A Thousand Heartbeats

My feet were bare, and the night was covered in mist. It was so thick, and, though I couldn’t see anyone, I knew instinctively that I wasn’t alone. The moon was mostly full, scattering light off the droplets of water in the air. I searched and there, nearby, the shadow stood, shimmering hazily against the dim night sky.

I walked toward him; he’d been expecting me.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Home,” he answered.

I scanned the night again. I still saw nothing beyond the mist, but I sensed that he was telling the truth. So, when he took my hand, I didn’t flinch. Not when he moved his thumb across my fingers, not when he pressed his cold lips to the inside of my wrist, not when he slid a ring onto me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s mine now,” he said. “And so are you.”

I sat up with a gasp, clutching at my chest.

“My lady! Are you all right?” Noemi rushed to my side.

“Yes,” I replied, though I couldn’t say for sure.

“I think the stress is giving me nightmares.”

“Did you have another one?”

I nodded. “Could you have something brought up for breakfast? I don’t think I can face the crowds just yet.”

“I can fetch it myself,” Noemi offered. It was an opportunity to see Escalus, even from a distance, and I had no intention of stopping her. “And I can take this book back to the library if you like. I wasn’t sure if you were finished.”

I looked over to see what she was talking about. The book, bound in green leather, sat on the same round table in the corner where I’d left it.

The trial records. In the wake of everything else, I’d completely forgotten about it.

“Actually, could you bring that to me, please?”

“Certainly, my lady. I’ll get you something to eat.” She set the book on my bed, and I could see her hands were not nearly as steady as usual.

“And Noemi? If my brother is there, would you check on him? I know he must be nervous. And tell him he can come by anytime at all today if he needs me.”

I could see her chest rising and falling, thrilled at a reason to speak to him.

“Of course, my lady.” She sped from the room while I picked up the book.

I didn’t know why I felt anxious about opening it. Lennox’s name wouldn’t be in here. Taking a breath, I flipped it open, moving past the other hearings that seemed frivolous by comparison. There was one about a divorce, another about property lines. Finally, I came upon the trial notes for Jago. There was no last name listed, but I could see in the transcript that he’d stated, “We have no last names.” I remember being told he acted alone—but he’d distinctly said we there. Someone should have caught that. On the list of attendees were the names of those on the jury, a handful of influential lords, and my mother. It had been so long since I’d seen her name in writing, it felt like a dagger in my heart.

Jago gave no age, said he lived alone in unsettled land, and refused to give any information beyond that. No mention of a wife; no mention of a child.

That made no sense to me. They certainly existed.

I skipped down, disappointed that the notes were so short.

The man Jago is of a wide build with dark, unkempt hair and dark eyes, nearly black. He stands at the court with an air of ease, accepting the events before him. He does not look around the room but only at the lead juror, waiting for him to speak.

“Jago the Lone, you have been charged with attempted assassination of His Majesty, King Theron. How do you plead?”

“Guilty.”

“And you do so under your own free will?”

“I do.”

“What is the cause for your criminal action?”

“Justice. This kingdom is not yours. I am only sorry that I failed.”

But did he say this heavily? Defiantly? Was he in his right mind or not?

And why did no one take his claim into account? He gave them a reason, and it was never mentioned again.

“Very well. Under your own admission, you are guilty of this crime, and so the court finds you to be. You will be hanged, drawn, and quartered, your body parts on display for the whole of the kingdom.”

At this verdict, there is much noise in the room. Her Majesty the Queen speaks to His Majesty the King. His Majesty raises a hand and stands.

“As it was my life in question, I wish to have a say in the sentencing. I am not a wholly benevolent king, but I am no monster. Had this criminal succeeded, that punishment would be fitting. As I have lived, I move to adjust this sentence to beheading. But I wish none of his body to remain on our soil.”

The jury deliberates quickly.

“The sentence will be carried out tomorrow morning at dawn.”

Gavel sounds.

I looked at the page holding both the name of my mother and Lennox’s father. This moment linked them, and so linked Lennox and me. No one could have guessed then that this moment would be the one that led to the loss of a queen, wife, and mother.

I wished I had a way of knowing that what Lennox said was true. If Jago came here determined to kill my father, he must have believed in his cause with all his heart. He left his family for it. He died for it. But there was nothing in our history about a seventh clan, especially not one with rights to the crown. My ancestors were placed in power, my ancestors held off invaders that nearly scattered us. That was what I had always known.

And now we were about to make peace with people who wanted to take everything from us.

I couldn’t let Lennox try to take my family, my castle, my country. He’d kidnapped me. He’d killed my mother while his father got a trial.

But he also gave me a way out.

I shook the thought from my head. Lennox must go the way of his father, because my father was coming home. My brother was coming home.

I would do whatever it took to make that happen.

Noemi came back in quietly, the tray of food balanced in one hand.

“His Royal Highness intends to come and see you today. He seemed not himself.”

“Understandably.” I picked at the food, unsure how much of it I’d be able to stomach in the end. “Noemi, I need your help.”

“Certainly, my lady. What can I do for you?”

“I need you to do something that might go against my father’s wishes. Maybe even my brother’s. And I need you to keep it a secret.”