Page 145 of Enchanted Throne


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My eyebrows creased as I continued to listen.

“Possibly the only part of the story that is not exaggerated is that you were the one who brought his killer to justice right in front of the king.”

“Because I failed!”

“That may be,” Krew argued, “but they know more of the story than you’d think. And just because you couldn’t save Theodore, doesn’t mean you aren’t still one of them.”

I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear those words until I felt the tears prick my eyes.

He offered me his hand and I took it. We were meeting my mother, Flora, and Owen downstairs where we would walk through the forest together before leaving for Nerede.

It was going to be a tough day, but I was not alone.

We had just taken the first step out into the sunshine and blue skies when I heard a voice from behind me.

“Jorah of Nerede.”

What could he possibly want?Krew sent me through the bond.

I spun slowly and bowed as much as was deemed necessary. “Your Grace.”

“You are returning your mother to Nerede today?”

My heart thundered in my chest, not because of the question itself but because of what the sunlight at the doorway reflected off of.

A sword.

A sword identical to the one we stole. The one which didn’t hold the queen’s magic. But that exact sword, the one we’d stolen, was still with Hatcher in Savaryn along with the ring. There was no way this was the same sword, but it looked just like it down to the gem in the center of the royal blue hilt.

Was this our replica, the one which had killed Theodore? Or did the king have a replacement already made? Our replica had a slightly smaller gem, but I couldn’t tell by just glancing at this sword if it was our fake or not.

I swallowed hard and tried to focus. I angled my body between the king and my mother. “Yes. She is returning to check on the bakery and a few things.”

The king gave her a nod. “You honor your country with how well you feed them.”

My mother gave a little bow but wisely didn’t say anything.

I turned toward Krew to take our leave, but the king grabbed my hand and stopped me.

“Do not allow them to let you feel guilt over that thief. It was his own actions, not yours.” He brought my hand up gently to brush a kiss upon it. I wanted to rip my hand away, knowing that Krew was going to lose his mind with his father’s lips on even just my hand. But it wasn’t the kiss that was the reason my breath stilled in my lungs.

As he still held onto my hand, he tapped on my palm from underneath.

Twice.

Just like the disloyal did.

I felt my magic surging to the surface, but I pushed it down and forced my face to look confused. The king just held my hand there after kissing it and looked at me, scanning my face as if trying to see what I would do. Though feeling horror creeping down my spine and into every pore in my body, I continued to force my face into confusion instead. I absolutely could not acknowledge what just happened with anything but confusion.

Krew must have felt a jolt of panic or terror from me because he took a step in and placed his hand at the small of my back.

“Your Majesty?” I feigned the kind of stupidity he preferred, looking at my hand and then to the king’s eyes. “Are you quite all right?”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face and then he released my hand. “Be sure to report back to me on the improvements of the contractors.”

I gave him a winced smile. “As you wish, Your Grace.”

His eyes flicked over to Krew’s and then back to mine. “And if you’d like to bring back a disloyal or two, that’d be nice.”