“Exactly what are you implying, Master Hawkes?”
The spymaster opened his mouth to speak, but before he got a word out, the door flew open and Arkady stepped into the room. Stellan jumped to his feet in shock, followed by Declan, who rose a little less abruptly from his chair. Looking travel-stained and weary, her normally perfectly coiffed hair in a long, loose braid, her clothes splattered with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood, she didn’t even glance at Declan. Instead, she rushed to her husband, threw herself into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.
“Oh, Stellan!” she cried, after a delivering a kiss most storybook lovers would have been proud of. “I feared I’d never see you again!”
He held her tightly, glancing up to see Jaxyn standing at the door. Stellan smiled at them both, relief warring with surprise, as Jaxyn stepped into the room.
The young man beamed at them, obviously pleased he had been instrumental in facilitating this reunion. He looked upon Stellan and Arkady indulgently and then turned to Declan Hawkes. “I do love a happy ending, don’t you, Master Hawkes?”
“Certainly do, Lord Aranville,” the spymaster agreed, obviously a little puzzled. “I’m glad to see you safe and sound, Arkady.”
“It’s only thanks to Jaxyn,” she informed him breathily, gushing in a manner anybody who knew her well would know immediately was an act—a fact that worried Stellan a great deal, because Declan did know her well. “He tracked us to an abandoned mine in the mountains and was able to free the Crasii and then trap the fugitive in a cave-in. You must reward him, dear, for his heroism. I don’t know what that wretch would have done to me if I’d been his prisoner much longer.”
Stellan studied her face, searching for answers Arkady was too smart to give him with Declan Hawkes in the room. “He didn’t hurt you then?”
She smiled; a genuine smile, not a fake one. “Truly, Stellan, I’m fine.”
“There’s blood on your clothes…”
“Not mine, thankfully. There was…Chelby was killed.”
“I would sacrifice every Crasii I owned if it meant seeing you safe.” He hugged her again, looking over her shoulder at Jaxyn. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jaxyn replied. “Believe me, nothing gave me more pleasure than settling the score with the madman calling himself the Immortal Prince.”
“And what of the Crasii?” Declan asked.
“What?” Stellan and Jaxyn both asked simultaneously.
“Lady Desean said you freed the Crasii. How did this fugitive wagon builder manage to subvert an entire squad of felines in the first place?”
“He told them he was a Tide Lord,” Arkady replied, while Jaxyn was still trying to come up with a plausible answer. “As I predicted when I was first brought in to interrogate this man, Declan, news that he had survived the noose and was claiming to be the Immortal Prince took very little time to spread to the Crasii. Between that, a commanding tone and a bit of sleight of hand with an axe at the inn, he had them all purring at his feet in a remarkably short time.” She turned to Stellan and added, “I warned you he was dangerous, didn’t I, darling?”
“But that doesn’t explain how Lord Aranville freed them,” Declan insisted. “That is what you said, isn’t it, Arkady? Jaxyn freed the Crasii?”
“You make it sound far more sinister than it warrants, Master Hawkes,” Jaxyn said with a laugh. “He’d left them at a camp a few miles below the mine her grace spoke of. I untied them, that’s all. What do you think I’d done? Told our sadly deluded felines that I was a Tide Lord too and I was countermanding the Immortal Prince’s orders?”
“Forgive me, Lord Aranville,” the spymaster said with an apologetic bow. “I did not mean to lessen the heroic nature of your deed.” Declan then turned to Stellan and bowed to him also. “I should withdraw, your grace, and let you see to your wife.”
“Wasn’t there something else you wanted to discuss?”
Declan studied Arkady for a moment, who was still standing in the circle of Stellan’s embrace, her eyes focussed on her husband as if there was no other man in the world, and then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Now that Arkady is back, I’m sure you’ll be able to smooth things over with the king. Perhaps the next time something like this happens, you might come to me for help, though, instead of lying about it?”
Stellan nodded. “I will. Thank you for your forbearance, Declan.”
