‘A good man who’s about to have his own sister as a stepmother, or near enough,’ I snarl back as I rub at my temples.
‘What?’ Jonas frowns.
Abitter laugh rattles from my throat. ‘Oh, so daddy dearest hasn’t told you? He’s to marry Acacia.’
Jonas looks genuinely shocked. ‘Surely not? He’s old enough to be her father.’
‘Yes, I’m aware.’
Jonas’s expression remains pinched. ‘But … why?’ he asks. ‘Why would he do such a thing? More, why would Acacia agree to such a thing?’
His expression clears in a way that causes my blood to run cold. ‘She is with child,’ he says with certainty, letting out a low groan. ‘It’s Hew’s, isn’t it? William said the pair of them had grown close. I should have known a cad like Hew would never do the honourable thing.’
I should deny it. Try to keep Kay’s reputation clean. But what is the point? If Jonas came to that conclusion so quickly, then surely others will as well.
My silence is confirmation enough. Jonas begins pacing anew. ‘This is wrong. So wrong. There must be something we can do. Where is she?’
‘The ball, I expect.’ I shake my head. ‘I don’t know if she’s coming here. I don’t know if she even knows where home is.’
‘Right, well then … I’ll go back to the ball,’ Jonas says. ‘Speak to them both. My father can’t possibly think this is a good idea. Acacia is so young. Far too young for him.’ He turns to me. ‘You should come with me. Between us, we can convince them this is madness before any hasty announcements are made.’
‘No, I’m not going back there. I can’t. Kyor …’ I trail off, and my heart aches again as I recall the sensation of his fingers slipping from my waist.
Jonas lets out a sigh. ‘I’m sorry, Rose. I know you … cared for him. But you had to have known the relationship had an expiry date.’
My skin prickles.
‘Jonas, please do me a favour and kindly fuck off. The last thing I need is an I-told-you-so from you.’
He grimaces. ‘Right, sorry. I’ll go and speak to my father. You don’t need to panic.’ He strides the three paces to the door. Grasping the knob, he turns to me, impassioned. ‘We can fix this.’
I want to laugh at his use ofwe, but rightnow I’ll take anyone’s help if it means stopping Artur from marrying Kay. Even if it is my greatest betrayer.
As Jonas closes the door behind him, I am left in a maelstrom of emotions.
Gods, my brother lives. It is a miracle! Florian lives, somehow, despite the king’s order for him to be killed.
And yet … if it is ever revealed that the king’s order was not obeyed, someone will surely rectify the situation immediately.
My brother lives, but to keep him that way, he can never know what I am to him.
I sit painfully alone in the gloom and watch the fire burn to ash.
Chapter 3
Dreams are dangerous things. Not because they may never come true, but because they might.
And if they do, you’ll look around, knowing you finally have everything you’ve ever hoped for, and realise it has fixed precisely nothing.
I realise now that chasing dreams is the way to an empty life. All you ever really have is the moment you are in.
When we were stripped of magic, I daydreamed constantly. I fantasised about the four of us returning home together. The more scared and hungry I was, the harder I imagined us here with warm fingers, full bellies, and an endless parade of choices stretching before us. What to eat, what to wear, and even how we lived our lives.
Now those choices are as useful as smoke in the air. What choice do I have now?
Even as the gifted, I can’t claim William as my brother. Not when the king ordered him dead. This time, Korvane would carry out the order himself. He would kill William without a second thought and likely punish anyone who ever knew of my brother’s ongoing existence.
Without Kyor to defend my mother’s lack of wrongdoing at thequeen’s labour, my brother is safer not knowing who he is. Yet the thought of not speaking to William, not knowing him as I should … it crushes me.
