Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“Okay…so now I understand how Decimus’s kingdom was minted,” I told the sisters, “and I appreciate you both explaining, but what I still don’t get is what any of this has to do with me.”
“That answer is simple: Decimus is owed a mate,” Isabella replied, her gaze locked with mine. “Is he not?”
“Not really. How was Ashira’s death Magnus’s fault? That’s insane.”
“I suspect that Magnus, so in love with his consort, sympathized more than he should have with his brother.”
“So this is a problem of Magnus’s making.”
“Of course it is,” Sabira acknowledged.
“What happened then?”
“Well,” Isabella said, picking up the thread, “then Magnus offered his brother other women and men, arranged marriages that Decimus refused, as he didn’t want those who had an interest in life at court—he knew they would quickly tire of the frozen wasteland he called home.”
Which made sense.
“Then Magnus fell in battle, and this burden of repaying for Ashira passed to the new king, to Messina.”
“This is horrible.”
“It is and remains so,” Isabella said sadly.
“What do you mean, remains so?”
“Well, Decimus used to come to court quite a bit, looking for a bride. Those visits were hard for Messina,” Isabella said, looking pained, “because he didn’t want to disrespect his uncle, but Decimus would throw the court in an uproar, demanding that Messina’s concubines serve him, drank blood from anyone he wanted, and undermined his nephew’s power and proclamations. No one in the palace was safe. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he left.”
Isabella went on to say that years later, when Messina returned to court with her, Decimus wanted her, but Messina adamantly refused. Seeing that he could not take her by force, Decimus retired to his holding to brood and wait.
“The next time he returned, he seemed changed. He actually sat with me, and we talked,” she explained, her voice wistful. “He said he wanted a mate like me. He wanted to bring a light into the darkness of his life and that of his people. I was quite taken with how sad and hopeful he was.” After a moment she added, “I should have never let my guard down.”
“Because after he left,” I surmised, “you found that Leda was gone.”
She nodded. “I was stupid not to put the two events together, but Decimus had seemed so earnest. He’d spoken to so many potential mates, and as I said, turned down those with no interest in Ophir. I never thought for a moment that he would force anyone to return with him who would be desperately unhappy.”
Isabella’s conclusion was reasonable, given all Decimus had said up to that point, weeding out those he knew would not be happy to live a life of solitude in the frozen north. His court, even with those that were there, was not the glittering life of decadence that marked days spent at the palace.
“The truth was, Decimus took one look at Leda and was overwhelmed by her beauty,” Isabella said with a sigh. “We all were. I understood his desire. He was enthralled with her, with her light. Sadly, for the king, a courtier was a simple price to pay for peace, which Messina so desperately wanted, and so he willingly gave his permission for Decimus to take Leda.”
I watched the queen’s face when she spoke the words. “You didn’t know the king gave Decimus permission to take her.”
“No,” was all she said, and in that one little word, I could hear her disappointment, her pain, and her sadness.
I could only imagine Leda’s surprise and sense of betrayal. I had only gotten the smallest dose of it from the king, and it was devastating. The idea that he would turn his back on me, give me up for peace, was like a knife in the heart. He’d actually carried through with Leda. Her pain had to have been horrific.
“So,” I said, taking a breath, “because you didn’t know, you could walk into Ophir and take Leda out.”
She gave me a trace of a smile. “I had no idea at the time, but now I know how angry I made Decimus that day.”
“How angry?”
She let go of my hand and placed hers on my cheek. “The king told me that he was angry enough to pass his claim to Ødger, before he stepped down for his firstborn son.”
“What?” Zev almost yelled. “Decimus is no longer Lord of Ophir?”
She shook her head.
“How long has the king known?”
“Apparently, when Varic sent his dreki with the announcement of his upcoming marriage, both Decimus and Ødger responded and explained the transfer of power in Ophir, as well as that of the debt.”
“He can’t do that,” Zev told her. “The debt was for a mate for him, not his son.”
“And the original debt was for Magnus to pay, not Messina,” she reminded Zev. “You know as well as I that debts pass from fathers to their issue in all of the Noreia.”