A Savage Debt (The Beholden Duet #1) - Zoey Ellis Page 0,29

mortification of having to say this to her parents nearly made her break down in sobs again, but she pushed it back sharply as something occurred to her. “There was a crowd on the edge of the royal grounds. I think he arranged it.”

Her father’s fists clenched and he exhaled. “Yes, we know. It wasn’t discovered until it was already dark.”

“How did it happen? I thought the grounds would be secure, especially there.”

“There was a significant disturbance at another part of the grounds that drew the attention of many of the guards. There weren’t enough remaining to disperse the crowd. We suspected he would do something, even organize two disruptions at the same time, but not that we would need such significant resources at both.”

“We’re sorry about that, Ana,” the queen said, gently. “It won’t happen again.”

Ana nodded, but the outlaw’s words floated back to her. Do you think I don’t have people in the palace? She doubted it was true, but if he did, none of them were safe anyway.

“This is one of the reasons he can come and go as he pleases,” the king added, his face dark. “The commoners are aware he has earned the Royal Promise and they enjoy seeing him enter and exit the castle.”

“It’s like a morbid fascination for them,” the queen added, somewhat disgusted. “Seeing the kingdom’s worst outlaw have access to the palace like that.”

“It sends a terrible message to the people,” the king growled.

The queen took his hand in her own and pressed it against her cheek. The action calmed him immediately, and Ana couldn’t help but smile.

“The wider kingdom doesn’t yet know what he asked for as his payment,” the queen said to Ana. “There are rumors circulating of the rewards he may be receiving—”

“Things he should have fucking asked for,” the king thunderously interjected.

“—but it seems at the moment, nothing is dominating.”

“But, how can that be?” Ana looked between them. “There were commoners and nobles in the assembly hall. There was the crowd at the window yesterday. How can no one be speaking of it?”

“The crown still has a lot of sway, Ana,” her mother said. “And so do the houses. At the moment, we’ve been able to keep it quiet, especially as we haven’t confirmed it, so among the commoners it is all just rumor and hearsay. With the palace allowing Maddoc to come and go, looking well fed and satisfied, it doesn’t hurt us right now, as many think we are treating him with respect. Even that trick he orchestrated with the crowd yesterday, no one is certain it was you. The ‘woman’ they saw had your unusual rose-copper hair, yes, but she wasn’t wearing a gown typical of your style. Besides which, it is too outrageous for the commoners to believe that something of that magnitude could truly happen.”

Ana’s eyebrows were so high she was in danger of straining a muscle in her forehead, and the relief pounding through her made her breath unsteady. “So no one knows yet?” Since this morning, she finally took a full and deep breath.

“Well, the houses know, since they were all in attendance and part of the discussions,” her mother replied, evenly. “And the upper nobles.”

“Oh.” So all the important people. Her flood of relief was choked to a trickle. “Are you still going to kill him?”

The king didn’t hesitate to answer. “It will look like an accident.”

Ana took a breath unsure how she felt about it. Granted, she loathed the man, but she’d never met someone she would be responsible for his execution.

“What about food?” the king asked, interrupting her thoughts. “He ate the food, I assume?”

Ana nodded. “Yes, quite a bit of it, and drank the mead.”

“Good.” The king looked pleased

“Why is it good?” Ana asked evenly. “Why would you feed him and keep his strength up for what he plans to do with me again tonight?”

The king frowned, but the queen explained, “It’s good for us if we know he will eat from us. It means we can take risks with the food we put in there. Perhaps poison him, or at least immobilize him.”

They hadn’t mentioned anything like that to her before. “What about me?” Ana asked. “Am I supposed eat poisoned food too?”

“Eat before you go in there,” the king stated, firmly. “You shouldn’t eat anything from the table.”

“What if I have to drink water, Father? Sometimes I will need it.”

A king’s face hardened for a moment and then relaxed. “We won’t do anything to