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“No!” Yasmin shrieked, stamping her foot before glaring my way. “Don’t listen to her, Soren. She’s a fucking liar. I never even met with the Far Shore prince without you there.”
Soren looked momentarily uncertain.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I murmured to him with what sounded like perfect, heartfelt sympathy as I pressed a hand to my chest. “Did you think she truly loved you? Did you believe you were the only one she was being unfaithful to her husband with? Did she make you feel special?”
“Shut up,” he growled. “Shut your lying, fucking mouth. I killed my cousin for her. My best friend. I planned to kill my other cousin and my wife. My parents. My child! All so we could rule Donnelly together. Dammit, she wouldn’t betray me. She does love me.”
“That’s right, I do,” Yasmin cooed, touching his arm in comfort before she twisted her expression with irritation and narrowed her eyes my way. “You’re really grasping at straws now, Sister. And here, you must’ve thought you were so smart. That you knew it all.”
“I think I’m finally figuring a few things out,” I said softly.
“What I don’t understand,” Urban spoke up, “is why I wasn’t included in this kill list?” He stepped boldly to my side. “Honestly, that stings. Did you think I’d just stand aside and let you kill my one true love?”
“Oh, I imagine you were supposed to die in that carriage explosion. Or today during battle.” I glanced Yasmin’s way. “Right?”
“Wait, what?” Soren roared, gaping at Yasmin in utter shock.
“I mean, you were the one who suggested that Urban go check out the abandoned carriage,” I went on, studying the increasing impatience growing on her face. “So it only goes to show he was the intended target there. I’m sure you thought he’d just leap forward and do your bidding without any caution to his own safety because he’s just that kind of protector. But that’s not quite what he did, was it? You forgot to take into account how accurate his gut instinct is when trouble’s afoot.”
“That was you?” Soren demanded of the queen. “You set up the carriage explosion? Dammit, Yasmin. Why didn’t you warn me? I almost died from that.”
Yasmin sent him a hard, annoyed glance. “Well, I never told you to hop forward and look inside the carriage, now did I? I needed you alive, in charge of Donnelly… So I could more easily crush it once I took over Far Shore.”
Soren gasped, clutching his chest with ultimate betrayal as he backed away from her.
I sighed at his stupidity. “What I haven’t yet figured out is how you set the trap up so quickly after learning we were all going to walk to Mandalay,” I went on, tapping my chin thoughtfully only to shrug and add, “You did leave us for a spell to change into a new outfit, but that didn’t seem to take as long as I should think it would to set the trap. Then again, bearers of dark magic can accomplish many puzzling deeds, can they not?”
Soren sniffed. “Except Yasmin doesn’t possess dark magic.” Then he glanced toward her, suddenly uncertain and shifted several more feet away. “Do you?”
She ignored him, merely staring at me as if almost impressed by my deductive abilities.
“And the High Cliff priestess that was killed,” I went on. “That was you, too.”
“Oh my God,” Nicolette whimpered from somewhere behind me.
“Is all this true?” Brentley asked, appearing at my side to face off with Soren and Yasmin. “You two planned such destruction together? You brought Far Shore to our land for a war? You brought dark magic into Caulder’s castle? And you killed your king?”
Soren merely sneered at him. “I don’t have to answer to you, lard ass.”
“Yes,” Allera growled, stepping up next to him and lifting the sword she’d taken off the dead Donnelly guard to hold it near Soren’s throat. “You do. I believe you need to answer to all of us right now.”
Soren snapped his teeth at her. “I was going to kill your precious husband first today.” His glare shifted toward Brentley. “But the aggravating chunk of blubber never would turn his back to me.”
Anger flashed in the High Cliff princess’s eyes as she wound her sword back to strike him.
But Brentley caught her shoulder. “Wait,” he said, still staring at his cousin. “I need more answers first.” Then he shook his head. “Why?” he choked out. “How?” Hurt filled his eyes as he studied Soren. “I can understand me, but Caulder…” He glanced longingly toward his brother’s body. “He was your best friend. You two… You were always as thick as thieves together.”
“Yes, but he’d stopped listening to me,” Soren muttered, contemptuously, snickering at the dead king. “I told him we should’ve aligned with Far Shore, but no… Some stupid cunt convinced him High Cliff would be the better choice.”
He narrowed his eyes my way, clearly blaming me for Caulder’s decision.
I glared right back, shaking my head. “So you killed him because you didn’t get your way? Mature.”
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“I killed him because it was my time to rule!” he roared, filling the dining hall with his rage. “I’m the goddamn firstborn of all the Donnelly grandchildren. It was my destiny. My throne! Just because my father was born two fucking minutes after Caulder’s was no excuse. I was older than him.” He glanced at the fallen king with more spite. “It should’ve been my crown. I killed my own parents to ascend this far. I’m not stopping now.”
With a superior glance toward Yasmin as if she were his ace in the hole, even though she’d just told him she planned to crush him once he ruled Donnelly—or maybe he assumed she was playacting when she’d said that—he turned back to us, nodding knowingly. “None of you can stop us.”
