The kind of man who sleeps with his wife’s friend, gets her pregnant, then leaves her crying and alone.
It made Roa want to go after him, corner him, and force him to fix this. Now. Not when they got to Firgaard.
Roa clenched her fists, watching as Lirabel sank to the floor, her body shaking with sobs. The letter from Asha was all but forgotten as Roa listened to her friend weep.
What if,Theo’s voice rang through her mind,in exchange forher position, Dax requires something... extra?
Roa’s nails bit into her palms. She didn’t want to believe such a thing. The reason Lirabel was a ward in Roa’s house was because of the sanctions imposed by Dax’s father. Sanctions that impoverished Lirabel’s family and destroyed their farm. Sanctions that Dax still hadn’t lifted, despite all his promises.
It didn’t make sense that Lirabel would willingly choose such a man.
I should have protected you,she thought.I should have paid attention.
Roa longed to go and comfort her friend. But if Lirabel wanted Roa to know all of this, she would have told her... wouldn’t she? Roa feared that revealing herself now would shame Lirabel and make the whole situation worse. She didn’t want to drive her friend even further away.
Eventually, Lirabel fell silent. She pressed her hands to her eyes, then dried them with the hem of her riding shirt. After taking a deep shuddering breath, Lirabel got to her feet and left.
Ten
Roa couldn’t get out of that room fast enough.
Her thunderous footsteps echoed through the empty hall. Her red-hot anger made the walls blur. She gripped Essie’s knife tight in one hand, needing to find Dax.
She would make him fix this.
Roa thought of that moment in the stables, when he’d brushed his thumb across her lip. How she would have let him kiss her—would havewelcomedit—if they hadn’t been interrupted.
It disgusted her now.
There was a reason Dax was the enemy. How could she let herself forget it?
Roa!Essie’s white body blurred as it flew past her, then turned back, cutting her off. Roa halted as her sister flapped her wings, silver eyes shining.Are you all right?
“AmIall right?” Roa said aloud. “I think it’s Lirabel we need to worry about.”
Essie flew in swooping circles around her.
Even Theo heard the rumors of Dax and Lirabel.Roa watched the circling white bird.Theo, who wasn’t anywhere near Firgaard these last few months.She gritted her teeth at her own negligence.If I had just paid attention...
No,said Essie.This is not your fault.
Wasn’t it, though?
If Roa had never married Dax, never helped him dethrone his father, Lirabel wouldn’t be in this position. In fact, Roa’s actions seemed to only bring unhappiness to the ones she loved—Theo, Jas, and now Lirabel.
Maybe Theo was right. Roa was no different from Amina. Just like Amina, Roa thought marrying a king would bring peace to their people.
Just like Amina, Roa hadn’t realized she was marrying a monster.
Roa walked on.
Essie flew after her.
You’ve had a thousand other things to worry about.
Roa stopped before a wide stained-glass window. Its bright reds and blues were lit up by the sunset beyond.
Roa had given up everything for this king. The king responsible for Essie’s accident. The king who didn’t care that his father’s sanctions on her people were starving them. The king who’d slept with Lirabel, then discarded her like worthless refuse.
