by C. J. Archer
"No," Dane said. "They stay with me."
Yelena's only reaction was a slight stiffening of her jaw. She did not look at me. It was as if I wasn't even there. Understandably, her entire focus was on Dane.
"The betrothal will go ahead," Ewen told Yelena. "Laylana is also alive. She has been living with him."
Yelena drew in a deep breath. "That is good news. I am very happy to hear it. Of course the betrothal will go ahead."
"We need to talk," Dane said. "Things have changed. My memory loss—"
"Nothing has changed," Ewen said with triumph. "You heard her. The betrothal will stand."
"Don't interrupt my son," Yelena snapped.
"We require an assurance from Dane."
"I have given you an assurance. Is my word not good enough for you now, Ewen?"
Ewen hesitated then gave a small bow.
His wife curtseyed. "Thank you, madam. We are so very happy to see you reunited with your son and to hear that my dearest sister-in-law is alive and well too."
"Yes," Yelena said with a tilt of her chin. "It's wonderful news and should be spread. Ewen, make it known to our friends that Dane has returned."
"Any instructions?"
"Not yet. I need time." She looked to Dane and gave him a small smile. "New plans must be formed."
Ewen and Eeliss left, both casting me one more glare before exiting.
"They have been insufferable this last year," Yelena said after they'd gone. "But that will change now that you're back." She touched Dane's cheek. "Everything will be well again."
"We need to talk," Dane said. "About my memory loss."
Martha entered with a tray carrying cake and four cups. "I wasn't sure how many to bring in here, madam."
Yelena indicated we should all sit. "I suspect these are my son's friends, not his servants. Serve the cake, Martha, then please leave us."
Martha did as ordered then bobbed another curtsy. She didn't leave immediately, however, but smiled at Dane. "I will serve your favorite breakfast in the morning. Fried eggs and cheese between two slices of bread."
Dane thanked her, but I hardly heard him. He seemed to have forgotten, but I had not. He'd made himself fried eggs with cheese between bread at my house once. The eggs and cheese had been an odd combination and I'd wondered at the time if it was something he'd eaten in the past. Now here was the proof, as well as the woman who made it for him.
Martha left and Dane turned to his mother. She had the same strong cheekbones as Dane, the same olive skin, and the set of their brow was identical. His eyes were blue, however, while hers looked black in the candlelight. She was beautiful with an elegance and imperiousness that reminded me of Kitty.
She smiled gently at Dane and I expected her to put down her cup and embrace him again. But she remained in her seat, her back straight, her hair perfectly arranged, like the princess I knew her to be.
Former princess. Her father the king had been deposed, her family murdered, and the man who'd ordered their executions took charge of the new order. She must have been young when it happened, a mere child. I couldn't begin to imagine how it must have affected her.
"I have longed for this day," she said with conviction. "I never believed that you'd died. It didn't feel as though you had. Not in here." She tapped her chest. "A mother knows these things."
Dane set down the cup on the table beside him. "There is a lot I need to tell you before you tell me more about myself."
"Of course. I will listen without interruption. But first, will you introduce your friends?"
Dane apologized. "This is Balthazar, master of the palace in Glancia."
Yelena's brows arched. "I've heard about the palace. Is it as beautiful as they say?"
"It's a glittering jewel," Balthazar said.
"Outside are Erik and Quentin, both guards from the palace. Another guard is also traveling with us, along with the former king's personal valet, and two women from the village. And this is Josie Cully from Mull in Glancia. She's the village midwife, daughter of the former doctor, and someone very important to me."
"So I've noticed," Yelena said. "Welcome to our home, both of you. Miss Cully, I suppose I have you to thank for taking care of my son after his memory loss?"
"He's more than capable of taking care of himself," I said.
She looked pleased. "I'm glad all his training paid off."
"Training?" Dane prompted.
