CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BETH
My beautiful mother, who my dad had called Erin, was the lost Princess Arwen, sister of Prince Prys and daughter of King Rhys. And it seemed I was his granddaughter.
I could barely sit still as Prys explained how much his father would love to meet me. Bleddyn stood apart from me as if he was a stranger. When Prys addressed him, he put even more distance between us.
I didn’t know the reason, and I worked hard to hide my disappointment. Maybe it was my newfound status as a member of the royal family, or he already regretted the one-night stand. Either way, I couldn’t deal with his mood swings, not when information was pouring at me like from a fire hose.
“Your life at court will be very different from what you were used to in the human world. Did you receive any training?” Prys asked.
“What training?” Was he referring to my time at the Academy? Or was there more Fae magic I should have learned by now?
I hedged my bet and answered, “I went to a school that taught me how to manage my powers.”
Prys studied me as if he could pull the truth from my head. My eyes narrowed at the screeching of his thoughts against my brain. But just as with Bleddyn, whatever Fae mind-bending magic he was using didn’t work on me.
Actually, it pissed me off. I copied Bleddyn and kept my face expressionless. The prince sat back, clearly irritated at his failure. He finished his snack, and when Olwen cleared the table, he wordlessly dropped several coins on the surface.
He was still treating her as a servant and not as the woman who must have been like a mother to him as he grew up. He didn’t even look at her, and that more than anything convinced me this guy was no good. I needed to be very careful with what I said to this dangerous man.
His sharp eyes never left my face, as if he could stare me into submission. “I shall expect you at the palace tomorrow. I will prepare your grandfather, the king, so that the shock will not be too much for him.”
For the first time, he addressed Bleddyn directly. “I need to speak to you and the mistress privately about other matters. Follow me to the back.”
He got up, dismissed me with a polite smile, and entered the kitchen, leaving his guards behind. Bleddyn followed him, his face stony. But when he glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes looked worried.
I stayed at the table for another few minutes, wondering if they would return. But soon, the men’s gawking and whispering made me so uncomfortable I decided to go for a walk.
I half-expected them to stop me, but nobody said anything as I stepped outside the building. I scanned my environment warily, remembering Bleddyn’s dire warnings.
But when we’d gotten separated, I’d be wearing tightly fitting human clothes, easily giving away my gender. Now, my body was covered with shapeless peasant garb. My hair was so short that if I pulled my hat deep into my forehead, there was no way I was even recognizable as a woman.
And I really wanted to get a feel for what this Fae city looked like. If things didn’t work out, I’d have a much better chance if I knew at least the general layout.
***
BLEDDYN
I worked hard to keep the growing horror off my face as I watched my liege lord manipulate Beth, putting her down one moment and building her up the next. By the time he was done speaking, Beth believed she was Arwen’s daughter.
I did not have proof either way, but she was caught in his scheme like a fly in a glue trap. No matter who she turned out to be, he would not allow her to live.
I ground my teeth so hard, a sharp pain traveled from my jaw into my ear. Ignoring the discomfort, I kept my expression neutral, but inside, the turmoil threatened to overwhelm me.
Just then, the prince rose and beckoned me to follow him. As Olwen and I obeyed, I glanced back, and Beth was looking after us with confusion in her eyes. I wanted to call out for her to stay and wait for me, but I could not draw more attention to her.
I sent silent prayers to the goddess and closed the door into the kitchen. Prince Prys never slowed down, exiting at the far side of the room, and never stopping until we were at the river bank.
There, he stopped and turned, his anger slipping the handsome mask of his face, revealing the ugliness underneath. He controlled himself quickly before addressing the mistress, but I knew him well. He was furious with her.
“You have no business meddling in my affairs. Why would you tell this human girl she might be the heir to the throne?”
Mistress Olwen seemed surprised by his outburst. “I thought you wanted to know. It is not a wondrous thing? Your sister’s daughter, believed to be lost in the human world for all these years, has finally returned to take her rightful place.”
How could she be so stupid to say that to his face? I shook my head in disbelief. I had always assumed she was an intelligent woman, getting away from the palace while she could, but clearly, I had been sorely mistaken.
“I am the heir to the throne. I do not believe that this human is Arwen’s daughter. But even if she were, it would change nothing.”
