Luminous

84 - The Rescue

"How could you—How dare you—" Arinel choked out, winded by shock, grief and rage. Father slammed his cane on the floor.

"No! How dare you!" He snarled, a spindly finger jabbing at her. Arinel could only sit in stunned silence, pale and shivering with cold fear. She pressed her back against the cushions, watching as Father sprang up and resumed pacing, faster this time. Sharp raps of his cane on the flagstones echoed through the charged air.

"When Alden demoted me, I feared the Hadrians' honor wouldn't be enough to persuade them to follow through with the marriage—then Coris fell ill. It was as if Freda was on my side for once." He rambled, then shook his head in frustration,

"If you so desired the little brother, you only needed to wait. I don't give a damn if the boy wasted away in three months, if he managed to sire you an heir before he boarded the boat. But you couldn't wait, could you? Like mother, like daughter. Insatiable whores!"

He spat. Arinel's head went blank in shock. For a moment, time stood still, then rage consumed all inhibitions.

"You raped her! What choice did she have?" She bolted up, screaming, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I took what was mine to take! My right!" Father roared, a finger jabbing his sunken chest. "My duty to continue the Crosset line!"

"Duty?" Arinel tore up a sneer of derision, even as tears continued to flow from her eyes. She shook her head in disbelief. "Is that the one thing I've been living for? You raped Mother then left her to die in the flames to have me. You couldn't care less if she slept with Sir Bayne behind your back, so long as I was yours! You forced me to marry a dying man I never loved, just so he could leave me widowed with your heir! My womb—is that the only part of me you've ever cared about?"

Silence fell, ringing with her desperate cry. Arinel stood panting, clutching at her middle. Her throat was dry and smarting—she'd never raised her voice this loud, this long before in her whole life. She pleaded with her eyes, hoping for a denial, a shred of love and kindness.

Father didn't deign to answer. He turned pointedly away, glaring stubbornly at the floor. Scalding tears tumbled out of her eyes as Arinel gave up hope. She hung her head, teeth gritted against the pain, and made one last ditch attempt to salvage what she had ruined, to please her heartless father.

"The marriage was held in my name. All that's left to do is consummate it—and I would. Coris doesn't know I've lain with Zier—I could fake my purity. I'm sure he won't object."

Silence. She gathered her courage and raised her face, forcing herself to meet those cold, disapproving eyes. She crumpled to her knees.

"All I ask is that you spare Meya. She kept me alive—a feat even a knight and ten yeomen couldn't match. That allowed me to fulfill my duty to you. She'd done no wrong."

She whispered, shaking her head in plea. Father spared her a glance, then gave a soft sigh and held his head high.

"Too late, Annetta. I've sent word to Hyacinth. She will be brought back and tried for petty treason against Lady Crosset."

Treason.

Strength left Arinel's legs as gruesome illustrations flashed by in her head—women dragged along the streets naked behind horse-carts, as crowds pelted them with stones and filth—then bound to pyres, engulfed by flames, screaming in agony. Meya didn't deserve that. No-one deserved that. Not women who counterfeited coins. Not even women who killed their infants. Perhaps not even the wickedest men.

She must do something. She didn't know what exactly. All she knew was she must go to Meya's side. Warn her. Comfort her. She only needed to be with Meya. Then, together, they would find a solution. They would find hope.