Conspiracy
Penelope clenched her jaw. What did he mean by that?
“Your mother is quite the shrewd one,” Naos said, chuckling. “I’m sure you and Lady Arina will be quite happy… and you won’t have to worry about her ever being unable to please you, hm?”
Another voice chuckled. “Though there's nothing quite like tasting sweet innocence, now is there?”
The three laughed, and her stomach turned. She wished she'd had armed herself. She could have caught them off guard and murdered them here and now. Lightning twisted overhead in warning.
Rash. Wasteful. Unwise. Stay the course.
Clouds advanced over the palace. She had maybe an hour before the storm would reach the palace grounds. She had
“I don’t know how other men do it. After she’s all stretched out—” Viridian scoffed. “I’ll be glad I won’t have to worry about that with Arina. The mages are going to fix her the way they fixed Telari. Can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t. She was all over me. I barely had to do any work.”
The third voice laughed, cold and mocking. Fixed her? Like a dog? Her blood went cold. These past fifteen years rushed through her mind.
Penelope had planned to find some way to deal with Telari’s pregnancy that didn’t involve hurting her, but if the child was not even biologically Telari’s, that was an entirely different issue.
She’d failed Telari by not keeping this from happening, but she would not let her be used as an incubator for Viridian’s schemes. She had heard of an Arina, but knew almost nothing about her.
“You will be my advocate in the divorce, right? After I'm on the throne?”
“Of course,” Naos said. "You and your family won’t have to worry about a thing, even if she lives.”
“Do you think that is possible? Given everything?”
“Penelope is… a strong woman. I can only imagine that her sister, though young, is of much the same stock. Heathens tend to be a lot sturdier than proper noble women.” Naos chuckled. “Though it won’t matter. Once the child is tested, I’ll have her arrested for misuse of magic… or you could keep her around to have another child, I suppose.”
Viridian chuckled. "I wouldn't presume to be so greedy, Your Majesty."
“What of Penelope, father?”
Her eyes widened as they passed. She watched the three of them coming into view, sauntering through the garden. Viridian stopped to pluck a rose from a bush with a violent yank, killing the whole bush. She’d make him pay for that, but she turned her gaze on Sorenas, the prince. She had not seen him in person since the last time he'd come calling years ago. She'd heard that he'd awakened a shifting ability, and it showed. His features had changed. He’d grown broader, taller. His gait had taken on a prowling grace. He smiled, and she caught just a flash of moonlight in his eyes.
He was a wolf.
It had been a long time since she'd dealt with an animal shifter, let alone a wolf.
“…would you like a taste of her before she’s ruined?” Viridian asked. “It would be your due to have the first taste, Your Majesty.”
Naos turned. His eyes filled with heat as he smiled, and Penelope's stomach lurched. Sorenas clenched his fist at his side.
“Mother’s susceptibility potions arrived today,” Viridian said. “They’re supposed to be tasteless and very effective, even on heathens.”
“What an offer. I look forward to it.”
Viridian bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Sorenas twitched, his fist still clenched at his side, biting into his palm as they disappeared around a corner. Hatred and bitterness boiled in her chest. She wanted to kill them all, and she would. She'd wash the palace floors with their blood, but for now, she had to stay calm until the storm came over them.
She'd have to take out the Sorenas first, but at least she could be sure that his death would be enough for her plan. The statue shifted back into a standing position and let her go. She looked up at it, noting the burning bright fire in its eyes.
"When the storm comes," she said and turned, heading toward the royal quarters. She headed for the royal armory. She was unarmed and at a disadvantage. In her youth, before the cursed necklace, she would have stood more than a small chance against a wolf shifter a year after awakening, let alone Viridian. But now, she could not rely on her magical training the way she once had.
Her father had been a shrewd, spiteful fool, forcing her to accept the cursed gift and cursing her ordained weaponry. The necklace kept her from wielding other magical weapons and bound her magic. And she couldn't trust her strength either, given that the necklace could debilitate her in a matter of seconds.
She'd have to move Telari to a more secure place in the palace, somewhere Viridian couldn’t reach her, and no one would find her until they were all dead. She took a turn through the maze garden and walked through the archway. The path shifted beneath her. A different stone pathway surfaced and gleamed, guiding her further into the maze, not toward the royal annex. She followed the path. The air turned humid and sweet the longer she walked down the familiar path that led to the hidden temple beneath the garden.
Soon, she entered the ancient temple, pillars carved of stone harvested from the heart of the island. Her whole body relaxed. The sound of flowing water eased the throbbing in her head. Water, glittering like stars, fell in a cascade down the curves of the Goddess’ statue. Cool vapor filled the air, smelling of incense and fresh fire. The statue moved, extending her hand to Penelope with glowing eyes.
Penelope reached out and took her hand.
Between one blink and the next, she had left the temple. Time and space flashed through her mind, whirled, and screamed in her ears. Then, she was standing in her private study. On her forearm, a tattoo the shape of a spear, much like one she had once wielded, glowed with moonlight. She clenched her fist, feeling a surge of strength through her. The necklace felt lighter than it ever had.
On the desk was an unmarked journal and a glowing glass orb set in gold, suspended on a long gold rope. She scooped it up into her trembling hands, clasping it to her chest as her eyes burned with tears.
It was their vowfire. She had thought it was lost after her father had taken it. The weight of it settled her heart..
It was as much of a sanction as she needed.
The Goddess was with her.
Penelope grabbed the journal and headed to the door. A sound outside the door stilled her.
A servant? Naos? Sorenas?
She backed up silently and retreated through the archway. She landed in the hallway of the main hall. The revelry of her ill-gotten guests filled her ears.
Her heart raced as the sound of the oncoming rain reached her ears.
She was unarmed and out of time.