The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(61)
Awfully convenient.
“Blue, please talk to me.”
She met his eyes. “I need your help with something.”
“Anything.”
“Maybe you should hear what it is before promising.”
He met her gaze and said firmly, “Anything.”
“I need you to have the royal magistrate look into Dinah’s guardianship document. Make sure the signatures are real. Try to date the parchment. That sort of thing.”
And then she explained what she’d been doing at night in the shop. Listened to him swear as he realized the risks she’d been taking, especially after having been robbed once. Watched something cold and deadly move into his eyes when she told him she thought Dinah might have killed Papa because of the almost-gold.
“I’m taking you to the castle with me,” he said as she finished talking.
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
“Kellan, right now she has the law on her side. And if you make a single wrong move, you could incite the head families into declaring you unfit or going to war with each other based on which of them want to remain your allies and which are furious that it looks like you’re stripping the legal rights of someone who is one of them.” She took a step back and dropped her hands to her sides. “You told me you don’t get to choose what you want. You have to choose what the kingdom needs. It needs you to follow the law.”
He sighed. “I really hate how often you’re right.”
“You’ll get used to it. Could you also look into reports of homeless children going missing across the quarters? My own delivery girl hasn’t been seen in weeks, and she’s just one of several from this area. Some of the other quarters have had street children go missing quite regularly. I broached the subject with your mother, and she said she’d bring it up at the next council meeting, but I don’t want to wait that long. Maybe the magistrate could put some guards on the case.”
“I’ll check into it. Anything else?”
There were a hundred other things she wanted to ask. Could he hold her hand again? Promise to visit the farmhouse like he used to, even after he was betrothed?
Could they somehow remain close friends even while she had to watch him walk away?
Keeping her silence, she shook her head, put an acceptable distance between them, and together they turned to meet his guards at the mouth of the alley and begin the journey to the farmhouse.
TWENTY-SIX
TWO HOURS LATER, Kellan found his mother on a settee in the receiving room off her bedroom suite. Even reclining, she looked regal. Her spine remained straight, her evening gown draped elegantly across the settee and onto the floor, and her hair, thick as Nessa’s, was still secured in an impeccable twist at the top of her head.
“Good evening, Mother,” he said as he walked into the room and dropped a quick kiss on her cheek before settling into a chair close by.
She gave him the smile she reserved for times when she was alone with her children and sat up straight. “I see you received my summons.”
“Nessa refused to listen to any of my excuses.”
The queen’s smile widened. “That girl is just as stubborn as I am.”
“How am I to survive in this castle with two such formidable women watching my every move?” Kellan stretched his legs out in front of him and considered how best to approach his mother about Blue’s situation.
The queen had spent the day hearing requests from citizens of the realm, advising magistrates on difficult cases with the help of the castle’s solicitors, and meeting with her steward and the royal event planner to discuss final preparations for the ball that was to happen in one week.
One week to sift through all the pros and cons each head family brought to the table and choose a girl to be his queen. One week to get used to the idea that his heart wanted someone he could never have. The thought made it difficult to breathe.
One week, and the course of his life would be set in stone. He’d have to cajole goodwill out of the families whose girls weren’t chosen. Offer prestigious diplomatic posts to the girls and whichever man they eventually chose to marry. Give the families more contracts for royal goods and services. Choose their favored children, nieces, and cousins for upper level military or magisterial positions.
“How are you?” his mother asked. “And give me an honest answer.”
He took a moment to think before he spoke. “Tired. Worried. Ready for this to be over, but unsure that I have enough time left to make the best choice.”
“That’s what I thought we’d work on tonight.” She gestured toward some parchment sitting on a small table beside his chair. “I thought we could list pros and cons for each girl to help you make your decision.”
He shifted in his chair. “That makes it sound like a business transaction with the girls as goods we’re evaluating. I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. This is how things are done in your kingdom.”
“But we can’t just discuss the girls like they’re horses we’re thinking of buying. It’s disrespectful. They’re people, and they deserve to be treated with dignity.”
His mother smiled again. “My sweet boy, your heart is going to make you a great king. Beloved by all and remembered through the ages. But part of being a king is knowing when you have to do things you don’t want to do because it will keep the peace.”