Page 66 of Sword of Desire
Silas chuckled. “Involvedis an interesting word to use.” He rubbed his chin. “Tell me, how do you think Commander Beck came by the information about you not being my child?”
It felt as if she’d fallen into a cold lake, and she had no idea which way was up. “You told him?” She remembered reading through the letters Beck had sent Lyle. Beck said he discovered the king’s secret, but he never mentioned how.
Lord Silas took a step closer to her. “I did.”
“I don’t understand.” Silas was already in charge of Penlar and one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. There wasn’t much more he could gain by putting Harley on the throne, especially since she wasn’t even his child.
“I’ve been planning this for years,” he revealed. “I put everything in motion the day I sent your mother to seduce King Coden. Then I raised you, groomed you, and put you right where you needed to be so I could get what I want.”
Harley rubbed her temples, sorting through all he said. Particularly the part about sending her mother to seduce the king—which would have been her mother’s brother-in-law. Harley’s stomach cramped, and she felt ill.
“Then my next move was years later with Marsden.”
She didn’t understand how Ackley’s kingdom fit into all of this.
“Oh, darling, don’t look so confused.” He took another step closer. “Marsden is a rich kingdom, despite how poor most of the people are. We started exporting their stones here, selling them off for money. Marsden can finance anything we want. Since Melenia is so impoverished, we needed their wealth.”
Growing up, her father always seemed so loving. He’d insisted on her getting an education, he treated her well, taught her to think and be her own person. She didn’t understand how this man before her could be so cold, calculating, and cunning. Not at all like the man who raised her. “You did all this just to put me on the throne?” It seemed extreme, but then she’d never really understood why people sought power in the first place.
“It’s not so much that I wantyouon the throne,” he said, taking another step toward her so their toes now touched. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It’s my son, Lyle, who I want on the throne. You are simply a means to an end.”
Everything went eerily silent as Harley tried to process the words Silas had just said. Since he’d whispered them, no one else heard. No one else knew his secret.
She sucked in a breath, shocked. “What?” She must’ve misunderstood him. It couldn’t be true.
He leaned back slightly, watching her, a devious smile on his face. “You heard me.”
Harley had no idea how to respond as undiluted anger rose within her. Her life had been built on one big lie. Well, no more. When she’d first learned Silas wasn’t her father, she had a hard time reconciling the truth with what she’d believed her entire life. Now, discovering Silas was Lyle’s father, equally disturbed her. She’d always wondered about Lyle’s mother. He never spoke about her. She didn’t even know if the woman was alive or not.
Instead of love and fatherly affection, the man who raised her only saw her as a way to get what he wanted. And her mother had known and done nothing all these years.
Harley was a means to an end.
“So, you see, my dear, you are nothing.” He placed his left hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “You think you’re in control, but you’re not. You never have been and never will be.”
Her anger snapped. She was done being a pawn in this game. Now that she was the queen and commander of the army, she would be silent no more. Ackley had shown her another way, she just had to believe in herself. “I don’t think, I know.” She stepped away from him just as he reached out to grab her with his other hand. “Don’t touch me.”
Her guards rushed forward.
“I want Lord Silas detained,” she said. “I believe he is working against Melenia’s interests. Tie him up and keep him here. Two of you will guard him until I return.”
Silas shook his head. “You fool. You have no idea what you’re doing.”
One of the guards grabbed Silas’s hands, yanking them back and tying them together.
Harley exited the room without a backward glance. She had more important matters to attend to.
Ackley
Standing in the middle of the empty stables, Ackley ran his hands through his hair, trying to remain calm. He needed a horse, and Lyle was outside readying his men to march out within the hour. All of Lyle’s captains were on horses. Ackley just had to figure out how to get one of them without anyone seeing or knowing.
The fact that he’d released his animal a few days ago didn’t matter since it was too late to change that. Right now, he needed a horse. He leaned his head to the side, stretching his neck. He’d just tag along with the army. Then, when they stopped to sleep, he’d steal one. Granted, it was the middle of the night right now, so he wasn’t sure when exactly they’d stop. And then he’d be even farther north, away from where he needed to go.
He had that strange feeling again, the one where he was sinking in quicksand. Everything was happening so quickly around him, and he felt powerless to stop any of it.
He started pacing, trying to work through everything. He got the feeling he was missing something. Lyle had teased him about the Marsden army for a reason. Maybe Lyle wanted Ackley to take off after them. He rubbed his face. Lyle had to know that was exactly what Ackley would do. Before he decided on the best course of action, he needed to think logically about this. It seemed as if Lyle had been setting traps all along, and everyone was falling for them.
Ackley had to look at the big picture to figure this out. Since the five hundred soldiers who’d accompanied Owen to Marsden and back weren’t at the royal castle, Ackley had to assume Lyle had sent them to Losger. Then Lyle had managed to get Harley to think the soldiers’ families were there, thus sending Owen there as well. Then Harley had gone there herself.
