City in Ruins (20 page)

“Are you accusing our queen of treason?” one
man yelled.

“Are you making accusations you’re prepared to
back up?” another hollered.

Reaching behind me, I took King Brahn’s hand in
my own, squeezing it. “It began when they imprisoned their
father.”

“This is preposterous!” Blayne Dragern
roared.

“Is it?” I asked, my eyes suddenly
burning. “Is it really so preposterous,
Captain
Dragern? Do you know what I
find preposterous? A girl of sixteen turns writing a missive for a
mad king to a traitor, a missive that would catapult her into a war
that began with you all along, a war that began with a simple piece
of paper.”

Tugging Brahn forward, I continued to stare at
Blayne, my anger growing. “Do you know what I find preposterous?
That your ambitions not only caused the fall of my country but
weakened that of your brother-in-aw. Tell me, which of you put King
Freemont in a coma? You or your sister?”

The Sadeemians’ cries rose up, echoing through
the chamber. My allegations were wild, but anyone who’d fought on
the front lines with us over the past two years would recognize the
truth.

Cadeyrn’s hard gaze found his uncle’s,
something dark and eerily mad in his eyes. He’d fought with us.
He’d seen the missive, and I knew exactly where his mind had gone,
saw him draw the same conclusions I had in the dungeon.

His sword drawing closer to Blayne’s throat,
Cadeyrn hissed, “Which one of you killed my wife and
son?”

I froze, my heart breaking.

“No,” I whispered, but as much as I hated to
admit it, as much as I hated to agree with Cadeyrn’s abrupt
accusation, it suddenly made sense.

Queen Isabella had never wanted her son to
marry a woman with many gods. According to her, the Henderonians
were barbarians.

The true war had begun with Cadeyrn’s wife and
son. Their death led to the marriage alliance with Greemallia.
Their death led to the eventual missive I wrote to Blayne
Dragern.

Horror filled me.

“Son,” King Brahn said suddenly, his eyes on
Blayne. “What have you done?”

The sword I held clattered to the floor, my
gaze rising to the man Cadeyrn threatened. “Was it all worth it?” I
asked.

Cadeyrn’s knuckles had whitened around the hilt
of his sword, his jaw tense, and I knew he was about to break.
“Which one of you killed my wife and son?” he repeated, his words
dangerous.

Blayne smiled, his gaze flicking to my face. He
didn’t answer, and I knew why he refused. Whatever answer he gave
would reveal the truth, and he didn’t want the prince to
know.

But I knew.

I knew, because in the end, when Cadeyrn’s
association with me resulted in a second Henderonian marriage,
she’d convinced Gabriella to kill me.

“Queen Isabella,” I whispered. Blayne glared at
me, and I stared at him. “You can’t destroy people’s gods by
killing them.”

Blayne sneered, his fist rising. “Guards!” he
screamed. “Arrest them all.”

Men spilled into the room, some of them
entering from behind the throne.

“You’d listen to a false king!” I shouted, my
hand lifting King Brahn’s. “When your true king stands before
you?”

The guards froze.

“Arrest them!” Blayne yelled. “Now!”

Swords hissed as they were pulled from their
scabbards.

“Tell them, Blayne Dragern!” I screamed, “how
you locked your father up in his own dungeon for four years! Better
yet, ask him yourself!”

“And who are you to make accusations?” Blayne
roared. He waved at the room. “A bastard daughter with no
affiliation to the royal family!”

“A dragon whore,” one of the
Beatrice’s
sailors
called.

Blayne grinned. “Oh, ho! So, you’ve acquired
yet another title since our time in Sadeemia?” He glanced at the
crowd. “You’d listen to a whore?”

Cadeyrn’s sword suddenly flew through the air,
the weapon slicing through Blayne’s tunic, the force of it knocking
the man into the throne, the sword pinning him to it by his
clothes.

“Call her a whore one more time,” Cadeyrn
warned.

