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“What changed his mind? It took me weeks of asking just to receive those.” Riona nodded to the stack of parchment beside her. “Did you convince them to listen to me? Is that why you’re here?”
“No, I can’t take credit for this, as much as I’d like to. His Imperial Majesty has allowed me to escort you to the throne room, however.” He rose and rounded the table, offering his arm. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready since the moment I arrived.”
She slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow, and they left the room together, their footsteps clicking on the tile and echoing down the vast hall that stretched before them. The half-dozen guards assigned to her chambers fell into step behind them. Riona stared straight ahead and pretended not to notice the way their hands hovered over the grips of their swords. Here, as in the rest of the palace, the corridor was tall and airy, made to appear larger by the white pillars and polished mirrors lining the walls. It would have been beautiful, had it not been tainted by the memory of being dragged through these same halls in chains.
Riona watched their reflections as they walked, Percival in the fine tunic and trousers of a Beltharan lord, she in the light, silky gowns she’d always loved. So much had changed, and yet so much felt the same. How many times had they walked arm-in-arm like this through the halls of Myrellis Castle? If she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend they were back there, masquerading as king and queen, as a loving couple.
“So, whyareyou here, then?” Riona asked. “Why aren’t you back in Westwater with Celeste and the little ones?”
“You know we have little ones?”
“I may be fighting a war, but I haven’t been so busy I stopped keeping tabs on old friends. A daughter and a son, is it?”
“Yes, and I love them more than I ever thought possible.” A beaming grin spread across Percival’s lips. Life with Celeste was doing him good; Riona could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him genuinely smile in Beltharos. Now, he couldn’t seem to stop.
Percival paused in the middle of the hall and took her hands. It struck her then that he still wore the same crooked, wire-rimmed spectacles he had in Beltharos. “All I want is for you to find the same happiness. As forwhyI’ve come, did you honestly think I wouldn’t sail here immediately after finding out the Emperor had taken you into custody? You stood by me against my uncle. I will stand by you through this.”
“Even after everything I’ve done?”
“Some of your actions have been…questionable, true,” he conceded. “But that doesn’t change what I said.”
Love for him rushed over her, and she threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Percival,” she breathed.
He hugged her back just as fiercely. “There is no need to thank me.”
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then pulled back and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm once again. “Alright. Take me to the Emperor.”
* * *
Riona held her chin high as the throne room doors parted, revealing a sea of courtiers in the bright, vibrant colors favored in the Erdurian Empire. It seemed every member of the nobility had come to see what the Emperor would do to his prisoner. She kept her expression neutral, as she’d learned to do long ago in the presence of a royal court, but her white-knuckled grip on Percival’s arm betrayed her nerves. He said nothing as he escorted her into the room, even though she was squeezing his arm tightly enough to bruise. The nobles sat on benches on either side of the aisle, their gazes weighing heavily on Riona. The Emperor stared at her, stone-faced, from his throne. When Riona laid eyes upon the man who stood before the dais, she stopped in her tracks.
A dagger in her palm.
“Riona!” Percival cried, grabbing her arm as she sent the weapon flying through the air.
Shouts of alarm filled the room. The Emperor shot to his feet as the traitor turned and stumbled backward in surprise, the dagger nicking his shoulder and clattering against the dais steps.
Damn you, Percival, Riona thought as royal guards shoved them apart, wrenching her arms behind her back hard enough to send her to her knees. Her crown clattered to the ground and rolled away, gemstones glittering.I would have struck his heart if you hadn’t stopped me.
The traitor lifted a hand to the slit in his linen tunic, and his fingers came away red. He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Now, now, is that any way to say hello?”
She glared at him, loose braids tumbling down around her face. “It’s the only greeting you deserve.”
“How did she find a dagger?” the Emperor demanded, scowling at the guards. “Did you search Lord Percival for weapons before he went to see her?”
“I didn’t give it to her!” Percival objected. Two guards had seized him and were holding him immobile while another patted him down, searching for the dagger’s sheath. “What thehellwere you thinking, Riona?”
“Oh, let him go,” the bastard said with a lazy wave of his hand. “She’s clever enough to procure a weapon without help. I’d be dead if he hadn’t knocked her arm aside. We owe him a debt of gratitude.”
The Emperor nodded, and the guards released Percival. He straightened his tunic and shot Riona a look that said,I told you I would stand by you, but I might have reconsidered if I’d known you were going to do that.
I’m sorry, she mouthed.
“You’re on thin ice, Riona,” Emperor Hyperion said, his voice carrying through the vast room. “This is your one chance to tell your side of the events that led to the destruction of Kostos. An entire kingdom was brought to its knees because of you. Buildings leveled. Fields razed. People slaughtered. Do not squander this opportunity.”
“Your Majesty.”
