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Still, Ari had plunged the knife into Rowan’s belly. He was responsible for her death. Yes, she still died. She might not have taken her last breath if not for final sacrifice, but he had released the Ninurta.
Ari was still in the room. It meant that he was one of the men who helped with the cleanup. I wondered if I would ever understand him – a bundle of contradictions. He sat on one of the benches as if he had no care for the world. I walked toward him. He did not leave his bench. He seemed to have a resigned look on his face as if he would no longer fight if I punched him again.
“Well, what is it, my brother, Your Majesty?” he asked, with an attempt at a casual tone. The words came out slightly muffled by his split and swollen lips.
“What are your plans, Ari?”
“Are you not going to imprison me? For murder?”
“I will. You know that I will. You still took part in our father’s murder. You killed Rowan.”
“The witch could have still pulled herself together.”
“It does not mean that you can simply take your knife and bury it in her belly.”
“I will gladly serve my prison sentence, rot in the dungeons if I must. However, tell my mother that I am dead – that I have fought a good battle. Leave her be.”
I studied him. Justice must be served, and he had been part of a rebellion of sorts. Yet, I admired him for loving his mother enough to protect her. It would be lonely in his cell, with nobody knowing he was even there—nobody who cared enough for him at least.
“I promise to leave your mother alone. I will let Duchess Devorah know that you had died a hero. However, you need to answer a few questions.”
“Go ahead. Ask me anything. If it is your wife, yes, I wish she were mine, and I thought that she would -,” he faltered.
“Agree to be your lover? Were you one of those people who have been spreading rumors about her?”
“Rumors? Did she not burn a lover in a barn more than a decade ago?” he asked, his voice rising.
“She burned a man before they had consummated anything, Ari. She had not been with anyone else.”
“Ah. So, I have gotten my story wrong,” he murmured but was not entirely convinced. I was not there to make him think the way I wanted him to, but I would not let him stain my wife’s reputation, either.
“Who told you the story? How do you know so much about Mogochislenian rumors? I heard of the same thing a long time ago. It almost prevented me from trying to connect with my wife.”
“Why, it is the woman in the kitchen. She has been working here in the kingdom, biding her time. She is part of the big plan.”
“What is her name?” I demanded.
“Thomasina,” Ari replied.
My heart pounded at the response.
“How long did you say she had been working here?” I asked.
“It must be almost ten years. She said that she had been exiled by the monarchs of Queenspell. So, she came here to work for your father.”
“And my father readily accepted her?”
“Yes. Your father had always been fascinated with Queenspell. He seemed intrigued by a place that had so many women rulers.”
“He had always been fascinated with women,” I said drily. “Just like you.”
“I know that you’d make the connection,” Ari laughed. What kind of person laughed when their life was almost over? He would be imprisoned right after this conversation. “Some say our father admired Princess Soraya from afar, but she was betrothed to a prince. When he found out that she married another, he said that he should have tried courting as well.”
“Luella’s father was a warlock who could fight. Our father would rather fan himself in the room. How did you know all these, anyway?” I also wondered why I had no urge to punch his face again. It might be because his face was in different shades of red and purple. It might be because I had started to see the world in his eyes.
“He used to tell me these stories when I was younger,” Ari said, his face turning grave.
How come he never told me those stories? I wondered. There were many things that our father hid from me. My chest felt heavy. I felt betrayed.
“Why did he not tell me about all these?”
“Have you ever seen yourself when you were younger? You were so earnest, always working in the fields. You did not even share our father’s interest in women. When your mother came along, though, he said that he had settled down. My mother had tried to ease herself back into his life, but he ignored her,” Ari said, nodding. He was nodding as if he was trying to ease a more profound emotion inside him.
“You will begin serving your sentence tonight, Ari. However, I will not tell your mother that you are dead. You will remain in your cell for five years. That will be enough time for you to reconcile with the things that you have done.”
His mouth opened to protest. Then, he closed it again as if in surrender. He bowed his head. I turned to leave him so that he would not see the pain in my eyes. He might have been our father’s murderer, but he was also my flesh and blood. My brother.
I still had someone to catch – Thomas’s mother, Thomasina.