King Brahn leaned close. “I see,” he whispered,
his brows rising. “Have faith in my grandson, child.” His gaze
pierced mine. “Now, let me save your life the way you saved
mine.”

Stepping away from me, King Brahn sauntered
toward the throne. “Tell me, son, why you feel the need to belittle
a girl you almost whipped the life out of only days
ago.”

Cadeyrn’s startled gaze swung to mine. He began
lunging at Blayne again but Brahn stopped him. “You have better
restraint than that, Cadeyrn,” his grandfather said with a smile.
“Though, in truth, I’d rather like seeing you run him through with
a sword.” He glanced at me. “But I have a few plans for him in the
dungeons first.”

Blayne laughed, the sound cruel. “I see she’s
won the heart of another ruler.”

Ignoring him, Brahn took another step forward,
his gaze sweeping the room, his eyes finally landing on Blayne. “If
you are the true king of New Hope, tell me where your mother’s
signet ring is hidden, where it was stored after her death. Only
two people knew where it would go, Blayne, and one of them is dead.
Your mother was a smart woman. She saw the deceit in you even
then.”

Lochlen, who’d been quiet up until now,
sauntered toward me, a twinkle in his eye despite the tension in
the room.

“I’m impressed,” the dragon whispered. “When
you reveal something, little one, you reveal it big.”

Oran padded toward me, his haunches meeting the
floor next to my feet. “Does this mean we can return to
Medeisia?”

My gaze found Cadeyrn where he stood with his
grandfather, both of them staring at Blayne.

“No,” I answered. “I have to go to Sadeemia.”
Lochlen’s and Oran’s startled gazes swung to my face, and I smiled
sadly. “I have a king to heal. If it’s not too late.”

“And if it is, and it turns out Arien is in
league with his mother?” Oran asked.

I swallowed hard, my eyes remaining on Cadeyrn.
“Then you’re looking at the next King of Sadeemia.”

Chapter 28

After all of the wild allegations, revealed
truths, and crushing revelations, it was finally a small silver
signet ring inlaid with turquoise uncovered by a guard-led King
Brahn that got Blayne Dragern dragged away, his protests chasing
him all the way to the dungeons. His wife was taken with him, their
prison cells right next to each other. Blayne would serve time in
the cell his father had occupied. Gabriella would reside in
mine.

It should have felt like a vindication, but
after everything we’d uncovered, it didn’t feel triumphant. Too
many people had been hurt. Too many lives had been lost. Too many
nightmares had been born.

Prince Cadeyrn barely looked at anyone, his
gruff, “We sail immediately for Sadeemia,” the only words he
uttered as he left the room. His crew followed, SeeVan’s
sympathetic gaze meeting mine as he trudged past.

As his first returning order, King Brahn had a
guarded escort follow us down to the docks, and though I’d not seen
much of New Hope other than its dungeons and forests, I didn’t feel
slighted in the least. Sadeemia wasn’t home, but it was close and
only a day away by dragon.

We’d left the palace and was
boarding the
Beatrice
when King Brahn appeared. Originally, he’d decided against
accompanying us, worried that his people’s reaction to seeing his
face would be too disturbing, the possibility of a riot not out of
the question.

He’d changed his mind.

Stepping onto the gangplank, the king
approached me, his gaze on my face, his wrinkled hands reaching for
my hands. I accepted the familiar embrace.

“Remember,” he told me, “You always have a
place at my court.” Without warning, he pulled out his wife’s
signet ring, and I froze.

“No,” I protested, “don’t even think
it.”

The king chuckled. “I learned a valuable lesson
in my four years in prison. Material things have little value
unless they mean something.”

Brahn glanced up, his gaze finding his
grandson, who stood behind me, his presence required out of respect
for the king. Another royal custom.

