The scent of sunshine and straw filled Frederick's senses, temporarily reminding him of days he used to adore. It had taken too long to return to this place, making him ashamed for it.

He heard her before he saw her, her excitement palpable as he made his way through the stable. Cecile circled her stall, whinnying and stomping. The clever thing had sensed his presence long before he arrived, unable to contain herself now.

"Hello, dearest," Frederick said roughly. "How have you been?"

She could barely keep still, pawing at the straw to be free.

Frederick laughed softly and lifted the latch. "All right. Just a moment."

Cecile hurried out, rubbing her face against his with tenderness and welcome. He threw his arms about her neck, the silky press of her mane tickling his cheek. "Gods, it is nearly the end of summer. Why are you still shedding? Are you just as stressed as I am." He caressed her noble face and savored the feeling. To be reunited with Cecile after so long ... "Let us take a turnabout the grounds."

He led her by the reins onto the grass, water filling his eyes as he raised his head to the late-summer sun.

He'd spent hours in this very place, training and training his horses. It had been uncomplicated. Rewarding. He used to think that having his horses would be all he needed to be fully content.

Now he had to search himself and ask when he'd allowed things to go wrong. Search for when he became so dissatisfied. So conniving. So unappreciative of his many, many blessings that he was willing to harm people who didn't deserve it.

If his mother could see him now ...

Cecile's nose nudged his shoulder, causing him to smile weakly. "I cannot ride you today, my love. I am unworthy of you." She nuzzled against him, and he buried his face in her mane and groaned. "If only you knew what I've done. You would be so ashamed of me. I gave my wife to another man ... now she's lost to me."

He guided his horse along the flower-framed paths, the sun dappling over their backs and wind streaking through their hair. Such freedom. He didn't know when he'd have it again. Didn't know if Arabella would get to enjoy this despite the seeming freedoms she received as Saebane's wife.

She's likely with him right now. Doing what ... he couldn't stand to think about. She belongs to him because you are a fool.

He halted before Cecile's favorite fountain and allowed her to drink, and when she rose, he took her face and assessed it. "Something is wrong with you, my dear. You're not your usual, elegant self."

Warmth leaked down his face as he viewed her. It was all heaving down upon him with the force of the universe. His lies. His betrayals. His actions. His consequences.

His negligence of his beautiful horses. "If I lost you, too, Cecile ..." He wiped his nose. "You are far too young to be so sick. If you—"

"Frederick!" someone called.

He did not turn back to acknowledge the person coming toward him, continuing to turn Cecile's chin this way and that. "I don't like the look of these hairs. I will have to have someone examine you at you once."

"Frederick!"

He glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see Gweneth but uncaring all the same. She could see him like this. Had seen much worse from him. So many low moments in his life. He could only go lower. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Tell your father to fuck off already," she said. "He needs to stay out of military affairs and allow me to handle it—as he entrusted me to do when you left. But I can't get a moment of peace with him undermining my every—Frederick, what's the matter?"

He didn't even try to hide it, focusing on the reins within his grip. "You are right, of course. I will speak with him. Is that all?"

"What is going on with you? Day after day you came to those meetings and hovered in the background like a wraith. And when you did speak, you snapped and barked at everyone like some rabid dog. You've changed since you left Thescan. Is this about the Widow Queen?"

"The Widow Queen," Frederick repeated. "The Widow Queen ..."

"I know she is with that evil thing that came with you and Urnald to the meetings. The sorcerer. If that is what you are upset over then ... I am sorry for it."

"There isn't much that goes on without you knowing about it, is there?" Frederick said, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Should there be? I am the Master General of your army, after all. Even if I had to find out this information from anyone else but you." The sound of birdsong stole their conversation. "Frederick, you look like Hell. Has losing her been terribly hard? I mean really, how could she possibly choose that thing over you?"

His shoulders bunched. "She didn't choose him. I betrayed her, forcing her to go to that sorcerer in order to protect me." He glanced at her, capturing the shock in her wide eyes. "I sold her out. That is how it happened. That is why I am your king."

A protracted pause. "Men," Gweneth said with a tone of disgust. "You can't trust any of them. Not even the ones you want to believe are decent. To think that you—you are the one who betrayed her and brought all of this on our heads? I saw what she did at the battle against Hendlemark that day. You thought it wise to trade power like that—loyalty like that—for what? The Crown of Thescan. Why, I could kill you, you imbecile."

