Page 77 of To Wake a Kingdom

Chapter Thirty

OntheoutskirtsofEstria, we stopped for the night. Another week had passed with us peering over our shoulders, but there had still been no sign of Mare. The weather was warmer here, touched only by the first blushes of winter. Kianna found us a glen covered in a canopy of golden trees, the ground softened by fallen leaves.

We sat in front of a crackling fire as the sky grew dark. Kianna lay in the grass, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the flames with sleep-heavy eyes. I huddled next to Ronan with his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

I was nervous about entering the city, and I could sense he felt the same.

“Thorne,” he said eventually, looking at the fire, “do you want to stake your claim to Ravalyn and the kingdom my father stole?”

“I don’t know. I mean, yes, I want to, but I can’t go in there and just ask for it. I understand I’m going to have to fight for it. Against your army.”

Mouth in a determined line, he looked at me. “I won’t fight against you.”

“Will you have a choice? My army consists entirely of me, and maybe Kianna, if I can talk her into it.” The Fae had fallen asleep, her diminutive frame curled into a tight ball.

He closed his eyes, clasping my hand. I considered what it would mean to walk away from my claim and accept Estria’s rule. It would be so much easier.

I was so tired. So burned out from fighting for every tiny scrap of happiness that never lasted, anyway. Maybe it would be the smart thing to do.

Did I want to start a war? It would be the shortest one in history.

“I need you to be careful. Erick and my father have always been fond of taking the things I love,” Ronan said, a bitter grind in his voice. “My father tried to take the loyalty of my soldiers and failed. Erick tried to take Noah once, and he failed at that too.”

“What happened?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“My brother has always been jealous of our friendship. What he’s never understood is that when you stand on a battlefield covered in another man’s blood, it forges an unbreakable bond. Noah and I have had each other’s backs since we were old enough to hold a sword. He is my brother in all but blood. And Erick has always hated us both for it.He wouldn’t understand loyalty if it slapped him in the face. He saw our friendship as a threat, always convinced I was plotting to kill him and take the crown for myself.” He scoffed and shook his head. “He’ll never understand there’s nothing I want less than to be a king.”My head on his shoulder, I burrowed closer into him as he continued.

“We had just turned fourteen when one of the high noble families came to stay with us. They had a daughter around our age. Margaret. Noah fell instantly in love.” He laughed softly at the memory. “Of course, my brother saw an opportunity. One afternoon, my father took me and Erick hunting with Margaret’s father. There is a small house in the woods we use as a base camp for longer hunting trips, and after a long day outside, we headed there to spend the night.Erick had Margaret smuggled into the house, locking her in a room.”

I sat up, making an indignant sound, as Ronan’s bright eyes flashed.

“He had one of his guards rough her up and then procured several so-called witnesses. They claimed Noah had dragged her there, thinking the house was empty.Noah was at the castle the whole time, but everyone believed my brother. What was a future king’s word against a lowly soldier? I don’t know what Erick said to Margaret to convince her to go along with the lie, but when I demanded answers, she refused to speak. I didn’t believe it. Margaret’s father flew into a rage and demanded Noah’s head.My father acquiesced immediately. Margaret’s family was powerful, and my father would never let his conscience get in the way of securing an advantageous ally. We went back to the castle, and Noah was dispatched to come speak for himself. He denied it, of course, but was sent to the dungeons, and they slated his execution for the next day.”

A hurt that ran deeper than an ocean trench blazed in Ronan’s eyes. Maybe I’d stick a knife in Erick too.

“I confronted Erick and told him to tell the truth, but he claimed ignorance. He thought it was all a joke. I was beside myself. Gideon tried to calm me down, but I wasn’t having any of it. I was young and furious, and I wanted to destroy everyone and everything.The next morning came, and they dragged Noah into the courtyard. I tried again to make everyone see reason, but it was no use. My father’s guards had to hold me back as the executioner walked up to the beheading block. I was crying so hard, and my brother stood there with that smug look on his face. I swore then I’d kill him, and not because I wanted his fucking crown. Then at the last second—” He chuckled at some long-held recollection.

“What?” I asked, shaking his arm, impatient to hear the rest.

“Gideon. I don’t know how he did it, but he got the man who actually beat Margaret to confess. There he came, dragging the man by his ear, and made him tell everyone what he had done. The man was actually sobbing. Well, that stayed my father’s hand. Erick played it off like he was going to come clean at the last moment all along, and it was only a prank among friends. Nothing happened to him, but any kind of relationship we had broke forever that day.”

“I don’t understand it,” I said, and he raised his brows in question. “How did you grow up with that—withthosemen and you’re…you?”

“Maybe I’m good at hiding it,” he said with a derisive laugh as he tossed a twig into the fire.

“You’re not, are you?” I feigned terror and then laughed when he seemed genuinely worried I’d believed him.

With a roll of his eyes, he wrapped me in his arms and gave me a kiss.“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling away. “I mean, all things considered, of course.”

“Not really, but I have no choice but to keep going.”

He touched my cheek and then ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “Your strength and resilience are the most incredible things about you. What I love about you most.”

A swelling of pride bloomed in my chest at his heartfelt words. “I wish my parents could have met you. They would have loved you.”

“I wish I could have met them, too. I would have been able to tell them I was the single luckiest man in the world that you fell in love with this humble soldier.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. There is nothing humble about you.” He threw his head back and laughed before I captured his face in my hands. “But that’s something I love most about you.”I settled against him as he wrapped his arms around me.“Can we stay here forever?” I asked. “I don’t need anything but you and this fire and this blanket we’re sitting on.”

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