“What in the world is going on here?” my mother says, her footfalls closing in behind me.
“It's true,” Guendolyn answers, raising her voice to ensure everyone hears her. “King Tibout is my father. I'm sorry to say this in front of everyone, but the king had an affair with the queen of Ash Court, my mother.”
The room breaks out in an explosion of gasps and whispers, and my mother pauses by my side. I'm confused.
“Is this a joke?” I growl.
“Brother.” Luther steps forward. “Listen to her.”
I turn to my mother, whose face pales as she blinks tears from her eyes. I reach over and wrap an arm around her back. “Come, I'll walk you back to your seat.”
She pushes me away and whispers, “I always knew he was seeing that fae, and about the child too, but I accepted it for you three to have a home, a future. I was told she was gone and would never return to the realm.”
My throat thickens, and her agony shatters me. Living with such knowledge would have torn her apart, but she did it, nonetheless.
And that means I am not to take the throne today.
“We still loved each other,” she admits. “In our own ways. Sometimes you do things in life you don’t want for the greater good.” She looks at me, clearly referring to me marrying the princess from the east kingdom.
When I stare at Guendolyn and my brothers, a fiery surge of anger rises through me. “You had to wait until now to tell me this? Fucking now?!” Why didn’t she tell me earlier? If it’s true, I could have married her today and avoided all this.
Betrayal washes over me, because if she cared for me, she would have told me this already. I don’t understand… Does she want the throne for herself?
Every eye is on us, every ear taking in the drama that will forever be attached to this kingdom.
“There is evidence for this,” the mage who came with them announces. “Well, there will be, once we conduct a test to confirm this girl is indeed, King Tibout’s daughter.”
The murmurs in the crowd quiet down, and it almost feels like everyone is leaning forward to listen. Mother is right. We will become a joke.
But if Guendolyn is the king's daughter, she has the right to claim the throne before I wed. Though she can’t claim it without marrying someone herself.
This is why Luther made a complete fool of himself, isn’t it? To help her gain the throne… is he intending to marry her?
Hundreds of questions flood my mind, only adding to my confusion.
Except anger keeps surging within me, growing, while an agonizing heartache spears through my chest. I can’t believe Guendolyn and my brothers would keep this from me. I’ve always been there for them, doing what I think is right. I’m burning up, wanting to demand they tell me the truth.
“This is absurd,” Jasion's voice streams across the great hall, tearing me from my thoughts. He’s marching toward us from the side of the hall, his jawline clenched tight. Fury flares on his face. What the fuck now?
He reaches my side in moments, his breathing fast. “You cannot allow her to turn this most sacred of ceremonies into a spectacle. If you want to know the truth, it’s that she is a spy in our kingdom. I have actual proof that she killed King Tibout.”
“That’s a lie. Jasion killed the king and conspired with your real father to do it,” she shouts.
The shock of her words leaves me speechless. I’ve started to have doubts about Jasion… but to kill a king?
Deimos flies at Jasion, his punch leading the attack. It clips the mage right in the nose, sending him to the ground in moments.
“What the fuck?!” I grab the back of my brother’s doublet and force him away from the mage.
“Has everyone gone mad?” I shout, which does nothing to silence the whispers that spread through the room like wildfire. This is not the venue for secrets to be spilled or accusations to be fired.
Jasion climbs to his feet, blood dripping from his nose. There is no way Guendolyn would kill the king… she was with us when it happened, so that alone confirms Jasion lies. Is he covering up the guilt over the death of the king? I glance over the crowd to where my father sits at the edge, watching with amusement on his face. If there was ever a guilty face, it’s that one.
An inferno of anger envelops me at the thought that he had something to do with the king’s murder.
Guendolyn steps toward me, but I'm shaking with anger. The repercussions of this will be enormous. Not to mention airing out all of this to all the lords of the kingdom, including my father, who must be beside himself with joy to see us like this from amid the spectators. With the way the bride's advisors glare at me, I doubt this union is happening today. Her and her parents are in a room, waiting to be called for the marriage. And of course, there’s the king’s sister who sits in the crowd too, waiting like a buzzard to claim the throne. I glance over and find her smirking to herself.
My blood boils, but I can’t lose control. That’s what everyone expects. What I need is to understand what Guendolyn knows about the murder and how it involves my father and Jasion.
“Can we focus