Frederick winced. "You would be right to. I wouldn't fight you if you pulled out your sword and ended me here. You'd make a fine queen."

"I don't want to be the queen."

He knew that, and that was why he never asked for her hand.

"I don't even know what to say to you," she breathed. "How long have you been planning this? Did you willingly choose this sorcerer and Rycard and that other man that gives me the chills—"

"You knew as well as I did that the Gentle King had to go, but with his power, he was untouchable. I knew no other way but this but ..." He took a breath. "I didn't know what this would turn into or who we'd get involved. Of that, I had no idea."

"But you planned for this," she said. "You married that woman intending to betray her from the start." She hit him in the shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Why the fuck did you bother with her?"

He wiped the tears from his eyes. "I didn't expect this from you. To care about a vampyre."

"That's because I've been wrong. I thought you were our only hope, but after the battle at our gates I realized that she was our only hope. She gave all her blood to protect this country when she didn't have to, and you still went ahead and threw it all away. The way she held onto you when she was weakened. The amount of trust she had in you ..." Frederick hadn't even known that Gweneth saw that. "The cruelty of men always astounds me, and yet I am never surprised by it. But from you ... I expected better from you."

Oh, she was right. So right about it all. He almost knelt at her feet and asked for her sword. Begging her to end it for him would be less humiliating than living through this. Knowing Arabella was in the arms of another. Having to think about it day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, second after second.

Breath after every agonizing breath.

A chill ran over his skin, and his attention drifted from Gweneth. At the entrance to the grounds, two figures watched.

Arabella.

She stood at his father's side, and she promptly turned away and headed back into the castle. Physical pain speared through Frederick to watch her leave, but he didn't dare to call for her.

"What matters is my father interfering in?" Frederick asked absently.

"The attacks on the villages. I create a plan and he devises another. We waste so much time fighting over the best approach that—"

"Attacks?" Frederick repeated, turning to her. "What attacks?"

She searched his face. "You mean you really don't know? Three villages have fallen."

Frederick said nothing for a long while, that sickening pull tightening in his stomach. "I'd only known about one."

"Well, there have been two more since. I did wonder why you were out here prancing with the horses and not at this morning's meeting."

He reached up for Cecile and gave her a tight hug. "Please escort Cecile back to the stables, then see about having someone look at her. She is still shedding in late summer. I need to speak with my father."

She gave a mocking curtsy. "Yes, Your Majesty. Should I run to the castle afterward and ask them to prepare you a warm meal and a hot bath."

"Go," he said, no bite in his tone. "And give her no snark on the way to the stables, will you?"

Frederick ignored Gweneth's flare of indignation, leaving her to cross the grass and reach Urnald. Why had he been alone with Arabella at all? If he had uttered anything to offend her—

"Frederick, we need to talk," Urnald said by way of greeting.

"There have been two more attacks? Why haven't I been informed."

Urnald searched his face, as though looking for any sign of insanity. "Because you were indisposed, and I had it under control."

"I should have been informed as soon as it happened."

"Frederick," he said, gripping his shoulder. "You had a heart attack. I thought handling it on this one occasion would do you more good than harm."

Frederick drew back. "Heart attack."

"Yesterday, after the meeting. You were incoherent before you collapsed."

It had felt like his heart had been torn within his chest, scrunched, then shredded. "How did I survive?"

"I can't tell you that. So don't ask."

But he already knew it was because of Arabella. Somehow, she'd managed to give him her blood again, saving him from the closest to death he might have ever come. Even now, she continued to save him despite what it might cost her if Saebane ever found out.

Perhaps Saebane already knew, and the bastard had likely made her pay for it.

"Was she all right?" Frederick asked. "She wasn't hurt or marked in any way after—" Last night. But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"She seemed fine, Frederick. She came to see me just now with some information."

He unfolded a note and handed it to Frederick. A single word scrawled in her distinctive writing. "Arrhythmia?"

"It's a condition that makes your heartbeat irregular. She says you are afflicted with it. You might feel faint or tight-chested. Anxious. Palpitations. It makes you more susceptible to things like heart attack or stroke."

