I was suspicious of the sudden turnaround in his demeanor almost as much as his declaration.
“I’m betrothed to another,” he explained.
I huffed out a disbelieving breath.
“It’s true,” he said. “The news has been heralded all over Dalbreck. Lia will never be going there.”
It was the last news I expected to hear. He was moving on? “Then why are you here?”
His lips quirked in an odd way. He didn’t look like the arrogant farmer or emissary, or even the prince I had known.
“I’m here for the same reasons you are. The same reason Lia is. Because we want to save the kingdoms that matter to us.”
“They all matter to Lia.”
His expression darkened. “I know.”
“And that pains you.”
“We’ve all had to make hard choices—and sacrifices. I recognize the one you made helping us escape from Venda. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before.”
The words came out stiff and practiced, but were still an apology I never expected to hear. I nodded, wondering if he was still going to take a crack at me. There hadn’t been time when we met up at the cottage. Finding Lia, Pauline, and Gwyneth had been all that mattered.
I reached out cautiously, offering my hand. “Congratulations on your betrothal.”
He took it with the same caution. “Thank you,” he answered.
Our hands returned to our sides in the same measured moves. He continued to eye me as if there was more he wanted to say. I had heard him come in last night and saw him when he quietly left the room. For someone betrothed to another, he didn’t hide his feelings well.
“I’ll see you out in the plaza,” he finally said. “What she faces there today will be harder for her than the traitors she confronted last night. She won’t be facing those she needs to throw in prison, but those she needs to rally. She’ll need us both there.”
He started to leave, then glanced down the dark stairwell and back at me. “Don’t do it,” he said, his gaze meeting mine. “The time will come, but not now. Not this way. You’re better than him.”
And then he walked away.
* * *
I left my weapons with the guard before I entered the cell. My father’s eyes locked onto mine, and immediately all I saw in them was calculation again. It never ended.
“Son,” he said.
I smiled. “You really think that will work?”
“I made a terrible mistake. But a man can change. Of my sons, I loved you the most, because I loved your mother. Cataryn—”
“Stop!” I ordered. “You don’t throw people you love out like garbage. You don’t bury them in unmarked graves! I don’t want to hear her name on your lips. You’ve never loved anything in your life.”
“And what do you love, Kaden? Lia? How far will that get you?”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know that blood is thicker and more lasting than a fleeting affair—”
“Is that all it was with my mother? The one you claim to have loved so much? A fleeting affair?”
His brows pulled together, plaintive, sympathetic. “Kaden, you are my son. Together we can—”
“I’ll make you a deal, Father.”