Blood of my Brother

A Test of Wills

"He was under the responsibility of one of my lieutenants. I never interacted with the boy directly after his arrest, but I did read the daily reports that the lieutenant filed."

"And how much did the reports leave out, exactly, that you didn't think it was necessary to inform someone of the condition the child was in when I saw him?"

He blinked. "Your Majesty?"

"Varian was on the verge of death when the stranger took him. That's why I allowed them to leave. I've never seen a boy that beaten and bloody." Her gaze hardened into something furious. "So tell me what the reports said."

He appeared taken aback, his lips open in surprise. This was the first she'd admitted to knowing it was Varian she had seen that night. The first time she'd admitted to willingly letting him go. "They said nothing about any such thing. I don't wish to doubt Your Majesty's testimony, but are you certain of what you saw?"

"Absolutely." She watched his eyes. Something stirred in them, a stab of guilt behind the confusion. Perhaps he wasn't lying about not seeing Varian in prison, but something was bothering him. She considered softening her tone and asking politely, but that was better suited for getting information from dignitaries and nobles, not a battle-hardened captain. "Captain Bartholomew, I advise you to answer me honestly. You know more than you're telling me. Speak freely."

He hesitated, eyes averted. Just when she thought he'd refuse, he hung his head. "I don't know what happened to him in prison, but... I know what happened to him before. The king sent me and a few of my men in disguise to Old Corona to seek out Varian. Specifically, he wanted us to find and retrieve a graphtyc. We were either to get it and bring it to him or prevent Varian from getting it to the princess."

She bit back a gasp. Interrupting might make him lose focus.

"We... interrogated Varian. Repeatedly and harshly. He wasn't allowed to leave Old Corona and evacuate with the rest of the villagers. He kept his mouth shut for close to a month before the princess showed up and got the graphtyc. Varian disappeared, and the next time I saw him was when he was arrested."

Her lungs constricted, crying out for air that couldn't seem to pass her lips. She focused only on taking one breath, then the next. Once that was under control, she slowly reiterated, "You... beat him?"

He nodded, the guilt in his eyes surging forward to fill them, all confusion lost in the haze of memories of his misdeeds. "Yes, Your Majesty. My orders were to do whatever was necessary, including bringing harm to the boy; and while I rested in the idea that I was doing what I was told, I haven't felt at peace since then. I know my actions were disgusting and shameful. Varian was innocent when this all started. Perhaps... it was my own decisions that drove him to crime."

She couldn't move, only the slight tremor in her arms and shoulders distinguishing her from a statue. If what Captain Bartholomew said was true, then... her husband, the king, had sent soldiers after a child who hadn't done a thing wrong. He'd spent a month suffering unjustly. Because of Frederic. Why? Why would he do such a thing? How had his heart become that darkened—or had it always been that way and she had failed to notice?

She seemed to fail to notice a lot of things.

"Captain," she spoke quietly but firmly, "has anything like this ever happened before?"

"Not like this. We've performed covert missions before, but never against a child."

"And do you know of others who have been in Varian's position? People who have been hurt by the actions of my husband? People like Lady Caine?"