Chapter 26

This could not be happening . . .

Sebastian gaped at his mother, who sat on her throne questioning him as if he were on trial. With her eyes nearly swollen shut from crying, he scarcely recognized her. However, it was not her appearance that troubled him. She had cut him deep.

“Answer me,” she persisted. “Did you do it?”

“If you knew me at all, you would not ask.”

He put his back to her. Though home in Basilia, he was no more at peace than he had been in Thanwine.

“Your refusal to answer bears guilt.” She blubbered into more tears.

Even angry with her, he could not tolerate her pain.

He moved to her side, knelt down, and took her hand. “I did not poison Marni. I swear it to God in Heaven.”

She inhaled deeply and dabbed at her tears with a kerchief. “And what of your wife? Was it she?”

Sebastian shot to his feet. “No! Olivia has been crushed. She befriended Angeline, only to have her distance herself from her because of this. We are not murderers. Can you not see, we are the victims?”

His mother sat erect in her chair. “None of this would have happened, if I had stood by my convictions and denounced your marriage. Of all times, your father should have listened to me.”

“So. You would prefer to see me wed to Angeline.” He stated it as fact and not a question. He did not want to have this conversation, now or ever. It tired him to no end constantly having to defend his actions and the calling of his heart.

“She would have been perfect for you. Did you not see how brilliantly she orchestrated the masquerade? She is a woman born to sit on a throne.”

“Oh, yes, Mother. She was brilliant.” His spite came through, even to his own ears. “Right up to the time she accused me of ruining her blessed affair. What puzzles me is why she allowed us to leave Thanwine without deeper questioning. It felt as if she hurried us away.”

“Can you blame her?” His mother’s chin vibrated with every word. “Your father’s face will be forever scarred because of you. Whenever I look at him, I am reminded of the incident.”

“But you were not there to see it.” Sebastian’s stomach roiled. He wanted this discussion ended, but not until he set her straight. “Had you been present, you would know I went nowhere near Princess Marni. The man who gave her the poisoned cider may have had a mask like mine, but Olivia can vow, I was with her the entire time. We did not even speak to Marni during the masquerade.”

“I may not have been physically in that room, but your father relayed every detail to me. With Olivia as your only witness, you will surely have your head removed. Or worse. No one trusts her.”

“Including you. Is that not so, Mother?”

She turned away and sighed.

Nothing Sebastian could say would sway her opinion. Of that, he was certain. He had only one choice.

“We cannot remain in Basilia. I will not stand by and watch my wife crumble before me, because she feels unwanted and unloved. Her parents requested we come to Padrida, and I see it is where we belong.”

His mother’s head whipped around and faced him. “No. You belong here.”

“Without Olivia, is that not right, Mother?”

She merely whimpered, saying nothing.

He grunted and shook his head. “She carries my child and my future. They are more important to me than you are.”

He strode away, no longer able to bear her.

All had been said, yet nothing could reach his mother’s ears.

Olivia mindlessly caressed her unborn child. It seemed fitting she would give birth in Padrida and loved the idea of having her mother close, when she needed her the most. Even so, she had not convinced herself Sebastian honestly wanted this.

He secured the latch on her trunk. “I believe we have all we need. All that truly pains me is leaving Jonah behind, but Allana would be crushed if we took him from her now.”

“Are you certain he is the only one you do not wish to leave?”

“I confess, I will miss my sisters as well. And though I am saddened to distance myself from my father, I feel he will be relieved to see me gone. What with Mother pestering him day and night about his failings in my regard.”

“Even so, I know your absence will cause his heart to be heavy.”

Sebastian shrugged. “Perhaps in time.”

His carefree gesture was highly unlike him—even more evidence of his painful struggle. “You should tell him he is welcome in Padrida, if he should need reprieve. Your sisters, too. Please be sure they are aware.”

He pushed the heavy trunk closer to their chamber door. “I doubt Mother would allow it. She feels the need to keep them from me. I have already witnessed it in her behavior. Have you not noticed their scarcity since our return?”

She sadly nodded. The sweet girls used to shadow her, whenever Sebastian was elsewhere. And even when the two of them were together, the girls had to be chased away if Sebastian and she desired privacy.

He wandered to the window and peered out. “Mother thinks we killed Marni as a way of lashing out against Frederick. My own mother feels I am capable of evil.”

