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Farquar turned toward the queen. “Lady Rhea was indeed killed by Erdurians, Your Majesty, but it was your husband who arranged the attack. I was a naval captain at the time and, upon His Majesty’s orders, I was to plant rumors in the Erdurian navy that your sister’s ship was transporting eudorite ore to the Selannic Isles. He wanted Emperor Hyperion to believe that she was taking a shipment of ore to the shipwrights so they could study the material, find ways to work it into our hulls and weapons, and that he was using the neutral flags to ensure that her ship would reach the Isles unmolested.” He looked at Riona then. “And the plan worked. In Emperor Hyperion’s eyes, the consequences of breaking the laws of neutrality were little price to pay in order to prevent your uncle from creating a navy armed with eudorite weapons and defenses.”
“All those rumors… All those whispers of eudorite mines,” Auberon breathed. “They didn’t come from Erdurian spies. They came from yourking.”
Although there was no proof, Riona found herself believing that the lord spoke truthfully. The reason for the attack on her mother’s ship had always been a mystery; Erduria had gained nothing by sending her ship to the bottom of the Tranquil Sea. In fact, it was that act that had finally ended the neutrality of the Selannic Isles and pushed them entirely in Rivosa’s favor. After that day, no person with so much as a drop of Erdurian blood was allowed in a Selannic port.
Now, it made sense.
Prince Domhnall frowned. At his side, Riona’s father sat stiff and pale, looking as if he’d keel over at the slightest breeze. “But after all my father has done to keep the mines a secret…” the prince murmured. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he want the Erdurians to find out about the mines, even as a rumor? He had Cathal killed to keep him silent.”
A small part of Riona wanted him to be right. Even after everything her uncle had done, she did not want to face the fact thathehad been the one to take her mother from her. It was one more betrayal, one more dagger plunging into her broken and battered heart.
“Rumors are not proof, Your Highness,” Farquar said. “This was eight years ago. The people were tiring of the war, demanding a peace treaty, and His Majesty needed a reason to keep them fighting. How else could he justify sending more of their sons and daughters to fight a war he had no hope of winning? Allowing a few whispers to find their way into Erduria was a small price to pay to ensure another generation of dedicated soldiers. Lady Rhea was not the queen, but she had royal blood and was married to the king’s brother. Perhaps more important than that, she was dear to many influential people in the Rivosi and Selannic courts. King Domhnall found that she was more valuable to him dead than alive.”
Riona’s father stood and fixed hollow and haunted eyes on his brother. “She was the love of my life. The mother of my child. And you… You stole her from us. I have stood at your side through many things, Domhnall, but no longer.”
Across the room, the king stood frozen, his shoulders slumped in shame and regret. Beside him, the Master of the Guard was pale, more blood draining from his face with every charge the king did not attempt to deny. The rest of the guards stood in shocked silence.
Riona grasped the eudorite pendant at her throat, the ghost of her mother’s voice echoing in her ears.Once eudorite blades are forged, they will retain their form until the end of time. The sharpest blade cannot scratch it. The hardest stone cannot blunt it.
Suddenly, understanding struck her. Riona turned to her father, already knowing what he would say. “She gave this to me before she set sail for the Isles. Where did she get it?”
“From the mines,” he responded. “She and I both knew about them—we were the only ones my brother trusted with the truth back at the very beginning, when he started sending men to the Howling Mountains. He wanted us to run the mining operation, and we refused. It isn’t right, what happens to men there. The land belongs to the Rennox. She had a piece of the ore made into a pendant and wore it every day as a reminder to him of what it cost us. And he had her killed for it.”
“No, that’s not—” the king began, and Riona’s father turned on him.
“You watched me grieve, and you made me believe you grieved for her, too,” he snarled, choking on his fury. “I disagreed with your running of the mines, but I served you because you were my brother and my king. Rhea and I both did, and this is how you repaid our loyalty.”
Domhnall opened his mouth to object, but he faltered when Blair walked over to where he stood, her lovely face twisted in grief and hatred. “You robbed your brother of his wife. You robbed our niece of her mother. And now you have robbed yourself of a wife.”
She removed her diadem and shoved it into her husband’s hands, then turned on her heel and ran out of the room. Prince Domhnall stood and started to follow, but Amaris set a hand on his shoulder and slipped past him, her heels clicking on the stone as she rushed after the queen.
The doors swung shut behind them with a soft click. The guards lining the room shifted uneasily, glancing at one another and then at Master Kaiden, who looked utterly lost for words.
Her uncle let out a choked sound and swayed slightly, staring down at the large central ruby in his wife’s diadem. The gemstone shone like blood under the torchlight. “I inherited a debt I cannot pay. A war I cannot afford to lose. What else could I have done? If Emperor Hyperion takes control of the eudorite mines, his army will be unstoppable. His reach will be endless.”
“You are the one who planned a slaughter,” Auberon snapped, moving to Riona’s side. He stood so close that the back of his hand brushed hers. “You cannot accuse him of something you were already intending to do.”
Riona turned to Farquar. The sight of the goading lord should have filled her with rage, but when she looked at him, she felt…nothing. She was numb. Exhausted. Heartbroken. “Duke Valerian, please have your guards take Lord Farquar somewhere safe and secure where he can be held until you sail for Kenter. He may have his freedom the second he leaves Rivosan soil, but no sooner.”
Valerian nodded and gestured for a couple Kentari guards to escort the lord out. As they dragged Farquar to his feet and hauled him out of the room, Riona tensed, expecting her uncle to fight to reclaim the lord. But he said nothing. His expression—always so carefully composed—was that of a man utterly broken.
So Riona said in a soft voice, “It’s over, Uncle. Give Erduria and Kenter a stake in the mines, and they will stand at your side to protect our land and our people. Refuse, and you will fight alone for the rest of your days. It is your choice.”
His gaze lifted to hers, and she saw a spark of defiance flash across his face. Even now, his instincts urged him to fight. “How can you claim to love Rivosa when your actions have led to its downfall?”
“I love my kingdom more than anything, which is why I must do this.” The smile she gave him was brittle, filled with all of her sorrow, her grief. Her chest felt like it was caving in, shattering under the weight of all that had happened. “You have dug Rivosa’s grave. I can do nothing but attempt to delay its demise.”
“Father,” Prince Domhnall said, and the king stiffened at the sound of his son’s voice. The prince approached his father and tugged the queen’s diadem out of his hands, then set it on the low central table. “You have done enough damage to this kingdom. It is time we do what we can to heal old wounds.”
The king’s shoulders tensed, then slumped in defeat. He eyed Drystan and Auberon and said, “A peace treaty, and twenty percent of the mine’s output.”
Relief rushed through Riona. Finally,finally,he was giving in.
“Sixty percent,” Drystan responded, the words clipped, “to make up for the attempts on my brother’s life. My father will send some of his own men to work the mines alongside yours, overseeing the operation and ensuring that your workers report the numbers faithfully. You’ll forgive me if I don’t put much stock into your integrity, Your Majesty.”
“Thirty.”
Drystan scoffed. “Don’t insult me. My father will provide you labor and troops. Without us, your kingdom will fall in a year.”
