Dividing Eden (Dividing Eden #1)(9)

He believed only what he could see with his own two eyes.

But his mother had faith, especially after the prediction Seer Kheldin made before Andreus and Carys were born. Andreus had lived his entire life in fear that one of the four members of the Council that served back then would remember the prediction, made years before his birth, and take action against him. If any of those Council members shared that information, someone else could spot his secret. If he was condemned for it, what then? Andreus didn’t wish to find out what darkness would come. So, outside the walls, he made sure to keep out of sight of the Council. It was how he began studying the windmills. And fortune had it, the Council wasn’t the type to get their exercise walking on the battlements.

“So Lady Imogen gave you a glimpse of the future and you aren’t happy with what she saw?” he asked. “That hardly seems like a fair complaint. Akin to hating the sky because it sometimes contains clouds.”

“No,” his mother chided as she walked to the table and poured another cup of her tea. “I’m concerned because that is all the girl has seen. For the last six weeks, I’ve asked her to give me a reading and she keeps repeating the same vision over and over. I hate to say it, but I fear your brother’s intended is a fraud.”

Andreus waited for his mother’s next salvo, but instead of continuing to rant as she often did, she just sipped her tea as if waiting for him to speak. About what, he had no idea. Had he missed something? After several long moments under his mother’s dark-eyed stare, he shifted in his seat. “Is that all, Mother?”

She put the cup down with a clatter. “Of course, it isn’t. Do you not see what I am about? Your brother’s marriage will put our entire kingdom in jeopardy. We are at war. If the winds fail us and the Xhelozi attack throughout the cold months, Eden will be greatly weakened and our enemies will rally their troops and advance. With Imogen’s lack of skill, we won’t even see the onslaught coming until they are at our gates. It is up to you to do something about it.”

“Me?” He stood, pushing his chair back. “What do you want me to do? Shove her off the North Tower?”

The way she stopped and thought about it before shaking her head made Andreus shudder. “Of course not,” she said. “Micah needs to understand that he’s making a terrible mistake in marrying someone so weak. We have been at war with Adderton for years—with the guard fighting our neighbors, none could be spared to hunt the Xhelozi. Now we have a seer who cannot help us harness the power we require to keep the beasts away. Your brother needs to change course—before it is too late.”

“Micah won’t listen to me.” In the last few months he’d barely listened to their father or the Council. “And even if he would, he can’t remove the seer of Eden from power. Only the King has the power to order the seer’s death and appoint another.” Which Father wouldn’t do because removing Imogen would be akin to admitting that a mistake had been made.

“You misunderstand me, Andreus.” Mother walked slowly across the room and stared out the window at the darkness beyond. “I wasn’t asking you to talk to your brother. Trust me, I’ve tried. No, I want you to illustrate for him his lack of judgment in a way that only you can.”

Andreus frowned. “I’m not sure what you are asking of me, Mother.”

His mother turned from the window and faced him. “I’m not asking this of you as a mother. I am asking it as your Queen. Until Micah returns from the battlegrounds, I want you to spend as much time as possible with the fair Imogen. Tell her that you wish to hear her opinions on your new designs or whatever blandishment you think flatters her most. Then use those talents my maids say you’ve employed on them with great success. Convince her to make a mistake your brother cannot forgive.”

“Mother, you’re not suggesting . . . ” But she was. A mere glance at her expression made it clear. She was suggesting exactly what her words implied. His mother—his queen—was instructing him to seduce his brother’s fiancée into his bed.

Carefully, he put his hands on the table and said, “I believe, dear mother, that you’ve had too much tea.”

He glanced across the room at Oben, but his face was expressionless. After all these years of attending the Queen, Oben had become proficient at masking his thoughts.

Before this got any worse, which was hard to imagine, Andreus said, “I’m going to leave now and forget we’ve had this conversation.”

“You won’t forget,” she insisted, crossing the room to stand at his side. “You cannot forget because I am not asking. This is a command, and if you expect the Council to allow you to continue the work you like so much, you will do as I bid. And while you do, think of what happens to our windmills if there are no winds to keep them turning. Think about the war your father has us fighting with no second sight to guide his choices. Despite what you might think, we need a seer who can help the kingdom survive.” His mother took his hand in hers and looked at him with love. “Your sister and I have made so many sacrifices for you. It is time for you to repay that with some sacrifice of your own.”

No. He couldn’t do what she asked.

Because he already had.

Careful to keep the memories of Imogen in the windmill from showing on his face, he kissed his mother on the cheek and replied, “If that is all, Mother, I have an appointment to keep.”