“I’m just glad to see Arkady safe, your grace.” He bowed politely. “And now if you will excuse me? Arkady. Lord Aranville.”
Nobody said another word until the King’s Spymaster had left the room and closed the door behind him.
Chapter 66
Arkady took a decadently long time to finish her ablutions. When she finally emerged from her rooms several hours after she returned to the palace she felt properly clean for the first time in nearly two weeks. Dressed in fresh clothes, her hair back in its customary chignon and looking every inch the duchess again, she returned to Stellan’s office. Opening the door without knocking, Arkady walked in on her husband and his lover locked in an intimate embrace that could have ruined them all if it had been Declan Hawkes at the door.
The men jumped apart, although Jaxyn seemed more amused than startled by her appearance.
“Are you trying to destroy us all?” she asked, directing her question at Jaxyn, who she was convinced was the instigator of anything so foolish behind an unlocked door with the King’s Spymaster still a guest in the palace.
Stellan, on the other hand, was quite pale. “Tides! You gave me a fright, Arkady.”
“If you don’t like nasty surprises, Stellan, perhaps you should ask Jaxyn to check if the door is locked first.”
“Now, now…it was my fault—,” Stellan began apologetically.
“If you don’t mind, Jaxyn,” Arkady cut in, before Stellan could take all the blame. “I’d like to speak to my husband. Alone.”
Jaxyn smiled in a way that made Arkady’s blood run cold. “Of course. I’m sure you have a great deal to talk about.”
“I’ll see you later?” Stellan asked, almost hopefully.
“Count on it,” Jaxyn promised as he took his leave of them. He stopped and bowed to Arkady as he passed her. “Just remember our discussion, your grace.”
“I’m not likely to forget it, Jaxyn.”
“Good girl,” he said, softly enough that Stellan wouldn’t catch the words, and then he left, closing the door behind him.
Stellan looked at Arkady curiously. “What discussion is he talking about?”
Arkady shrugged. “It’s nothing really. We had a chance to talk on the way back. I promised I’d be more accepting of him, if he promised not to irritate me so much.”
Stellan smiled. “I appreciate that. It’s very difficult when the two people you love the most don’t get along.”
“Do you really love Jaxyn?” she asked, taking the seat so recently occupied by Declan Hawkes.
“Yes, I do.”
“And do you honestly think he returns your affection?”
Stellan studied her thoughtfully. “Clearly you don’t. Did he say something to you that would make you believe such a thing?”
Yes, she wanted to yell at him. He’s using you. He’s using us. Can’t you see that?
But of course, she didn’t. She couldn’t. “No. It wasn’t anything he said. I’m just naturally suspicious, Stellan. You know me.”
“I thought I did,” he said, taking the seat behind his desk. “And then you forged my signature, released two prisoners without my permission, pardoned one of them and let the other escape. That’s not the Arkady I thought I knew.”
It wasn’t until that moment it occurred to Arkady just how difficult it was going to be to justify what she’d done without telling him the whole truth. “Are you very angry with me, Stellan?”
“I’m prepared to hear you out,” he told her. “But I have to warn you, I’m not feeling particularly well di
sposed toward you at the moment, Arkady. You have no idea the trouble I’ve had covering for you with the king.”
“I’m sorry, Stellan. Truly, I am.”
Stellan seemed to accept her apology, but it was hard to tell. She’d never seen him in this mood before.
“Did this man hurt you?”
“No.”
“He didn’t force himself on you?”
“No.”
“You slept with him.” It wasn’t a question.
“You wanted me to take a lover,” she pointed out.
He didn’t appreciate the reminder. “I assumed you’d exercise somewhat better judgement, Arkady. What was it about this man? That he was a killer? A convict? A peasant? Are you angry at me because of Jaxyn and looking for a way to get back at me so you chose the most inappropriate man on Amyrantha to prove your point?”
She shook her head. “This wasn’t about you, Stellan.”
“Then explain it to me, Arkady, because the Tides know I haven’t been able to explain it to myself.”
