So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(77)

Brody nodded. “We’re friends. He trusts me and my advice.” He motioned to the platter of meat and loaf of bread. “I’m really tired of eating fish.”

“Help yourself.” Stefan slid a pewter plate in front of an empty chair. Then he put silverware, goblets, and a pitcher of wine on the table.

“Thank you.” Brody sat and transferred a huge slice of mutton to the plate, then grabbed the loaf of bread and tore off a hunk.

Rupert sat in the fourth chair, across from Brody. “Can Leofric offer military support to help me usurp the throne?”

“Probably so.” Brody buttered up the bread, then took a bite. “Is that your plan? A military takeover?”

Rupert nodded. “First we defeat the navy and completely cut off Gunther’s supply of gold. When he’s unable to pay his soldiers, we’re hoping some of them will desert and come to our side. I’m also counting on some nobles from the north.”

Brody forked a bite of mutton into his mouth. “So you plan to fight the king’s army? What if he stays holed up in the royal palace in Lourdon? Will you attack the capital city?”

A muscle in Rupert’s jaw twitched.

Brigitta realized this was a weakness in Rupert’s plan, so she spoke up. “Can you expect the Tourinian people to swear loyalty to a new king if he’s just killed off their family members in battle?”

Rupert’s mouth thinned. “I realize the plan has its faults, but there is no other way.”

“I believe there is.” Brigitta took a deep breath as all three men at the table focused on her. “First, I should mention that my sister, Luciana, inherited the gift of foresight.”

Brody nodded as he ate. “I’ve heard that her mother’s family were witches who could see the future.”

“That is true,” Brigitta continued. “When we were young, my sisters and I would play a game with Telling Stones. We gathered up forty pebbles from a nearby beach and painted them with colors and numbers. And then we used the stones to make predictions. And that’s when we discovered that Luciana could see the future as accurately as the Seer.”

Brody snorted.

“What does this have to do with us?” Rupert asked impatiently.

“Luciana’s prediction about herself came true,” Brigitta explained. “So I asked her to use the Telling Stones to foresee my future. She picked blue and gold, which she said represented the colors of Tourin. This was eight months ago when we didn’t know I was the Tourinian princess. She also picked the number eight, saying I would meet a tall and handsome stranger in eight months.” She gave Rupert a pointed look.

His eyes softened. “I’m delighted you think I fit the bill, but it’s still a coincidence.”

“We’ve played the Game of Stones several times since then. Every time I grabbed a handful of stones, without fail the blue and gold ones would be in my hand. But the number eight stone would change. Five months ago, I picked the stone with the number five. Four months ago, I picked number four. One month ago, it was number one. Do you call all of that a coincidence?”

Rupert frowned.

Stefan shuddered. “I call it damned spooky.”

Brody bit off more bread as he watched them all.

“Are you saying we were fated to meet?” Rupert asked.

Brigitta nodded. “Yes. I believe it is my destiny to help you regain what you lost.”

Rupert sighed. “I’ve always believed that our futures are of our own making.”

“I agree to a certain extent. It will be our actions that will see you take the throne. But sometimes, things do happen that we can’t control.” Brigitta looked down at her clenched hands on the table. “Like what my father did to your family.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Rupert said quietly as he rested a hand on hers. “Your father’s actions affected you, too. You were sent away, abandoned by your family.”

“But I gained a new family. I grew up surrounded with love and happiness. You…” Brigitta heaved a sigh. “You lost everything.”

He squeezed her hands. “Aye, I have lost too much. That’s why I want you to stay here where it’s safe.”

She shook her head. “There was another stone that Luciana selected, and I picked it every time, too. The number seven. Luciana said it meant there would be seven men vying for my hand.”

Rupert released her hands as he sat back. “You mean…?”

“The competition.” Brigitta retrieved the notice from her skirt pocket. This was what she had gone back to Stefan’s cottage to fetch from her small bag of belongings. She set the notice on the table. “This was meant to happen. And this is how I will help you retrieve what you have lost.”

“What is this?” Brody turned the notice around so he could read it.

Rupert shook his head. “I can’t let you do it, Brigitta. Whoever wins that contest will assault you.”

“Then you’ll have to enter and make sure that you win.” She shot him a challenging look. “Are you afraid you’ll lose?”

He scoffed. “I would win.”

She smiled. “Then it’s not a problem.”

“Yes, it is!” Stefan growled. “Did you read the fine print?”