by Lily Thomas
Adorra wanted to ask questions as Jasmine told her what had happened, but she kept her mouth closed. If she kept interrupting, they’d get nowhere and only drag out this story, and she wanted it out in the open.
“As I listened into their conversation, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.” Jasmine turned her eyes back to Adorra and made direct eye contact with her, her eyes pleading with her to believe her next words. “They were talking about how to get rid of you so that Lord Gothar could have everything a marriage to you would bring him without having to be married to you for long.”
Adorra felt herself shaking her head, but she stopped herself. “Please continue.” She might not believe or like what Jasmine was telling her, but Jasmine had no reason to lie to her. Jasmine had never liked Lord Gothar, but she wasn’t a lier.
“Unfortunately, I’m not a great snoop it turns out, and as I leaned over the edge of the rafters,” Jasmine raised a hand and curved it as she demonstrated how she looked over the edge, “the straw gave way under me, and I fell to the ground.” Jasmine’s hazel eyes grew distant as she went back to the time she was speaking of in the barn.
“Thank the heavens you weren’t killed.” Lesser falls had killed other people.
“Indeed.” Jasmine agreed. Again, she turned her eyes to the fireplace. “As I laid there on the ground, Lord Gothar and Keir came to stand over me. I couldn’t believe my ears.” She faced Adorra again. “Truly. I hated him from the moment I met him, but I still couldn’t believe what I’d heard or what I was about to hear.”
Adorra waved her on, eager to know more, to know the side Jasmine knew.
“They began to discuss how to get rid of me. The next thing I know, he ordered Keir to get rid of me in the mountains. A place where no one would search. I think I was drugged, and then the rest is a blur.” She waved her hand in the air. “I know Keir took me into the mountains until he couldn’t go any further.”
“Wait.” Adorra digested the information. She had noticed Keir disappear around the time that Jasmine did, but she couldn’t believe Edmund would have anything to do with something like that. He was a kind man.
Jasmine watched her in silence.
“Continue.”
“Well, I was dropped in the snow, and the cold surrounded me. I thought I was going to die.” Jasmine shivered as her hazel eyes took on a haunted note. “I never thought I would be lucky enough to have someone come to my rescue.”
“Thankfully, Dryden wandered across me. He found me there in the snowy mountains and took pity on me because he knew I wouldn’t survive. I made his life a bit more difficult, but eventually, I learned to trust him and told him about Lord Gothar’s plan for you.”
Adorra’s hands fidgeted in her lap, and she felt her palms begin to sweat because she knew they were about to get to the part of the story she was dreading.
“I asked him for help, but Dryden had no idea how he could help me. That’s when I came up with an idea, and together we devised a way to get Lord Gothar out of your life before he could bring any harm to you.”
“Are you trying to blame Lord Gothar for these turn of events? For his own death?” Adorra scowled at her sister.
“Haven’t you heard a single word I’ve said to you?” Jasmine asked.
“I have.”
“Then how you can you believe he was an innocent man? He planned on killing you.”
“According to you.” Adorra wanted to believe her sister, but she couldn’t see Edmund doing something like that. He was such a sweet man, always seeing to her needs. “What if you were wrong?”
“Wrong?!” Jasmine looked flabbergasted. “I know what I heard. Not only did he attempt to kill me, but I heard him plan your death.”
“You’d been drugged and left out in the cold. Maybe your memory is wrong. This could have been done by just Keir with no involvement from Edmund.”
“Adorra, I know what I saw and heard. Lord Gothar was there. It wasn’t just Keir.”
“I want to believe you Jasmine, but I knew him.” Adorra shook her head as she leaned away from her sister.
“Adorra, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I’m so thankful for that. I may have had to endure some things that seemed horrible at the time, but if I hadn’t been there, you wouldn’t be standing here now.” Unshed tears sparkled in Jasmine’s eyes as she pleaded with Adorra to believe her.
“And Edmund’s death? I suspected it was an ice giant, but you haven’t said.” She felt a lump stick in her throat as she waited for Jasmine’s answer.
“I know.” Jasmine sucked in a long breath and then continued. “I asked, no, I begged Dryden to save you. I had fallen for him, but I couldn’t stay with him without knowing you were safe. So I begged him to make sure you were safe. Dryden only had one warrior he could send to the manor that would be able to get in and out without anyone noticing.”
“Mathar.” Adorra breathed his name hoping her sister would tell her she was wrong and that Mathar was innocent.
“Yes.” Jasmine closed her eyes. “We sent Mathar to take care of Lord Gothar.”
Adorra raised a hand to her mouth as a sob overtook her. Take care of Lord Gothar. All the memories of that night rushed back, but this time the shadow had a face, the face of Mathar stared back at her. “No!” She cried out. She had been giving herself to an ice giant who killed her husband. It had to be a sin!
She was more upset about Mathar than her husband’s death. He’d been with her for how long, knowing he was the killer, but never telling her. Even when she’d accused him of being her husband’s killer he hadn’t said a word. And that would have been the perfect opportunity for him to come clean to her.
