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“Taggert was there that night when my family was betrayed, and he had someone near and dear to me tortured. He kept me and this person in horrendous conditions on a ship to Meadow while my friend was repeatedly raped.”
“He had Lord Abney hanged!” shouted a citizen.
“Make him suffer too like you and Lord Abney did!”
“Your Majesty,” said a voice behind Oriel.
He stepped into the entrance hall where a young man held what Oriel wanted. He removed his gauntlets and was about to take it when he noticed a portrait on the wall. He started toward it, and the people moved aside the best they could to make way for him.
“Who’s that?” he asked.
A woman with a rag tied around her hair spoke up. “That was Lord Abney.”
Oriel vaguely recognized the face. “He had a limp, right?”
The woman nodded. “He walked with a cane and had many health issues, but he was a good lord to us, and we loved him. He was always kind just like his Father.”
A lot of people used to come to court, and Oriel would often forget about someone quite quickly unless he had more interaction with them. He did faintly remember Lord Abney had been to court when King Taven betrayed them, and the lord hadn’t been in the best of health. They hadn’t spoken much. When Oriel had gone to his rooms that night, he remembered a man with a cane heading to the privy rooms, but he hadn’t thought about it or paid much attention.
“He was at court that night,” said Oriel. “I do remember him a little.”
The woman frowned. “He was in the privy when it started, Your Majesty. He managed to escape through the servant’s passage, and he got into the city with a few others, and they all hid. Someone joined their spot after a bit, and they told Lord Abney that they’d seen you being taken through the city. When he made it back, he told us what happened, so we know King Leneer did nothing wrong. He said that if you somehow lived and came back, by the grace of Elira, we should be loyal to you.”
“We know you’re not a traitor’s son,” said another man. “Lord Taggert somehow found out that he was refuting King Taven’s story. They said he was committing treason and inciting the people into rebellion. That’s why they hanged him, and Lord Taggert gained another chunk to add to his holdings..”
“If he’d kept quiet, no one might have remembered he was at court,” said the servant. “He was lucky to have gotten out and back to us, but he couldn’t keep quiet. He wasn’t much of a fighter due to his health, but he used his words the best he could.”
He must have been the one to send the note to Queen Asara in the hopes that she would do something if she knew one cousin remained. It was because of him that the Queen had asked Kalen and Rhys for help and enabled them to get on with things faster.
Lord Abney didn’t look very special in the portrait with his plain features and thin form, but in Oriel’s eyes, he was greater than a King for what he’d done. Since his people had loved him so much, they had believed him over King Taven and remained loyal to the true ruling family and heir. Some of those civilians must have talked to others, and that was why some other towns had refused to kneel.
And Taggert had sentenced him to hang for spreading the truth.
Oriel took the item he wanted, stepped back out, and stood to the side of Taggert still being held by two Knights.
“You’re a foul bastard.” Oriel tucked his gauntlets under one arm. “I can never fully repay what you’ve caused me, Aspen, and others, but I can give you a taste. A quick death is too merciful for you since you like causing pain for absolutely no reason. I have a reason now, and I’m using it.”
The defiance in Taggert’s expression flickered as Oriel summoned fire to his left hand and held the tip of the poker in it.
“Aspen deserved it.” He didn’t stop speaking even as Oriel glared at him every ounce of hate he had. “His Father owed money, so it wasn’t cruelty for the sake of cruelty.”
Oriel lowered the poker and leaned in. “I’m sorry. What?”
“His Father gambled,” Taggert said hastily as if he thought this was a revelation that would make Oriel release him. “He never paid everything off before he died.”
Oriel remembered that. Aspen had told him over two years ago that Father had sold most of their stuff, moved them into a smaller home, and kept running his merchant business while he struggled to pay what he owed.
Despite the debts, he hadn’t been able to stop gambling because it was like a sickness for some people. He bet the whole merchant business one night, lost, and had a heart attack from the stress. Aspen had been kicked out on the street.
Taggert gazed at Oriel’s hard expression. “What? If a man owes debts, he must pay them.”
“So you thought having Aspen tortured and raped was suitable enough?”
“I was one of those his Father owed money to, and by the time I found out he had died, his son was gone, his possessions had been sold, and others he owed had picked over everything. Aspen became a pleasure slave, and since his Father still technically owed me money, I saw him there and decided he could pay it back. The sailors paid me for every fuck.”
A muscle twitched in Oriel’s cheek as he moved the poker to his left hand and struggled to keep his voice calm. “Am I supposed to care that you were owed money?”
“It’s fair.” Taggert lifted his chin. “He was just a pleasure slave.”
