Page 159 of Ashborne Forged

“Vane, please. You know I’m right. You simply aren’t accustomed to taking wisdom from your elders anymore. Pity. You used to be so good at it.”

I bristled, but she continued, her jaw set. “Stop glowering. I am only attending this mess at your request. I will do as you’ve asked and intervene, but a modicum of gratitude would be appropriate. Even apart from the travel—which I rarely undertake these days—this entire venture is a political snare. I risk my own standing, and in a kingdom where I do not possess the citizenship of power. If Burk decides he’s annoyed enough to put me in the dungeons, Diaan won’t rush to save me. The least you could do is give me the best chance of success in my efforts on your behalf. Keep your head down, and let me do what I do best!”

“Oh, I will, Mother,” I murmured. “Which is precisely why this little tantrum is unnecessary. You and I both know this entire venture is your favorite web to weave.”

She folded her arms, looking surprisingly petulant. “Mock me if you will, but I am not the one who came seeking help.”

I huffed, a rush of resentment and fear that had started in my childhood, and morphed into very adult self-loathing, clawing its way up my back. I kept my teeth closed, fighting the urge to remind her of all the ways she’d promised to help, and instead destroyed me. But it would only satisfy her. This was what she did. She poked, and questioned, and tested, until she found the thing that would touch my most tender places.

Arguing with her only confirmed her suspicions.

So, instead of snapping my teeth at her, I showed them in a smile. “And I thank you for your mercy. Truly, Mother,” I hissed sarcastically.

No matter how bold, or indifferent, or pissed off I appeared to her, the truth was, I was wary. She hadn’t mentioned this in her plan, and even though she was absolutely correct—I would have hidden among them as a servant most of the time even if she wasn’t here—I didn’t know if it was her attempt to keep me out of the way, or merely another of the power-plays she conjured like breathing.

Either way, it was too late to argue—which was precisely why she had waited. She knew I wouldn’t abandon the mission when we were so close. It was just so fucking frustrating that she always found a way to knock me off my line.

I did my best not to let her see it. Continued glaring, but didn’t back down. Didn’t stop looming over her.

Unconcerned, she patted my face, like a mother to a cherished son. “These times you remind me of your father are the most precious moments to have back, Vane.”

I caught her wrist in a move that startled her because she didn’t see it coming, and smiled. “I told you I tire of hearing about him. Careful, or I may decide that you two deserve similar fates,” I said through my teeth.

She rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss that her weight swayed back and she was the one to step away. “You’re tense. Gather your things. You’ll feel better when we’ve found your girl.”

“It’s the baby—”

“Vane, I am a woman. I know the look of love in a man’s eyes,” she offered casually, sending a jolt of fear through me. “Oh, don’t worry, son. It touches me to know that your heart still bleeds. So, let’s cease the games, shall we? I’ll get you to the castle. You find your girl, promise your love, steal her heart back—whatever it is that you have decided you need to do. Only, you do so in the dark, in the shadows. You let me do the work in plain sight. Between us, we will get her out.”

“We have to get her out now,” I insisted. “Before he learns that she’s pregnant.”

“I heard you the first time,” she said tightly. “And we have a plan. Now, trust me.”

I managed not to shake my head in disbelief until she turned away. But it was close.

53. A Private Audience

~ GRACE ~

‘I’m here. I’m watching.’

Voski’s voice in my head was so warm, so deep, so close, I sucked in and instinctively looked over my shoulder.

Breckon glanced down at me from the side, but saw nothing that interested him and went back to his conversation with one of the other men who’d joined us at lunch.

I was struggling to pretend interest—or even attention—anymore.

Voski had appeared close enough to speak hours earlier, bringing a rush of relief so intense I’d almost cried.

I’d fallen asleep the night before with a smile on my face and feeling safer than I had since we left the hut. But woke this morning, cold. Frantic when he didn’t answer my immediate call through the link. Only Koa’s reassurance that they were already on their way back to us and would arrive today kept me sane.

I’d thought since we arrived at the castle, I’d done well. I hadn’t lived in fear. I’d planned. Hoped. I’d kept my balance.

But this day had been one stumbling mess after another, my heart thudding in my chest and my pulse pounding in my ears at every turn. Every movement at the corner of my eye kicked my reflexes and I whirled like a startled deer.

I was so jumpy, and nervous, even Breckon grew concerned on our walk to the ballroom this evening. I had startled because a servant emerged from a hidden stairwell. After we’d passed the poor maid, he tugged me into a corner alcove and demanded I calm.

“What has unsettled you?” he muttered. “You cannot expect them to believe you don’t carry a babe when you twitch and shriek at the appearance of a mere servant! They all know how fragile a woman becomes during pregnancy.”