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Elma swept from the room, color high in her cheeks. Her stomach was in knots, her heart thudding hard in her chest. As she made her way back to her chambers, her bodyguard and several guards trailing in her wake, the realization seeped in. She had made a decision that could end in her death, in the birth of a war that would bring widespread slaughter and would stain the Frozen Sea red with needless blood. A decision her father, Rafe Volta, would never have made.
Because if she was truly her father’s daughter, she wouldbe licking Rune’s blood from her fingers. And with his head on a pike, she would lead the attack on Slödava. But that was another Elma, in another lifetime.
In this life, Elma now wanted something she had never wanted before — to be a good queen.
Twenty-Four
“You must be aware that they’ll try to have you killed on your journey to Slödava,” Rune said. He closed the door to Elma’s chamber neatly behind him, leaning back against it with arms crossed over his chest. His expression was unreadable in the firelight. “You practically handed them your own assassination on a platter.”
She turned. “That’s why you’re coming with me.”
“I only wish you’d told me sooner,” he said. “About your plan.”
“It doesn’t matter what you wish,” Elma said, her energy beginning to fade in the wake of her declaration of power. Would the crown ever feel right on her head? “You’re the thorn in my side, remember? Not going anywhere. And I promised you peace with Rothen. You’ll get it.”
“That’s all?”
A thousand replies came to her. Of course, that wasn’t all. She couldn’t kill him, nor could she let him go. She was stringing him along, making use of him when he ought to have been removed from the equation. Because she couldn’t bear to be without him.
“Yes,” she said.
Rune pushed away from the door and moved toward her, catlike. “I don’t think that’s it,” he said, circling her as he spoke. “I know you. You thirst for blood, just like every other Volta. My blood, in particular. So why aren’t you taking the first opportunity to have me arrested and executed? First me, then your advisors. It would be so easy. You have us in the palm of your hand.”
“I…,” said Elma.
“You haven’t lost your nerve,” he said, his voice thoughtful, as if speaking aloud his innermost thoughts. “I saw you in there, with your men. You were…inexorable.” At that, he came to a stop in front of Elma, studying her face with a keen gaze.
She shivered at his closeness, her body reacting without her permission, as always, when faced with Rune. “I only did what needed to be done.”
“What needed to be done,” he repeated, his voice quiet. The fire popped as a log settled. “According to who? Your father would have called for war. He would have ripped out my heart with his bare hands if he could get through the ribs. And he would have enjoyed doing it, just as you might have not long ago.” He paused, running a hand through thick white hair. “I knew your father. There was always a choice. And he often made the wrong one.”
Elma froze. “You knewofhim, surely.”
“No,” said Rune. “I met King Rafe.”
As far as Elma knew, her father had never once left Rothen, let alone joined any of the attacks on Slödava. “When? How?”
“I was just a child,” said Rune. His gaze was far away, remembering. “Your father was a weathered old bastard, even then. Cruel and cunning. He rode with a small group of men,across the Frozen Sea, all the way to our city in the north. To treat for peace.”
Elma’s brows drew together in incredulity. “But my father…”
“Hated Slödava? Dreamt of invading us and taking Rime Ice for his own? Yes, I know.” Rune smiled ruefully. “But his terms seemed reasonable. And you might recognize his reasons for wanting peace at long last. Not enough resources, too many deaths. And Queen Hildegard of Slödava, perhaps naively, took him at his word. King Rafe and his men were welcomed into the stronghold as guests, offered food. That was when his men attacked. Dozens were slaughtered in his failed attempt to murder our queen. Guards, courtiers, innocents.”
Elma had never heard this story. She had known her father, known him to be cruel and merciless. But he had always been honorable, in his way. Lived by a code.
But you were in Mekya for fourteen years, she thought.And he, alive for decades before that.
“That can’t be,” she breathed, still unable to accept the truth. What queen would be so ignorant of her own lineage?
“It can,” said Rune, his jaw tense. “Your father managed to escape with his life, but only just. And among the men he killed, slaughtered in his escape… was my father.”
Elma’s knees threatened to give way. She reached for a nearby chair, steadying herself, unable to meet Rune’s gaze. She had seen her father commit unthinkable violence, but always in the name of justice. Always within the bounds of the laws of war. If what Rune said was true, her own father had entered the home of another monarch in the name of peace, only to turn around and cut them down. It was an unforgivable act.
“You’re lying,” she said at last. Why should she believehim?Because you see truth in his eyes. Her blood seemed to be made of ice.
“Tell me,” Rune said, “what is your father’s prized possession? Let me guess — a silver ring set with a blue-black stone.”
Elma froze. Her father had always worn the ring; it could have been a lucky guess. But to know that it was his prized possession…
