As the Crow Falls | ✔

Chapter Thirty-Two

The whole throne room stood silent as the queen's voice rang through it like a death knell. "Isaiah, myself and your father have evaluated your recent behavior and determined that it is in Calis's best interests for you to be removed from your current responsibilities. From now on, everyone in this palace and realm shall follow my orders and those of your father, and our orders alone. You are no longer permitted to communicate with people about compensations, and disappearances will be handled by the City Guard under the command of your father."

The calmness with which she dismantled his life dug pits beneath Isaiah's resolve and threatened to collapse it. He clung to it by threads, jaw clenched in silence as his mother continued her ruthless assault.

"You are to stay in the palace and complete any tasks we require of you. All casual trips to the lowlands are henceforth forbidden, and any common citizen found communicating with you through informal channels will be investigated, fined, and given a cease and desist order that they will disobey on threat of prison time."

Verde and Margaret would disobey that order. They would suffer for it. Already, new calculations began to take shape in the back of Isaiah's mind. How far he could drop from the roof or a tree without suffering injuries too great to escape with. Which guards he might be able to coerce into letting him out. Where he could go from there, and how he might evade his parents' reach in the aftermath.

The queen wasn't done. "Me and your father have also decided it is about time we expedited your courtship process."

Isaiah froze, all thoughts of escape shot still.

"We sent a letter to your last Madeiran suitor this morning." The desperate one. "We have offered a generous reward for her move to Calis, and we fully expect that she will agree to it. You will be married in the spring."

Deep in the part of Isaiah's mind that had moments before been calculating escape routes, something snapped.

"No," he said quietly. "I'm not marrying her."

"This is not a choice that rests in your hands anymore."

"And if I make an embarrassment of Calis before the Madeiran court?"

"Those are bold words when you stand at risk of being disowned by the woman and man unfortunate enough to call themselves your parents."

That was it.

He was done.

The weight of the queen's stipulations shed off like falling stones as Isaiah straightened. He was too calm for the sheer heat burning through him. "Then get it over with and disown me. I'm sure Niccola could use my help over in Varna anyway."

Deathly silence dropped over the throne room. It sucked the very air from the space, leaving it so voided, Isaiah could hear the staggered breathing of one of the guards at his back.

When the queen spoke again, her voice was soft. "Excuse me?"

The secret was out. Isaiah had never imagined just how good it would feel, to finally throw off that cowl of silence and reveal who he'd been working with.

"Oh, you didn't know who my partner is? I'm surprised you didn't smell another liar in the room when you met her... she certainly spotted you. Niccola is none other than the undercover demi-queen of our next-door neighbor. We've been working together for some time now." The silence had not broken. Every heartbeat that passed in it unleashed more of the pent-up fury now coursing through Isaiah's veins, smoothing his words to an icy polish. "I heard you had her shot at yesterday. I can't imagine how that would sound if news of it made it to the inter-realm council when it meets this spring."