Hidden Huntress
Page 67
I looked up. “It’s frustrating, isn’t it, when your pawns don’t play by your rules?”
He stared silently back at me, but I needed no confirmation that he understood. I knew now what Lessa had done to provoke his wrath, the knowledge solid in my mind as only the truth was. “This is Lessa’s doing. She has her own endgame in mind.”
Very slowly, he nodded. “How long have you known?”
“That Anaïs was dead, or that it was my own sister who had stolen her place?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “I knew it wasn’t Anaïs within moments of speaking with her. Lessa is not so fine an actress as she thinks.”
“Fine enough to fool the girl’s own father.”
I laughed, the sound harsh. “Angoulême never bothered to know Anaïs. He saw her only as he imagined her to be.”
“And now she is as he imagined her to be.”
I grimaced. “Even so.”
“And how did you know it was Lessa?” He sounded genuinely curious, as though this were all a game with no lives at stake.
“There are few with power enough to manage it,” I said. “Fewer still who could go so long without their absence noted. And only one capable of this level of duplicity.”
His eyes gleamed. “I was curious as to when you would figure out the half-bloods’ talent. Did they tell you directly, or did one of them slip up?”
“A slip, of sorts.” I searched his face, trying to gauge him and failing. “And you? How did you discover that those with human blood can lie?”
Emotion flashed across his face, too swift for me to identify, but enough for me to know I’d struck a nerve. The light behind him dimmed. “Lessa’s mother. She lied to me. I caught her. I killed her.”
There was much, much more to that story than anyone knew. “What was the lie?”
My father shook his head once. Even in this rare moment of honesty between us, some things he would not tell, so I started down another path. “What did you do with Anaïs’s… body?” It was still hard to say it, hard to relegate my friend to an inanimate corpse.
He snorted derisively. “Of all the questions you might ask, you choose a sentimental one like that? Why do you even care?”
I hoped all the powers in this world and the next would strike me down if I stopped caring. “Humor me.”
Something in my voice wiped the mockery away from his. “Fire. Hot enough to burn away any trace that she ever existed.”
I bowed my head, not bothering to hide my grief. It was part of what made me different from him, and I wanted him to see it. I thought he would say something – mock me for my sentiments. Tell me that they made me weak. He didn’t disappoint.
He leaned back and rested his head against the gold throne.
“Everything had come to pass as I had anticipated. You had foolishly allowed your emotions to guide you and played your hand. Attacked me when you thought I intended to harm Cécile.” He sighed. “If you thought clearly and logically, you would have known that I’d never allow harm to come to that girl. She is more precious to me than perhaps even to you, which is why I had the witch they call La Voisin brought to Trollus the moment she was injured. Once I had her assurances that Cécile could be saved, I decided to take advantage of the situation as it had presented itself. You acted predictably. Your sister did not.
“Lessa was supposed to prevent Anaïs from interfering, but for her own reasons chose not to.” He grimaced. “Lessa came into your rooms moments after you left with Cécile. And in that moment, I thought I was done. That all my plans, and plots, and work, and hardships had been for naught. And for a moment, I wished that you…” He broke off. “But instead of killing me, she dispatched your loyal little friend. And then she offered me a bargain.”
I didn’t care about the bargain: I cared about what he’d been about to say. That I’d… what? What had he wished I’d done?
“The bargain was this: I let her take over Anaïs’s life in exchange for her becoming my spy in the Angoulême household.”
“Why would she want such an existence?” I asked. “She’d be living a lie. Living every day with the fear of discovery, and knowing that if she was discovered, that her life would be forfeit.” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer.
My father shrugged. “She clearly thought the risks worth the reward.”
Better to live a lie than to live a slave.
I shifted my weight, too many thoughts filling my head. This was not the sort of conversation he and I ever had. He was treating me almost like I was his… I pushed the thought away. We were not equals. It was all tricks. Always tricks, with him. “If she killed Anaïs first, then you were released. You could have killed Lessa where she stood, but you did not. Why?”
“Bastard half-blood or not, she is my daughter.”
“Which makes you no less likely to kill her than anyone else who stands in your way.”
His fingers twitched ever so slightly. “Think what you’d like. But to answer your question, I made the bargain with her because I considered it to be to my advantage. Not only would I gain a spy in the home of my greatest adversary, I would gain a most powerful ally.”
“Because Anaïs was the heir to the Duchy of Angoulême,” I said. “Lessa could dispatch the Duke and inherit it and all of his powerful alliances.”
