She’d known it was so, but to hear it was a different thing altogether. Everyone around her had been lying through their teeth this whole time—on both sides of the Heimseryan and Talagan conflict: Pyre, King Destin, and the Hounds. She couldn’t trust anyone, not even her uncles. She snapped, a red veil slamming over her vision.
Screaming, she lashed out toward Aleks, with every intention of attacking him where he stood. Dima grabbed her around her waist and lifted her from the ground.
“Calm down,” Dima commanded.
“I will not!” she yelled. “He’s a murder. You are all murderers. You make me sick.”
Maxim moved closer; his steps were quiet for such a big man. He held up his hands. “You need to calm down, lass.”
“You’re just as bad as the king!”
“We are not.” A twitch of anger creased Maxim’s brow. “Once you calm down, you’ll realize that. The king has more sway and power than one man ever should. I’m sure you know that. There was nothing we could do in the face of his orders other than to obey them. Such is the life of a servant of the Crown.”
“Then you are no better than him! You could have done something, even if it meant losing your life. You could do something.”
“And where would that get us?” Madrid interjected, his composure skill intact. “The king would just replace us with pawns who would unflinchingly do his bidding, and then what? There would be no one left to oppose him.”
Oppose him. The words rattled around in her head, and she sagged in Dima’s grasp. “Is that what you’re doing, opposing him? Because from where I’m standing it sounds an awful lot like justification for genocide.”
Maxim sighed, and his shoulders grew slack. “Sometimes, Tempest, in the name of the greater good, there is no choice. You have to do evil things.”
No. She didn’t believe it. “But the children—”
“Think of how many thousands more children we have to protect!” Maxim said, grabbing Tempest’s face as if the pressure of his fingers on her cheeks would make her understand his point. “You cannot know what is at stake.”
Tempest bit her lip. She didn’t agree, and Maxim could see that clear as day on her face. He loosened his grip, smiling sadly, and caressed her cheek. “I know you do not agree. In fact, it is in your nature not to agree with such a notion as doing something evil for the sake of good. Just because your intentions are honest, it doesn’t make your evil acts any less reprehensible. But sometimes… sometimes, you really must do whatever is necessary to protect the little ones.”
The fight went out of her, and she hung her head, wanting to cry. “Let me go, Dima.”
Her uncle released her, and she collapsed on an empty wine barrel that lay on the floor, near a small window. She stared at her shoes and then out at the city, her gaze resting on the far-off castle. It was this sort of justification and lack of action that was tearing their kingdom apart.
“The little ones need protection from the king,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “And I intend to take on the responsibility.”
“You think you can change him?” Dima sneered.
Tempest laughed hollowly. “No.”
She turned from the window and examined each man.
First, it was Aleks, who looked so ashamed. She felt tempted to console him despite her anger, but she knew better. He deserved to wallow in what he’d done. Next, Dima, whose face was almost impossible to read, as usual, but Tempest knew him well enough to recognize the slight tensing around his jaw that meant he was on the verge of losing his temper. Then Maxim, whose eyes pleaded with her to take what he had said at face value and trust them.
“Has the king threatened you?” she said bluntly.
“In what way?” Dima asked carefully.
That was an answer in and of itself. What threats had the king made? What would be so important that they’d commit such crimes? “So, we’re at an impasse.”
“It would appear so,” Madrid answered.
She stared at the infamous Hound. He held her gaze, and, for the first time, she saw a real emotion. Disappointment and something almost… protective. Fiercely so.
Oh. Winter’s bite. You are stupid.
She thought of what Maxim had said about doing what had to be done to protect the little ones. She was their little one.
“How long has he held me over your head?”
None of the men answered.
A long time then, she gathered from their silence. Her stomach rolled. She had agreed to marry a man who had been using her safety and wellbeing as a means to force good men into doing very unspeakable acts. Acts she was fighting against.
“Tempest,” Madrid said, very quietly, finally breaking the oppressive silence in the room. “I will only offer this once. We will hide you from the king. He will never find you. I’m certain you agreed to his proposal for the right reasons, but this choice will only result in your death.”
“Not if I get to him first.”
Madrid sighed. “I’m going to ignore you said that.”
“We never wanted his attention on you,” Dima added, nodding slowly. “I’m sure this comes as no surprise, but the king has a reputation of disposing of every lover he’s ever taken to bed.” His jaw clenched. “I’ve buried too many bodies and won’t allow you to be the next one,” he said raggedly.
“We tried to keep you from the king’s notice,” Aleks said gently. “But your trial secured his undivided attention.”
“Oh, so it’s all my fault,” Tempest fired back, hackles raised at the insinuation. “It’s my fault that he organized my opponent to be a lion—expecting me to fail and die, I might add. And then, when I unexpectedly won, it’s my fault he sought me out, knowing that I could not escape.” Her throat tightened. “And it’s my fault he pushed his advances on me, knowing I could not refuse.”
Maxim seemed to swell. “If he’s touched you—”
“I’ve been able to handle myself.” Mostly. But for how long?
“We never said this is your fault,” Madrid cut in, calm as ever. “There was ultimately no way we were going to be able to stop his attention from falling on you, the first female Hound. We just… hoped otherwise. We wished for things to be different.” His back stiffened, and his expression grew even more serious than it had been before. “But that’s why you must leave,” he said. “I know your intentions are good. I have no doubt you’ll try to build your position and influence as queen to the best of your advantage. But Destin will see right through what you’re doing, and you’ll be dead by morning. You can’t marry him.”
Tempest glowered, feeling somewhat like a petulant child. “And why not?” she asked, expecting the answer to be along the lines of we want to protect you.
“Because you will undo all the work that we have already done,” Aleks said, his voice so small Tempest thought she’d imagined it. “In the background. For years now.”
She stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“You heard him,” Dima answered. “You’ve stumbled into something that is bigger than all of us. Years of planning has gone up in smoke in a matter of months with you on the scene.”