Urnald cleared his throat. "She said it might explain what you're feeling and the symptoms you've been having. She hasn't found a cure in her research, but she did find that a diet and active lifestyle usually helps, and in those aspects you are abundantly healthy. We reasoned the stress has taken its toll on you. That is why the both of us were glad to find you with your horses again. It should do wonders for your recent anxiousness and with decent commitment to your wellbeing, you can live a generally unaffected life with this condition."

Frederick tucked the note in his pocket, vowing to keep this small piece of her close to him. "How did she find out?"

"Vampyres can hear things we can't, just as you said. She told me she'd noticed the irregularity of your heart and didn't know what it meant. She didn't have sufficient access to modern medical texts to do decent research in Carnelia but coming here ..."

He bowed his head. "It explains much, Frederick. With this knowledge, we can have you looked at by the finest physicians and healers. And they will find a cure for you and any children you have who might inherit the condition." At the mention of children, Frederick's soul shriveled and died. He would have children with Arabella or none at all. "Though she did assure me that even if you pass it on to your children, they will lead normal lives."

"Is that all?"

"Frederick," he said sternly, "this knowledge is of great comfort to me, as it should be to you. If you continue to be careless, you risk a heart attack or stroke. This condition means you're more susceptible to them now if you do not look after your stress."

"Well, I'm glad she could bring you comfort. I'm glad you could use her when it suited you."

Urnald studied his face. "When it comes to you, Frederick, I'm not above doing anything. Hate me for it if you must, but one day you will understand just how much I love you. Gods willing, your children will make you understand the things I did when it came to you and Beatrice. That is the price of loving someone this much."

"This is love, is it?" Frederick said, standing closer to the man he once proudly referred to as his father. "Good thing I intend on having no children so that I don't suffer this so-called love of yours that makes you no better than Hethrensen."

"Don't you dare, boy," he barked, looking for all the world as if he were about to land a strike. "Don't you dare. Everything I did, I did for the both of you."

"Then never do another thing for me again, lest I end up a corpse like your daughter."

Urnald grabbed Frederick by the collar. "Beatrice is no corpse."

Frederick threw him off. "You and I are done. You hear me? After this nightmare is over, so are you and I."

Urnald's chest heaved. "You don't mean that. I know you don't."

"I've never meant anything more in my life," Frederick finished, and with that, he left Urnald where he was standing.

#

Frederick would be forced to see Urnald sooner than he liked. The both of them were summoned to a private dining room where both Saebane and Arabella waited.

Arabella did not look at Frederick as he took a seat across from her, but he couldn't help but notice the way she was dressed. A low vermilion gown cut all the way to her navel with a slit slicing up one thigh. And she was decorated in so many jewels. He'd never seen her wear more than two rings and the occasional set of earrings.

"Yes, I tried my hand at conjuring this dress myself," Saebane said proudly. "You've never looked more tempting, my dear."

She rolled her shoulders, displaying her breasts to their full advantage. "I'll have to think of more compromising positions, then. And you've put me in so many I can hardly think of more."

Knife in the heart.

Knife in the heart.

Knife in the heart.

Saebane groaned and squeezed her bare thigh. "I love it when you and I aren't fighting. Isn't it much more lovely this way?"

She gave him a lazy smile. "I suppose I don't hate not fighting with you. I haven't quite made up my mind."

Frederick's hands turned into fists on his lap. Saebane was putting on a show tonight: I fucked her. And she loved it. I won.

He wanted to turn her into a whore, but Frederick would not believe it. No matter what she was forced to do, say or show, he knew her better than whatever horseshit she gave him now.

And the saddest part of all was that she put on this heinous performance to protect Frederick when he didn't deserve her protection. Arabella would do anything to keep him safe. It was time to start taking measures to ensure her freedom. Once she was free, she would be safe for all her days.

He swore it.

Saebane and Urnald made light conversation as the servants poured the wine. The weather was agreeable. The soldiers were training. And the horses—were they in season?

Arabella never looked at Frederick once though he desperately wanted her to. Instead, she focused all her attention on Saebane. "Shall we get on with it?"

"Yes, I think we shall," Saebane agreed, and with a wave of his hand, he conjured a map of the Star on the table. "Adora has withdrawn their support from our alliance. They are in desperate talks with the remaining kingdoms of the Star. I want to make them an example."

"Naturally," Arabella agreed.

