“What?” Fiona exclaimed, forgetting she was talking to her Queen.
“You’re out of your mind,” Sebastian said. “I’m no assassin. You can’t force me to do this.”
“You are the one who keeps using that word,” Queen Genevieve said. “I have said nothing about killing anyone.”
“But that’s what you mean,” Sebastian said. “There’s only one way to ensure witnesses won’t talk. Were you the one who killed Miss Tippetts? How much blood do you have on your hands?”
“I refuse to justify myself to you,” the Queen said. “The North family has ruled Tremontane for eighty years. I am not going to allow a freak magical talent to destroy Willow North’s legacy. That means doing whatever it takes to protect this family.”
“Willow North’s legacy? Do you really think she’d approve of what you’ve done?”
“She killed the pretender Terence Valant herself. She knew all about the greater good.”
Sebastian took Fiona’s hand and squeezed. “It’s irrelevant. I won’t do it.”
“As it happens, Sebastian, assassination was not what I had in mind.” The Queen smoothed her skirt over her knees. “Gizane can’t reveal what she knows about Douglas without implicating herself, and now that she has no evidence, she is no longer a threat. Or, I should say, no longer a personal threat. She is very much a threat to Tremontane.”
“You mean because she wants to be Veribold’s Queen?” Sebastian’s grip on Fiona’s hand tightened, not painfully, but enough that she wished she dared remove it.
“I have had my agents investigating her for months. Our friend Gizane is a very busy woman. It turns out we are not the only ones she has blackmailed. She has manipulated her way into a number of noble houses, compelling them to do her bidding. I had no idea Tremontane was so full of corrupt, venal people.” She smiled, a thin, humorless smile. “She has also manipulated the Election to ensure her victory, or to give her a strong edge, at any rate. And once she has won, she will bring Veriboldan troops against Tremontane.”
“How is that possible?” Fiona asked, and immediately regretted drawing the Queen’s attention. Queen Genevieve focused on her sharply, as if she’d forgotten Fiona was in the room.
“She has suborned the Countess of Harroden,” she said. “I am still gathering information, but it seems she has convinced Clarissa Barrington to allow Veribold’s troops free passage into Harroden in exchange for land and titles in Veribold. I am certain seeing me humiliated influenced Clarissa’s decision, but Gizane’s promises have been extensive. Gizane’s goal is to extend Veriboldan territory to the Snow River. If she succeeds in taking half of County Harroden, she will certainly attack Eskandel next.”
“Then build up Harroden’s defenses,” Sebastian said. “Oust the Countess. Even if Gizane becomes Queen, she won’t be able to attack Tremontane.”
“I have my reasons for allowing Clarissa to believe her treachery is still a secret. If I act against her, Gizane will change her plans, and now that she’s out of Tremontane, my resources for learning those plans are limited. I have no reason to believe Gizane will give up her dream of conquest just because one avenue is closed to her.”
Sebastian shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m certainly not in a position to stop her.”
“You are if you’re my envoy to the Election,” the Queen said.
Sebastian laughed. “Mother, we left Veribold two steps ahead of the Jaixante guards. You want me to walk back in there, pretending nothing is wrong? That’s insanity.”
“A diplomatic envoy has protections even the Jaixante must acknowledge. No one will challenge Prince Sebastian North, or be so crass as to accuse him of theft.”
“So you say. I think the Irantzen priestesses are exempt from following those rules.”
“They will be too busy with the Election to take action against you.”
Sebastian’s grip on Fiona’s hand tightened further. “And what exactly do you propose I do?”
The Queen smiled that crooked, humorless smile again. “Use your initiative. You brought that documentation out of Veribold—I have faith in your abilities.”
“You can’t force me to do this.”
The smile widened. “Shouldn’t it be your patriotic duty?”
“There have to be alternatives.”
“There is no alternative. I have gone over this problem for weeks, Sebastian. Preventing Gizane from being elected Queen of Veribold is the only way to prevent war. And, incidentally, save this family. Think of your sister.”
“That’s a low blow, Mother.”
“But a telling one.”
Sebastian sighed. “Send someone else.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. You said you have agents. Send one of them.”
“Only the diplomatic envoy can get close enough to the Election to reach Gizane, and I would insult the Veriboldan government if I sent someone of low rank, which my agents are. Stop whining and accept this.”
“I’m not whining. I genuinely—”
“Do it, or I annul your marriage.”
Fiona sucked in a startled breath. Sebastian said, “What?”
“You heard me. You should never have married without my permission. If I judge your union to be against the best interests of the North family, I can have it annulled. And I guarantee your continued refusal will qualify as against our best interests.”
Sebastian’s grip was painful now. For a moment, Fiona’s heart beat more rapidly. Then she remembered they weren’t married. The Queen’s threat had no force. She wished she could remind Sebastian of that.
“You wouldn’t,” Sebastian said, but he didn’t sound certain.
“Try me,” the Queen said. She sounded utterly certain.
Don’t give in, Fiona thought.
Sebastian let go of Fiona’s hand. “I suppose I have no choice.”
“You really don’t,” the Queen agreed. “Be prepared to leave in two days. The Election starts soon, and you’ll need to be there when it begins.”
“This doesn’t change anything,” Sebastian said, rising. Fiona followed him, struggling a little to rise from the uncomfortable sofa. “I do this, and you leave us alone.”
“You’re still a North, Sebastian.”
“Right now I wish I wasn’t,” Sebastian said. He left the room without further argument.