She looked down at her hands, surprised at how hard this was proving to be. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Believe me, we’re long past that point, my dear.”
Arkady took a deep breath. “Kyle Lakesh wasn’t lying, Stellan. He truly is a Tide Lord. He is Cayal, the Immortal Prince.”
Stellan stared at her. “I see.”
“I’m quite sure you don’t. And I know what this sounds like, but it’s true. I swear. You have to trust me in this. I saw his fingers grow back in front of my eyes, Stellan. Even if the stories he told me hadn’t seemed too real to be made up, I know what I saw at the inn.”
“You said he was dead.”
“I said Jaxyn trapped him in a cave-in, which is quite true. I never actually said he was dead.”
“Do you know for certain that he isn’t?”
Only in my heart, she felt like saying, but realised it wouldn’t help her cause. “No, I don’t know for certain.”
“And you don’t allow for the possibility he tricked you?”
“This was no parlour trick,” she assured him, shaking her head. “I saw him cut his fingers off, and I witnessed them grow back. But even if I hadn’t seen that, the Crasii reaction to him was enough to convince me.”
“You’re the one who told Declan Hawkes it was all a lie. What was it you said…a commanding tone and a bit of sleight of hand with an axe, he had them all purring at his feet in a remarkably short time? That scenario sounds much more likely than you—or the Crasii—seeing a man wielding Tide magic.”
“Doesn’t that tell you something, Stellan?” she said. “I’m not a fool. I don’t believe in magic. At least I didn’t. But I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. And I’ve watched a man cut off three fingers and regrow them. I’m not imagining this, and I’m not crazy. What I am is worried, desperately worried, because the Tide is turning. The immortals are among us and they’ll soon regain their powers. Then the whole world will be in danger from them.”
“Danger? What danger?”
“Stellan, please, you must believe me. These immortals…these Tide Lords…they’re monsters. They use volcanoes as weapons and play with human lives the way you’d play a board game and with just as little compassion for the pieces. We have to do something before their power returns fully.”
“Can you hear yourself, Arkady?” he asked in wonder. “You speak of immortals and Tide magic and things that can’t possibly be real as if you truly believe them.”
“I wish they weren’t real,” she sighed. “But they are, Stellan, and we need to start thinking about how we’re going to deal with them.”
His eyes went wide. “Deal with them? I’m sitting here wondering if I shouldn’t have you sedated until you come to your senses.”
She sighed. “I feared this would be your reaction.”
“Then why try such a ridiculous tale on me?” he asked. “Arkady, if you love this man—that I could understand. I may not approve of it, may not even understand your infatuation, but I could deal with it. I realise I’ve only myself to blame for placing you in his power, but please, respect my intelligence enough not to try blinding me with stories of Tide magic and immortals.”
She leant forward in her chair, hoping she sounded rational, fearing she sounded quite the opposite. “Stellan, if I could prove this, don’t you think I would? If there was any other explanation, no matter how implausible, don’t you think I would latch on to it with both hands and cling to it for dear life? Tides! How hard have I fought to be taken seriously as a historian? Do you think I would jeopardise that for a moment if I didn’t believe this is real?”
He accepted the truth of her words, she could see that, but he still didn’t believe her. Arkady didn’t blame him. Cayal had had to chop three fingers off before she was willing to admit the truth, and even then she’d fought it every inch of the way.
“Where are they then?”
“Where are who?”
“These immortals, these dangerous Tide Lords you want me to worry about. Do you know where they are?”
“No,” she was forced to admit, even while knowing there was a viper in their midst. Not that it made much difference. Even if she hadn’t made a deal with Jaxyn, even if the memory of Chelby cutting his own throat on a word from Jaxyn weren’t so fresh in her mind, her husband was too blinded by his love to see the truth. If she accused Jaxyn of being a Tide Lord, Stellan would think she was making all this up just to get rid of him.
“So, what action do you suggest I take, Arkady, to defend us from this looming peril?”
