Renna grabbed my wrist and squeezed. “Willingly.”
Nara. Nara who was my age. Who had just been in Keir’s Assemblage? Who had likely kissed Keir? She was now sleeping with the king? The king who hated the lower levels?
I guess the king took that whole property of the crown bit seriously.
Krew brought a cup of steaming tea over to me and sat down next to me. “She is not a disloyal either, nor does she even know about the disloyal at this point, which is why we thought it might be better that way.”
I shook my head, still not understanding all of this. Nara. The king’s mistress? Granted she was gorgeous, but it just seemed so out of nowhere.
Renna spun toward me. “She wanted out of Rallis, Jorah. The king offered to give her lodging here in exchange for...her companionship.”
I swallowed hard. “I think I’m going to vomit.”
She gave me a nod. “I will with you. But Nara wasn’t after a crown, as much as she was after a more comfortable living, so she agreed to the king’s terms.”
I gave my head a shake. “But he’s more than twice her age!”
Keir’s tone matched the disgust of my own. “We know.”
“The princes found out about it and tried to remove her, thinking she had not been willing,” Renna continued. “But she told them to leave her alone. That she had no desire to go back to Rallis.”
I thought back to all the card playing. How cheerful and happy Nara always was. Had it been because she was in the castle? Living out a dream of becoming a princess, and she had wanted to continue doing that, even if it meant some sacrifice on her part? “Nara is smart though, definitely smart enough to know better.”
Renna tilted her head. “Yes, I agree. But you also know that the king can be charming and persuasive if he wants to be.”
I rubbed a hand across my forehead, shocked my magic had stayed hidden beneath my skin for this. This was all extremelydisturbing.
“So then I convinced her to try to get the ring,” Keir provided. “I was honest to an extent. I told her we were worried that it may hold part or all of our mother’s magic, and that we needed to get the ring away from him in order to see.”
I held my hands out in a gesture. “So the king is charming her, and she’s falling for it, but you think she will just take the ring and not turn around and tell him? Not use it against you?”
Krew’s eyes met mine. “It is a risk. A huge risk. Nara was friends with the two of you on at least some level, so we thought she was at least halfway trustworthy. And we also thought it best to use someone who didn’t have information of the disloyal that could be found out. We figured if she blabbed to our father, at least it would only be about the plan for the ring, not all the other plans.”
I rested my head on my hands. “This is madness. I mean, I love Nara. Consider her a friend...”
Renna finished for me, “But don’t trust her enough to send her into the king’s bed?”
I gave her a nod. “Nor do I hate her enough to wish that upon her, willing or not.” I still just could not wrap my head around how she could have agreed to what the king offered her. But being from Rallis, she had always been on the cusp of being in the upper levels. The king needed someone to warm his bed and she was offered the chance to skip Savaryn and go straight to the top of the kingdom. It had evidently been an offer too tempting for her.
I calmed my magic and moved to pinch the bridge of my nose. “And this master plan for the ring is revolving around the fact that you think Nara will be more loyal to the two of you than the man who just offered her everything she apparently wanted?”
Keir winced. “More or less. But to be fair, she and I had been good friends. She knew I struggled under the weight of my father’s decisions.”
Krew added, “So we went ahead with this plan working off the assumption that she’s a good enough person to do the right thing.”
I wanted to bang my head against the table slowly. This was one of the more reckless plans Krew had ever developed. And I knew why they were doing it. They wanted to figure out which object held their mother’s power. Because once we knew that, we could level the playing field. And when the field was even, Krew wouldn’t have to give up his life in order to kill his father. He’d be able to do it outright.
Particularly since it seemed he was just as strong as ever.
My eyes went to Krew’s.I know why you want to do this, but I do not like this plan.
I know, love. We just felt it still worth the risk. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew for sure it was happening. And Keir and I decided the afternoon of the day of our bonding. I was a bit distracted that day, but I should’ve told you anyway. I’m sorry.
“They’re doing it again,” Owen deadpanned.
“Doing what?” Renna asked.
“Talking without words,” Owen provided.
