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“You intend to overthrow the kingdom,” she said to Rathmort, her tone accusatory. “That’s why you sent those witches to attack.” She glanced to Gideon. “And you led them straight to the royals.”
Gideon snidely turned his nose up.
The scarred witch answered. “I could care less about the kingdom. Its inhabitants, on the other hand…” he trailed off with an evocative shrug.
Puzzle pieces clicked together. “Oh, God. Once you help him become king, he plans to sacrifice his ‘people’ to you.”
Rathmort. “Just a couple here and there.”
“How could you?” She glared at Prince Gideon. “Where is your honor?”
His eyes flashed green. “I was born to rule, yet I am forever denied. First passed over in my own kingdom by my moronic brother simply because of his brute strength. And then Tristan, another meathead relying on muscle rather than intellect to rule, catering to his base desires. He foolishly rejected my daughter…mydaughter…in favor of a foreigner. Ahumanforeigner, nonetheless. Shameless. Meanwhile, the people cry out for a true leader. Only I can give them the leadership they require, and they will love me for it.”
“I’m sure they’ll love having their friends and family handed over to witches for slaughter.” She compacted the full force of her condemnation into her tone.
“Disappearances happen regardless. It is no’ an unusual thing. My guards will ‘investigate’. No one will suspect the king.”
A ruler charged with investigating his own crimes? Ofcoursethey wouldn’t lead back to him. With him in command, suffering would be pervasive, countless families would go without justice, never knowing the truth, never knowing what evil befell their loved ones.
Gideon added with a cold glare, “There are casualties in any war.”
“Yeah, and innocent people are usually the ones who pay that price. Not to mention thecasualties of warusually don’t continue once the war is over. What you’re suggesting is…madness.”
“Madness is allowing a weak mind to shape a nation simply because he’s a legacy.”
“And what are you,PrinceGideon?”
“Tired of explaining myself to a pawn.” To the witch, he said, “You have your bait. Orik will undoubtedly come looking for her. Do with him what you please, just make sure he’s out of my way.”
Oh, God. They planned to use her to lure Orik out of the castle. There could be only one reason Gideon would want Orik out of the way. He was planning a coup. Like a game of chess, this was his first move. Or maybe this was his tenth move; how was she to know? This might be checkmate. She had no idea how close he was to executing his plan and supplanting himself as leader. Was he organizing an outright attack tonight, or simply eliminating one of the king’s closest, most loyal officers? Had he somehow gained fealty from Orik’s soldiers?
Another puzzle piece clicked in place.“Youwere responsible for the attack on June and Tristan.”
Gideon’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “Clever girl. Manipulating Belinda and her pack of halfwits was far easier than I’d imagined. Their incompetence was disappointing, but it proved his soldiers could be turned against him with the right motivation.”
“With lies, you mean. Manipulation and deceit.”
Gideon only shrugged. When he moved to leave, a desperate plan formed in her mind. She giggled.
He turned a narrowed gaze on her. “What’s funny?”
“Looks to me like you’re the weak-minded one.” She laughed louder. “Orik won’t be coming after me.”
Both he and the witch shared a dubious look. “Of course he will,” replied Gideon. His expression twisted with disgust. “He beds you.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, he doesn’t.”
“He keeps you in his room,” the prince insisted.
“Only while I recovered. He felt responsible for my condition, that’s all.” As though explaining to a child, she added, “That’s what good people do. He was grateful that I saved him and wanted to personally see me back to health. Because he hashonor. But you wouldn’t know much about that, would you?”
Gideon bared his teeth at her.
Smirking, Rathmort moved closer to her. “If I were not here, you might have been able to deceive him. You are much better at it than he is. But Iamhere, and I happen toknowthe two of you are lovers.”
The confidence in his voice gave her pause. There was an unnerving ring of truth to his words, though she wasn’t sure how he could possiblyknowthat. But anything was possible with witches. If she got caught in a lie now, all her credibility would be gone, and her plan would be ruined. Not that it was a particularly grand plan, but she had very few options and no time to perfect them.
She decided to marry a bit of truth in her fib. “Wewerelovers. But that was before he realized I was a witch. Once he found out I could do magic, he wanted nothing to do with me.”