“You need time. I understand.” Jasmine placed a hand on her thigh, but Adorra quickly shifted on her chair, pulling away from her sister’s touch.
“No,” Adorra whispered, “No, you don’t understand.”
They sat there in silence and watched the crackling fire. Neither of them knew what to say to the other. They loved each other, but Jasmine had ordered the execution of Adorra’s husband.
Why couldn’t life be simple? Anything that could go wrong was going wrong. Her sister had brought her pain, she’d lost family members, had them brought back only to know what they’d done, and a lover who was a killer.
It wasn’t fair, but that was life.
“You know I can’t stay here.” Adorra broke the silence.
“Why not?”
“Who would take care of the manor? If I don’t go back, we will lose the manor, and I will never be able to get it back once the king gives it to another nobleman. We were the only heirs left to that land.”
Jasmine met her eyes once more. “Can’t you stay here? With me?”
Adorra sighed as she leaned back in the chair. “I wouldn’t be happy here. I couldn’t be happy here.” But that might not be the truth. She could be happy here. She’d have her sister, and there was nothing humans had that giants didn’t appear to have.
“There is nothing here for you besides me. No friends or family.” Jasmine said.
“For us, Jasmine.” Adorra leaned forward. Her sister may have ordered the death of Edmund, but Jasmine was still her sister, and she wasn’t about to sever her ties to her only family left alive. “You should come back with me, meet a nice man, and have a family.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I can’t. You may not accept Dryden, but I have a man and a baby on the way. I’m about to start a family here, and I couldn’t be any happier.” Jasmine rubbed her stomach fondly.
“If you don’t, we might never see each other again.” Because Adorra wasn’t likely to make any trips up here to the ice giant territory.
“I know.” Jasmine nodded her head. “And if I return with you I will lose Dryden and have no place for my baby. I’m sorry, but this new family I’ve started means a lot to me. I never thought I’d want a husband, but Dryden isn’t like our noblemen. He’s kind, strong, and he loves me for who I am. I ha
ve a voice with him.”
Adorra watched the emotions flicker over her sister’s face. Jasmine meant everything she was saying. She’d found a place for herself and Adorra would have a difficult time, maybe even an impossible task, of convincing her sister that she should leave.
“I need to go back to my room. Just have some food sent to my room. I’m not sure I’ll be ready to face all the ice giants down in the great hall.” Not after all the information she’d just received.
Jasmine nodded, a sad smile adorning her lips. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
With that, Adorra left her sister’s room and rushed back to her own. She didn’t want to run into anyone she knew, like Mathar.
Sticking to the shadows, Mathar watched Adorra book it back to her chamber. Jasmine had told her about his involvement. He sighed, but the weight he thought would’ve lifted was still there weighing down on him. It looked like he still wasn’t free of some guilt.
He just hoped Jasmine was able to help her sister see what kind of man Jasmine claimed Lord Gothar was.
Once he saw Adorra close herself up in her room, he knew he would have some time to go and find Dryden. It was time for him to receive some sort of payment for what he’d done for his king and soon-to-be queen.
As Mathar strode through the halls of the castle, he imagined the cabin he’d always dreamed of and for some reason he was able to imagine Adorra’s face there with him. He growled. He wasn’t about to bring a troublesome human to his peaceful cabin. A cabin that was supposed to help him escape the pain of his past.
He couldn’t imagine her wanting to live the rustic life with him. She struck him as a lady who would always enjoy the finer things a castle would be able to bring her.
Once he strode up to Dryden’s solar door, he pushed it open to find Dryden alone, reading over some documents that were spread out in front of him.
“May I have a moment of your time?”
Dryden glanced up, his eyes going wide before a smile spread across his lips. “Of course! All this,” he pointed to the documents in front of him, “can wait until later.”
“If you’re busy, I can come back later.”
“Actually, you’d be saving me from all this.” He motioned to the documents again. “There are good parts about being a king and some bad parts.”
“I could imagine.” Mathar strode further into the room and took a seat across from Dryden. “I was hoping to discuss payment for my assistance with Jasmine’s problems.”
“It’s about time we settle that with you.” Dryden leaned forward, steepling his fingers together. “What is it you’d like? A castle?”
Mathar laughed. “Nothing so grandiose. I was actually hoping to get a plot of land of my own.”
“To do?”
“I want to live there in a cabin.”
“I hope we’ll still see you from time to time.”
“Of course. I just want to escape the hustle and bustle of the castle.” Mathar just wanted a peaceful life with the rustle of leaves and songs of birds when he woke to soothe his tired soul.
“Well,” Dryden leaned back, “I don’t see any problems with that. You’ll have to give me a little time to find a plot of land I can hand over to you, but you have my promise it will be yours.”
Mathar finally felt a little stress work off his shoulders. He was finally going to live his dream, and he couldn’t be any happier.
“Anything else I can help you with?” Dryden asked.
“That was all.”
“Then if you don’t mind I need to get back to all of these.” Dryden grimaced as he glanced back down at the table full of documents.
