As it was, I had felt no sympathy when he was convicted for his crimes. After the trial he had been granted his request to be held separately from the other castle prisoners. Now, he remained in isolation in a locked tower room where I was told he spent most of his time looking out over the land through a small and filthy window.
Conner had a chain around his ankle and was thinner than when I last saw him, although I’d made sure he was fed and allowed the basics of hygiene. Yet his beard was ragged, and in the dim light of flickering torches, I was sure I could see gray hairs. I’d never noticed them when we were at Farthenwood.
Conner gave me a slight bow. “King Jaron. I’d ask if you are well, but frankly, I’ve seen you look better. And drier, for that matter.”
“I’m perfectly well, thanks for asking.”
“To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”
“It smells like a sewer in here so I’ll be brief.” Looking directly at him, I said, “Was King Vargan ever part of the plot to kill me four years ago?”
The fear melted away, leaving a wide sneer on his face. “No. The pirates didn’t want Avenia involved. They don’t like working with Vargan unless they have to, and they figured Avenia wouldn’t want a part of my plan anyway.”
Avenia was certainly involved now. According to Vargan, it suited their mutual purposes.
“Tell me again about the night you killed my family.”
With a weary sigh he said, “There’s nothing more than what I’ve confessed to a thousand times.”
“I’ve been reading about the dervanis oil. Did you know it takes over a hundred flowers to produce just one drop of the poison? That’s why it’s so rare, and so hard to acquire. I don’t think you got it here on your own.”
Gregor put a hand on his sword. “Jaron —”
I brushed him aside. “Where did you get it?”
Conner laughed, his arrogance on full display. “If you don’t ask the right questions, then coming here is only wasting my time and yours.”
“Do not insult the king!” Gregor said.
This time he drew his sword, but I motioned for him to put it away. Conner hadn’t intended to be insulting. He wanted a different question from me. But I didn’t know what.
Distracted, I used my boot to tap an empty plate on the floor with a napkin folded over it. “Where did this come from?”
Conner smiled. “The betrothed princess said you missed a meal with her this evening. So she brought me your portion.”
Amarinda had been here? I tried to look as if that didn’t bother me, but he knew it did. She’d have no reason to come here, unless . . . Suddenly, I didn’t want to be here anymore.
Gregor stepped forward. “She didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Don’t defend her actions!” I ordered. Of all her friendships, this one was unacceptable.
Silently, Gregor dipped his head and retreated against the wall, though his hand never left his sword.
I turned back to Conner, who was now standing tall with his arms folded, a quiet challenge to my authority. It hadn’t even been a month ago when I’d faced him with a similar look of defiance.
He said, “It’s about time you came to thank me.”
“Thank you?” He was lucky my thanks didn’t come in the form of a noose.
“You are king now, just as I promised,” he said. “Maybe you hate the things I did that got you here, but the fact is you would not be king without me.”
Something exploded inside of me. It was all I could do to hold my temper. When I finally spoke, my words reeked of bitterness. “After what you’ve done, you really expect my gratitude?”
“All of Carthya should be grateful to me!” Conner arched his head. “Your father was weak. Eventually, the countries that surround us would have swallowed Carthya whole. Darius was a risk as well. He was too close to your father to see him for who he was.”
“They were my family!”
“Your family rejected you. Not just once but twice. They made you a nobody, then gave you to the world. But I have given the world back to you. I made you king.”
Still angry, I cocked my head. “Now I have everything. Is that what you think?”
“With one exception.” Conner nodded at the empty plate Amarinda had brought.
I stared again at the dish on the floor. Did she really think I wouldn’t mind her coming here? Of anyone in this castle, she was supposed to be on my side. Conner was absolutely correct in his insinuation that Amarinda and I were not friends. Nor did I have any idea of how to fix things with her, if that was even possible.
Conner lowered his voice and continued, “I’ve paid for my crimes against you. Let me go free and I will serve you now.”
I grinned, feeling my edge again. “You might reconsider those terms. I just got a visit from the pirates. They want you.”
Conner gave me exactly the look of fear I’d expected. His eyes widened and something roughly the size of a boulder seemed to be lodged in his throat. “Don’t let them have me, Jaron. You know what they’d do.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’d hurt,” I said coldly. “Maybe I will release you after all.”
I started to leave, then in a panic, Conner called, “Jaron!” Without waiting for my attention, he added, “I betrayed your family, that’s true, but I never betrayed Carthya. I still consider myself a patriot.”
I turned back to him. “How can that be? Do you have any idea what you started when you hired the pirates?”
Conner pressed his lips together, then nodded at my bandaged arm. “Oh. They want you, too.” The long lines of his face softened. “So it’s both our lives at stake.”
“All of Carthya is at stake,” I said. “You opened floodgates I might not be able to shut again.” Now I turned and stepped closer to him, so close that I could see the dilation of his pupils as he returned my stare. “I need the name of the pirate you hired to kill me. Tell me now, or you will go to them tonight.”
Defeated, Conner whispered, “His name was Devlin. He bragged that your death would give him a place of honor with the pirates. The fact that you’re alive will be humiliating to him.”
“And to you, too, I suppose.”
Conner wasn’t fazed. “The truth is that nobody cares about your life but me! I’m the only one here who’s worked with the pirates. You need me.”