She tilted her head a little, as if digesting his words. ‘You don’t want to talk about it?’
‘There’s no point. It’s ancient history—nothing can be done now to right that wrong.’
‘But you do think his exile was wrong?’
‘Oh, I know it was.’
‘And you couldn’t do anything?’
‘My uncle—my other uncle—had all the power of a king until I ascended the throne. It was his will, his way.’
‘But we’re talking about his younger brother?’
‘Yes.’
‘I don’t understand. Why would he want him sent away? They’re siblings.’
‘Do you have a brother or sister?’
She shook her head. ‘I always wished for one, but I was an only child.’
His expression shifted. ‘As am I.’
‘No spare to your heir?’
‘No.’ He didn’t elaborate; it wasn’t necessary. There was no need to go into the fact his parents tried for years after his birth, without success, to conceive another baby. Even as a young boy, he’d come to understand the vulnerability of his position. He’d always known that he would have to marry and have children—a reality he grappled with even now, because he would have preferred a solitary existence. An arranged marriage, though, offered some reassurance.
‘Did you want a brother or sister?’
He’d never been asked that before. Then again, this was probably the most real conversation he’d had in a long time with anyone other than his cousin Xiomara.
‘Not as a boy, but once my parents died, I wished for someone who understood what I was going through.’
‘What about your other uncle?’
He bristled visibly. ‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘We weren’t close.’
‘Weren’t? Aren’t?’
‘Both.’
‘Because of the darker side of human nature?’ she prompted.
His eyes scanned her face, studying her. She was different. Unusual. Though she’d insisted on using his title initially, she didn’t seem at all nervous around him. She wasn’t speaking to him with the exaggerated deference he was accustomed to, and he liked that.
‘Yes.’
She expelled a small sigh. ‘Would you like me to go?’
He frowned. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘You’ve clammed up.’
‘I didn’t mean to.’