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But not in a vain or cruel way. Not as if we were usurpers breathing her air or pests upon her soil. No, only as if nothing the lord said or did could ever make her question her truth, her identity.
And gods, I loved her for that.
I’d never had a queen or king, I realized. Not truly. I’d served the King of Aneira as a soldier, yes, but not because I believed in him personally.
But Gwyneira was my queen. No other could come close. She would always hold that position, no matter the throne or the crown or our nationality.
I’d serve her and love her with all my heart and soul until the day I died.
Her voice was calm as she replied to Lord Thomas, “I say the same thing I have said since the first moment my stepmother falsely accused me. I am innocent. I would never have hurt my father, much less assassinated him. My stepmother was the one who killed him. She arranged his death and my imprisonment so that she could take the throne for herself.”
Lord Thomas’s gaze skimmed the crowd briefly. “You say Queen Melisandre is the guilty party?” he asked when his eyes returned to Gwyneira.
“I do.”
“And your evidence?”
I would not have thought it possible, but somehow, she drew herself up even more regally. “I have my word as the daughter of the king. I have the fact she imprisoned me and ordered my execution without even a mockery of a trial. She sought to claim my father’s throne and be rid of me before I could speak to any lord or lady who may have listened, and she used dark magic to silence any in the castle who might have come to my aid. It is only because these men found me after her Huntsman abandoned me in the wilderness that I am still alive to seek justice for my father, and that is what I plan to do. I will have justice for the king, for Aneira, and for all who have been harmed by my stepmother’s actions. This I swear to you.”
Her eyes never wavered from Lord Thomas, but I heard the implication nevertheless. We were included in that. Our people and all of Erenelle too.
I looked back at Lord Thomas, reading his every twitch and infinitesimal movement for his reaction. His gaze flicked across his people, a measuring look in his eyes, and suddenly, an intrigued sort of suspicion gripped me.
This had been intentional. All of it. Questioning her in front of the crowd, challenging her on precisely the questions everyone here would have. Like the skilled military leader he was, every second of this had been part of his plan.
But not necessarily to harm us, I suspected. He was a leader in a city under some unknown kind of siege, and whatever the threat they all faced that left them caged behind these walls, it was enough that every person felt the need to take up arms. Yet, between what Gwyneira had been accused of and what his people had likely heard she’d supposedly done, if he were to grant her sanctuary immediately, it would only raise questions of his commitment to their safety and thus breed more fear.
This public interrogation was a rational move on his part. I could almost respect that.
Except it still left us surrounded by hundreds of armed and terrified humans.
“You all have heard the stories,” he said to the crowd. “You know why we are here. And you know that I will give my last breath to protect Aneira and every person within it.” His gaze turned back to Gwyneira. “You will be given sanctuary within Duteliera. You and your allies.” He offered a brief nod to me and the others. “Until such time as Aneira is safe and the Council of Lords can be convened to evaluate your claims of innocence and of your stepmother’s guilt, just as they should have been granted the right to do when your father was killed.” His chin rose as he called out, “This is my command. It will be obeyed.”
Murmurs ran through the crowd, but numerous people nodded in agreement.
Lord Thomas surveyed them all a moment longer and then gave a brief nod to the guards around us. “Escort them to the castle. I will join them shortly.”
Short responses of “yes, sir” came from the armed humans around us, and then the woman who’d led the so-called inspection gestured for us to start moving again. Lord Thomas started off into the crowd, clearing the way without making it appear as if he was actively yielding ground for us to proceed, and he never looked back once.
I could admire a fellow strategist. I could even respect someone who clearly cared about the lives of those in his care.
It did little to reassure me of our safety, though. After all, he was still Aneiran. We were still Erenlian with a vampire princess in our care.
And I had bloody and terrible experience in how badly it could go when Aneirans discovered you were their enemy supposedly in disguise.
16
OZIAS
Istalked through the crowd, fighting the urge to bare my teeth at every armed human nearby. That they were watching us was a given.
That they dared threaten my mate was intolerable.
My beast paced restlessly within my mind, a sensation like tension ratcheting higher and higher beneath my skin, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. I hadn’t felt this close to losing control in years, not since the last time someone thought to cage me.
And a cage this was. A city, yes, but that hardly made a difference. The walls, the people, the gate that had closed at our backs.
It was all just another kind of cage, and this time, I was trapped inside it with my mate.
