Page 191 of Prize for the King
“Good. Then we agree. You have my full support.”
I turn and smile at the people who’ve gathered behind me. Susan looks gleeful, Nasturtia worried, while Molly is so pale, I’m afraid she’ll faint. Her mouth is set, though. She wants to be here.
The two other queens I convinced to come, Elizabeth and Kathrine, cast worried looks behind them where my knights stand.
“Let’s take a table, ladies,” I say with a grin, projecting confidence I don’t truly feel.
I have Sidonius, and yet it might not be enough. But I’m out of time, and this is the only plan I came up with that has a chance of working.
The kings are already gathered inside and when we enter, they stand up in outrage, demanding to know what’s going on.
“What is the meaning of this? Remove those people at once!”
Raduna closes the door and stands guard, hefting his sword threateningly. Khay shuts the windows. Arvi twirls a knife between his fingers with a gleeful smile.
“This is a travesty!” Richard roars, looking first at me then at his wife, who flinches but doesn’t retreat. “You have broken the Kings’ Peace, all of you! This is a sacred space reserved for the kings! How dare you!”
“The Kings’ Peace is not in power anymore,” I say, stepping forward. “I’m instating the Queens’ Peace. From now on, queens will sit at this table.”
“Queens?” Xander asks, his voice dripping with scorn. “Then the Eleven will fall in a day! You’re a bunch of stupid, brainless women.”
I smile coolly, my hands itching to strike him. Richard and Xander are two men I wish to see brought to their knees the most.
“Even if that happens, you shan’t see it,” I say. “You’ll rot in the dungeons while your wives take over. You broke the law.”
I glance at Molly, then at Xander, narrowing my eyes with satisfaction. “You will be alive as long as it pleases your wives. If they find that you are not required for their success and happiness, it might just happen that Sidonius will lose the keys to your cells and forget to feed you.”
“You accuse us with empty hands. You won’t get away with it,” Xander hisses, rounding the table to get to his wife. “Molly, why the fuck are you here? I’ll teach you to challenge your husband, you just wait until…”
He breaks off when a knife flies by his face, nicking his ear. Slowly, Xander reaches up to touch it. His fingers come away bloody. He turns to Arvi, spitting with rage.
“How dare you!” he roars.
Arvi throws another knife. Xander flinches away, but too late. His other ear is bloody.
“Next time, I’ll aim for your throat,” my knight says cheerfully, another knife dancing between his skilled fingers. “Now sit. Good boy.”
Xander sits down, his face dark with hate. Molly breathes fast, looking between him and Arvi, then at me. When our eyes meet, she gives me an awed, tremulous smile. I smile back. Oh, it must feel so good to see the man who humiliated her finally cowed.
“I resent the sitting arrangement,” I say with a twist of my lips. “But for now, you must remain seated, gentlemen. Whoever rises without my or another queen’s express permission shall be incapacitated. Is that clear?”
Theodore folds his hands on the table, giving me a long, careful look.
“This is a mistake, Queen Caliane. As soon as those doors open,we’ll call for our soldiers. Your husband will be the first to hang, then your heads will roll.”
“Your retinues are being disarmed and locked up as we speak,” Sidonius says, his quiet voice filled with vicious satisfaction. “The Citadel guards are mine to command,my kings. You seem to have forgotten it, but this ismycity. I am the Master of Peace, and the accuser of those who break the law.”
“Then you’ll hang, too!” Richard spits through clenched teeth, pushing his chair away from the table. He remains seated when Arvi points his knife at him. “How do you expect this to work? Our people will want answers!”
“And they shall have them,” I say softly. “In your conceit and arrogance, you left behind a pile of evidence. You felt untouchable and took Sidonius for granted. But he gave you up and revealed your atrocities.”
Richard pales, and Bernard shuffles in his seat, his brow furrowed. Theodore sits back, his shoulders dropping in defeat.
“It was only politics,” he whispers, giving me an apologetic look. “It wasn’t personal, Caliane.”
“Not another word!” Richard roars, his hands shaking. “They have nothing! This is a bluff!”
“You accusing my husband was a bluff,” I hiss, my temper flaming too hot to control. “But unlike you, we have proof and the most reputable witness of all—the Master of Peace himself. There is no one more impartial on the continent.”
