“You can’t – ”
“I can,” the Dowager snapped back. “And just for arguing, it will not be the mountain lands, and you will not be a governor. You will go to the Near Colonies, where you will act as an assistant to my envoy there. He will provide regular reports on you, and you will not return until I deem you ready.”
“Mother…” Rupert began.
The Dowager fixed him in place with a look. She could still do that, even if her body was crumbling.
“Speak again, and you will be a clerk in the Far Colonies,” she snapped. “Now get out, and I expect to see Sebastian here by the end of the day. He is my heir, Rupert. Do not forget that.”
“Trust me, Mother,” Rupert said as he left. “I have not.”
The Dowager waited until he was gone, then snapped her fingers at the nearest servant.
“There is still one more annoyance to be dealt with. Bring me Milady d’Angelica, then leave.”
***
Angelica was still wearing her wedding dress when the guard came to her, summoning her to speak with the queen. He gave her no time to change, but merely escorted her briskly to her receiving chambers.
To Angelica, the old woman looked worn paper thin. Perhaps she would die soon. Just the thought of that had Angelica hoping that Sebastian would be found quickly, and made to go through with the wedding. There was too much at stake for it not to happen, in spite of the betrayal she currently felt at him running away.
She bobbed into a curtsey, then knelt as she felt the weight of the Dowager’s gaze upon her. The old woman rose from her seat unsteadily, only emphasizing the difference in their positions.
“Explain to me,” the Dowager said, “why I am not currently congratulating you on your wedding to my son.”
Angelica dared to look up at her. “Sebastian ran. How was I to know that he would run?”
“Because you are not supposed to be stupid,” the Dowager retorted.
Angelica felt a thrill of anger at that. This old woman loved playing games with her, seeing how far she could push. Soon, though, she would be in a position where she didn’t need the old woman’s approval.
“I took every step I could,” Angelica said. “I seduced Sebastian.”
“Not thoroughly enough!” the Dowager shouted, stepping forward to slap Angelica.
Angelica half rose, then felt strong hands pushing her down again. The guard had remained standing behind her, just a reminder of how helpless she was here. For the first time there, Angelica felt afraid.
“If you had seduced my son completely, he wouldn’t have been trying to get away from here, to Ishjemme,” the Dowager said, in a calmer tone. “What is in Ishjemme, Angelica?”
Angelica swallowed, answering out of reflex. “Sophia is.”
That did nothing but stoke the other woman’s anger.
“So my son was doing exactly what I told you to stop him from doing,” the Dowager said. “I told you that the whole point of your continued existence was to prevent him from marrying that girl.”
“You didn’t tell me that she was the oldest daughter of the Danses,” Angelica said, “or that they’re claiming her as the rightful ruler of this kingdom.”
This time, Angelica held firm for the Dowager’s slap. She would be strong. She would find a way out of this. She would find a way to put that old woman on her knees before this was done.
“I am the rightful ruler of this kingdom,” the Dowager said. “And my son will be after me. But if he marries her, that brings their kind in through the back door. It returns the kingdom to what it was, a place ruled by magic.”
That was one thing Angelica could agree with her on. She had no love for those who could look into minds. If the Dowager could have seen into hers, no doubt she would have stabbed her simply as an act of self-preservation.
“I’m intrigued as to how you know all this,” the Dowager said.
“I have a spy in Ishjemme,” Angelica said, determined to show her usefulness. If she could show that she was still useful, this could still turn out to her advantage. “A noble there. I have been in contact with him for some time.”
“So, you collude with a foreign power?” the Dowager asked. “With a family that has no love for me?”
“Not that,” Angelica said. “I seek information. And… I may have already solved the problem with Sophia.”
The Dowager didn’t respond to that, merely left a gap into which Angelica felt she had to pour words before it claimed her.
“Endi has sent an assassin to kill her,” Angelica said. “And I have hired one of my own should that fail. Even if he should reach there, Sebastian won’t find Sophia waiting for him.”
“He will not reach there,” the Dowager said. “Rupert has imprisoned him.”
“Imprisoned him?” Angelica said. “You must – ”
“Do not tell me what I must do!”
The Dowager looked down at her, and now Angelica felt true terror.
“You have been a snake from the start,” the Dowager said. “You tried to force my son into marriage by trickery. You sought to advance yourself at the expense of my family. You are a woman who hires assassins and spies, who kills those who stand against her. While I thought you might keep my son from his deluded attachment to this girl, I could stomach that. No more.”
“It is no worse than you have done,” Angelica insisted. She knew as soon as she said it that it was the wrong thing to say.
A nod from the Dowager, and the guard’s hands were dragging Angelica roughly to her feet.
“I have only ever acted as I needed to in order to preserve my family,” the Dowager said. “Every death, every compromise, was so that my sons would not be killed by someone else eager to seize power. Someone like you. You act only for yourself, and you will die for it.”
“No,” Angelica said, as if that one word had the power to stop it. “Please, I can make this right.”
“You’ve had your chances,” the Dowager said. “If my son will not marry you willingly, I’ll not force him to bed down with a spider like you.”
“The Assembly of Nobles… my family…”
“Oh, I probably can’t truly have you wearing the mask of lead for your actions,” the Dowager said, “but there are other ways. Your fiancé has just abandoned you. Your queen has just spoken to you harshly. In retrospect, I should have seen how upset you were, how fragile…”
“No,” Angelica said again.
The Dowager looked past her, to the guard. “Take her to the roof and throw her off it. Make it look as though she jumped from grief at losing Sebastian. Make sure you are not seen.”
Angelica tried to beg, tried to fight her way clear, but already those strong hands were pulling her backward. She did the only thing she could, and screamed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rupert stewed as he walked along Ashton’s streets, toward its docks. He should have been riding down the streets to the cries of a loving populace, celebrating his victory. He should have had the common folk cheering his name and throwing flowers. There should have been women along the route eager to throw themselves at him, and young men jealous that they could never be him.
Instead, there were only damp streets and people going about whatever dreary business peasants