The Beauty of Darkness - Mary E. Pearson Page 0,107

my mother in disbelief. Pain stabbed my throat. “Please don’t tell me that while I was burying my slain brother and his comrades, you were here conspiring with the Royal Scholar.”

She shook her head, her brows drawing together. “But I was, Arabella. I’ve been conspiring with him for years. I—”

Her chamber door swung open, and a guard stepped in. I looked between the Royal Scholar and my mother. A trap? The guard immediately eyed me and my dagger and drew his sword, advancing toward me. I fled through the window I had entered, stumbling onto the ledge, and nearly tumbled to the ground below. My vision was blurred with tears, and my path danced in front of me like a loose rope bridge. I ran along the ledge, trusting my footfalls to find solid stones, sensing them more than seeing them. I heard shouts from the window behind me, orders being yelled—stop her—and the scuffle of their footsteps, but I had chosen my window and path carefully. In seconds I was gone from their view and headed for the opposite side of the citadelle. I wouldn’t have much time, but the night was not over. Especially not now.

Especially not with the misery that raged through me.

The truths wished to be known, and it was time my mother began delivering them—a few words at a time. Who better to sway the people than Regheena, the revered First Daughter of the House of Morrighan?

Desperation grew teeth.

Claws. It became an animal inside me

That knew no bounds.

It tore open my darkest thoughts,

Letting them unfurl like black wings.

—The Lost Words of Morrighan

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

RAFE

The general was an hour late. I was spitting with fury when he finally arrived, but he came with his young daughter in tow. I bit back my curses, but not my anger. “We need to speak privately.”

“She’s trustworthy.”

“It is not a matter of—”

He brushed past me, walking toward my desk. “Colonel Haverstrom explained your requests.” He turned to face me. “Leaving so soon? Seems like you just got here. I thought we already had this conversation. I seem to recall your pledge to stay, and now you’ve changed your mind already?”

I shoved him into a chair, nearly tipping it over. His daughter sucked in a frightened breath and stepped back against the wall. “I didn’t ask for an account of what I did or didn’t say, and these are not requests, General Draeger. They are orders.”

He settled back into the seat. “And ones that I’m afraid won’t be easy to fulfill. You might remember that it was by your insistence that companies in Falworth were sent to outlying posts. Our resources here in the capital are spread quite thin. Besides, what can a hundred men do?”

“For my purposes, far more than an entire brigade that would be seen and stopped at the borders.”

“All for this princess?”

I held my fist at my side, vowing to myself that I wouldn’t break his jaw in front of his daughter. “No,” I said firmly. “For Dalbreck. What serves Morrighan will serve us tenfold.”

“We have no alliance with them. This seems to be nothing more than impetuous folly.”

“Their court is in jeopardy. If they fall, so will we.”

He shrugged, making a flamboyant show of his doubt. “So you say, and I do respect your position as king. Still, a hundred men outfitted to your specifications could take a while. It would require much effort on my part.”

“You have until tomorrow morning.”

“I suppose that might be possible with the right motivation.” He pulled some papers from his coat and threw them on my desk.

I only had to glance at them briefly. I stared back at him in disbelief. “I could have your head for this.” It wasn’t an idle threat.

“Yes, you could,” he agreed. “But you won’t. Because I’m the only one who can get you what you need as quickly as you want it. Behead me, and you’ll have to reach out to other garrisons much farther away. Think about it. For all the urgency that you claim, do you really have that much time to spare, Your Majesty? And you’re still on very shaky ground. This would add stability to your reign. I’m thinking of the realm.”

“Devil’s hell you are. You’re an ambitious opportunist trying to wheedle your way into a position of power one way or another.”

I looked at the girl, her eyes wide with terror. “Dammit, General! She’s just a child!”

“She’s fourteen. Surely you can wait until she’s of age? And you must admit,