The Gods of Amyrantha (43 page)

Nor did Declan have any idea where Tiji was or if she was in a position to help Arkady, and no way to get word to her.

And Shalimar was dying.

Tides, no wonder Daly wants to go fishing ...

CHAPTER 42

There was a certain amount of freedom in being exposed, Stellan discovered. A weight lifted off his shoulders after a lifetime of lies. He was disgraced, disinherited and doomed, and yet slightly euphoric about the whole thing. It was strange, but of all the consequences he had expected of being discovered, that was the one he hadn't considered. Stellan was no longer required to pretend to be something he was not, and that made the rest of it bearable.

His cell was large, by normal standards, and quite well lit, given it was in the corner tower of Herino Prison, rather than a dungeon underground. Reserved for prisoners of the highest rank, it boasted a small fireplace and an alcove with a narrow drain where he could relieve himself out of the view of his guards. The tower cell overlooked the lake, its surprisingly large window affording quite a spectacular view of the Upper Oran and the faint purple smudge of the Caterpillar Mountains on the horizon, on the other side of the lake. There were no bars on the window. Perhaps they thought the four-storey drop to the lake below sufficient deterrent. Or maybe nobody had ever tried to escape from here.

There was a real bed in the corner of the cell, with a mattress that had seen better days, and two thin blankets to ward off the night-time chill. The ultimate luxury, however, was a small desk and stool, where he was able to put his affairs in order, before his trial and the inevitable execution that would follow.

He'd written a number of letters, so far. One to Kylia, apologising for not being a better guardian, and trying to explain that her impression of him was the result of things he couldn't explain. There was another to Arkady, thanking her for being a much better wife than he'd been a husband, and begging her forgiveness for the trouble now likely to befall her because of his sins. The letter he was working on this morning was to Jaxyn, but he was having no luck composing it. Despite everything he wanted to say to his former lover, what he really wanted to know was
why?

'I'm not disturbing you, am I?'

Although he'd heard the door to the outer guard room opening, he'd assumed it was just one of the guards moving about. He hadn't realised the visitor was for him. Stellan looked up, surprised to find Declan Hawkes standing on the other side of the bars.

He laid down his pen and rose to his feet. 'Any interruption is welcome to a man in my position.'

It was raining outside, the gentle patter of the raindrops on his windowsill barely audible in the background, the window misted and opaque. Between the irregular light and the bars separating them, Hawke's expression was impossible to judge as he stood there, studying the prisoner. He seemed neither angry nor reproachful, which surprised Stellan a little. This man, he was sure, would have walked through fire to protect Arkady, and he must know what Stellan's downfall would mean to her.

The spymaster glanced over his shoulder at the guards standing either side of the outer door. 'Leave us.'

The felines obeyed without question, leaving them alone.

Stellan watched the guards leave, wondering if Hawkes had sent them away so there wouldn't be any witnesses. 'That was unnecessary. There's no need to

beat me into submission, Master Hawkes. I will confess.'

'To what? Rank stupidity?'

The disgust in Hawkes's voice didn't surprise him. Declan Hawkes was the King's Spymaster. He would have been told the true reason for Stellan's incarceration.

'You have to know, Declan, in spite of my crimes, I've never hurt Arkady. I never meant her to be hurt.' He shrugged, unable to think of any other way to explain himself. 'I can't help what I am.'

'I couldn't care less what you are,' the spymaster said. 'Any more than I care who you do it to. What I care about, your
grace,
is that you're going to give up without a fight.'

Stellan was stunned. 'You think I should
fight
this? What do you want of me, Hawkes? To expose my king to ridicule and scandal? And what of the effect on Arkady? Have you thought of what would happen to her if it became known she was nothing more than a willing front for my malfeasance? She'd be shunned, ostracised —'

'As opposed to being crowned queen of the Herino social set, I suppose,' the spymaster cut in, 'which is sure to happen once her husband confesses to murdering the king, the queen and a couple of dozen innocent bystanders.'

Stellan threw his hands up, certain there was nothing he could say that would satisfy this man. 'Think of me what you will, Master Hawkes. I have chosen the manner of my death, and I intend to go to it honourably.'

'Tides, but you're a selfish bastard.'

Stellan had expected Declan to accuse him of all manner of sins, but selfishness wasn't one of them. He was offended by the very suggestion. 'I would have thought my actions quite the opposite. By confessing to Enteny and Inala's murder, I spare my king, and my family, the shame of knowing what I am.'

'What you
are,
Stellan Desean, is the only man in the country with a chance of opposing your king's enemies, who intend to dispose of him and take Glaeba's throne the moment all the other likely contenders to the crown are disposed of.'

Stellan stared at the spymaster. 'Do you know of such a plot?'

Declan glared at him. 'I'm standing here looking at it in action.'

He shook his head, unwilling to believe such a farfetched tale. 'You're imagining things. Who would do such a thing?'

'Hmmm ... I wonder ...' Declan said. 'Let's start with your lover who betrayed you to the king, shall we? Oh, and then there's your niece ... did you know she's
not
your niece? The real Kylia is probably dead, I'm sorry to report. This one's real name is Diala, she's a great deal older and lot less innocent than she looks, by the way, and she's known your little friend Aranville for far longer than you can imagine.'

Stellan shook his head. 'No ...'

