‘Yes. She manipulated your son into marriage, even though she doesn’t love him, and planned to overthrow you once he was cold in his grave.’
‘You speculate?’ The King raises his eyebrow.
Bronn stares directly at me with such ferocity it burns my very being. ‘No, she told me.’
The roar of outrage echoes through the hall, and the King’s eyes gleam with satisfaction. Bronn has done a thorough job of discrediting me and painting me as a true enemy of the crown. I search his face for any sign of his intent, but see nothing. I just have to trust him.
When the room settles, the King turns to Bronn once more. ‘You have just confessed to accepting blood money against the crown, which I’m sure you’re aware, is a serious crime. Tell me, why shouldn’t I lock you up with this traitor?’
‘Because I regret what I did. And have returned all the money to you. I hope my testimony today goes some way to making amends.’
The King gives a first-class impression of appearing lenient. Forgiving. ‘I have to ask you. Where do your loyalties lie?’
Bronn looks him dead in the eye. ‘With you, Your Majesty. I always have and always will serve the Eastern Isles. I am sworn into the King’s service and am bound to it.’
The King nods his approval. ‘And for the sake of those who don’t know, can you confirm you did complete your Initiation?’
Bronn’s jaw clenches tight. ‘Yes, I did. Without hesitation or question.’
He’s won over every person in the hall. They love him; they admire him. And so the King finally says the words this has been leading to all along.
‘I think we can all agree that the accused is little more than an illegitimate usurper.’ The King pauses for the inevitable hum of agreement. ‘And so I motion that with immediate effect she is stripped of the title and instead bestow it upon this man, who has demonstrated unfailing fealty to his king and people.’
He strides over to shake Bronn’s hand. ‘Congratulations, you are now my Viper. You’re excused to return to your duties with immediate effect.’
‘Thank you, Your Majesty.’
And then he’s gone, without a backward glance, leaving me with nothing but the sense that I will never see him again. Never have the chance to tell him I shouldn’t have pushed him away that day. Never be able to say I’m grateful for what he just did, despite knowing how much he must have hated it.
Because Bronn is a master at hiding the truth, at making people think what he wants them to think. I’m certain that he just stood up there and apparently betrayed me to protect the lives of all those on board the Maiden. He knows as well as I do that if the King and Viper were to become enemies, then all the work we’ve done so far to restore the Isles would be undone in an instant, so he’s also protecting the people. He’s trusting me too – trusting that I have a plan beyond this trial.
And yet.
There has always been an unspoken truth between us. That Bronn was Adler’s true heir. And though he’s never once said so, I know Bronn’s always longed to captain the Maiden. To be the Viper.
Now he is. And my own insecurities raise their ugly heads.
There isn’t time to dwell on them right now, though, because the King announces he has one last witness to call. One final knife to bury in my back. I can’t think who else he could possibly find to hurt me worse than Bronn.
Until Sharpe is escorted in.
It’s immediately clear to me why I haven’t heard from him since the day he visited me – he’s been tortured.
His injuries are hidden, so to everyone else in the room there’s no evidence of the abuse, but I know the signs. The way he shuffles hints at broken toes, multiple bruises, possibly cracked ribs. He winces as a guard touches his back and I can only imagine the lacerations deep in his skin from where they’ve whipped him.
It takes every shred of strength I possess not to launch myself at the King and break his cowardly neck. Instead I harness my hatred, feeling it spreading through me like a poison.
How I want to make them pay for this. How will I ever make them pay for this?
‘Would you please tell the honourable gentlemen who you are?’ the King says to Sharpe as if they were the closest friends.
‘I am the former bodyguard to Prince Torin.’ His voice rasps, like he’s done nothing but scream for days.
‘You’ve known each other since you were boys, have you not?’
‘We have. Protecting him was more than just a job to me; the Prince is my family.’
‘And could you please tell us why you are no longer his bodyguard, given your devotion to his safety?’
Sharpe gingerly raises his arm to gesture at the cloth over his eyes, and the pain it clearly causes him breaks my heart. ‘I lost my sight.’
The King is getting impatient now, wanting Sharpe to hurry up with his account. ‘And how did you lose your sight? In the line of duty?’
‘No. Because of Marianne.’
I swallow hard. This isn’t going to be pretty.
The King steps closer to Sharpe and rests a hand on his shoulder. To most it will look like an act of comfort. To me, it is a clear threat that Sharpe should toe the line.
‘I know this is difficult for you,’ the King says. ‘But please try to tell us exactly what happened.’
Sharpe doesn’t speak for a moment, and the longer he’s silent, the worse I know this is going to be.
‘I never liked Marianne,’ Sharpe says eventually. ‘When she became engaged to Prince Torin, I tried to speak up, and warn him of the dangers of allying with the Viper. But the Prince has a generous heart and would hear nothing against her. She knew, though, knew I was a threat to her marriage, to her plans. And so she removed me from the equation.’
‘She did this to you?’ The King sounds horrified.
‘Yes. She tricked me into being alone with her, and then she took my eyes.’
There it is, the final nail in my coffin. People are on their feet, chanting for my immediate death, demanding my execution. I fight back the tears, wondering if this is it. After everything I went through, everything I lost, is it all going to end in failure now?
‘Why didn’t you tell the Prince?’ the King asks when order is restored. ‘Reveal her true nature to him before they wed?’
‘I tried,’ Sharpe says. ‘But love is a powerful thing. People will do whatever is necessary for the ones they love. To protect them at any cost.’
That last sentence is solely for me. Sharpe’s telling me that what he’s just done is to protect Torin, and I understand. The King has always disapproved of the love between his son and his close aide, and has used it to blackmail Sharpe. Between torturing him and threatening Torin, the King had given Sharpe no choice but to voice these lies, and I don’t blame him one bit. He did the right thing.
Now it’s time for the King to wrap this farce up while the people are baying for blood. He moves swiftly to request the jury consider their verdict and it takes them only moments to confer.
I am found guilty of treason. Of attempting to murder my husband. Of plotting to overthrow the King. I am to be hanged at first light.
I’m escorted out of the courtroom under heavy guard in a state of shock. The curses from the watching gallery barely penetrate my skull because all I can hear clamouring in my head is ‘What now?’