Page 178 of Prize for the King
Oh, I know this face. Magnar has made his decision and nothing will stop him.
“Maybe. But I have to do this. I promised.”
“What about me?” I ask, stalking closer as my heart breaks. “You promised me things, too! You said you’d protect me, take care of me! You can’t do it if you’re dead!”
He looks away, his face stony, mouth flat. “You will be provided for. You will have your knights, men who love you, whoyoulove. You’ll be safe.”
But I love you, too!
He looks at me with cold, sober eyes, and the confession dies in my throat before I can say it. Magnar watches me a moment longer, then nods as if I just confirmed something for him, something he knew all along.
“You’ll be fine,” he says again. “And I’ll do my best to be discreet. We won’t fail.”
I drop my sheet and turn to the wardrobe where my clothes hang.I get out my warmest set and start dressing.
“What are you doing?” Magnar asks, voice cold and angry.
“I’m coming with.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m a queen. You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
“You’re not coming. Knights, I need you to hold her back.”
I whip around, leveling Raduna, then Arvi, with a hard stare. Khay is a lost cause in this, but their minds are clear.
“You will not dare.”
Arvi folds his arms on his chest, and Raduna turns to Magnar and salutes. My heart sinks.Oh no.
“My king, I heard your order,” my oldest knight says in a calm, quiet voice. “And I heard my queen’s order. I am her knight just as I’m yours. I cannot act against my queen.”
Magnar grabs a crystal vase and flings it against the wall. It shatters into a million shards that glitter in the gold light of the lanterns. His teeth are bared, shoulders heaving.
“Then you are not my knight!” he growls, stalking Raduna.
Hurt flashes across my knight’s face, but he calms almost at once, raising his empty hands to show Magnar he’s unarmed.
“I live to serve you, my king. This is the service you require, whether you want it or not.”
Magnar stops in front of him, his fingers tense and twitching, his teeth bared. Raduna doesn’t move, watching Magnar calmly, and the king growls.
“I think he’s not scared of you,” I say, rolling a stocking up my leg. Oh, I’m sticky. No time to wash. “Either brawl or let it go.”
“You can’t come,” Magnar turns to me, despair glinting in his eyes. “Please, Caliane. I need you to be safe. None of this will be worth it if you’re not safe!”
“I go where you go. Here is an idea: don’t go into places that are notsafe for me.”
“You don’t understand.” He drops to his knees in front of me and takes my face in his shaking palms. “I read the Eleven’s law handbooks. I know the rules. If I die, you’ll be the sole queen of Farneer. You will be protected. Our baby will be protected! But if someone sees you there, if they have a shred of proof that you are complicit, you will go under trial! You must stay here. In fact, go visit with someone. Be seen. Make it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt you know nothing of this. Please. I beg you.”
I look into his wide, pleading eyes. It hurts to deny him. But Magnar has made it clear he doesn’t intend to come back. He’ll sacrifice himself out of guilt.
“So what will you do?” I ask softly, kissing his forehead. “When they shoot at you, will you justavoidthe arrows? Or when someone calls the Citadel guards when they see you? You can fight, but if you attack a Citadel guard, this will be all over. This is such a stupid plan.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
I press my forehead to his. “All right. You were planning to go now?”