“I’ll get out of your hair and get back to my job of watching Adorra.” With that, he left. The conversation had been easy, and Mathar was happy it had gone so well for him. Now he’d just have to worry about Adorra and what she finally knew… and how she’d react to him.
Chapter 18
Adorra sat in front of the fireplace in her chamber wondering if she might be able to find a reason to stay here with her sister. She could go back to the manor, but what would she tell people when she got back there? How could she explain away her sudden disappearance, and then her return? It wasn’t like she had any family that could’ve been sick.
She could say she was kidnapped, but there might be some questions. She could always answer them with vague, easy to remember answers, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to play such charades. One slip and everything would come crashing down around her.
Then there was her sister. Jasmine may have recruited ice giants to kill Edmund, but… she was her sister and the last blood relative she had left.
The glitter of the gold band laying on the floor called to her. Rising off the edge of her chair, she walked over and scooped the gold band up with a couple of fingers. As she turned it around, a few tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.
It was so similar to the one Edmund had given her.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Adorra said to the gold band, hoping he knew she regretted his death. “I love my sister, and I hope you understand. I haven’t forgiven her, but I can’t turn my back on her either. For all, I know the ice giants were the ones who influenced her decision.”
Striding over to a small chest at the foot of her bed, she opened up the lid and placed the gold band in there among the blankets. One day she’d be able to wear it without it bringing back memories, but it would take some time before that happened. She closed the trunk lid and went back to sit at her fireplace. She loved the warmth pouring off of it in waves. It felt so good.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in!”
A female ice giant walked through the door. She stopped once she saw where Adorra was sitting and bowed. “I’m Sath. I’m to be your handmaiden while you remain here. Jasmine sent me.”
Adorra smiled over at the woman. “I’m fine by myself. I already have a guard posted to me.”
The young woman smiled at her. “I’m not here to be a second pair of eyes. I’m just here to be your handmaiden.” She smiled again. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to serve the sister of our queen.”
Adorra raised a finger. “Soon-to-be queen.” She still had time to convince her sister to escape with her before the nuptials were performed.
“Yes, our soon-to-be queen’s sister. It’s an honor.” The woman continued to babble on, but Adorra smiled politely, letting the woman get it out of her system. “All of us women are envious of your good fortune to have Mathar with you at every waking moment.”
So he was a catch. Surprise surprise.
“Well, soon you will have him near as well since he’s my guard.”
“That’s true.” The woman’s cheeks heated. “All the other women will soon be envious of me as well. We’d all love to have him to ourselves.” When Adorra said nothing, the woman continued, “He can be quite the beast in bed from what I hear, but he pleases his bedmates very well.”
Clearly, this woman had no idea that Adorra had already been involved with him. Otherwise, these ice giants had some very open conversations about sex.
“I don’t need you right now,” She interrupted the woman’s babbling. She was tired, and she didn’t need to hear about how much of a catch Mathar was with all the ice giant women. She was doing her best to forget about him and not have any flashbacks to all the sex they’d shared.
“But”
“I don’t need you right now.” Adorra said sternly. Why did people have a hard time leaving her room?
“Of course.” Sath bowed and left, closing the door behind her.
“Finally.” Adorra sighed as she sank back against her chair. She needed to rest before she went down for the next dinner. She knew she’d told Jasmine just to send a plate to her room, but she couldn’t hide up here. She had to face the people around her and show them they couldn’t break her down.
“Who is that woman?” Adorra pointed across the great hal
l to Sath who was currently vying for Mathar’s attention along with a few other women. She was relieved to see a scowl on his lips. He didn’t appear to be amused by the attention the women were throwing at his feet.
“Ah, Sath, your handmaiden,” Jasmine said as she swallowed a bite. “What more do you want to know about her?”
“How did you come to pick her?” The woman had seemed innocent enough back in Adorra’s chamber, but she wondered if Sath had been trying to prick her by explaining how much of a catch Mathar was in this castle.
Jasmine shrugged. “She used to be my handmaiden. I figured you could use one since you were used to them.”
“I don’t want the woman as my handmaiden.”
“Did she do something?” Jasmine rotated her entire body towards Adorra.
“No, nothing like that. I just don’t need her.” Adorra motioned to the fur dress she was wearing. “These clothes are a lot easier than human clothing. There’s no need for a handmaiden. She’ll end up frustrating me.” And reminding Adorra where she was.
“There has to be a reason better than that.” Jasmine frowned at her. “I know you better. You would ignore her and send her away if she frustrated you.”
“Fine.” Adorra relented. “She brought up the fact that she wanted to be with Mathar and how he pleases all the women he beds.” She glowered, hating this weakness she had for him
“And?” Jasmine raised an eyebrow waiting expectantly.
“It bothers me.”
“Have you ever thought of why it bothers you?” Jasmine asked as she grabbed a roll and broke off a piece of the fluffy bread.
“What are you talking about?” Adorra scowled.
Jasmine pointed a finger over at where Mathar was seated. “Perhaps he means something more to you.”
Adorra snorted. “That will be the day. I just want the handmaiden gone.”
“Okay, you won’t see her again.” Jasmine caved. “Don’t be angry with me. I just thought you might like to have one around.”