The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)(52)

“That wasn’t what I—Wait, when?” I gripped the split outer layer of my day dress. “When you went out of the room and spoke with Patrick last week?”

She stacked the books onto her nightstand and lined up the corners. “No. The other night.” Her chin tilted up a hair. “After you left the room, I left, too. I went where I always go.”

My breath caught. After weeks of avoiding the truth, was she finally going to tell me where she’d been going after delivering reports? “And where is that?”

Melanie stood, long, black hair framing her face and delicate features, now pulled down with distaste. “It’s Patrick. We meet at the inn.”

“You and Patrick?”

“Why not?” She folded her arms over her chest. “Do you think he doesn’t get lonely?”

“I never even considered it.” He was always so practical and calculating. That was why so many Ospreys followed him without question.

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes, tilting her head back. “I doubt you’ve ever considered he might be capable of feelings, or that anyone could see through the armor he wears every day. You’ve probably never considered that someone might actually love him.”

Love?

My mouth hung open. My best friend had been falling in love—with Patrick—and I’d missed it.

“It’s that impossible for you to even comprehend?” She twisted her little finger at me and started out the door, but then looked back, her eyes hard. “And after all of that, he decided he should be your king. Oh, we could still have a relationship, but we’d have to keep it discreet, because he wouldn’t embarrass you by having a public mistress.”

“Mel, I had no idea—”

“We can’t really be together because of you.” Her knuckles were white where she gripped the door handle. “Because he needs you on the throne, and he needs to stand by you to keep the kingdom strong. Everything he does is for you.”

She stalked out, slamming the door shut behind her.

I followed and reached for her shoulder just as she was rounding the sitting room table. “Melanie. Wait.”

She shook me off, tears shining in her eyes. “After everything he’s done for you, all that he’s sacrificed, you said no to him. You might as well have told him he wasn’t good enough, just like his father always did.”

My heart thudded. I wanted to be nothing like General Lien. “I’m sorry.”

“Your rejection won’t stop him, you know. He’s determined to see Aecor rise as the glorious kingdom it once was. Your manipulation won’t change any of that.”

“My manipulation?”

She threw her hands up. “You changed my report. You tried to hide important information from him.” Her shoulders curled in and her expression set into a frown. “All he cares about is you and Aecor and putting the kingdom right again. That’s the only things he cares about. And me. A little. Not as much as he cares about you.”

“Patrick makes his own decisions,” I said. “Don’t blame me for anything he’s done, because I never asked it of him.”

“But you never said no.”

“I said no at the inn.”

Melanie closed her eyes. “You did. And it hurt him.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”

“He’s done so much for you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“It does,” I said. “I care about Patrick. And you’re right: he’s done so much for me—for all the Ospreys. But I won’t marry someone I don’t want to marry, and Patrick shouldn’t, either. If you love each other, then you should be together. You don’t have to hide that from me.”

Her words came soft. Pinched. “He told me to hide it.”

Maybe Patrick did love her—I couldn’t know his heart—but demanding their love stay a secret seemed unfair to both of them. “I’m sorry,” I said at last. I should have seen what she was going through, rather than stew in my suspicions.

She held my gaze for a minute, followed by a slow nod. “All right.”

I twitched the corner of my mouth upward into a hopeful smile. “I was actually hiding in your room for a reason. I needed to talk to you about something. Why don’t you sit?” I pulled out one of the chairs and patted the back.

She took the very edge of the chair, sitting stiffly as she smoothed the layers of her dress down her thighs. “Talk.”

My heart thundered as I struggled to find the words. “The list of resistance groups . . .”

Her frown deepened. “Yes?”

“I wanted to hide the list from Patrick because I thought he was going to pull us from the palace once he had it. I didn’t expect”—I couldn’t hide the scowl—“his other mission.”

“You mean to kill someone?” She said it neutrally.

“Right.” I swallowed hard, not sure I really wanted to ask. “Do you know who the target is?”

“No. He didn’t tell me.” She shifted, but her discomfort seemed to be from not knowing, not because she was lying.

I leaned against the table, focusing on the floor for a moment while I collected my thoughts. “The truth is, I’m not ready to leave Skyvale yet. Not because of any of this.” I gestured around the sitting room, opulent with all the silk curtains and books and portraits. “I’ve learned about something that could be important to Aecor’s future.”