He stared silently back at me, but I needed no confirmation that he understood. I knew now what Lessa had done to provoke his wrath, the knowledge solid in my mind as only the truth was. “This is Lessa’s doing. She has her own endgame in mind.”
Very slowly, he nodded. “How long have you known?”
“That Anaïs was dead, or that it was my own sister who had stolen her place?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “I knew it wasn’t Anaïs within moments of speaking with her. Lessa is not so fine an actress as she thinks.”
“Fine enough to fool the girl’s own father.”
I laughed, the sound harsh. “Angoulême never bothered to know Anaïs. He saw her only as he imagined her to be.”
“And now she is as he imagined her to be.”
I grimaced. “Even so.”
“And how did you know it was Lessa?” He sounded genuinely curious, as though this were all a game with no lives at stake.
“There are few with power enough to manage it,” I said. “Fewer still who could go so long without their absence noted. And only one capable of this level of duplicity.”
His eyes gleamed. “I was curious as to when you would figure out the half-bloods’ talent. Did they tell you directly, or did one of them slip up?”
“A slip, of sorts.” I searched his face, trying to gauge him and failing. “And you? How did you discover that those with human blood can lie?”
Emotion flashed across his face, too swift for me to identify, but enough for me to know I’d struck a nerve. The light behind him dimmed. “Lessa’s mother. She lied to me. I caught her. I killed her.”
There was much, much more to that story than anyone knew. “What was the lie?”
My father shook his head once. Even in this rare moment of honesty between us, some things he would not tell, so I started down another path. “What did you do with Anaïs’s… body?” It was still hard to say it, hard to relegate my friend to an inanimate corpse.
He snorted derisively. “Of all the questions you might ask, you choose a sentimental one like that? Why do you even care?”
I hoped all the powers in this world and the next would strike me down if I stopped caring. “Humor me.”
Something in my voice wiped the mockery away from his. “Fire. Hot enough to burn away any trace that she ever existed.”
I bowed my head, not bothering to hide my grief. It was part of what made me different from him, and I wanted him to see it. I thought he would say something – mock me for my sentiments. Tell me that they made me weak. He didn’t disappoint.
He leaned back and rested his head against the gold throne.
“Everything had come to pass as I had anticipated. You had foolishly allowed your emotions to guide you and played your hand. Attacked me when you thought I intended to harm Cécile.” He sighed. “If you thought clearly and logically, you would have known that I’d never allow harm to come to that girl. She is more precious to me than perhaps even to you, which is why I had the witch they call La Voisin brought to Trollus the moment she was injured. Once I had her assurances that Cécile could be saved, I decided to take advantage of the situation as it had presented itself. You acted predictably. Your sister did not.
“Lessa was supposed to prevent Anaïs from interfering, but for her own reasons chose not to.” He grimaced. “Lessa came into your rooms moments after you left with Cécile. And in that moment, I thought I was done. That all my plans, and plots, and work, and hardships had been for naught. And for a moment, I wished that you…” He broke off. “But instead of killing me, she dispatched your loyal little friend. And then she offered me a bargain.”
I didn’t care about the bargain: I cared about what he’d been about to say. That I’d… what? What had he wished I’d done?
“The bargain was this: I let her take over Anaïs’s life in exchange for her becoming my spy in the Angoulême household.”
“Why would she want such an existence?” I asked. “She’d be living a lie. Living every day with the fear of discovery, and knowing that if she was discovered, that her life would be forfeit.” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer.
My father shrugged. “She clearly thought the risks worth the reward.”
Better to live a lie than to live a slave.
I shifted my weight, too many thoughts filling my head. This was not the sort of conversation he and I ever had. He was treating me almost like I was his… I pushed the thought away. We were not equals. It was all tricks. Always tricks, with him. “If she killed Anaïs first, then you were released. You could have killed Lessa where she stood, but you did not. Why?”
“Bastard half-blood or not, she is my daughter.”
“Which makes you no less likely to kill her than anyone else who stands in your way.”
His fingers twitched ever so slightly. “Think what you’d like. But to answer your question, I made the bargain with her because I considered it to be to my advantage. Not only would I gain a spy in the home of my greatest adversary, I would gain a most powerful ally.”
“Because Anaïs was the heir to the Duchy of Angoulême,” I said. “Lessa could dispatch the Duke and inherit it and all of his powerful alliances.”