Fiona followed him, once again having to run to keep up with his long strides. He walked like he was trying to conquer the ground he trod on, like a man pushed to his limit. She couldn’t tell if he had genuinely forgotten they weren’t married, or was just angry at being manipulated. She wished she dared speak to him, but even though the halls were empty, they were still public, and Fiona didn’t think this was the kind of conversation they should have where anyone could hear.
Sebastian slammed open the door to his suite and flung himself on the sofa, making it scoot back a few inches. Fiona closed the door quietly behind her. “You realize that’s a threat with no meaning, right?” she said.
“To annul our marriage that doesn’t exist? Yes, I realize that. But how depraved do you have to be to make a threat like that?”
“Or desperate.”
“Or both.” He ran his hands through his hair, disordering it. “I guess I won’t be coming to Umberan with you, after all.”
His casual words, so lightly said, left her feeling bereft. “No.”
“I’ll send Holt with you. You shouldn’t travel alone.”
“I’m perfectly capable of doing so. I traveled alone for months before I met you.”
Sebastian raised his head to look her in the eye. “Nevertheless.”
It irritated her that he could so casually dispose of her future. An idea glimmered into life. “I don’t want to go to Umberan.”
“Well, you can’t stay here. Mother might think to make you a hostage against my good behavior.”
The idea was growing, taking hold of her and filling her with confidence to replace the bereft feeling. “Then I’ll go to Veribold with you.”
“Fiona, that’s absurd!” Sebastian shot to his feet and took a few steps toward her, taking her by the shoulders in a tight grip. “This isn’t your fight.”
“I owe a debt I need to repay. It sounds as if you can get me close enough to do so.” The thought of being able to make something up to Hien, whatever that might be, bolstered her confident feeling.
“This isn’t going to be simple. Whatever Mother thinks about diplomatic immunity, if we’re caught interfering in the Election, they’re not going to let us off. You know better than I do what kind of punishment that would entail. I can’t let you do this.”
“Well, I’m not staying here. And it will look strange if you go to Veribold without your new wife. I’m sorry, your Highness, but this is how it has to be.”
Sebastian released her and turned away. “This isn’t your fight,” he repeated, but less certainly.
“We’ve come all this way together. I don’t see how it’s not.”
He shook his head ruefully. “I should have returned you to Ravensholm the instant we knew you weren’t Lucille.”
It was like a punch to the jaw. Fiona drew a few calming breaths, then said lightly, “Really?”
“No. I wouldn’t give up the past two weeks with you for anything. I don’t care if that makes me selfish.”
He spoke with such conviction it sent a shiver through her. “Sebastian—”
“It’s all right. I know what you’re going to say.” He half-turned toward her, leaving his face in shadow. “I just wish I knew what to do about Gizane.”
“We’ll think of something.” Fiona’s eye fell on the little sack resting on the mantel. She picked it up and shook it, listening to the clack of ceramic tiles striking each other. How strange that she’d carried such a valuable relic for so many miles without knowing its importance. She’d have thought something like that would be more obviously important. Well, it was to the Veriboldans. She was just the wrong nationality to notice.
“And then there’s that,” Sebastian said, pointing at the bag. “What the hell are we supposed to do with it?”
“We have to return it if we don’t want to see Veribold fall into chaos. As snooty as Veriboldan landholders can be, there are so many ordinary people who will suffer even more if that happens.”
“Return it without getting ourselves executed. It seems impossible.”
“We have most of a week to figure out how to do it.” Return the Stones, see Gizane neutralized, all without implicating themselves—it did seem impossible. Fiona’s hand closed over the bag more tightly. If she could return the Stones, surely that would make things right between her and the Temple. She set the bag back on the mantel. It was as safe a place as any. “I’m…ready to sleep, if that’s all right.”
“Of course.” Sebastian crossed the room to open the bedroom door. “I’ll sleep on the sofa. We’ll have to lock the door so no servant comes in and finds me there. That would spread the kind of gossip we want to avoid.”
The thought left her feeling empty again. She dismissed it and said, “I’m sorry to evict you from your bed.”
“I don’t mind. It’s just for the one night, after all.” Sebastian smiled. “I’m sorry I involved you in my family’s politics.”
She couldn’t think of anything to say to that. I don’t mind was a lie; she minded very much the Queen’s high-handed co-opting of them. I don’t want to leave you would send entirely the wrong message. I want to serve my country was facile and stupid, especially since she wasn’t sure she was that committed to her country. So she smiled, then wished she hadn’t, because his cheerful expression turned more serious, his smile reflective. “Why can’t we leave in the morning? I’d have thought the Queen would want us out of here at the crack of dawn.”
His smile faded, and she felt as if she’d kicked him. “I doubt we can get started so quickly,” he said. “We’ll travel in somewhat more grandeur than we did the last time, and that takes time to get moving. And you’ll need a wardrobe. But we shouldn’t oversleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day, even if we don’t travel.”
“I see,” Fiona said. “Well…good night, then.”
“Good night.”
She went through the bedroom into the dressing room and wearily stripped off her gown, then looked around for a place to put it. Both wardrobes were packed full of Sebastian’s clothes, and she took a moment to examine them. She’d never seen clothing this elegant and varied. Everything was of the highest quality, even the tunics and hose in the bottom drawer of one of the dressers. There were court costumes and riding gear and everyday clothing, enough that Sebastian could wear a different outfit every day for a month and never run out of options. She fingered the fine velvet of a cloak and sighed. This wasn’t her world. She would never belong, no matter what Sebastian thought. The reactions of his family certainly proved that.