“So I ask myself, what has my brother done that is so reprehensible that this woman would go from loving him to hating him in less than twenty-four hours?”
“I haven’t done anything?—”
“Quiet! I know this was you.” He jabs a thick finger toward me. “I know it was.”
So much for letting Rhainn make a match with the Nimbiss princess in my stead. I have no choice but to save myself. “You don’t understand, Boris. Princess Leeri has no wings.”
He drags on his hair, his eyes snapping with rage. “I know!”
“She—Wait… You do?”
“Of course I bloody well do. Why else would I insist on matching her with my most useless brother?”
He knew…
“That woman has no wings, no magic, and no prospects,” he snarls. “I thought: not even a duster can fuck this up. And yet you found a way, didn’t you? You found a way to fuck it all up. And for what? Some Tuath whore?”
My stomach twists.He knows.
“That’s right. I know you’ve been fucking some maid—even went so far as to bring her into the towers and have her pose as one of Aeron’s subjects.”
How the hell could he possibly know? Did Aeron tell him the truth? No. My brother wouldn’t have betrayed me like that.
But Boris betrayed me, didn’t he? Why wouldn’t Aeron?
Boris jabs me in the chest. “Until I fix this, you are not to leave the castle.”
No…
Please, no…
He gestures toward where Bell stands at the balcony door. The man I’ve known for years refuses to look my way as he marches forward and clasps a hand around my elbow.
“Do not let him out of your sight, Sergeant Bell,” the king orders. “If anyone asks, my brother is sequestered until the wedding.”
Bilson stalks into the room a split second later, avoiding my gaze.
“Is it done?” Boris asks.
Bilson nods. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
His lips twist into a malicious smile. “Good.” The king leans in close to whisper in my ear. “If you do not cooperate, your little Tuath whore will meet the wrong end of a blade—and I’ll do it right in front of you so you can watch.”
He must be bluffing. Allette is long gone by now. Isn’t she?
Boris’s dark chuckle sends chills racing down my spine. “Next time, hide your mistresses a little better.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Am I bluffing, Bilson?”
The guard finally looks at me. “No, sire. We have taken Wynn Caelis into custody. She is being escorted to the pit as we speak.”
No no no no…
“You fucking traitor!” I lurch against Bell’s hold, but the bastard is too strong.
What am I going to do? With me locked up in the castle, I won’t be able to save Allette.