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Nathan answers for me. “They wanted me dead. They counted on it, in fact. If they hadn’t been caught, she’d be mated to Ashton Daniels.”
“And my parents were social climbers, but I know for a fact they would never have picked me to be a queen,” I explain. “If they were going to put any of their daughters on the throne, it would have been Clare.”
There’s a strange tinge of bitterness to my words that stings my heart. Was I jealous of Clare all those years? Sure, sometimes, when she glided through her teen years like a swan and I struggled through awkward phase after awkward phase. But I love her, and I haven’t had a reason to envy her since I got back. I never wanted to envy her.
I blink back sudden tears, outraged that they’d dare make an appearance. I can’t cry in front of these men, who already think I’m weak because I have a uterus.
“It would have had to have been someone in the house that day,” Nathan agrees, ignoring the sudden change in my mood that I know he can sense. Everything in the connection between us is screaming out for him to hold me. I feel a little bad for him, knowing how strong that protective instinct is and how difficult it must be for him to fight it.
“Or, it could have been thralls in another pack working with thralls here,” the Hierophant suggests gravely.
“She was in London,” one of the councilmen reminds us all. “And there’s no denying that the King has connections there.”
Nathan’s expression turns to eerie stone. “I hope you aren’t suggesting I had something to do with this.”
“Of course not.” The confidence in the man’s answer is proof enough that he’s telling the truth. “But it’s not impossible for those connections to connect with others in this pack.”
“That’s a good point,” I say quietly, hoping it will disperse some of the sudden tension.
Nathan nods slowly, but there’s still an air of warning about him. “How many Greater London representatives are on your subcommittee?”
“None at present,” the other council member answers. “We’re still awaiting some final reassignments.”
“Good.” Nathan drums his fingers on the table. “Keep them off. And keep everything we’ve spoken about here off the record, and completely secret. If news of the binding leaks, I’ll know who leaked it.”
“Should we proceed with an investigation?” the other councilman asks.
Nathan shakes his head. “No. The queen and I will discuss how to handle this, for now. Hierophant, I would also ask you to treat this with the utmost secrecy.”
“You may rely upon me,” the man replies in his deep, serious voice.
“If you can do so without giving anything away, try to find out more about this binding spell,” Nathan tells the Hierophant. “If it’s ever been used on royals before, what the results were. If there’s ever been anything specific written regarding an ethical stance.”
“You wish to know if working such magic breaks our pacts,” the Hierophant states plainly.
Nathan nods. “I do.”
“I must caution Your Majesties,” the Hierophant says. “Thralls will not be dealt with in the same way you dealt with the werewolves who betrayed you. You’re both very young. You don’t remember what happened the last time our peoples disagreed.”
Very young? Nathan is like, in his forties.
That’s not the point, Bailey, I scold myself. “Are you talking about the Great Breach? That was like, a hundred years ago.”
The Hierophant smiles with serene malice, like a shark in a great mood. “I remember it well.”
Thralls live as long as we do? That’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing.
If the information takes Nathan by surprise, he doesn’t show it. “Are you threatening me?”
“Not at all.” The Hierophant sits more comfortably in his chair. “I’m being diplomatic. If something even half as complicated as the Great Breach occurs, even I won’t be able to control the thralls.”
So, the Hierophant must have some kind of leadership power over the thralls, as well as religious influence over us. That’s interesting and probably something I needed to know way before now.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Nathan says. He taps my knee under the table to indicate we’re leaving. When he pushes his chair back, I do, too, and I stand awkwardly aside while the men all shake hands.
I’m queen of the pack, but I’m still just an incubator standing nearby for them to venerate. I don’t stick around to acknowledge their bows, slipping my arm through Nathan’s as we leave them.
I wait until we’re in the car to ask him, “So, if you don’t want them to investigate this, what’s your plan?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he admits, reaching absently for my hand. “But I know where we’ll start.”
I squeeze his fingers. “Great, where do we start?”
“London,” he replies. “We’re going to London.”
CHAPTER 54
