‘… and now I’m here. But Letya is still in the tower. We have to rescue her and get a doctor to look at that burn on her neck. And we have to stop them executing Lucien.’
Aron sighs. ‘I wish you’d waited, cousin. Or at least told me what you were planning. My messenger returned from Merl not two hours ago. We have the letters that Siegfried wrote to your father.’
My shoulders sag with relief. ‘Then we must rouse Convocation immediately.’ I glance at the clock on the mantlepiece; the night is already wearing away. Lucien is supposed to be brought for execution at dawn.
Aron is still watching me, frowning.
‘Cousin? Don’t you agree?’
He nods. ‘Of course. And we will go to Convocation. But there is another factor to consider. What will happen to the crown?’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘At the moment, Odette and Siegfried are due to be crowned as soon as they are married. Once Siegfried and the queen have been exposed, the marriage will obviously not take place. Odette will not be able to claim the throne. Neither will you, since you are also unmarried.’
‘But I could marry –’ Sudden embarrassment halts me. ‘I mean, I could marry someone.’
‘If you’re thinking of Rookwood, you could of course marry him. But if you want to be queen, Convocation would have to approve the match. And they won’t: you and Lucien are both from Atratys; it would concentrate too much power in one dominion.’
‘I don’t want to be queen. I just want to go home.’ I sigh. ‘Who’s next in line after me?’
‘Siegfried controls his father – assuming he’s still alive – so once he and Aurik are both excluded, the throne falls to either Arden of Dacia or Thane of Fenian – Grayling’s father. Both married, both – due to the complex intermarrying of their ancestors – with an equal claim. The kingdom might end up in a civil war.’
‘I feel as if Arden is more likely to win.’ I’ve never met Thane, but if he’s like his son … ‘Would Fenian contest the throne?’
‘Hard to say, but to give up such a prize without a fight …’ He smiles contemptuously. ‘I doubt either of them would make a good king. Not that my father set a particularly high standard. Of course, as someone with a better claim to the throne, you’d be left in a somewhat awkward position. As would my sister.’
He means we’d be at risk, of course. At risk of being forced into marriage. Or imprisoned. Or worse. A lifetime dealing with the sorts of threats I’ve had to face for the last three months. I take a sip of wine, hoping its warmth will dispel the chill of panic that just assailed me.
‘This is ridiculous. I know Odette doesn’t want to be queen. But you’ve been brought up to rule. And you want to rule. Did you honestly find nothing in the Decrees that would restore you to the succession?’
Aron stands and walks to the large table in the centre of the room. ‘I did find one thing. But –’ he laughs – ‘I would need your help, cousin.’
‘Of course I’ll help, if I can.’
‘You may not want to, when you understand …’ He hands me a roll of parchment. ‘I’ve marked the relevant passage.’
I study the words that Aron has underlined.
The flighted rule; the flightless are ruled. Thus will the kingdom be guarded. No flightless man or woman may ascend the throne.
So far, the Decree seems clear. But it continues.
Between them, the monarchs must defend the kingdom. The monarch must be first in flight, and last in retreat. The Elders have spoken.
‘The monarch must be first in flight …’ I glance up at my cousin. ‘I can see how Convocation were able to challenge your right to rule. But …’
Aron sighs and points to the parchment. ‘Look again. The monarchs – plural – must defend the kingdom. But the monarch – singular – must be first in flight. You see?’ He stares at me intently. ‘As long as one of the two monarchs can fly, the Decree is fulfilled.’
Realisation dawns. And dread blooms in the pit of my stomach.
‘But to defend the kingdom –’
‘You don’t have to be able to shift your shape to defend the kingdom. It’s at least as much about politics as brute strength.’ He sits in the chair next to me. ‘What you and I are doing now is defending the kingdom. Yet neither of us is transformed.’
I stare back at the paper gripped in my hands. But my vision is blurred by the tears in my eyes.
‘You understand me, I think.’ Aron’s voice is gentle, but there’s excitement there too. ‘I want to be king, Aderyn; it is my birthright. You want to save Lucien and protect Atratys. And we both want to take down Siegfried and the queen. The surest way for us to achieve our ends is for us to present the evidence to Convocation together. To give them an easy choice as to who should rule next. They won’t even need to change the date of the coronation.’
‘And if I … can’t?’
He sits back in the chair and crosses his legs. Sighs wearily. ‘I’ll give you the letters. You can go to Convocation, and they will probably believe you. Lucien will probably be saved, and Siegfried will probably be imprisoned. As to what will happen then …’ He shrugs.
He’ll give me the evidence I need. But he won’t come with me or support me. He won’t use his influence with the Dark Guards.
Lucien and I might be free to return to Atratys together, which is all I want.
We might be left in peace.
Might … Probably … I bite my lip, trying to calculate the odds.
The room is silent apart from the ticking of the clock and the crackle of the fire in the hearth.
Aron clears his throat. ‘You know what Lucien would say, if he were here.’
‘Shut up, damn you.’ I glare at my cousin. ‘I’m trying to think.’ Trying to think of a way around what he is suggesting. Of a way I can protect Atratys, and save Lucien, and still get to be with him. And I realise I’m facing almost the same choice as my mother had: do what is best for the kingdom, or what is best for me. ‘What you’re asking of me …’
‘I know. I heard you together, down in the dungeons.’
I laugh, though I don’t know why. ‘We’d started planning what we would do together. Once we get home –’ The word cuts through my throat like a knife as I try to imagine Atratys at war. Merl under siege.
Aron is getting down on one knee in front of me. ‘I will try to be an agreeable husband, Aderyn. We’re making an alliance. I would ask, for the sake of Solanum, that you honour the vows we take, as I will myself. Unlike my father, I would have a kingdom built on truth and honesty, not upon a web of deceit. But I swear I won’t …’ He colours and drops his gaze. ‘I won’t expect anything of you beyond that. I won’t attempt to force myself on you. I know you don’t love me.’ He looks up at me again; to my surprise, there’s both pain and anxiety in his eyes. ‘What do you say, cousin? Will you marry me?’
Everything around me seems to slow down. All I’m aware of are the contractions of my heart, each beat shaving away the time I have left. The time Lucien has left.