The Promised Queen (Forgotten Empires #3)- Jeffe Kennedy Page 0,78

won’t fix itself.”

“Don’t you want to deal with Tertulyn while we’re here?”

She dropped her hand, her gaze going to her ladies, who circled in a dance nearby, singing gaily. Ambrose, Sondra, and a politely seated Vesno watched them—Sondra handling the wizards’ walking stick far more carefully than before.

Lia’s mouth flattened into an unhappy line. “I already ‘dealt’ with Tertulyn. I executed her Myself and will forever carry her blood on My hands.” She lifted her hands, long and lovely, staring at them with revulsion.

I took Lia’s one hand in mine, remarkably restored, the orchid lavish and large on her ring finger again. “I would’ve gone with you. You didn’t have to do that alone.”

Lifting her gaze to mine, she sighed. “I did have to do it alone. She was Mine, and I needed to take responsibility for the damage she caused us all.”

“If it helps, I would’ve done the same thing.”

“Would you?” She gave me a speculative look, chewing on her lower lip with teeth tamely rounded again, no sign of the sharp feral fangs. Then she laughed a little. “Well, I suppose you, the brutal and ruthless conqueror, would—and has.”

The sting of that shouldn’t have taken me by surprise. “Yes, I have. Countless times. I warned you a long time ago not to romanticize me. I’m not a good man.”

Lia studied me with a canny expression. “By that logic, you believe that I’m no longer a good person.”

“No,” I burst out. “You’re queen, and we both know that means making the hard decisions to protect everyone.”

“Just as you have done, Conrí, as a king.” Her eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as I groped for a reply. She’d neatly boxed me into that one. “Now to tell My other ladies. They may not be so understanding.”

“If they don’t understand, dismiss them from your service,” I advised.

“A ruthless stance,” she murmured, but not rejecting the idea outright.

“That’s what I bring to this marriage,” I acknowledged, then realized my misstep. “I mean—”

She laid a finger over my lips. “Don’t say it.”

Moving my lips over the delicious softness of her finger, I wasn’t sure what that meant. Had she relented? Perhaps she’d seen something in the water. “Not talking about it doesn’t make the future go away.”

“No, but it allows us to live in the moment. I saw some truth new to Me, but … I need some time to think about what to do about it.” Dropping her finger, she withdrew her other hand from mine, then slipped it into the crook of my arm, turning to stand beside me. “I shall take your advice, Conrí.” She spoke formally, but I heard a hint of her wicked sense of humor in her voice, which heartened me, even though I really doubted the wisdom of her solution to the problems between us. “If only because you were right about Tertulyn, and I don’t ever want to go through this again. Ladies,” she called.

The five of them immediately left the group of dancers. Skirts gathered and unbound hair streaming, they ran to Lia with cries of joy.

Lady Calla stepped forward. “You are restored, Your Highness, and we are so grateful for Your intervention on our behalf. Calanthe is saved and we rejoice!”

Lia’s fingers tightened on my arm, but she remained otherwise perfectly composed. “Rejoice for Calanthe, yes, but today also calls for mourning. Your sister in service, the Lady Tertulyn, has gone to Yilkay’s embrace.”

“Tertulyn is … dead?” Calla questioned, seeming unable to quite understand.

“Yes. She betrayed Me, betrayed Calanthe, and all of us.”

“But Your Highness,” Calla burst out. “It wasn’t her fault! Anure’s wizards cast a spell on her. We expected You to undo it, not … murder her.”

“Rightful execution by one’s queen is not murder,” Lia replied crisply. If I didn’t know she’d doubted it herself, I would never have guessed she was anything but utterly at peace with her actions. She relented a little, saying, “What was done to her could not be undone. Don’t doubt that I will mourn her loss deeply.”

Calla bowed her head but said nothing. I felt Lia sigh, but she gave no outward sign of it. “You all see that I have decided to no longer hide Myself under makeup, wigs, and gowns that take three of you to lift.” She smiled, but only Ibolya smiled back. The rest seemed to be in a state of shock. “Thus I no longer require the services of so many ladies,” Lia continued, her voice cooling as