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His gold crown dangling from a finger, as if nothing more than a trinket.
This is not what I was expecting. Sabrina described a very different scenario when he called on her.
I step out, wrapping my arms around my chest to ward off the cold. Heavy cloud has rolled in, and the rain will surely start soon. “You wanted to see me, Your Highness?” My pulse races.
“I remember being in awe of this view as a child.” His voice doesn’t carry the same usual lilt of humor that I’ve come to recognize, that it held earlier today when he was flirting mercilessly with me in the square.
I edge over, taking up a place beside him. My breath catches at the expanse of land. “It is a spectacular view.” I saw the royal garden for the first time this morning, and now I see it from above, the meandering paths disappearing into lush foliage and flowers. It is stunning, but it is nothing compared to the sight beyond Cirilea’s towering wall, of rolling hills as far as one can see.
“You traveled through these lands to get here, did you not?”
“Yes, but I didn’t see any of it. We sat in a covered wagon with the barrels of mead.”
“I am afraid there will be a day very soon when I shall not be able to see it from this perch anymore.”
I steal a glance at his profile. There isn’t an angle of him that isn’t handsome. “Kazimir said you are weighed down by dark thoughts.”
“Dark thoughts.” He chuckles. “That is one way to describe what sits in my mind.”
“About the future queen?” And the fact that she tried to kill you?
“Saoirse is the least of my worries. She is not as smart as she thinks she is.”
But clearly, he has many worries. I hesitate. “It can help to talk about it. Sometimes, solutions reveal themselves when you lay out your problems.” My mother always used to tell me that. I wonder if she’s still alive. I’ve heard of tributaries keeping in touch with their families, but Lord Danthrin never allowed it.
Atticus turns to give me his full attention. “You wish to help solve my problems for me?” A sly, crooked smile curves his lips.
My cheeks flush from embarrassment. “I mean, not me, of course. I don’t know anything of politics and kingly duties. I’m merely a mortal baker—”
“The eastern lords are plotting to divide Islor and claim those lands as their own,” he says, cutting off my stammering. “Lord Adley of Kettling aims to establish himself as the new ruler.”
“New ruler.” My jaw drops. “But that is treason! And why, when you are already marrying his daughter? She will be queen of Islor.” Fates help us.
“I would hazard Adley knows the plans of the east are too far gone to be stalled. He would rather rule both halves than only one, and he is feeling the pressure to ensure that happens.”
“How can he do that? You are the king. You command the armies.”
“Armies with soldiers who seemed keen to follow me when I was on a horse in front of them. Now that I’m a spectator over the lands, they follow others.” Atticus studies the onyx stone in his crown. “I can see now why my father named me, his son, commander and sent me out there to lead. Unfortunately, I do not have a son of my own to send, to trust,” he says, more to himself. “Lord Adley is adept at spinning stories. Who knows what sorts of lies have infected the ranks of the eastern soldiers, about the future of Islor with this poison circulating.”
“What can be done to stop this?”
“Things that my father and brother were unwilling to do. Things that may add to the turmoil gripping Islor at a time when we cannot afford more.”
I can’t fathom what he may mean, but I doubt it bodes well for these eastern lords. “And if this Lord Adley answers for his crimes, I imagine someone else will quickly take his place.”
“See? You do know something of politics.” Atticus flashes a dimpled smile that makes my heart jump, despite the topic. “And you are already lightening those dark thoughts of mine, just by being here. Come, the rain is about to fall.” He guides me into his bedchamber with a hand on the small of my back.
My heart races under his touch.
“How was your visit with the priestess?”
I study the mark on my hand. “I was glad to see her. Surprised, but glad.”
“Did she say anything of interest?”
“Just that she was happy to be of use again.” It’s what she didn’t say that struck me. I can’t shake the look on her face when she checked Suri for ailments. She was hiding something from me. I don’t know what, but I don’t want to cause her unnecessary problems by mentioning that to Atticus. “I was even more glad to see Sabrina.”
