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“Thevon Mekelns.” She swallowed, lowering her voice to a whisper. “And Ekatarina. I saw her with von Lemerch in the crypt under the Tower. That’s what she wants—”
“I know of Eki. She supplied the priestesses with the flowers.”
“Then you have arrested her already?”
“We spoke. She had a good reason.”
Vanya’s face twisted in anger. “I killed to protect you. You knew the curse stopped me from speaking. Still, you had me arrested and executed. Shehad a good reasonfor helping to manufacture the plague?”
Her rage washed over me. I absorbed and accepted it, wishing our stolen moment on the steppe had been the memory I would carry with me. Not the bridge and trial. Not this.
I was a king and despite only having spent a moment with my daughter, a father. I should not even be this close to a heart turner, no matter what I felt. My wishes and feelings no longer mattered. After seeing Dasha’s questioning eyes, I could not even complain to the Wishmaker. The god had given me more than I could ever have hoped for. Love had never been on the table.
“I cannot speak of it.” Could do nothing to risk Dasha of the serious eyes.
“But you expect everything from me?”
“I expected you to run. Expected you to be a princess and pawn. You never do what I expect.”
She marched away.
I followed, unable to let go, so when she spun in place, we crashed into each other. She flinched at my touch as I steadied her, reveling in holding her, no matter how short. A twisted part of me delighted in the anger in her eyes. In prison and court, they had been dead. Thiswas the wild creature inside she had not been able to hide behind pretty dresses. The priestess’s robe did not matter. She could wear anything or nothing, for she was magnificent.
“I’m not saying this for you,” she snapped. “This is for Tal and because I promised myself that if I ever got a chance, I would tell you everything. I’m done breaking promises, especially those I’ve made myself.”
“Then talk.” We stood close enough that the rest of the world disappeared.
“They are planning to kill you and Helia on the Day of the Dead, after the marriage and you have opened something in the crypt. The fake crown is supposed to stop the magic—I don’t know how. You still have the real one I returned?”
“In my closet.”
“Will you marry despite already being king?”
I wanted to say “no.” That I wanted no one besides her—by my side, in my bed, in my life. But Dasha’s safety and Morovara’s family curse shaped my words instead.
“Tal needs stability. Now more than ever. Oberwalden is providing food, trade agreements.”
She snorted. “Money. Don’t you have enough? Well, it’s your life to risk. Just keep her away from the crypt.”
“Von Lemerch? She won’t be a problem.”
Unease turned the glass-green eyes into shadowed moss as Vanya blinked up at me. “You know?”
“Since she visited you after the trial, the Roja has been following her.”
“You had me watched? Always the tactician. You would have liked my sister. If you hadn’t left me on the steppe, she would havefound a way to hold me back. Both of you, bringing your own people, preparing for a fight you made inevitable.”
She shook her head and walked away slowly enough for me to stay at her side this time. In silent agreement, we steered our steps to North’s Place and the von Lemerch mansion.
Three decades ago, von Lemerch had arrived from Denyev and bought it. Quickly thereafter she was voted into the Council by the nobles. They called her neutral and measured. A steadying force who stayed out of squabbles. She took my father’s side when needed but kept away from the palace and parties, preventing her from being labeled a royalist.
If I had to pick someone working with the rebels, it would never have been her. She had played her pieces well until the end.
We arrived on 9th Street, stopping as her manor and the stationed guards came into view. Rojas were still going through her books and papers—the little that had been left.
Vanya shook her head. “I came here so many times, hoping to see something I could bring back to you despite the curse. There was barely anyone entering or exiting, only her black coach waiting.”
I allowed myself to sidle closer, her shoulder brushing my arm. “That’s because she had access to the tunnels from her basement, same as the one we exited.”