'The two of them dug this trap for you months ago, your grace, and you walked into it with your eyes wide open. Jaxyn Aranville has his eye on the throne. He has done since the moment he first leant over and started whispering sweet nothings in your ear, and you thought you'd finally found true love. The only thing standing between him and Glaeba's crown are her rightful heirs. Well, he's disposed of Enteny and Inala. Diala has Mathu wrapped around her little finger, so he'll be allowed to stay around for a bit — long enough to dispose of the truly dangerous contenders, like you — and then they'll get rid of him, too. His grieving widow will become queen and then, in a groundswell of approval and affection for the tragic young bride, she'll marry the late king's closest friend and advisor — and his new Private Secretary, in case

you haven't heard — Lord Aranville. Even allowing for a decent period of mourning, I give them a year before we're all bowing down to King Jaxyn and Queen Diala.'

Stellan was appalled by the inconceivable horror of Declan's scenario. 'You're seeing guilt where none exists.'

'There's an epitaph you might want to consider for your
own
headstone, your grace.'

'You're speculating, Declan. You have no proof.'

'You
are
the proof,' the spymaster said. 'Can't you see that? Or is it that you just can't bring yourself to acknowledge that you might have been so comprehensively duped? Not that I blame you. After all, you were the one who brought Jaxyn Aranville into your home. And the one who mistook an impostor for his own niece and then introduced her to the crown prince. Don't think I'd be looking too kindly on my involvement in this sorry business either, if I were you.'

Stellan shook his head, unable to comprehend the depths of resentment that must drive this man. 'If this is your way of getting even with me for taking Arkady from you ...'

'You're a flanking fool, Desean.'

'Perhaps. But I'm not as blind as you claim. And you have plenty of reason to want to destroy me.'

Declan rolled his eyes. 'If I wanted to destroy you, my lord, I could have brought you down any number of times before now. Tides, I've
covered
for you, more than once.'

That news was almost as unbelievable as the notion Jaxyn and Kylia had conspired to destroy him and were planning to murder Mathu so they could take the throne. 'What are you talking about?'

'You don't recall that trip you took to Venetia about three years ago? You met a man there in Reon's court? He was bookkeeper, I think.'

'Bruse Decalle,' Stellan said, remembering the handsome young man who had been so passionate and keen for an affair and then vanished without explanation before they were due to leave the city.

'He was a plant. A deliberate attempt to seduce you into doing something foolish.'

'But that was more than two years before I met Jaxyn ...'

'He wasn't put in your path by Jaxyn. This was Reon Debalkor looking for a way to curb your influence with the king. He's suspected the truth about you for years. According to my information, he was ready to move on you quite some time ago, but then you blew his case away by marrying Arkady. He's been waiting like a spider ever since, just looking for a chance to get the proof he needs, to take his accusations to the king.'

There was a ring of certainty about Declan Hawkes's tale Stellan couldn't argue with. 'How is it you know this?'

'Because I'm the one who made sure the proof never got back to the Duke of Venetia.'

His eyes widened in horror. 'You
killed
Bruse Decalle?'

'I saved your neck, your grace. And your duchy, while I was at it.'
'Why?'

Declan shrugged. 'The consequences to Arkady should you be exposed aside, my job is to protect the Glaeban throne. I happened to think at the time — along with a large majority of Glaeba's population — we were safer with you third in line to it, than Reon Debalkor.'

Stellan sank down onto the stool, staggered by the news. 'How many others?'

'Three or four. Not all of them required such drastic measures. A few of them we scared off. One we bought off.'

'Does Arkady know?'

'Of course not.'

'I don't know what to say.'

'How about: thank you, Declan, for repeatedly saving my neck, and in return I won't confess to a score of murders I didn't commit, but rather, I'll fight these pernicious charges until I can make the king see reason and he banishes those two vipers he's nesting with, who are planning to steal his throne?'

Stellan looked up at the spymaster, smiling. 'You do have a way of boiling things down to their essence, don't you?'

'Is that a yes?'

Stellan shook his head. 'You don't know what you're asking.'

'I see. You'd rather have Mathu lose his crown, than you lose your reputation, is that it?'

'You haven't convinced me his crown is actually at risk.'

Declan was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head. 'Tides, you're a bigger fool than I feared.'

'Perhaps,' Stellan agreed. He rose to his feet, squaring his shoulders with determination. It was time to get this done. 'Now, do you want my confession or not?'

The spymaster stared at him for a moment, clearly disgusted with his resolve to see this through, and then he shook his head. 'To hell with your confession. You want to be a martyr? You want to see this charade through? Fine. You can stand up in an open court and tell the whole world how you plotted to murder your king. I'm not going to help you kill yourself.'

'Daly Bridgeman said if I confessed then we could avoid a trial.'

'Well, you're out of luck,' Declan said. 'Daly's gone fishing.'

With that, the spymaster turned on his heel and stalked out of the guard room, leaving Stellan staring

after him, Arkady's parting words in Torlenia ringing in his ears.

There may even come a time,
she'd said,
when you learn your friends are really your enemies, and a man you think of as your enemy now may well prove to be your only friend.

If only there was a way to tell if she was referring to Declan Hawkes.

CHAPTER 43

Arkady Desean surprised Tiji by refusing to take her into the royal seraglium as her servant. She made the announcement as she was sorting out the garments she wanted loaded into her trunks before she left for the palace that afternoon.

'But you need someone with you who you can trust, your grace,' Tiji pointed out, not wanting to be the one to explain to Declan how she had let the duchess march unaccompanied into the heart of the enemy's stronghold without at least putting up a token fight about it.

Arkady was adamant. 'Kinta despises the Crasii. Bringing one into the seraglium would cause nothing but trouble. I'm sorry, Tiji, but it's just not possible.'

'I could sneak in ...'

'What would be the point? You're far more use to me — and the Cabal — out here. In fact, you should probably think of returning to Glaeba. I'm sure Declan has much more useful things for someone of your unique talents to be doing than following me about Ramahn.'