Kingdom's Vice Series: Journey to Alleria ( #1 2014) #Wattys2015

Chapter Five

A profound expression of regret creeps onto his face as I see him fight away tears.

‘I said many things in this entry,’ he says in a broken and frail voice, his head hanging lowly, ready to fall into his hands. ‘Many things I did not mean.’ He continued.

I swallow, but a lump has formed in my throat and refuses to go down. ‘You hated her, didn’t you?’ I ask. ‘You hated her for leaving you,’

He nods. ‘Kin matters more than personal desires, Skaya.’ He tells me, finally meeting my eyes.

I frown. ‘I thought vanity held a higher priority for the likes of you,’ I say back, but it comes out bitter and cold—not what I intended.

He sighs in frustration and slaps the book shut before throwing it across the room with a shout. His cry is a painful one, one that could break the heart of all who hear it.

‘You read too many books, Skaya.’ He chuckles a little, but his face is still locked in disappointment and sorrow. ‘The accounts you’ve read have been misprinted or worse—manipulated. Your kingdom likes to paint me as a monster.’

I feel guilt swell in my chest and wrap around my heart as it beats like a drum.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say in small voice.

He weeps silently for a moment, hunched in a chair, his shoulders shuddering with each sob. I can think of no way to comfort him. No words, no gesture can stop his aching. Though a part of me wishes there was something I could do for him. After all, his is all the kin I have left.

He sits up and recomposes himself, as if he had forgotten his position in the kingdom entirely. ‘There was a time,’ he says in a firmer voice, ‘When I would have been the man you’ve read about in your books. I have been many things in all my lifetimes, Skaya, but I have never been truly honest about anything. Until now.’

‘I believed them,’ I say softly, full of guilt. ‘I believed those lies, those falsities. I didn’t even think twice about it, I just swallowed the lie with the sweets my mother gave me. Just like that. How could she—?’

He sighs and cuts me off. ‘She had her reasons for painting Alleria in the way she did. She chose the shades in which to paint it, the shades that would deter you from finding out the truth.’ He sits back in his chair and smiles at me in disbelief. ‘And yet, here you are in the Tale Room, listening to my stories.’

I smile back. ‘Her shades weren’t dark enough,’ I laugh. ‘And the books couldn’t be more wrong.’

He nods in appreciation. ‘It is true isn’t it?’ he asks me suddenly.

I stare. ‘What is?’

‘She’s passed, hasn’t she?’

I nod sadly. ‘For a while now,’ I reply. ‘After her death, my father couldn’t go on, and so in time, the light in his eyes faded, and a cart collapsed on him in the marketplace, crushing him. He joined her.’

He closes his eyes for a long moment and lowers his head, like he knew my father would suffer such a fate—such a graceless, unglorified death.

‘Were there others?’ he asks, “Of your kin in Bardhelm?’

I nod, but not proudly. ‘Redermarke, my brother. He joined the King’s Guard after my parents died. He abandoned me in the house where we grew up together and vowed never to return again. He promised me that the next time we met, he would be smiling down at me because he would have all the power and I would have nothing, as always.’

He brings a finger to his lips, a thought coursing through his brain, I imagine. ‘I must admit, sometimes I wish I had said harsher words about your kingdom, for your folk certainly hold a reputation for hostility and disregard for kin.’