She hesitated and then shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
“Well, you will let me know when you come up with a plan, won’t you, my dear?”
“Don’t be like that, Stellan.”
“Like what?” he demanded, as close to anger as she had ever seen him. “I had to have Tilly Ponting tell the king you were pregnant, Arkady, just to stop him asking questions about where you were. And then I had to agree to my seventeen-year-old niece being betrothed to a reckless young man I know is going to break her heart because I couldn’t afford to rock the boat while my wife was off in the mountains having a fling with the killer she busted out of gaol. So I’m sorry if my patience and understanding are close to their limit, dear, but I do seem to have been awfully put upon lately.”
Arkady could have cried to see Stellan like this. In all the time she’d known him, they’d never fought. Not once. Not so much as a raised voice between them. “I never meant any of this to hurt you, Stellan. I don’t want to make you angry.”
“I’m not angry, Arkady, I’m disappointed, which I think actually hurts more.”
She rose to her feet, nodding in acknowledgement of her contribution to that pain. “I’ll do whatever I must to make it up to you, Stellan.”
“Then get yourself pregnant,” he said bluntly. “Assuming you’re not already.”
She stared at him in shock. “What?”
“I’ve told the king you’re with child, Arkady. Worse, I had to involve Tilly in my deception and make her just as culpable as me. So we’ll make this a truth—we have that much in our power—and that will be one less lie I have to deal with.”
“You cannot be serious.”
He shrugged heartlessly. “Sleep with Jaxyn. Take Declan Hawkes to your bed and put him out of his misery. Pull a labourer out of the fields if you must—that seems to be your taste these days—just get yourself knocked up. We’re leaving for Herino in three days for the royal wedding. I expect by the time we get there, your condition will be a fact and not just wishful thinking on Enteny’s part.”
“You can’t just order me to sleep with someone!” she gasped in horror.
“That was our deal, Arkady,” he reminded her. “I pardon your father, you give me an heir.”
“My father died in prison.”
“Of consumption, Arkady, and after I signed his pardon,” he pointed out. “Not because
I didn’t keep up my end of the bargain.”
She glared at him suspiciously. “Did Jaxyn put you up to this?”
Stellan shook his head, almost as if he pitied her. “You can’t keep blaming him for everything, Arkady. It’s not Jaxyn’s fault. You’ve brought this on yourself.”
“Do you even care who fathers your heir?”
He looked down at his desk and picked up a quill, as if he had other, better things to do with his time than discuss this with her. “Given there’s a reasonable chance my heir has already been fathered by a convicted killer who’s somehow managed to convince my wife he’s immortal, I don’t know that I’m in a position to be all that picky. Now…if you don’t mind…”
His callous dismissal of her cut Arkady to the core. “Stellan…please…”
“Three days, Arkady,” he reminded her coldly, turning his attention to the papers on his desk. “I’ll understand if you’re not at dinner this evening.”
Arkady stared at him, the depth of the betrayal she felt only just beginning to dawn on her. “I’ve lied for you every day for six years, Stellan. I’ve kept your secrets. I’ve done everything you ever asked of me and more. I protected you. I’ve protected your damned lovers, too, including Jaxyn Aranville, who is not what he seems, I can assure you. And the first time I falter…you turn on me? Like this?” She drew herself up, squaring her shoulders, forcing herself not to give into the tears she could feel welling up behind her eyes. “Tides, I may not be the woman you imagined, Stellan Desean, but you’re certainly not the man I thought I knew, either.”
With that, Arkady turned on her heel. Blinded by the tears she was too proud to shed, she left him at his desk, unable to bear the look of distrust and disappointment in Stellan’s eyes which must surely be reflected in her own.
Chapter 67
Arkady took breakfast on the terrace the following morning, her eyes gritty from lack of sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, trying to think of a way to make things better between her and Stellan. All night she had lain awake trying to think of a way to expose Jaxyn—a moot point given that even if she told Stellan what his lover was, he’d never believe her.
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