A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,34
on our fellow noble khimaer.”
Aketo nearly pointed out that King Lei had done more than keep an eye on them, but decided against it.
“Last year, my uncle, who you know as Lei, wrote to us. He said that he believed someone had discovered our . . . secret heritage. He wanted us all to flee Orai for good and hide in the mountains up north until his daughter was crowned. Tavan, Osir, and I stayed to care for our home and Orai. Everyone else left shortly after.”
“Why you three?”
“Because I would not leave and Osir will not leave without me. Tavan stayed, in her words, to keep an eye on us. Besides, there is nowhere safe for them. They cannot pass.”
Aketo fell into one of the seats across from the two. “How is it you manage to pass as human, Lady? How did the King?”
Lirra sighed. “First you must understand: Our family has stayed in hiding for one reason alone. So that one day we would be able to infiltrate Ternain’s noble class and get close enough to the throne to . . . take it. Which meant that any infant born into this family who looked just a bit more human than khimaer had their horns cut.”
The nausea he’d smothered in the healing chamber rose back up again. Such violence, and enacted on babies too young to even know what was being taken from them. He looked, trying to see any scarring around Lirra’s hairline.
She caught him searching. “You won’t find any signs of it. Skilled healing can hide a great deal. I was born winged, but because my face was human enough and there were no other signs of my heritage besides my horns, they were . . . done away with.” At his look of revulsion, her eyes darkened. “Don’t mourn for me, Prince. It is a reasonable price to pay for our people’s freedom.”
“It isn’t reasonable, Lady.” Aketo cast his voice low and rubbed his temples. “None of this is.”
The King must have seen this violence for what it was, as he’d found another way to keep Eva’s true form from being revealed. Binding Eva’s magick had also been a violence, but not so traumatic and permanent as this.
Aketo couldn’t hide his disgust, but he did smother his pity. Lirra did not want it and he could give her that at least. “What happened on the wall? Eva was climbing, she seemed secure, and then . . . she just fell.”
“I heard you all, outside. And when one of you began to climb the wall, I rushed upstairs and I shoved open the window, hoping to dislodge whatever intruders had come. I expected another soldier. I didn’t think to find a young woman. And as soon as I saw her, I knew I’d made a mistake, but it was too late,” Lirra explained, staring down at her folded hands before glaring up at Aketo, both plaintive and defiant. “We thought you were soldiers. Had Evalina just come to our doors and knocked—”
“We did. Others in our company, soldiers loyal to the Princess, knocked the first day we—”
“Bah,” Lirra cut in. “They all had the look of soldiers. Just like that other one. Just,” she decided, plainly scanning him from his horns to his boots, “as you do, Prince.”
Aketo would have sensed the cool disdain in her tone without the rush of disappointment he felt swell inside Lirra when she considered him. Aketo surprised himself by laughing. “Lady, I have more reasons than you to despise the Queen’s Army. I did not join its ranks with pleasure. But since it is the reason I’m here with Eva now, I’d appreciate if you reserved your judgment.”
Osir gave Lirra a pointed look, after which the Lady of the House bowed her head. “You’re right. Doubtless you’ve sacrificed much being away from your family. My apologies.”
She paused and then went on. “I am sorry, for the whole of it. We’ve been hiding for decades and I was afraid to see the small peace we have here broken.”
For Aketo the play of her emotions conveyed more than her words ever could. Her defiance was wrapped up in a great deal of protectiveness for this place and her family. She’d believed she was defending them and her guilt left her raw, frustrated, and lashing out at him.
“Tell me,” Osir said, the timbre of his voice like distant thunder, “has our cousin ever shifted before?”