Urnald glanced at Frederick. "And what did you have in mind?"

Saebane sighed. "At first, I wanted to decimate the entire country."

"I convinced him not to," Arabella said, her earring glimmering in the candlelight as she scratched her ear. "His temper is short, and our powers would be depleted—only for a little while but depleted all the same."

"Quite right," he said with a nod. "Do they have any resources worth salvaging that we need to consider before launching an attack?"

"They have lush woodlands," Urnald said. "Desirable weaponry. The best witches, warlocks, and healers in all the Star are found in Adora."

Saebane leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Woodlands. Weaponry. Magic. All right. First, we burn the woodlands."

Arabella raised a brow. "Burn all their woodlands?"

"What use do we have for woodlands?"

She took his goblet from his hand, causing him to grin. "There is much use for wood—something I suspect is a finite resource to Thescan if that forest between our borders is any indication. Besides, fires don't always go according to plan, no matter what you do to contain them."

He blinked. "Why would I try to contain them?"

"Well, a fire in Adora with the woodlands all around. That might take the fire to New Seretz."

Saebane scowled. "What do I care about New Seretz? Faizere has made it clear that he is no ally to me."

She leaned back into her seat and crossed her legs, a pensive expression stealing her face as she swirled the goblet. "Thousands of years ago there was a fire. A fire so great it nearly burned the entire Star. It touched every corner of the world. It took me years to put it out and all the power I had." She shivered. "I have no interest in seeing a fire so nasty ever again. It devastated everything. Even Carnelia—"

"Carnelia?" Saebane laughed. "There is no Carnelia. There are no Middle Lands. You have me now, and you and I won't stay in one place."

Her smile didn't seem forced but it had to be. Her home had been devastated within the space of an afternoon. All because of Frederick. "Yes. I'll never be trapped again."

"So, if the fire spreads then let it spread. A happy accident caused completely on purpose. That will teach the rulers of the Star to fuck with us."

She shrugged. "Burn it, then. Though we should place protection spells on Thescan, Hendlemark, and Boralin."

"Agreed," Saebane said.

"Thank you," Urnald said hoarsely. Frederick took a moment to assess him but couldn't quite pin the expression. He almost appeared ... embarrassed. Perhaps even ashamed. Surely the realization that Carnelia was gone couldn't have affected him as greatly as it had Frederick.

"Then we seize all the beings who possess magic," she continued. "And we retrieve every weapon in sight and take it back to Thescan. There are bound to be strongholds filled with catapults and ranged weaponry we can empty."

Saebane tapped his chin. "How to enter. How to maximize the assault."

"While minimizing our own casualties, of course," Arabella murmured, leaning over the map. She concentrated on it, saying nothing for a long while.

"These lands all look new to me," Saebane said with a chuckle. "The world isn't what it once was. It will take a while for me to be used to them yet."

"Ah, but disadvantage remains the same," Arabella said, shifting figures across the inky borders. "Wooded terrain can be burned after we're done with Adora. That also gives the country folk less time to flee."

Saebane's eyes gleamed. "But I like the fear of it. Oh, darling, just imagine an entire woodland burning to the ground. The fear in their hearts as we—"

"Always with the melodramatics," Arabella said dryly.

He grinned. "Of that, I am very guilty of. It isn't like we can't capture those who try to flee."

"But we won't catch them all if we give them a signal like that."

He took her knee. "My efficient little killer."

Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Well, when you're sweet like this, I cannot help but want to give in to your silly forest fire."

He leaned into her neck, the edge of his nose skimming her metal collar. "Just think of it. The way the people will scream. I can hear them now."

Arabella met Frederick's eyes, quick to turn her gaze away. "But why don't we give them the chance to surrender? They're quick to seek an alliance against us but if we give them the same chance we gave to Thescan—"

"Because they're scheming against us more than Thescan ever did." He smiled at Urnald. "We have always had a staunch alliance here. It is the Queen of Adora who is refusing to give us a chance."

Arabella shrugged, toying with one of the figurines on the map. "She is a decent queen."

Saebane surveyed her expression for several moments. "A decent queen would seek our alliance directly. Not these clandestine dealings I have the misfortune of learning about through others."

She nodded. "You are right, of course. She must be made an example of. Her kingdom must be made an example of."

