“How was I to know?”
“All you had to do was ask me why I said the things I did. I would’ve explained everything. Instead, you took one conversation out of context and have made me pay for it ever since.”
She flinched at my words, tears welling in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“No. It doesn’t.” I stood, ice replacing the heat in my veins as I stalked toward the exit, desperate for silence so I could collect my thoughts withoutherstaring at me. The rickety bridge I’d tried to build turned to rubble.Roisin would never trust me. Considering the other secret I kept, how could I blame her? I was every bit the villain she believed me to be. She would be far better off without someone like me in her life.
When I yanked open the door, Broderick had his hand raised as if to knock. Behind him, Lord Devon waited next to Roisin’s mother.
Why would they come here in the middle of the—
“The king,” Lord Devon began, his shoulders slumping inside his dark coat.
My head started to shake. Numbness spread through my limbs. “Don’t say it. Please.” If they didn’t say it, then it wouldn’t be real. My father had been better. He’d told me to leave. He wouldn’t have told me to go if he wasn’t certain he’d last the night. And I’d . . . I’d left him all alone.
I felt Roisin’s presence at my back.
Lady Seren bowed her head and said, “I’m afraid the king is dead.”
14
ROISIN
The king is dead.
I recognized the disbelief in Caiman’s eyes, the pain shining in their dark depths. I reached for him, clutching his soft shirt, feeling as helpless as he looked.
Caiman glared at my hand until I removed it.What right did I have to comfort him after acting so foolishly for so long? I was probably the last person he needed right now. No doubt he regretted wasting this night with me instead of spending it with his father.
Not one tear fell from his black eyes as his curled shoulders straightened and his expression went blank. “Lord Devon, fetch General Newton and tell him the news. Funeral arrangements must be made with haste. There will be no wake—”
Lord Devon raised a hand. “But, your highness, it is customary—”
“I said there will benowake. Arrange a meeting with the council first thing in the morning.”
“Are you certain—”
“Just do it.”
“Yes, your highness. Right away, your highness.” Lord Devon bowed and hurried down the hall in a flurry of robes and wild red hair.
“Lady Seren, I appreciate what you did for my father,” Caiman said in a much softer tone. “You are welcome to stay in the castle as long as you wish, but you may also return to Iodale if you choose.”
“She can’t go,” I cried. Not yet. I wasn’t ready. After what had happened tonight, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready.
Caiman turned to me, and the warmth he’d afforded my mother evaporated.
“If she goes, then I’ll be all alone.” I’d have Lowri, but she was no replacement for my mother.
Caiman flinched as if I’d struck him.
How selfish are you,Roisin? He’d just lost his entire family, and here I was, complaining about my mother being a short journey away.
Caiman nodded once, as if coming to some sort of silent conclusion. “My father was the one who insisted we wed. With him gone, there is no longer any need for us to continue this farce. I can find another fae bride with whom to build an alliance. If you wish to return to Iodale with your mother, I will demand an immediate annulment. Decide before the coronation,” he went on, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, “for once you are crowned queen, there will be no going back.”
Each retreating step he took left my heart sinking lower and lower until I could barely feel it beating. Ever since I’d chosen Alrec, I’d been in training to become the next Queen of Vellana. What did I have if not that?
My mother watched Caiman until he disappeared into the king’s suites at the end of the hall. “Oh, Roisin.” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she took my hand and brought me back into Caiman’s room. “Tell me what has happened.”