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Lips parting, I gaped at Roloff, the soothsayer.
Apparently, my father hadn’t had him killed for predicting the wrong gender of his newest born, after all.
Roloff had no doubt been the one to warn them of my impending arrival. He’d betrayed me.
Must take a good deceiver to know one, I guess.
“So, you’re to be called the Bastard Betrayer, are you?” The king sounded mildly conversational and utterly unsurprised as he spoke, confirming my suspicions that the soothsayer had worked with him against me, revealing my prophecy. “I confess, I didn’t see that one coming. The bastard whipping boy who thought he could double-cross a king. Defeat a king?” He chuckled softly. “Wouldn’t that be a sight if you had actually succeeded?”
“I’m here for Sable,” I said, standing my ground, a lone man surrounded by the mightiest soldiers the kingdom had to offer and in front of the only man who’d ever made me cower in fear.
The king arched a severe brow. “And the Donnelly princess I had you fetch?” he countered.
I shrugged, not breaking eye contact. “She died in the Cull on the trip here. A river monster got her.”
All truth.
“Is that so?” the king murmured, studying me a moment before he lifted a hand to wave someone forward from the side of the room. When the two soldiers from the ferry stepped into view, my stomach filled with acid. “Then, how can these two claim they saw you with the princess alive, not but five days ago.”
“Aye,” I agreed on a decisive nod. “They did. And they saw her fall in the water, dead, too.”
“Dead, huh?” the king asked. “Then who were you fucking that night, when my guards doubled back upon leaving the ferry and found you cozied up with the little bitch in front of a roaring campfire? A dead corpse?”
I glanced sharply at the guards, surprised they’d been there. I’d had no clue anyone had seen us. And why the hell hadn’t they taken Nicolette from me, then? I knew I’d told them before getting on the ferry to keep their distance; I’d lied, saying I could get the princess to Blayton far faster if she was compliant and unaware she was being kidnapped. But where had they been when she’d tied me to the tree and abandoned me the next morning?
“They returned directly to me,” the king answered my silent ponderings, “reporting of your successful capture. We thought you’d arrive with the ruined princess in tow any day”—he motioned toward Roloff—“until a little birdie here informed us—while his head was literally on the chopping block—that we would all be betrayed. By you.”
I didn’t have anything to say to that. What could I say? It was true. I had betrayed him and my kingdom. I wouldn’t deny it. To save Nicolette, I’d do it again.
“So, I’ll repeat my question one more time,” the king instructed. “Where is th
e princess of Donnelly?”
“Somewhere you’ll never reach her.” I narrowed my eyes. “Now, where is my sister?”
Red rage filled his face. Slamming his hand down on the stone armrest of his chair, he boomed, “Damn you. Think you have the right to call her such, you illegitimate by-blow of a whore?”
“I take the right,” I snarled, stepping forward, “as I’m obviously the only person in this hellhole who cares what happens to her. Is she still being kept in the dungeon? Is she still alive?”
“Oh, she’s alive alright. But do you really wish to see your precious Sable again?” the king hissed, glowering. “Well, I’ll show you your Sable.” He waved a hand. “Bring in the princess.”
28
Farrow
My shoulders fell with relief. Thank God. At least Sable was still alive.
“I’ll let you look upon her, and then you will receive your just punishment,” my father said, the volume of his voice growing with each word as his ire increased. “I’ll spill your guts all over this floor, and I’ll send the hogs in to piss on them. No one thinks to betray me and gets away with it. No one makes a fool of me. Damn you, I’d already sent a raven message to Donnelly, letting them think I had their princess in possession. I demanded their full cooperation if they ever wanted her back alive.”
I shrugged, smirking slightly because it seemed I had made a fool of him after all, hadn’t I? “I guess you shouldn’t have counted all your chickens before they hatched, Your Majesty.”
“Why, you cocky, insufferable whelp.” His hands fisted. “You will die,” he seethed. “I will watch the life drain from your body. Just as soon as I watch the expression on your face as she dies.”
When he pointed, I whirled around to find my sister was being escorted into the room.
A choked cry of dismay left my lungs. She could walk on her own, but I wasn’t sure how. The girl I’d left a few weeks ago was only a shell of lifelessness now. Her bones showed through her paper-thin and grayed skin, where red bite marks—no doubt from rats—dotted her legs and arms and face. Her hair was matted and tangled, falling around her eyes, and her dress was mere rags now. Shoulders slumped and her head unable to be held up straight, she stared at me with dull eyes that didn’t even seem to recognize me.
“Sable?” I rasped, stumbling toward her.
