The Queen’s Resistance. Rebecca Ross

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СКАЧАТЬ you,” I said and rushed from the hall, the women’s whispers chasing my heels as I emerged into the courtyard. From there I hurried to the stables, but there was no trace of Brienna. One of the grooms informed me that she had just been there with Tomas, speaking of honey cakes, and so I returned to the castle through the kitchens, where a tray of honey cakes was cooling on the windowsill, two of them noticeably missing …

      I walked back toward the office, my tread quiet on the stone floors; I could hear Brienna’s voice drift into the corridor as she talked to Tomas.

      “So I began to dig, just beneath the tree.”

      “With your bare hands?” Tomas eagerly asked.

      “No, silly boy. With a spade. I had stowed it away in my pocket, and—”

      “Your pocket? Dresses have pockets?”

      “Of course they do. Don’t you think women need a place to hide a thing or two?”

      “I suppose so. What happened next?” Tomas insisted.

      “I dug until I found the locket.”

      I gently pushed the door open, almost hesitant to interrupt this moment. The door creaked, as everything in this castle did, alerting them of my arrival, and I stood on the threshold, gazing down at them.

      There was no furniture in the office. Brienna and Tomas were seated on the floor in a ring of sunlight, legs outstretched as they leaned back on their hands.

      Brienna quieted as she met my gaze.

      “I tried to tell you, milord!” Tomas hurried to say, as if he was worried he would be in trouble. “Mistress Brienna arrived, but you sent me away before I could.”

      “Yes, and I apologize, Tomas,” I said, moving to join their circle on the floor. “Next time, I will listen.”

      “Are you ill, milord?” The boy frowned as he studied me. “You look like you have a fever.”

      I conceded to chuckle, and wiped my brow again. “No, I am not ill. I merely chased the two of you around the property.”

      “I brought her back here to you, milord.”

      “Mm-hmm. I should have waited here, then.” My eyes helplessly shifted to Brienna. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and her face was flushed from the ride, her eyes bright. Her cloak was knotted at her collar; the dark blue spread around her, basking in the light.

      “I was just telling Tomas the story about how I found the stone,” she said, amused.

      “What happened next?” Tomas insisted, directing his attention back to her.

      “Well, the Stone of Eventide was within the locket,” Brienna continued. “And I had to hide it in my … ah, in my dress.”

      “In your pocket, you mean?” Tomas suggested, propping his chin in his palm.

      “Yes. Something like that.” She glanced back to me with a wry smile.

      “What does the stone look like?” he asked.

      “Like a large moonstone.”

      “I’ve seen a few moonstones,” the boy remarked. “What else?”

      “The Eventide changes colors. I believe it reads the moods of the one who bears it.”

      “But only the Kavanaghs can wear it without the locket, right?”

      “Yes,” Brienna said. “It would burn people like you and me.”

      Tomas finally became quiet, mulling over what we had told him. My gaze traced Brienna again, and I softly suggested, “Tomas? Why don’t you go see if Cook needs another hand in the kitchen?”

      Tomas groaned. “But I want to hear the rest of Mistress Brienna’s story.”

      “There will be another day for stories. Go along now.”

      Tomas huffed to his feet, hobbling his way out.

      “You should get him a little crutch before he tears those stitches you gave him,” Brienna said. “I had to carry him on my back.”

      “You what?”

      “Don’t look so surprised, Cartier. The boy’s nothing but skin and bones.”

      The silence stretched between us. I felt pricked by guilt.

      “I don’t know who he belongs to,” I finally said. “I discovered him the other night. I think he had been squatting here.”

      “Maybe one day he will tell you where he comes from,” she responded.

      I sighed, leaning back on my hands, regarding her once more. There was an echo of a bang, followed by Cook’s distant shouting. I could hear Tomas defiantly shouting back, and I groaned.

      “I don’t know what I’m doing, Brienna.” I closed my eyes, that weight coming over me again. Weight of the land, weight of the people, weight of the Dermott alliance, weight of the impending trial. Months ago, I would have never imagined myself in such a state.

      Brienna moved closer to me; I listened to the whisper of her dress, felt her block the sun as she sat before me, her hands on my knees. I opened my eyes to see the light crowning her, and for a moment it was simply her and me and no one else in the world.

      “There is no guidebook for this,” she said. “But your people have gathered about you, Cartier. They are wonderful and they are dedicated. They don’t expect you to have all the answers, or to settle into your role by tonight. It will take some time.”

      I did not know what to say, but her words reassured me. I took her hands in mine—our palms aligned; our fingers linked. I noticed the ink stains on her right hand.

      “You’ve been busy writing, I see.”

      She smiled wanly. “Yes. Jourdain asked me to begin gathering grievances.”

      That took me somewhat by surprise. It felt too soon to be gathering up that darkness; we had just arrived back home, becoming reacquainted with what our lives were supposed to be. But then I reminded myself that the trial was in a matter of days. Of course, I should be gathering up my people’s grievances, as well. I should begin penning my own. Which meant I needed to fully confront what had happened in detail that night. Because while I knew some truth, I did not know the whole of it. I did not know who had given the killing blow to my sister, or the full extent of violence that was done to the Morgane people.

      And then there was my mother’s letter, which I continued to carry around in my pocket, uncertain what to make of it. I had Lannon blood in my veins; did I need to acknowledge this truth or conceal it?

      I broke from those thoughts to see Brienna was watching me.

      “Have you written many grievances down?” I asked.

      “Luc has collected quite a tome.”

      “And СКАЧАТЬ