“Next time, kill the damn dog. Because if you don’t, someone else will.” Vick flashed a cold smile and melted back into the underbrush.
Ky stared after him.
“What the hell was that?” I said.
“I...” His voice shook with barely contained emotion.
My heart writhed against my ribs. I’d never imagined anything could hold the power to throw him so off-balance, but he looked like he’d just swallowed spoiled milk.
“I’m starting to dislike that man,” he said. “Intensely.”
“You’re not the only one. But what was he talking about? What deal?”
Ky stabbed his fingers against his eyelids and exhaled.
“Don’t think for a second you’re getting out of explaining this,” I warned.
“No, I know, I just...” He made a sound of frustration. “If you absolutely must know, Vick and I made an agreement, before coming here.”
I frowned. “What agreement?”
“We agreed that once I died, or...more accurately, once everyonethoughtI’d died...everything of mine would go to him.”
I blinked. “What? Why?”
“Well. I neededsomekind of successor. And choosing him made sense when my intent was to marry, get my fill, and walk out into a nightmare. But all this waiting has made him antsy. I think he’s starting to suspect I might not leave at all. That you and I might...”
I waited, but he didn’t continue. “What? We might what?”
“Have something.” He met my eyes. “Something that might entice me to stay.”
A pained squeak came out of me. I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I focused on the last part. “But...what exactly is he so impatient for? Money?”
“No.” His eyes shone with something I couldn’t name. “He wants to succeed me.”
I blinked. I didn’t know much about royal titles and inheritances, but I grasped the basics, at least. “But...it doesn’t work that way. He can’t become a prince just because you say so.”
“No, not that. It’s...” He trailed off, chewing at his lip. “He wants to lead the liberators.”
My heartbeat ground to a halt. “What?”
Ky smiled without humor.
“Wait.” I spluttered, trying to gather hold of myself. “You mean... You’re not saying...you’rethe bandit chief?”
He raised his hands in a “surprise” gesture.
My thoughts spun. “But...no. The brigands’ve been out there for nine years. You only came to Oceansgate ten months ago.”
“True,” he said, drawing out the word. “But for the last four of those months, the liberators have answered to me. Because I inherited the title from the last man, who inherited it from the one before him, and so on and so forth. It’s never been just one person, lioness. There’ve been five of us, over the years. Before I showed up, Vick was slated to be next. But along came this charming upstart, and of course old Charley decided to put me in charge when he left. Vick’s wanted me gone ever since. And I was finally ready to leave. To let him have his turn.”
I stared, my mind a confetti whirl. But gods, this would explain that woman’s reaction to Ky, down in the root cellar. And Vick’s increasingly sour looks. It would even explain why Vick had been combing the manor all this time—he probably wanted to return to the forest flush with riches, plucked from Olivian’s supposed trove.
“So...Vick’s a power-hungry thief? Who’s angry that you took his place in line?”
A smile flickered around Ky’s mouth, then died. “Yes. But the thing is, lioness, he isn’t harmless. I’m not entirely sure he didn’t threaten you just now.”
My brows pinched. “Threaten me? He didn’t threaten me.”