"You have been taught all the arts required of someone in your position. Sword fighting, fist fighting, horse riding, leadership, diplomacy, dancing, as well as an education in economics, mathematics, geography, history…" She laughed softly. "Forgive me. Sometimes I get carried away when discussing my favorite topic. Of course, you must have known you had a better upbringing than the average man."
Dane shook his head. "Let me explain what I do know of myself. But first, I must ask you to try to believe me."
"Why would I not believe you?"
"What I have to say is incredible."
He started with the day his memories began and told her how events unfolded from there. She listened as he described how all palace servants awoke in exactly the same predicament on the same day, including Laylana. He mentioned the sorcerer, magic, and Leon's dying confession. She didn't interrupt as he explained his reasons for coming to Freedland, knowing he and many of the other servants were from this place. He told her what we'd learned from Sander at the prison and finished with the events that led us to the Rotherhydes. He didn't mention that Brant had inherited the unused wishes and that we had the gem in our possession, nor did he tell her Laylana's memory continued to fail regularly.
She didn't say anything for a long time. So long, that Dane leaned forward.
"Yelena? Are you all right?"
She nodded weakly. "Please call me Mother."
"Mother," he repeated somewhat dully. "Say something."
"You are right in that it is incredible. But I believe you. It makes sense of everything. I never thought you had died trying to escape. But if you had survived, it meant there must be a very good reason for you to disappear and not make contact. While I didn't think it was your choice to maintain silence, sometimes I had doubts." She shrugged one shoulder, the movement languidly elegant.
"How long was I in the prison for?"
"Six or seven months before the supposed escape."
We’d heard as much from Sander, yet it still shocked me to hear how long Dane had been there. It must have felt like a lifetime.
"So if the escape was the sorcerer's doing, the high minister lied about your executions." She huffed out a humorless laugh. "He lied to ensure we would give up all hope and not go looking for you."
"Or to avoid panic among the people," Balthazar said. "It would have been frightening for the public to know a thousand dangerous prisoners were in their midst."
"They should not have lied to us," Yelena said.
"No, of course not. If you'd known about his disappearance, you would have searched for him."
"We would never have given up. We would have searched the length and breadth of the Fist and beyond."
"We?" Dane asked.
"Our friends. Royalists who wish to see you back on the throne."
He sat back heavily, hissing in pain from the cut.
Yelena set down her cup and rose. "You're wounded. From the attack?"
"It's all right," he told her.
She signaled for him to stand. "It should be cleaned and dressed."
"Josie took care of it."
"Until you have a wife, you're my responsibility." She sat again. "Martha is very good at treating injuries."
"Josie is a doctor."
"Doctor's daughter, I believe you mean." She smiled at me. "I'm glad he was in capable hands in his absence. I thank you for all that you've done."
I felt as though I ought to curtsy and leave the room.
"Speaking of wives," Dane said. "About the betrothal to Laylana."
"Oh
, that. You don't have to worry. It's a mere formality."
"You don't wish me to marry her?"
"Of course I do. A promise is a promise, and I owe the Rotherhydes much. They have funded our cause for years and have promised to continue once you retake the throne. What I meant was, you can continue to have a liaison with Josie after your marriage. It's quite common—"
"No." Dane put up both hands. "Enough." He squeezed the bridge of his nose. "You must understand that everything has changed. I am not the same man now."
"Of course you are. You simply don't remember a time before the Glancian palace. Son," she said in earnest, "I know this feels sudden for you, and overwhelming. We don't need to move quickly. You can have time to resettle, to learn about yourself again. Laylana will have to travel from Glancia, for one thing. How long is the journey?"
Dane expelled a breath. "Laylana won't want to marry me, and I don't want to marry her. But that's not all. You've told me I am the heir to Freedland, that I'm descended from royalty, but…I am just the captain of the palace guards. I know nothing about being a king."
"I will guide you. As will Ewen and our other friends."
Dane grunted. "I've only just met him, but I can assure you, I wouldn't take the advice of a self-centered man like Ewen Rotherhyde."