Olivia moved up behind him and put her arms around his waist. “We know the truth of our innocence. Somehow, we will discover who was behind this treachery.” She rested her head on his back, simply needing to feel him breathe.

“I know not how. Soon, Frederick will return from Thanwine. Father intends to allow him entry.” He released a mournful-sounding groan. “With us gone, I would not put it past Mother to offer him our room. After all, as she constantly reminds me, he is grieving and needs console.”

“Hold me, Sebastian.”

He spun in her grasp and faced her. “Were you not already holding me?” His dear smile gave her some ease, and when he drew her closer, she allowed herself to melt into his embrace.

The crazed priest had warned them of hardships, and she feared they had only begun. Her dreams continued to run red with blood—faceless images slaying one another.

Sebastian gave her strength, yet she had torn him from his family. Her love for him had damaged him, and she had little hope he could ever make amends with his mother.

She certainly could not.

They stood without moving, until she felt the familiar touch of his hand in her hair. “There is something I must tell you.”

His voice held even more sorrow. How much more was there left to say?

“Go on.” She nestled into his warmth.

“Father informed me that while we were in Thanwine, Roderick went missing for some time.”

“Roderick?” More painful memories flashed into her mind.

“Yes. He returned a day before our arrival. When questioned of his whereabouts, he claimed to have gone to Issa for relief.”

It was feasible in Roderick’s regard. “But you believe otherwise.”

“I do.” Sebastian frowned. “Because we took to Thanwine the very men whom Father had charged with watching Roderick, no one followed him. As if we do not have enough worries already, now I fear Roderick may be plotting with Donovan.”

She tipped her head back and stared into his sorrow-filled face. “Take me home, Sebastian. I will feel safer within the walls of Padrida.”

He kissed her forehead. “I never thought I would say this, but so will I.” Sighing, he released her and faced the window, bracing his hands on the sill. “I question every cup I put to my lips, and my heart races with every blind corner I turn. I cannot live like this.”

His pain weighed heavy on her shoulders, yet she could not help him when she feared the same things. “Freedom is not at all what I expected.”

Sebastian abruptly turned and marched toward their door. “I must speak to Jonah, then I will secure our carriage. Be ready to leave within the hour.”

She silently nodded. The only goodbyes she needed to say were to the girls. Few tears would be shed over her leaving.

Sebastian walked hard and fast over the roads of Basilia to reach Jonah’s cottage. Even though word of Sebastian’s supposed evil deeds had not reached the ears of the commoners, they still treated him with disdain. If they caught sight of him, they mostly grumbled to themselves, but on occasion, someone would shout out and call him a traitor to the realm.

Once they learned of the accusations in regard to Marni, he could not risk traveling alone.

He intended to be long gone by then.

“Jonah!” Sebastian rapped soundly on his door.

It flew open. “Are you mad?” Jonah darted his head back and forth, looking out to the road in both directions, then yanked him inside. “What are you doing walking about unaccompanied?”

Sebastian grabbed the hilt of his sword and jiggled it. “I am not without protection.”

“King Callum’s spies may be anywhere. You could be besieged by a mob and unable to fend them off.”

“You do not have to tell me of the danger. Olivia and I will soon be leaving.”

“Leaving?” Jonah dropped down into a chair and hoisted his leg over the arm. “You intend to run from your troubles?”

“I am taking her to Padrida. I can think of nowhere safer.”

Jonah scratched at his forehead, all the while shaking his head. “So, you will return to the very place she longed to leave. Are you so ignorant, you think Callum’s arm will not reach that far?” He swung his leg onto the floor and sat tall. “And what of Frederick? No doubt he, too, believes you killed his wife. He will seek vindication.”

“Yes, he will. I am relying on you to keep your ears attuned to all he says and does. As much as I wish you could join me in Padrida, I need you here. As does my sister.”

Jonah puffed up taller. “I never thought it possible, but the girl fancies me. And not just because I make her laugh.”

“Limit what you do with her.” Sebastian sat in a chair across from him. “Father witnessed the bond you two share while in Thanwine, and he discussed it with me in length. I assured him you were honorable, so do not prove me false. There is enough of that already at play.”

“Self-pity does not suit you.” Jonah breathed a long, drawn-out sigh. “I confess, I pity you, too. You do not deserve all that has happened to you. Even so, I appreciate your kind words on my behalf, and I will not disappoint you. But . . . there is still the matter of my knighthood.”

