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I winced.
“In that case,” Greggor answered. “Don’t send Morell for her. He’s entirely incapable of keeping his prick out of a woman. She’d be half-swollen with his child by the time they made it back to Far Shore.”
“Fine. We’ll send the eunuch Borell, then.”
But his advisor made a face. “With his temper? Borell would strangle her to death the first night she whined and pleaded for a pillow and a foot massage.”
“Then who should we send to fetch her?” Torrance roared. “Curse you! Stop coming up with obstacles and do your damn job for once. Give me some fucking solutions!”
In his frustration, he threw a goblet across the room.
Directly at the tapestry I was hiding behind.
The cloth gave a sudden lurch as the cup slammed against it, near my head. I hissed in surprise and ducked just before the entire piece of embroidered artwork ripped free from its frame and pooled to the floor in front of me, leaving me exposed to the room full of dignitaries, guards, and my already-enraged father.
Hell fire. This was not the best night to get caught spying on the most cantankerous king in the Outer Realms. His son or not, I was probably as good as dead now.
“What the devil? Seize him!” the king shouted, making a swarm of guards surge forward and descend upon me, hollering and aiming spears at my throat.
Straightening from my cringe, I offered them a rueful smile and then waved. “Um, greetings?”
2
Farrow
“Who is it?” I heard my father demanding from across the room. “A thief? An assassin? What type of weapon is he brandishing?”
Around me, the guards eased closer, ignoring the fact that I had my bare hands lifted in surrender to show them I came in peace and was unarmed.
When one moron actually nicked my collarbone, I flin
ched and scowled at him.
“Ouch, you fool.” I wiped at the cut, and my fingers came away smeared with red. “Watch where you aim that thing. That hurt.”
“Never fear, Your Majesty,” Greggor announced, yawning, as he had a better view of me from where he sat than my father did from the throne. “There’s no danger here. It’s just Farrow, the bastard.”
“Who?” King Torrance made a face, not comprehending. “Will you idiots just step aside and let me see the cutthroat before I have him run through?”
Immediately, I was given room to breathe again as the guards scurried backward until I was exposed enough to face my father fully.
Keeping my hands up and exposed, I gifted the king with a small, private smirk before bowing regally. “Your Majesty,” I greeted. “Fancy running into you here.”
“Oh,” he muttered in extreme disappointment before he fell back into his chair. “It’s just you.” Then he sniffed. “What? Come to have a look at the new whelp, did you?”
I nodded once, since there was no reason to lie. “I heard it was a girl. My felicitations on gaining yet another princess. You must be ecstatic.”
He narrowed his eyes over my backhanded compliment before curling his lip into a sneer and offering his own. “Aye. I’ll pass your regards on to Kalendria, since she’s so fond of you.”
“Sounds superb.” Ignoring the barb, I bowed my head again and started to turn away, hoping to leave without incident. “If you’ll excuse me, then…”
My father could be charitable, depending on his mood. At times, he would have me sit with him in front of the fire over a draught of ale and a full meal, talking late into the night as if we were the closest of companions. He’d had men killed for simply bullying me. He’d set me up with a tutor to teach me my letters and numbers. He’d plied me with prostitutes to make me a man when I’d come of age.
And yet, at other times, he had me dragged in and whipped before him just because he was bored and sought entertainment. He’d branded me with a hot iron once to claim me as his personal servant for life. And he’d ignored my biggest plea to him: to bring my mother to the castle to live. Instead, he’d taken me from the brothel so I could work in his stables, while he’d left her behind. I had received word within a moon cycle that she had suffered from consumption and died.
I was like his favorite play toy that he both cherished and abused.
It was always easy to gauge which disposition he would be in that day. And tonight, his rage was as evident as ever. It was best to leave with the utmost haste before he vented by hurting me.
