Twenty-six

Maren stopped outside the drawing room where she knew Kern, Daric, and Adare waited. They’d chosen today, this gathering, because it was so informal. Just the four of them. Kern would never suspect. At least she hoped so.

Halef had assured Kira the potion would work. Unfortunately, it was all he could make. One of the ingredients, Catua leaf, was nonexistent. He’d used his last supplies. But Daric would be there. No matter how powerful Kern was now, once that power was gone, Daric was the better swordsman, and since the siege, he always kept it at his side. And Philip was in the next room, waiting for the spell to fade before he rushed in with his own sword ready. This was going to work. It had to. She straightened her shoulders and stepped into the room.

Daric planted a kiss on each of her cheeks before ushering her to a seat next to Adare, who was already pouring out the tea.

“You look so much better.”

She smiled. She needed to act normal. Kern couldn’t suspect what she had planned. “I feel better.”

She accepted Kern’s cup when Adare passed it to her, and while she went through the motions of adding cream, dumped in the contents of the small vial. Somehow she managed to keep her hands from shaking.

She handed the cup to Kern. “Would you like anything else? Cake? Some cheese?”

“No, thank you.” He set his cup on the table. “This is perfect.”

“Well, now that we’re all settled,” Daric’s eyes gleamed with excitement, “I have a surprise for the two of you.”

She glanced at Kern, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

Daric’s smile grew even bigger. “I know it’s customary to have a year-long engagement. However, in your case, I think we need to make an exception.” A touch of sadness clouded his features. “We don’t know how much time we have, and I want you to enjoy it to the fullest. Next week, I’m holding a banquet in honor of your engagement and setting the date of your wedding for one month from now.”

She froze, acutely aware that Kern’s tea still sat untouched on the table, and absorbed Daric’s words. No. She couldn’t marry Kern. She’d only become engaged to him with the knowledge she’d die before they were ever married. But actual marriage…

“Maren?” Daric grabbed her hand. “I thought you’d be happy.”

She pasted on a smile. “I am. I just don’t know what to say, how to express my thanks.”

“Don’t,” he said. “Anything I do for you pales in comparison to what you’ve done for me.”

Adare took her other hand. “Just be happy. For as long as you can. You’ve found something most people don’t ever find.”

Yes, she had. But not with Kern.

“We will be happy,” Kern interjected. “I promise.”

She somehow found it in herself to smile before she stood. “A toast. To happiness. And love. And life.”

They all raised their cups, and she held her breath as Kern reached for his. Only his hand closed around the hot cup instead of the handle. He instantly dropped it, letting out a loud hiss of pain, and Maren was left staring at the floor, where the brown liquid quickly disappeared into the lush carpet.

She sank back onto the sofa, vaguely aware of Kern giving some kind of apology while Daric grabbed a napkin.

Then there was laughing, and words like “fiancé” and “beautiful” and “banquet.” She barely heard any of it, couldn’t look away from the ugly stain on the floor, reminded how in one moment all her hopes had been crushed.

It was Adare’s hand on her arm that finally snapped her back into the present.

“So?” Adare smiled. “The banquet.”

Maren made her mouth curve up in what she hoped was a smile. “It sounds like a perfect idea.”

“But are you sure?” Kern asked. “With everything that needs to happen in a month’s time, we’re going to be incredibly busy.”

“You have no idea,” Daric laughed. “Adare hasn’t had a wedding to plan since our own. And I think she wants yours to be even larger.”

“I think that might be taking it a bit far.” Kern’s smile was his most charming, and Maren again felt sick. “For now, let’s just focus on the banquet. It’s the start of a new chapter.”

His words slithered over her and she shivered, convinced that Kern was done waiting.

 

* * *

 

The minute Maren stepped out of the door, she ran, desperation clogging every rational thought. It hadn’t worked. None of it. They were at square one again, with no idea how to kill Kern or save Daric.

She ran until she couldn’t anymore and then collapsed onto her knees, her breath coming in gasps.

Then strong arms lifted her from the ground and held her tight – until she finally felt in control again.

“What happened?” Philip asked.

“He spilled his tea on the carpet before he even took a sip.”

“Then we’ll just have to think of something else,” he said.

“What else?” She looked up into his face.

He just shook his head and pulled her close again. “I don’t know,” he whispered.

“Well, we’d better think of something because that entire lunch was so that Daric could waive the year engagement requirement because of my health. The wedding is in a month.”

“There’s not going to be a wedding.” She’d never heard Philip’s voice so rough. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“But you don’t,” she said. “Not unless we can stop Kern. And I’d rather die than be married to him. To have him own me and—”

Philip’s lips claimed hers as if she’d be ripped from him at any second. With love, and longing, and a sense of commitment that left her kissing him back with a fierceness she didn’t even know she possessed.

“I’ll find a way,” he finally whispered into her hair. “No matter what I have to do.”

Which didn’t ease her mind. What could he do against his own father, who also happened to be the most powerful mage to ever live?

 

* * *

 

Maren paced back and forth in front of the castle gate. She shouldn’t have let Kira go back to Halef’s, but they hadn’t had any better ideas. Maybe he’d exaggerated his claim that he couldn’t make another potion. It was worth a try. Besides, she was worried. She could feel it deep inside her somewhere, like a sixth sense. Especially with what she continued to feel from Kern – a conclusion to his plans was near now that their marriage was official. He was setting her up for something. She was sure of it. She just didn’t know what.

He was acting different, sometimes giving her relief, sometimes making her wait until she was desperate for him to take the pain – or to leave her alone so she could do it herself. He was letting her know he had complete control, that he could make her do exactly what he wanted.

And he rarely left her alone. Today was the first time in a week he’d gone riding with Daric. But they’d be back soon. She glanced back down the road into the city. Still no sign of Kira.

She sat on a nearby bench and waited. Either she’d be here to meet Kira, or she’d be here to meet Kern.

“Maren!”

Her head snapped up and she breathed a sigh of relief – until Kira came closer and she saw the tears in her eyes. “What happened?”

“He’s dead,” she sobbed. “Halef’s dead.”

Maren felt the world begin to spin and had to put her head in her hands before taking a deep breath. “Tell me what happened.”

“I went there and asked for Halef,” Kira began in a shaky voice. “But instead of helping me, everyone ran away. They were scared. Terrified. I tried to go after them, but it was useless. Then an old man came towards me. He said Halef was dead, killed by magic over a week ago. Powerful magic. They were worried, Maren. Nothing like that has happened in a long time, even there.”

Maren’s mind whirled. Kern must have discovered what Halef was trying to do. He killed him. Her stomach twisted. Did he know it was her that had begged for Halef’s help? Did Kern know she was trying to stop him? She clutched at her head and tried to think, only to find herself shaking so much it hurt.

Kern was going to win. Daric was going to die. No! Maren pulled her hands away from her head and looked up at the castle. If Halef was dead, she’d just have to find another way.

She turned to Kira. “This isn’t the end.”