“It will be done, though I am sorry I will not be witness to it. Father will perform the rite on the next full moon, and Olivia and I will be elsewhere.” Sebastian braced his hands on his knees and leaned forward. “I trust you with my life, Jonah. But even you cannot protect me from the wrath I expect from many different directions. You will do best to distance yourself from me, just as my parents have.”

“No. I will not forsake our friendship.”

“For the time being, keep me in your mind alone. Look after my family and alert me to anything amiss. And speaking of that . . .”

“What now?” Jonah’s shoulders slumped.

“I believe Roderick has been up to no good. He made himself scarce while we were in Thanwine, claiming he had gone to Issa for relief.”

“As do many men. So why question it?”

“He has troubled my thoughts ever since he accompanied us to the Crenian ruins—you remember, when I took Olivia and her parents to see them?”

“Yes. You told me he had acted spiteful, but that is true to his form.”

“What if . . .” Sebastian paused to gather his thoughts. How could he say this without sounding insane?

Jonah scooted to the edge of his seat. “Yes?”

“What if Roderick and Donovan are somehow involved in this wretched mess? Could they have orchestrated Marni’s poisoning in order to put the blame on me? Donovan despises me and would stop at nothing to harm me or Olivia.”

“You are reaching, Sebastian. For one, we have yet to find Donovan. An invisible man cannot wreak havoc. As for Roderick, he could not have slipped into Thanwine undetected.”

Sebastian waved a finger in the air. “Not even behind a mask?”

“No.” Jonah rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Then again . . .” He rapidly shook his head. “No. I stand by my first claim. Angeline took great care in assigning masks. She would have known if a mask not of her making donned someone’s face.”

His words smacked Sebastian hard. “Dear God.” He clutched his arms around himself and folded over, staring at the floor.

“Are you going to be sick?”

“Perhaps.” Sebastian sat up, shaking his head. “What you said—Angeline taking care in assigning masks. Do you not find it odd that someone wearing one identical to mine gave Marni the poison?”

“A coincidence?”

Sebastian sluggishly arose to his feet. “I think not. In all honesty, I saw no other masks that looked in any way identical to another. They were all intricately unique—in color and in form. What if Angeline was behind all of this?”

“No. Impossible. A man gave Marni the drink, not a woman.”

“What about a loyal servant?”

Jonah thrummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I admit, I find it more feasible than Donovan and Roderick’s involvement.”

Sebastian headed for the door. “I need to get back to Olivia. We cannot leave here fast enough.”

Jonah rushed to his side. “When will I see you again?”

“I wish I knew, but I do not. In the meanwhile, be my eyes and ears. Be alert to any word of Angeline, as well as Frederick. And keep watch on Roderick. I had considered taking him with us to Padrida, but I do not want him anywhere near us. I was a fool to think he would lead me to Donovan.”

“I will do all I can.”

“Thank you.” Sebastian embraced him, patted his back, then hastened out the door.

He could not ask for a truer friend.

Sebastian kept his eyes on everything and everyone he passed. He walked briskly along the road to the castle with his mind spinning over every possibility. Angeline intrigued him more than ever. The oddities in her personality were as distinct as the difference between daylight and darkness. He had thought her dimwitted, yet she masterfully planned an elaborate affair—as his mother had so blatantly pointed out.

In addition, Angeline had readily cozied up to his wife—a friendship most scorned women would avoid. And once she had reeled Olivia in close, she tossed her aside when Olivia needed her the most.

Strangest of all, Angeline bid them farewell as if nothing had happened. Yes, she had been sad—or at least acted remorseful—but she sent them on their way as if holding no blame against them. There had been no embraces exchanged between her and Olivia as there had been previously, but he understood why. Olivia no longer wanted her affections, and he believed Angeline felt the same. Maybe she always had and merely put on a front to suit her needs.

But why did Frederick linger behind?

Sebastian’s chest constricted. He breathed harder and harder.

Frederick was in line to be high king. He now had no wife, and Angeline, no husband.

Dear God.

Sebastian had told Jonah immediately after the fact, that he believed Frederick had been behind everything, even to the extent of killing his own wife. But Angeline’s possible involvement added a new twist.

Nothing about this situation was simple or good. King Callum wanted blood. A retribution for the loss of his daughter. If he discovered his son-in-law was involved in any manner, war would be inevitable.

Worst of all, Olivia and he were at the center of everything.

God help us . . .