Page 110 of House of the Raven
Yes, Amira is definitely up to something, whether of her own accord or not. And of course, Emerito, her loyal pet, is doing all he can to help her. I know that. What I don’t know is how much he knows. Has Amira revealed we’re dealing with The Eldrystone? Would she risk sharing thatknowledge with him? I suspect she hasn’t—not when he could decide to keep the amulet to himself if he finds it.
My eyes rove Bastien’s handsome face. “So you’re saying you’re risking everything you worked so hard to accomplish to protect me?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, his expression grows tense. It takes him a long moment, but at last, he nods.
“Then why don’t I believe you?” My gut is still squirming, festering with distrust. What if Amira put him up to this?
She’s been waiting for me to do something stupid. She’s watching me closely, and no one has been closer than Bastien? Do they think I’m that naïve? Maybe they do. Maybe there’s a way I can use this to my advantage.
“So… what do you think I should do?” I ask with an edge of innocence to my words.
“I don’t know.” He appears bewildered that I would ask such a thing from him. “I don’t really know your sister. I have no idea what any of this is all about. I thoughtyoumight.”
Either he’s a good performer, or he really knows nothing.
What and how much can I say without risking my position? Does he know of The Eldrystone? Would Amira have told him? No! All I can do is play the victim. I don’t know if that can help, but at least it won’t risk my safety.
“Oh, Bastien,” I blink rapidly, trying to conjure tears, “I wish I did know something, but I’m so confused. I feel like all Amira wants to do is get rid of me. Before Father died, she at least understood me. Now, she barely talks to me and wants to force me to marry that awful man. I thought she loved me, but…” I trail off and place a hand over my eyes.
“Have you—sorry for what I’m about to say—but have you considered that she might not be under the sorcerer’s spell? That she acted this way to become queen?”
I let out a huge exhalation as if someone punched me in the stomach. I wasn’t expecting to hear this from him. “She… she would never,” I protest, finding that my defense of her is unequivocal. “She’s not that kind of person. She loved our father.” Now real tears are pooling in my eyes.
“I’m sorry, princess. It’s just the entire situation is… very strange. There is secrecy surrounding your sister at the moment. In case you don’t know, everyone is talking about it.”
“They are?”
“Yes. There’s even talk that she may not be fit to be queen.”
This is why all the council members were acting so strangely around me. Backstabbers!
“Oh, gods.” I shake my head, and without a preamble, my thoughts force themselves past my lips. “If the council proposes a vote against her, and it passes unanimously, they could declare her unfit to rule.”
I look up from my lap, and my gaze locks with Bastien’s. He nods, appearing less tense now than when he first took a seat, as if this is what he had wanted me to know all along, and now that he has gotten it off his chest, he can finally breathe easily.
Seeing him like this, I find myself undone. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you doing all of this? Why risk yourself for someone you barely know?”
There’s conflict in his eyes, and I can’t even begin to understand why, but when he leans forward and puts his hand on top of mine, nothing else seems to matter but that touch.
“Because I…” Again, there is hesitation, but he seems to find the strength he needs to go on. “Because I like you.”
The words have a definite ring of truth, yet his eyes tell me he’s lying. I pull my hand away.
“I don’t believe you, Guardia Bastien Mora.”
He swallows thickly and lowers his head, but when he looks at me again, I see something I didn’t expect: resolve.
“I don’t blame you,” he says. “If I were you, I wouldn’t believe me either. This nest is full of vipers hiding around every corner. It’s smart of you to be careful, to distrust. It’s a trait I think your sister would have found useful before getting tangled with Orys.”
What? I feel like there’s something I should be able to grasp from this strange response, a light that would illuminate all the secrets he seems to keep, but all I can do is wonder why he sounds like an entirely different person.
After a brief bow, he resumes his position near the door. As he stands there, his expression stoic, his gaze fixed upon a sconce on the wall, I sense myself plummeting even faster and farther than before. Ever since the day Father died, I’ve been sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of an unforgiving sea, and despite my miraculous survival so far, the pressure has become overwhelming, and my chest hurts.
I’m definitely drowning.
33
VALERIA
