The Cogsmith's Daughter (Desertera #1)(90)
The two ladies stood in opposite sides of the courtroom. Miss Aster was instantly noticeable, with her bright red hair, but Miss Frieson’s dark appearance blended into the crowd, and it took the prince a moment to locate her.
“Do you both corroborate Miss Collingwood’s story?”
“Yes,” Miss Frieson replied.
“Yes,” Miss Aster began, “but I do not take issue with Miss Cogsmith’s falsehood. If my father were a traitor—”
Miss Aster was pulled down to her seat by a gray-haired man Aya guessed was her father. Aya suppressed a giggle.
The prince acted as if he did not notice. “Would anyone else like to speak for the king?”
When the room remained silent, King Archon sat, and Prince Lionel turned his gaze to Aya. She met his eyes for a moment, but she had to look away. She did not know how to feel about him anymore. That spark still shot through her every time his gaze hit her body, but now it was met with a churning stomach and heat in the wrong places. He had hurt her twice in her life, and she knew she had hurt him, too.
“Miss Cogsmith, please make your case.”
Aya rose, her knees wobbling and hands shaking. She clutched the edge of the table for support. She took a deep breath and stared straight at the prince. “As for the matter of adultery, everything Queen Zedara says is true. I have never, and will never, lay with the king.” Aya paused, her eyes boring into the prince’s, hoping he understood. “Likewise, Queen Zedara’s accusations of conspiracy and treason are valid. King Archon did confess to orchestrating the executions of his previous eight wives, as well as preparing to have Queen Zedara executed.”
Prince Lionel inclined his head. “And to the matter of falsehood?”
“I will admit that I came to the palace under the auspice of Miss Aya Wellman. However, I did not do it with malicious intent.” Aya took a breath to try and control the flush that threatened to bubble up with her lie. “Lord Varick and I decided I should take the name so that the noble people would give me a fair shot and judge me by my own merits instead of my father’s.”
“Lord Varick?” Prince Lionel called, searching the crowd for him. “Can you attest to the truth of Miss Cogsmith’s statement?”
Lord Varick rose from his place in the audience. From Aya’s position, it appeared as if he were seated on top of Queen Zedara’s head. He glanced between King Archon and the prince several times, and Aya could practically see the gears turning behind his beady black eyes. He was weighing his options, trying to calculate which royal would win the debate. As she gripped the table, Aya’s knuckles turned white. What was he waiting for? He couldn’t deny her statement—not without revealing the conspiracy that led to this moment.
When Lord Varick finally opened his mouth to speak, Aya could barely hear his words over the beating of her heart. “I must admit that my ward speaks the truth. I did not want anyone to know that she was the cogsmith’s daughter.”
With that, Lord Varick sat down, but not before glaring at Aya. Aya closed her eyes and smiled. Lord Varick had told just enough truth, as she knew he had to. Even though there was still more to the trial, Aya’s chest began to swell with hope.
Prince Lionel gestured to Aya. “Would anyone else like to speak on Miss Cogsmith’s behalf?”
Aya held her breath, praying to the Benevolent Queen that the nobles would stay silent. One of them could bring up her work at the Rudder as testimony to her adulterous ways, but of course, then the accuser would be found out as well. Alternatively, and even less likely, one of them could also speak the truth, tell everyone what a good man her father had been, that his murder should be added to the king’s list of crimes—and Prince Lionel’s, too. Aya felt the vortric cog’s teeth bite into her ribs. She wondered what King Archon would say if he knew that the vortric cog were less than a foot away from him, nestled in a place he himself would have loved to have been only last night.
“All right then. I would like to speak.” Prince Lionel stood. “I know Queen Zedara to be an honest woman, and I am inclined to believe her. Likewise, I know Miss Cogsmith to be an upstanding young lady, in spite of dire circumstances, which I commend. King Archon, however, he is another matter.”
Prince Lionel crossed the room, stopping at Aya and the king’s table. He placed his hands on the tabletop and leaned over the king. “Would you like to tell them yourself, Father? Or should I?”
The king clamped his mouth shut and glared at his son.
“Very well. I believe the treasonous accusations against King Archon, because I have grown up witness to them. When I was a boy, I watched him kill my mother.”
The nobles gasped and began talking furiously. Queen Zedara, too, looked shocked, her hand flying up to cover her gaping mouth. Blushing, Aya cursed herself for not putting the pieces together sooner. Willem had said his mother was murdered. Aya glanced around the room, desperate to look anywhere but at the prince. She knew that pain, and she couldn’t meet it in his face.
King Archon looked up at his son, tears forming in his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lionel.”
“Oh, really?” The prince scoffed. “You thought I was too young to remember, Father, but I do. I watched as the two of you argued. My mother tipped right over the railing, her hands reaching out to you, and you did not even move to save her. I heard her body break against the ground.” Prince Lionel paused, his voice catching in his throat. “And then you lied to the guards. You told them she was sick in the head, that you had no idea what had driven her to the edge.”