Yelena wrapped her hands around her cup. "Ewen has been very good to us. We owe him."
Dane closed his eyes and blew out a deep breath. When he reopened them, the old Dane had returned. He was once again the commanding captain of the guards that I knew so well. "On top of all that, I don't want to plunge this country into another bloody civil war."
Yelena's nostrils flared. The moments slipped by in heavy silence as she glared at her son. "There will be some bloodshed, certainly," she finally conceded. "But we have support from several important families, wealthy families, who are fed up with the high taxes and other restrictions on trade. They have promised us money to hire mercenaries. We have the numbers—"
Dane shot to his feet. "I want no part of your second revolution. Josie, Bal, we're leaving."
Yelena stood too and drew herself up to her full height. While she was tall for a Freedlander, she barely reached the middle of his chest. "Please don't go yet. You're right. I'm rushing you. You're not ready for this. Please, sit down and finish your tea. Tomorrow, we will discuss everything further after you've rested in your old room."
Dane shook his head. "I won't feel differently tomorrow."
"Perhaps not, but you will feel differently once your memory returns. Don't make hasty decisions in the meantime."
"I don't know when that will be, or if it will happen at all."
"You must not make decisions based on what you only remember today. You might regret it."
"She's right," Balthazar said.
Dane looked surprised that Bal agreed with Yelena. He turned to me and swallowed. My heart melted at the sadness I saw in him. He wanted to find his family so badly. He had wanted to learn about himself, and had thought the worst thing that could be learned was his reason for being jailed.
Yet this news shook him to the core. If he'd been all at sea before, he was now drowning.
I took his hand, offering myself as his lifeline if he needed it. His fingers closed around mine tightly.
"Yelena's right," I said gently. "You owe it to yourself to re-learn everything you have forgotten. Only then should you make your decision." I didn't tell him what that decision should be, nor would I ever tell him what I thought he should do. It must be his decision alone. But he must be fully informed to make it. "Hear what she has to say." I turned to his mother. "Don't tell him about your plans for a second revolution. Tell him about himself, about his life. Let him get to know you again. Am I right in thinking you are the only family member he has?"
Yelena's gaze lifted from our linked hands to meet mine. It was impossible to tell if she was grateful I'd encouraged him to stay or if she resented the value Dane put on my opinion. She sported the same unreadable expression as her son when he was trying to keep his temper in check.
Dane leaned down and lightly kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this," he whispered. "I wish we'd never left Mull."
"I'm not sorry," I whispered back. "It's going to be all right."
He settled in the chair again and faced his mother. "My apologies if this is painful for you, but I want to start at the beginning. How did you escape from General Nox's army? I'd heard the entire royal family of Freedland—"
"Averlea," she corrected him.
"I thought they all died."
"Executed, like animals." She spat out the words as if they were bitter poison. "My parents and two brothers were beheaded in front of that traitor's supporters."
"Nox?"
She lifted her chin. "They told me he did not even stay to watch. Coward."
"And you?" Dane asked. "How did you escape?"
"The master of Merdu's Guards helped me, with a little assistance from my maid."
"The master of the warrior priests from Tilting?" Dane looked to Balthazar.
Balthazar stared at Yelena, but she didn't notice his interest, or mine and Dane's. Her gaze had become distant as she picked up her story.
"He didn’t think I should share the fate of my parents and brothers, and I wasn't as heavily guarded as them. The benefits of being a mere girl," she sneered. “The master smuggled me out of the castle before the executions took place. He took me out of the city to a noble family who supported my father. I hid on their estate during the following months. They were tumultuous times. Nox claimed I'd been executed behind closed doors in deference to my age and gender because he didn't want royal supporters thinking I'd survived. It was the first lie of many under his regime. They are still lying about executions." She lifted a hand in Dane's direction.
"The noble family raised you in secret?" Dane asked.