Olwen spoke deferentially, barely audible. “I believe the seduction of power is a wicked thing. I am ashamed of your words, my prince.”
Prince Prys said nothing, regarding her with his raptor gaze. The rage had subsided from his face, but I knew it was boiling through his veins. Yet when he spoke, his voice was calm, and his words carefully chosen.
“Mistress Olwen, I want to thank you for the care you gave me as a child.”
The woman’s round face glowed with affection and pride. “It was nothing, my prince. Anybody would have done it.”
Prys nodded and said, “I agree with your words. You have outgrown your usefulness, and I am sure you understand that nobody must know about the princess’s reappearance.”
Fear leapt into my throat, but even if I had been closer to stop what I saw in his eyes, it would have made little difference. Olwen had taken a step back, anguish and fear flashing across her brow, finally realizing what lay in store for her.
The prince casually pulled a knife from within his robe. Before Olwen could react, he drove the blade deep into her chest. I knew that to my dying day, I would never forget the hurt, the shock, and the utter disappointment in the good woman’s eyes. She stayed upright for one second, two seconds, and then her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground.
Her heavy body sounded like a sack of potatoes as she crumpled in front of us. The prince casually wiped his blade clean on her clothes while her breath rattled wetly in her chest. Then he returned the weapon to its hiding place.
He waited until she was quiet, and her eyes had glazed over. “She was a good woman, but simple people often become victims of state affairs.”
As if that explained everything, he threw the door open and walked back toward where Beth was waiting. At the last moment, he pointed at the corpse. “Leave her be. I shall send my men to dispose of the body.”
I stared after him, shocked but not surprised at how he had discarded his wet nurse. I knew that breaking my oath to him would break me as well, but this had gone on long enough. This was not the right time to stand against him openly, but this man, this monster, could no longer be my liege lord.
“Where is she?”
I hurried to Prys, alarmed by his vicious tone. Beth was no longer in the dining room where we had left her.
One of the guards explained, “She said she would go for a short walk before returning here.”
The man stood to attention, and his voice sounded strong, but there was a glimmer of fear in his eyes, and his hands trembled.
Prys nodded, as if accepting his guard’s explanation. But when he opened his mouth, the taller man blanched.
“You are no longer a member of this guard. Go back to the court and report to the kitchen. You shall remain there at my pleasure until I decide to forgive you.”
I exhaled, grateful I would not witness another slaughter. The soldier lowered his head, took off his scabbard and sword, and handed it to his commander. His lips were pressed into a tight line, and then he turned around and trudged off, obeying the prince’s commands.
When he had left the room, Prys turned to me. “Go and find the princess. And while you do that, make sure that fool does not reach his destination. Am I making myself clear?”
There was no misunderstanding his instructions, and I had no choice but to obey and slay a good man for the pleasure of the monstrous prince.
As I walked past noisy market stalls, ignoring the ardent looks of female and male storekeepers, I first focused on the former guard I had been ordered to eliminate.
When I caught up with him, I bumped him hard enough to break his stride. He whirled around, a belligerent complaint on his lips, but when he saw me, all color faded from his face.
“Calm down. I shall not do what the Prince has commanded me to,” I said. I took his elbow and pulled him onto a side road.
“You must not return to the court. Your life is forfeited. Do you have any place of Emlyn’s borders that you can hide at?”
He shook his head. “No, my kin is here. I know no one outside.”
I had feared as much. Yet I would not slay this man, who was as trapped in his duty to the royal court as I was.
“I will help your family to join you when it is safe. Go now, leave the city, and be on the lookout for others like me. I shall try to convince the Prince that the river has carried your body away, but it may not be enough. Here,” I said, pulling out a purse full of coins. “Take this.”
The man’s eyes widened as he accepted the money. It was sufficient to support him for many months, maybe even set himself up with a simple business.
“Milord, why are you doing this?”
“I have piled enough sins on my conscience to not want to add another. Maybe someday the goddess will forgive me.”
I didn’t say anymore. I didn’t tell him about the countless lives I had taken at the order of the prince, believing I was doing my duty to the kingdom. But ever since the old king had become more frail, Prince Prys had shown his true face. And now that his sights were set on Beth, I knew there had to be another way, even if it meant betraying my oath.