And here she is, trying to flee with adragon. We were just discussing—agreeably—how she should renounce her position as heir, at least until her madness has passed.”
Jamsens’s eyes narrowed. “Where you see madness unfit for a princess, I see coercion unfit for a prince.”
Branon snarled. “I’m only serving the realm, and here you are, jeopardizing it.” He asked suddenly, as if to change the subject, “Where is your father?”
“Securing the castle against any threat—from dragonsormen.” Jamsens smiled grimly. “If he knew you were holding the daughter heir against her will, he would be so terribly disappointed in you.”
Branon only shrugged. “You would know about his disappointment, wouldn’t you? You should be right here alongside me. But you failed to live up to your potential and instead chose to be a glorified lady’s maid. Look where it has gotten you.”
Jamsens shook his head slowly. “I regret nothing. And I, too, am only doing my duty.”
Samansa well understood that protecting and caring for someone went much deeper than simple service, even if Branon didn’t.
“Where’s Cenara?” she couldn’t help asking, willing Jamsens to understand. She hoped she could get away with that much.
“With your mother,” Jamsens murmured, without taking his eyes off Branon.
Mother, she thought with a pang. As much as Samansa needed help now, her mother needed the best protection—and perhaps more comfort than protection alone could give, at a horrible time like this. The princess had the hunch—and the hope—that Cenara could give her both still.
She was left with only Kirek and Jamsens, who were now both at her brother’s mercy as much as she was.
Even if Jamsens didn’t yet understand the danger he was in.
Branon shook his head and raised a hand to him. “Jamsens, there is no need to declare yourself against me. Side with therealm, which is where I stand. Your father will see the wisdom in it, I promise you—if he hasn’t already.”
Jamsens’s mouth twisted. “He would never treat with you behind the queen’s back.”
Branon only smiled, and ice crawled down Samansa’s spine.
If Tordallhadbetrayed his queen, why hadn’t he made any move to indicate such yet? Perhaps because his son’s loyalties were the only thing holding him back. Or perhaps there was another reason—Cenara’s protection of the queen? Or was it the threat of the dragons? Or was Branon merely lying without words, to give room for suspicion and doubt to grow?
“With you by my side, brother,” Branon said softly, taking a step closer to him, “we can resolve this issue quickly and mercifully. And byyourside…” He glanced down at Samansa. “We can truly be brothers, if you see reason.”
Samansa’s stomach lurched. Not simply because of what he’d suggested—Samansa herself as a prize for her captain’s swapped loyalty. But because she could see it in Jamsens’s gaze.
He was considering the proposal.