"Only for a brief time. They endured much in the months after the revolution. They were stripped of their title and estate and forced to live alongside villagers who'd once worked for them. I did too. It was degrading.” Another sneer twisted her lips. “But word of my survival secretly spread, and other royalist supporters came in search of me. Some had not fared as badly, and I was moved between families to keep me out of Nox's clutches. The years passed. I grew up but my true identity remained hidden. I pretended to be a governess working for the former noble families who’d managed to flourish through careful diplomacy and wise decisions."
"The Rotherhydes were one such family?"
She nodded. "Ewen's father was my greatest ally. He kept my secret and hid me in plain sight while increasing his own wealth under the new regime."
"The Rotherhydes had been nobles?" Balthazar asked.
"Mere barons."
"The new regime has been kind to them,” Dane said. “Ewen claims they’re the wealthiest family in Freedland."
Her lips pinched. "His father took advantage of a bad situation, and Ewen is continuing to seek out opportunities to further his family's business interests. They should be congratulated for beating the ministers at their own game."
It seemed to me that the Rotherhydes were better off now than they had been under King Diamedes. They'd taken advantage of the bad situation, as Yelena put it, but they were also taking advantage of her desire to return the royal family to the throne by betrothing Laylana to the heir. With his sister as queen, Ewen could expect more favors to fall into his lap.
I looked to Dane, but his eyes were hooded as he watched his mother.
"Whatever you think of the Rotherhydes, you must be agreeable to them," Yelena told him. "Laylana is a good match for you. She'll make an excellent queen. She's courageous, charming and good natured. She might not be a great beauty, but beauty is not as important as bearing and nobility. She adored you, of course. It's not surprising that she tried to help you escape after your arrest. Unfortunately she wasn't quite clever enough to orchestrate it. If only she'd confided in me…" She clos
ed her eyes and released a deep breath that seemed to release much of the tension from her shoulders with it. Dane's arrest and imprisonment must have been nightmarish for her.
Dane scrubbed a hand over his mouth, as if stopping himself from blurting out something he would regret. He'd promised not to make any decisions about his future yet, but it was costing him not to tell his mother yet again that he wouldn't marry Laylana.
Balthazar rested both hands on his walking stick as he leaned forward. "The authorities didn't trouble you in all the years since the revolution? After all, some of them knew you escaped."
"I changed my name and remained low. Dane was birthed in secret. No one knew our true identities except for a few trusted supporters."
"Did Dane grow up knowing he was the heir?"
"Of course."
"Why was he arrested? It can't have been to get him out of the way if they didn't know who he was. Did he commit a crime?"
Yelena turned away from him to look at Dane. She was answering these questions for his sake, not for Balthazar, and she wanted us all to know it. "They were false charges of assault.”
“False?”
“The authorities discovered who you were somehow and sent someone to assassinate you. You fought back and were arrested."
"But how did they learn his identity?” Balthazar asked. “Could he have let it slip himself?"
"No! He would never do something so foolish."
"Out of arrogance, perhaps?"
Yelena's nostrils flared. "How dare you call my son arrogant to his face?"
"You forget that I know him quite well too. Perhaps not as well as you, but enough to know that he can be arrogant and imperious at times. Perhaps that arrogance got the better of him in a tavern one night and he boasted—"
"My son is not stupid. He wouldn't let something as important as that slip, no matter how drunk he got."
I refrained from asking her how often he got drunk. It didn't sound like Dane, and I was curious, but now was not the time.
"Then how did the authorities come to discover his identity?" Balthazar pressed.
"And how do they know he's back in Noxford now?" I asked.
Yelena squeezed the bridge of her nose, just as Dane had done moments before. "I don't know, although I have my suspicions. Just before your arrest, you had a visitor, Dane. I was out, and when I returned, the visitor had gone. You'd sent him away with instructions to hold his tongue. Either he didn't or someone got to him and made him reveal your whereabouts."