Whispers and hisses flew through the room. Conner turned to me with panic-stricken eyes. “No, I didn’t —”
From a pocket of my jacket, I pulled out a small vial.
“This is oil pressed from the dervanis flower,” I said. “It took me a long time to figure out what sort of poison might have killed my family. Entire nights searching through the books in your library. I’m not a great reader, that’s true, but if the subject matter interests me, I can comb through books quite quickly. Oddly enough, I found the answer in a book in your bedroom. Dervanis oil is tasteless and requires only a single drop to produce a lethal dose. But it doesn’t kill immediately. A person will go to sleep feeling fine and never wake up again. Dervanis oil is hard to come by, yet this was in a strongbox in your office.”
Conner shook his head, then his eyes darted left, and he thrust his hand inside his jacket. “As I always said, Sage, if I go down, so do you!” But he failed to find what he was looking for. He drew back and searched his jacket.
I released the cuff of my sleeve, and a knife he had hidden in his jacket fell into my hands. “If this is what you wanted, then I shall have to increase the charges against you.”
Two guards appeared on either side of Conner and each took his arm. “I can’t imagine the pleasure you must be taking in this moment,” he said nastily.
My temper flared. “Pleasure? I’m staring at the man who killed my family. Whatever I feel now, trust that pleasure is the furthest from those feelings.”
“You said you were my prince. Is this what that means to you?”
“I am your prince. But I am Carthya’s king. You’ll understand why, in the hierarchy of my titles, you must lose.”
“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning? If you had told me who you were —”
“Then I couldn’t have unmasked you. I’d have doomed my own rule, just as my family was doomed.”
Behind me, Kerwyn sighed. Addressing Conner, he said, “What if Jaron had been only an orphan? Surely, you couldn’t have expected him to fool the court for long.”
“He didn’t need much time,” I said, keeping my eyes on Conner. “He needed a prince only long enough to get himself named prime regent. No matter what happened afterward, he would become the controlling power in Carthya.”
“Well done,” Conner said. “Jaron was always described as a clever boy, but I underestimated you.” I started to wave my hand to dismiss him, but Conner quickly added, “You are guilty of crimes too, Your Majesty.”
o;Even after I begged for it, you failed to tell me the truth. Only the devils know the difference between that and a lie. You have hurt and insulted me.”
I had no answer to that and only said, “You will never find me dishonest with you again, Princess.”
“I hope not. Neither to spare your feelings nor mine. How shall I address you now? You’re no longer Sage.”
The dance step called for me to lean to my right. If she noticed me wince from the ache in my ribs, she didn’t acknowledge it. When I stood straight, I could speak again. “Call me Jaron.”
“You dance like a royal, Jaron. Better than your brother did.”
“Don’t compare me to him.”
She stiffened. “It was my attempt at a compliment.”
“Darius and I are very different people. If you think of him when you think of me, I’ll always be a failure to you.”
Her eyes fluttered, blinking back tears, and we fell into silence. We both knew there was more to be said, much more, and yet we completed the rest of the dance without another word.
As the music ended, Amarinda pulled away from me. “What happens now, for me?”
“Whatever you want,” I said.
“All I want is to be happy,” she said softly. “But I fear that is too much to ask.”
My smile at her was weak and apologetic. I hadn’t caused my brother’s death, but I was a consequence of it. “We’ll talk later. In private.”
She agreed, though the look of disgust had returned to her face. “May I have your permission to leave now? I’m upset and wish to be alone.”
I nodded at her, and as Amarinda disappeared into the crowd, I was again alone in a sea of strangers.
Still at the head of the room, Kerwyn said, “Your Highness, there must be a ceremony to make your new title official. I regret that your old crown is long lost.”