Opening my hand, Brahn placed the ring within
it, closing my palm over the silver. “For an hour, I watched my son
whip you. For an hour, I watched you bleed. For an hour, I watched
him try to break you.” He inhaled. “I knew it was an hour because I
kept counting the seconds hoping you’d tell him to stop. You never
did. You never denounced your gods or your people. That’s loyalty,
Drastona Consta-Mayria, and that, my dear, is often harder to find
than love.” Bowing over my hands, he released me. “Come see this
old man again, would you?”

I nodded, my fist clenching around the ring
he’d given me, my throat closing up.

“There are two Medeisian ships headed your way,
Your Majesty,” I told him. “They’ll be accompanied by two dragons.
Use them to help bring order back to your people. All the
Medeisians ask is that you provide them with provisions for the
return journey home.”

I wasn’t the Queen of Medeisia, but Feras was
the acting king, and he’d promised Brahn the support.

Behind me, SeeVan gave the last call to
board.

Brahn stepped away from me. “Until we meet
again, Queen of the Forest.”

Somehow, my feet found the deck, my gaze on the
shore, on the king I saw disappearing into the crowd. He’d been
through a lot over the last four years, but I was learning that
sometimes it took having everything taken away for a person to
realize what they had.

On the deck, Daegan stood with an already
putrid-looking Maeve, and a silent wolf. I walked toward
them.

“I’m so sorry,” Maeve exclaimed when she saw
me. “I was too weak to go ashore.”

I brushed my fingers across her forehead, the
hand with the ring fisted against my stomach. “Oh, Maeve,” I
soothed. “It doesn’t take being at every battle to prove you’ve got
what it takes to win the war.”

Daegan winked at me. “I keep telling her
that.”

I smiled. “When we arrive in Sadeemia, we’ll
arrange travel with the dragons back to Medeisa.”

“Thank the gods,” Maeve mumbled.

Oran stared up at me, and I knew he didn’t
approve as much as she did. My brows rose, and he snorted. “You’re
not the one who runs the risk of falling off,” the wolf
complained.

Above us, a falcon called, and I shaded my
eyes.

“Good-bye, little one!”
the New Hope forest called.

I didn’t care how crazy I appeared, I lifted my
hand and waved.

“How’s Catriona?” I asked, glancing at the
group next to me.

Daegan grimaced. “She’s returned to Henderonia.
Her father insisted his heir be born where he could guard her. We
docked there long enough for her to depart among a guarded escort.
It seems women associated with Cadeyrn don’t have a long life
expectancy.”

I kept thinking my heart couldn’t break any
more than it already had only to prove myself wrong.

Nodding at my friends, I walked to the edge of
the deck, the fist against my stomach opening to reveal the ring
Brahn had left in my palm. Along the metal band, there was a line
of words in a language I didn’t know.

I squinted at it.

“It says
new
beginnings
,” a voice said from beside
me.

Glancing over, I found Prince Cadeyrn on the
deck beside me, a few feet separating us. His hands gripped the
rail, and I knew by his white knuckles that he was damaging the
wood.

“New beginnings,” I repeated. Without giving it
too much thought, I slid the ring onto my pointer finger. “New
beginnings.”

Chapter 29

The journey to Sadeemia was no shorter than our
journey to the Isle of Marr. Three weeks passed on ship, most of
them quiet. More rain fell on the return trip, but none of the
showers turned into the dangerous gales known for sinking
ships.

In truth, the sea voyage was a sad one, a heavy
cloud hanging over the sailors aboard. Most of the men were
Sadeemian natives loyal to their Captain. The things uncovered in
New Hope had colored how they felt about their country and about
their rulers. Only one thing remained true: their prince was a
victim of circumstance.

Cadeyrn spent most of the voyage on deck
toiling with his men, the physical labor working the demons out of
his system better than anything else ever could. He was not an idle
man. It was one of the things I loved most about him.

My nights with SeeVan, Lochlen, and Oran
resumed, lantern light spilling over us as SeeVan regaled us with
wild stories, his fingers working a sail. He’d begun teaching me
how to mend the material, and I often joined him in the
stitching.