“Where the hell are your clothes?” he asked, stunned, as I wiggled my arms free and clutched the rug to my chest with one hand before I pushed into a sitting position with the other. Damn, but it felt good to move on my own again.
To speak again. To be free. And to be with Indigo.
For a moment, I wondered if any of this was real because it certainly didn’t seem possible after the nightmare I’d just survived.
“But—that’s not—” Qualmer tried to articulate his shock from behind us. “How did you—?” He shook his head confused. “She was at death’s door just a moment ago.”
He lay, pinned chest-first, in the dirt with some regal-looking fellow holding him down as he twisted his neck around so he could gawk at my bruise-free face.
Mouth falling open, he finally realized the truth. “Holy shit. You’re the true love of a fucking High Clifter?”
“Okay, who is that guy?” Indigo demanded, pointing and scowling at Qualmer’s glamoured face. “Please tell me he’s not the true King of Lowden.”
“He’s not,” I said, staring the fake king in the eye. “That is my cousin, Qualmer. He confessed to me that he killed Tomrick Gill and has been impersonating him for the past eight years.”
“Say what now?” the man sitting on Qualmer screeched, sending me an incredulous glance. “So ever since Tomrick’s been on the throne, it’s been a Graykey in disguise?”
“Surprise,” Qualmer answered cockily and let himself transform back into his true form, his blond hair growing down to his shoulders and turning red, then his frame lengthening and face stretching before the eyepatch came into view. “You never could tell, could you?”
“Son of a bitch,” Olivander hissed, jumping off him in surprise. “But, you—we invited you into our home and broke bread with you.”
Qualmer winked at him as he pushed to his feet to dust dirt and pebbles from his front. “Your daddy was even generous enough to send some of his harem girls to my rooms when I stayed over.” With a chuckle, he tossed his long hair over his shoulder and repositioned his eyepatch into place. “Think the old bastard would have a literal heart attack if he learned he’d put his arm around a Graykey and called him son?” He laughed maliciously. “I think he likes me better than he does you, Olivander.”
Olivander drew his sword. “Show it to me,” he demanded.
“What?” Qualmer asked in confusion before shaking his head. “Oh, you want to see this, do you?” Pushing up his sleeve, he flipped his arm over and showed off his Graykey mark.
Olivander swore under his breath and shuddered in revulsion.
“I wonder what your daddy’s going to do when he learns a Graykey killed his middle son.” Then he produced a blade from his tunic, and he roared as he launched himself at Olivander.
Except Indigo caught him from behind, wrapping an arm around his head and slicing a dagger across his throat.
“This was how you killed my mother; do you remember that?” he murmured into Qualmer’s ear as Qualmer gasped for air and began to die in his arms. “She hugged you in sympathy, and you wrapped your arms around her before sinking a blade into her body.”
My cousin met my eyes, his wide and begging as they glazed with fear and pain. I looked away, deciding he deserved what he got.
When I heard the thump of his body hitting the ground, I turned back to watch my true love bend down to snag the amulet from around his neck before he stepped over his corpse to return to me, his seeking gaze intent on mine as if to make sure he hadn’t just done something wrong.
“I couldn’t let him live,” he said. “After seeing you in that condition…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t.”
“I know.” I nodded. “It’s fine. It wouldn’t have been safe to keep him alive, anyway.”
He came to me and fell to his knees. Then he cupped my face in his hands and shook his head as tears filled his eyes.
“God. I can’t even believe you’re really here. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again.”
I touched his hair and ran a couple of locks between my fingers, marveling over the very same fact. “I was sure I wouldn’t see you again. They told me you were dead.”
His brow furrowed. “Who told you that?”
“King Ignatius. He said he made sure you’d never be able to find me. I thought that meant—”
“My mark.” Indigo touched his temple where the nasty black scab there had healed into a bright pink scar when we’d kissed. “He meant he took my mark so I literally couldn’t track you. But nothing was going to keep me from finding you. Not ever.”
“When did you speak with my father?” The other man that Qualmer had called Olivander asked.
I blinked up at him, not expecting to learn he was King Ignatius’s son. Paling, I wondered if this meant someone was going to try to imprison me yet again.
But Indigo stroked the side of my head with a soothing hand. “This is Vander Bjorn, by the way,” he said. “Prince of High Cliff. But don’t worry. He knows everything, and he’s here to help.”
I just gaped at him, not comprehending a statement where High Cliff royalty and help could be uttered in the same sentence to a Graykey. But Indigo seemed to trust him, so I nodded and gave the two men a quick summary of what had happened, glossing over most of the details.
“So your cousin saved you from my uncle?” Indigo’s face went sheet white as he glanced toward the dead body. “Maybe I was too rash to kill him—”
“No,” I assured him, taking his hand and squeezing. “His plans for me weren’t any better than your uncle’s.”
I explained how Qualmer still had three children out there that needed to be found and protected from the curse and how he’d planned on begetting more Graykeys from me—because he never learned I couldn’t have children.
The High Cliff prince scrubbed a weary hand over his face. “Well, if this whole mess isn’t a clusterfuck and a half. Not only do I have to explain the deaths of both Teller and Gill to the king, but now there’s a new generation of Graykeys out there to deal with as well. Plus, what the fuck am I supposed to do about all these guards that were loyal to the imposter?”
“Begging you pardon, my lord,” one of the soldiers in custody spoke up, “but we had no idea he was a Graykey. We served Master Gill long before he became king.” Narrowing his eyes at Qualmer’s corpse, he spat at it and claimed, “It enrages us to learn we’ve been deceived along with everyone else. We would like to return home to Lowden with his body and tell our people what transpired here today and how he lied to everyone for years. We’d also like permission to search for the three Graykey youth.”
“As long as you don’t execute the children when you find them,” Olivander allowed with a nod. “Because there is a way to keep them from falling victim to the curse without killing them.”
The soldier nodded as he pressed a fist against his heart. “You have our word, my lord.”
“Thank you.” Turning toward me and Indigo, Olivander exhaled heavily. “I guess that just leaves you two to take care of.”