A glimmer of shock softened his expression. "I'm ... glad you agree. Do you have any more ideas on how?"

Frederick's insides chilled as he listened to her plan unfold. She moved figurines across the map like a chess game. Every so often she asked Urnald for input on the terrain, changing battalions in precise sweeps. Within moments it was done. The Thescan and Hendlemark armies positioned to surround Adora.

They didn't have a chance in Hell.

"Barbaric," Frederick muttered.

"Yes," Saebane said, his eyes wide with delight. "I couldn't agree more. You brilliant bitch."

Frederick watched as Arabella shrunk into her seat. She knew just as well as he did that Vellore was a fair queen. A decent queen. A woman who didn't deserve what they were about to mete out. He needed to send word somehow—warn her of what was to come. Give them a fighting chance to save their people.

The Communication Stone—

Would be too great a risk. Thescan's Communication Stone was currently guarded by the Spiderweb.

"When do we start?" Urnald asked softly.

"First light tomorrow should give you enough time to ready your armies, I suspect," Saebane said. It wouldn't be enough time, but what else were they to do under the direction of a leader even madder man than the last. "I trust Thescan's best general will be overseeing this personally?"

Urnald looked to Frederick in alarm. "Frederick is the king now. He must stay with the kingdom."

Arabella gave an irritable sigh. "Yes. Precious little Frederick. But not to fret. I am your best general, my love. I can execute this plan on my own."

A malicious smile split Saebane's face. "I have my heart set on testing the loyalty of our new king, my sweet. So, I'd like Frederick to go and oversee the takeover personally."

"Saebane," she growled. "You promised I would be more than some pet in your bedroom."

His eyes widened with alarm. "My love, of course—"

"Yet here you are, pulling the same old shit you used to. It's convenient for you to use me to amuse you with mere court beheadings but denying me the acts of war I crave? It isn't to be borne."

"Then go, of course, if it so pleases you. But do take Frederick with you. I would feel so much better if you did."

Arabella sneered at Frederick. "What use do I have for him?"

"Oh, you'll find use for him, I'm sure."

She shook her head. "We'll have her back to you by the end of the month."

"Or ..." Saebane paused. "I could spend some time tomorrow morning scrying for the exact location. We could have you vanish and reappear directly at Adora's castle doors."

She gave an irritable sigh. "And here you let me plot and scheme for nothing."

He gave a sheepish grin. "My abilities aren't as intuitive as they used to be. It takes much from me to scry and move entire battalions of soldiers. But I will do it no matter the cost. I don't think I can stand waiting a month for Vellore's downfall."

She returned a crooked grin, shocking Frederick with its apparent genuineness. "Then it is settled. The soldiers shall be awakened and prepared at first light. I'll descend upon Adora with the dusk."

Saebane growled and cupped his hand between her legs. "You make me so fucking hard."

She squeezed his hand with her thighs. "Already? I do so love that about you."

Frederick couldn't stop himself from wincing. She'd said those very words to him only weeks before.

This is only a game, Frederick told himself. A distraction. She's playing a part to save you. She does this all for you.

She pouted and arched her back, twining her hair between her fingertips. "If you're happy then send the mortals away. They have plans to make. For me the task is rather simple. I show up, I behead her, and we set everything we don't directly manage to devastate on fire. For now, you promised me wine and wine and more wine. And I've been looking forward to getting drunk all damned day."

"Quite right." Saebane smiled at them. "Thank you both. We will see you in the morn—unless, Frederick, you'd like to stay and join us?"

Frederick did not dignify him with a response as he rose and went into the hall. Each muscle in his body wound tight until he thought every vein would explode.

He's fucking her.

He wants you to know he's fucking her.

He had the gall to invite you to watch him fucking her.

"Easy," Urnald said, gripping Frederick's shoulder. "She's all right, Frederick. She's an old creature who knows how to handle men like Saebane."

Frederick refrained—somehow, he refrained—from throwing Urnald into the nearest wall before choking the life out of his eyes.

You did this to me.

You did this to her.

You did this to us.

"Easy," Urnald said once more, and Frederick threw his hand from his shoulder. "Frederick."

"We have work to do before tomorrow's siege," Frederick said roughly. "Send for Gweneth and meet me at my quarters in half an hour. We need to find a way to get word to Adora and quickly."