to happen again,” Branford said softly. He turned my face toward him and crouched down to be eye level with me. “Never again. I am truly sorry you saw any of this.”
Branford stood tall as he spoke to Sir Rylan with words that I did not hear. I could only nod, my mind still trying to understand what was happening around me. One of my only friends had betrayed me—willingly and knowingly—for years. I had been letting her destroy Branford’s children with every cup from her hand I drank.
I felt quite sick.
“Come, my queen,” I heard Branford say softly against my cheek. “Let us retire to our rooms. You need your rest.”
“She was…she was my friend…”
Branford wrapped his arms around my waist as he pulled me backwards against him.
“She lied to you,” he replied.
I looked into his eyes, and they were still solid green gems.
“I believed her.”
“I know.” He touched the edge of my jaw. “I did not see her for what she was either. She slipped past my senses and got close to you.”
Branford turned me toward him, and he cupped my face.
“That will not happen again,” he said.
The words were not unfamiliar. How many times had Branford made a similar promise? Though I knew he endeavored to keep such oaths, there were possibilities that were simply too far beyond his control, and his own desires could not keep up with the world around him or his duty to his kingdom. However familiar the words, his look and tone were completely different than they had been before. Gone was the desperation I had often seen in his eyes, and gone was the sense of urgency in his voice. His eyes were calm and intense and his voice laced with collected determination.
One of his hands went to the back of my head, and he leaned closer to put his forehead against mine.
“Never again,” he said.
We returned to our rooms, leaving the guard to spread the word about Hadebrand’s deception and the bounty on the heads of those involved. Sir Rylan was to ride back toward Seacrest and return with the soldiers we would need to protect Silverhelm from Edgar’s army. The betrayal of Nelle and Janet was enough to convince him that Silverhelm deserved protection from an unscrupulous neighbor.
With few words spoken between us, Branford called for our supper, and we ate in our rooms. Afterwards, I offered to make Branford his tea, but he refused it with a raised eyebrow and pulled me close to him instead.
“I may ban tea from the kingdom,” he said, and I wasn’t sure if he meant it in jest or not. He collected me into his lap sideways, with my legs across the arm of the chair and my head against his shoulder. “When I think that she could have used more of that…that plant…enough to harm you…Alexandra, it makes me want to find every person she ever touched—relative, ally, friend, or enemy—and destroy them. I want to remove all evidence that she ever existed.”
“She is gone now,” I said though my words brought me no comfort. They did nothing to soothe Branford, either.
“And you,” he said suddenly as he pointed his finger at my face, “you drank something she made for you every day and never told me of it?”
I tucked my head into the crook of his neck, but he would not allow me to hide my face.
“I did not think it important,” I finally whispered as I felt a hot tear escape from my eye. Branford wiped it away with this thumb. “It was…only tea.”
“Only tea,” he repeated and then looked up toward the heavens with a sigh. “Only tea, indeed.”
“I am sorry, my king,” I said softly.
“Do not apologize, Alexandra,” he said. “It was not of your own doing, and I find no fault with you. I just wish…wish I had realized…been more observant…”
He stopped and took my chin with his thumb and forefinger.
“Never again,” he said, and his eyes and tone matched how he had spoken on the practice field. “I will not miss anything again. I will always be at your side, and I will know exactly who is near you, what is said to you, and what is given to you. I will not be so careless again. You belong with me and I with you.”
“You have always cared for me,” I said, reminding him.
“It has not been enough.”
“You cannot always be near me.”
“Really?” he responded with a raised eyebrow. “Watch me.”
“What if I am in