Page 11 of Hollow Court
“How they lived through one war and want another is beyond me,” she said. “I would happily go the rest of my life without seeing another man bleed out from battlefield wounds.”
My stomach churned, as it always did when I was reminded how close she had come to death this past year, fighting in Socair’s civil war. And to hear tell of it, that war had only been marginally worse than the one between our two kingdoms over twenty years ago.
It was little wonder the people on either side of the Masach Mountains hated each other.
“Well, that might be where we’re headed if the Andersons take Lithlinglau. There’s no telling what they would do with that kind of power, but I’m sure a full-blown rebellion wouldn’t be out of the question.”
Rowan’s eyebrows climbed into her crimson hairline. “You think this is about more than just their birthright?”
I pursed my lips.
“I think,” I began slowly, running my fingers along the grooves of the crystal goblet, “that Tavish has had the same dubious claim to this estate for twenty years, and yet, it’s only now that we’re seeing a new group of rebels form, and we’re less stable than ever, that he’s decided to bring it before the Assembly.”
I had no proof, but it was the only explanation that made sense.
Rowan sat up straighter, one of her curls bouncing free of the obsidian crown on her head. “Then I’ll come back with you, show a united front.”
“You have your own kingdom to worry about now,” I reminded her gently.
Something in her features was too discerning for my liking. “That doesn’t mean I stopped caring about the kingdom I left behind.”
Or the people she left behind, she meant.
“I know that, Row, and I wasn’t implying otherwise. But this is your life now.” I gestured to the crown on her head and all of the responsibility that came with it. “You stopped our people from going to war with Socair. I’ll stop them from going to war with themselves.”
Her curls swayed with the small shake of her head. The motion dislodged her crown, and she tugged irritably at it.
“What a team we make,” she said, wincing as the black spikes tangled further in her endless mass of hair. “First creating problems, then solving them.”
I chuckled, unable to argue. It was a rather unfortunately accurate accounting of more of our lives than I wanted to think about. Though she was half-joking, guilt churned behind her eyes, an echo of my own.
Leaning over, I batted her hands away, helping her disentangle the crown like I had so many times when we were kids.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, placing her hands in her lap.
I turned to set her newly freed crown on the table behind me, taking the opportunity to fortify my expression before facing her once more.
“I’m going to attempt to win them over with my substantial charm, and if it doesn’t look like that’s working, I’ll…show them I’m stable.” My parents had strongly hinted at how that might be possible in their letter.
Rowan’s bright green eyes darted to my features, reading the truth in them. “You can’t be serious. Who?”
I had given this some thought, though I had mostly only been successful in ruling candidates out.
“Not Fiona,” I said with a shudder, thinking of one of the more…motivatedladies at court. “She’d be likely to murder me and take my estate for herself, and all of that work would have been for nothing.”
Rowan smirked knowingly. “You mean like your mother did?”
“She has never confirmed those rumors,” I reminded Rowan, leaving out my personal, very strong suspicion on the matter.
“Nor denied them,” she said with a shrug. “Who else is on your list?”
“I don’t know, Row.” I ran a hand through my hair. “It’ll probably be Gracie.”
She was pretty, one of the nicer girls at court, and we had…enjoyed one another’s company on more than one occasion.
Rowan shook her head, staring at the gilded sconces on the wall and downing the rest of her drink.
“I hate this for you,” she said quietly. “You, of all people, deserve love. Not some passing compatibility.”