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Adrika
The pressure was so great, I felt as if I would explode at any moment. You are no longer submissive to anyone, but do as I say. Curtsy to no one. Wear whatever you want. Stand up to your father. Speak up. Be brave. Be a Barnali. Everything my husband wanted from me went against everything I had ever been taught. I did not even know who I was anymore.
What had Rian been thinking in demanding that I be present for the council meeting? Father had required my mother to sit in front of the people as they made their request in the throne room. When it was my turn to take her place, I realized we were considered little more than adornment to my father. Neither of us had ever been asked our opinion in any matter. Ever.
And now Father was requesting a private meeting with me. As soon as he asked me to walk him back to his room, I was positive I knew what he wanted. When we entered into his presence in the conference room, I had not curtsied. Maybe he thought I should have defied my husband instead of him by leaving the meeting or more likely, that I had refused to attend to begin with. He was about to apply even more pressure to the already tense situation he had placed me in.
What he actually wanted turned out to be a different kind of torture. He wanted me to spy on my husband. “He knows more than he says. That boy was privy to everything his father did. King Coman was prepping him to take over even then, and I know he planned for you to be a part of that. Coman told me so himself.” I was not expected to say anything, so I kept quiet.
I had been a toddler when King Coman and his wife died. The only thing I knew about Rian’s parents’ deaths was what my mother told me. We do not speak of King Coman’s death. I am sure it was an accident. Poor Queen Finelle. She was so grief-stricken over his passing, she just withered away to nothing. One thing is for certain, theirs was a true love.
By the time this was told to me, it seemed like ancient history. Had I known I would end up married to their son, I may have pressured Mother for more. It was shocking to hear Rian’s description of his parents. I had no idea what he meant about the murder and torture of his brothers either. I only knew of Reagan, Garrett, and Terence. Of whom could he be speaking?
“Pay attention. This is important.” Father’s words had the desired effect of pulling me back to the present. “It would bring glory to you and your children to come. Your husband is meant to rule over this entire country, and it is evident that he plans for you to reign with him. You need to find out what he knows so we may help to put this plan into motion in a more timely manner. Prince Rian is young, but he will be a great leader one day. He just needs a push in the right direction.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good, good. How are things going between you? I mean, is he good to you? Do you get along?”
I took a chance by looking up into my father’s eyes. He was probably wondering if things between me and Rian were good enough for me to gain the information he sought and nothing more. How long ago had he stopped truly caring for my happiness and wellbeing?
He must have read these thoughts in my expression. He placed his hand on the side of my face. “Daughter, it may not seem like it, but I do have your best interest at heart. How is he really treating you?”
“He is very gentle. He treats me well.” It was true. Even with all the pressure Rian put me under, he had been good to me for this short time we had been together.
“Excellent. Treat him kindly in return, and I have no doubt he will share everything you need to know.” Without another word, he entered his chambers and shut the door behind him.
I stood there staring at his closed door. I missed my father. The one who doted on me as a child. The one I had called Poppa. I did not know the man behind this door. He had asked how my husband was treating me, as if he truly cared, and then turned my answer around for his own benefit. Treat him kindly in return, and I have no doubt he will share everything you need to know.
Some part of me hoped for a true relationship with my husband. I longed so deeply for someone to truly love me. But Rian had said it well in the council meeting. We had both been forced into this marriage, and he would probably resent me for it for the rest of our lives together.
Lost in thought, I started walking without a plan as to where I was headed until I realized I had turned down the hallway that led back to my new chambers. Rian was leaning against the wall beside our chamber door. His presence there stopped me in my tracks.
With his arms folded across his broad chest, his upper arms bulged against the fabric of his shirt. The thought of the way those arms had held me briefly flashed through my mind, causing a fluttering in my stomach. I looked down at the floor and slowly continued toward him.
As soon as I was close enough, he grabbed my waist and pulled me to him, wrapping those arms around me. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
He tilted my head back and kissed me on the lips, causing my heart to race. It was all I could do not to react in a way that would embarrass us both. “I thought we would go into town for dinner. What do you think?”
I only nodded. I expected him to question me about what my father had wanted. It was sure to come up sooner or later. Should I tell him the truth? If I did, would he be honest with me and reveal to me what Father wanted to know?
We retrieved our cloaks and then headed into town. April was winding down and just in the last few days most of the snow had melted, leaving the ground soft. We stuck to the packed roadway but still the hem of my skirt was covered in mud by the time we reached our destination.
In truth, I had never dined in town before. I was excited for this new experience, but there was trepidation as well. We entered a small tavern and were immediately shown to a small table in the back corner of the dank room. Everyone turned to stare while some of their whispered murmurs made their way to my ears. They knew exactly who we were. Rian did not seem to notice the attention we had gathered.
The server did not greet us as he set a plate filled with thick slabs of roasted pork and a medley of stewed vegetables in front of each of us along with a mug of ale. A basket of coarse bread was set between us. I glanced around the room at the other diners. Several were openly glaring back at me. This was why I hardly ever came to town.
Rian placed his hand on mine and leaned toward me. “Pay them no mind. It is my presence that is making them uncomfortable. I am foreign to them, and they do not trust me. Surely, they will come around in time. Just forget about them and tell me what is on your mind. What are your thoughts on this morning’s meeting?”
I tried to concentrate as I peered into his pale brown eyes. What had the meeting been about again? Oh yes, my father wanted to take over the entire country and somehow thought Rian had a plan that would bring it about.
“How does he expect you to overcome your brothers?” I twisted my lips to the side and looked down at the table. I had not meant to say that out loud. Rian had asked for my thoughts, and it just popped out of my mouth.
He reached for my hand, drawing it up to his lips and kissed the back of my fingers. “You have lost me, Princess. What do you mean by that?”
“Father seems to think you have a plan to take control of Kearnley, and I just realized that in order to do that, you would have to overpower your brothers. What would make him think you would even be willing to go against them? I know you have been out of contact and maybe they were the cause of you leaving. I am sure Father knows more about the situation than I do.”
I needed to stop talking. Rian’s relationship with his family was none of my business. Suddenly, I remembered that I was supposed to be gathering information about this very thing. Maybe my random speech would at least cause Rian to open up.
He rubbed his thumbs across the back of my hands and then released them so he could return to his food. “My brothers had nothing to do with me leaving. How much do you know about what happened with my parents?”
“I only know what was said in the meeting, which was confusing.” And rather alarming.
“Before my father’s death, I thought the world of him. Afterward, I found out he was responsible for having my eldest brother murdered. He had attempted to have Reagan eliminated as well, and Garrett had been tortured at his command.”
Ice coursed through my veins. It was hard to believe a father would go to such lengths. “Why would he do that?”
“At the time, it was to gain control of Aisling. Brianna had married Garrett instead of my oldest brother, Dunbar. By eliminating the two eldest, Garrett would be heir to both thrones which would join the two kingdoms after my father’s death. I do not understand everything that went on, but he tried to torture Garrett into giving up control of Aisling before that time.”
Dunbar must have been the older brother he mentioned in the council meeting. I had never heard of him before now. Still, I was more curious about how his mother fit into this story. Rian said she was weak and had not kept to her duties as mother and queen. What did he mean? If I did not want the same fate, I needed to know what she had done to cause his disdain.
“What did your mother have to do with all of this?” My stomach tensed as I awaited his response.
Rian pressed his lips into a hard line and breathed deeply through his nose. “I believe she knew, or at least suspected what our father was up to. She did nothing to stop him until it was too late.” Bitterness coated his words. The sadness reflected in his eyes made me want to reach out to him. “I was there the day Brianna came accusing Father of his crimes. I could not believe what she said was true until Mother took a knife and ended Father’s life.”
His mother had killed her own husband? This is what my mother considered true love? “You saw this? How old were you?”
“I was nine years old. I will never forget that day. My life turned up-side-down, and nothing has been right since.”
“Oh Rian, I am so sorry.” I reached for his balled fist. I rubbed his hand and it relaxed a little beneath mine, though I was sure it was a forced reaction. Bitterness was written on his features.
“What happened next? What happened to your mother?” I probably should have let the subject drop, but I had to know. I was too invested in his story.
“She took to her bed. She stopped eating, and she stopped caring. Less than a year later, she followed Father into the grave.” He sounded so cold and heartless, but his face told a different tale. I wanted to reach out and ease the pain I saw there.
He slipped his hand from beneath mine and started back on his meal. I took a couple of bites, but the food had cooled and was tasteless in my mouth. Eventually, we both gave up on the pretense of eating and placed our napkins on our plates.
Rian waved the server over to our table. “I am ready to pay my bill.”
The server looked at me and then back to Rian.
I cleared my throat to get my husband’s attention. “Whenever we need something from town, the bill is usually sent to the castle.”
“Oh yes, that is right. I had forgotten.”
He seemed a little out of sorts as we left the tavern. It was no wonder considering the conversation we had there. What could I say to get things back to the way they were?
Rian glanced over his shoulder toward the way we had just come. “I have no concern at all over what the people here think of me, but I do not like the way you were treated. I should have said something. I am sorry.”
“They did not do anything wrong. Not really.” I shrugged. “Besides, they were like this before you got here. I am sure it has more to do with the fact that Father refuses to pay full price for anything. He will only pay seventy percent of the cost of any goods or services consumed by the castle.”
Rian looked at me with his brows drawn. “Surely the merchants here must raise their prices to compensate.”
“By our laws, to do so would be treason and punishable by death.”
He looked at the town around us. What did he think of Father’s policies? It seemed almost a betrayal to reveal this information to him, but it was common knowledge. Besides, Rian had every right to know my father’s dealings now that he was expected to one day replace him.
As we walked in silence for the rest of the way back to the castle, I kept going back to his revelations concerning his parents. I remembered the hunger in my own father’s eyes as he had talked of a possible plan that would have all of Kearnley under one rule. Would he be willing to go to the same lengths and have his child murdered or tortured to bring this plan about? A shiver went up my spine. Thinking of how I had been treated over the last week, it did not seem as farfetched as it once would have.