Shadow Heir

I cast a quick, questioning glance at Dorian to see if this made any sense to him. His puzzled look said he was just as much in the dark as I was. Pagiel’s sister had left shortly after the wedding, and I’d hardly talked to her while she was here.

“What about her?” I asked.

“She was attacked this morning by Willow Land riders on the outskirts of the Oak Land, on her way to see our grandmother.”

That got Dorian’s attention. He leaned forward. “The Oak Land? My Oak Land?” As if there was any other.

“Was she alone?” I asked.

Dorian stood up, his face as furious as Pagiel’s. “It’s irrelevant. Alone or not, a young girl should be able to ride the length and breadth of my kingdom without feeling threatened by any brigand—let alone militants from another kingdom! Maiwenn has gone too far. This is an act of war! This is—”

“Is the girl okay?” asked Roland, his quiet voice cutting through Dorian’s outrage. At first, Dorian looked offended at the interruption, but then he—like me—seemed to realize that we all probably should’ve asked that immediately.

Pagiel nodded and took another steadying breath before continuing. “She’s with a healer now and is recovering. Maiwenn’s people beat her up pretty badly but were interrupted when some passing merchants noticed what was happening. By that point, the attackers realized they’d made a mistake and were ready to flee anyway.”

Something twisted in the pit of my stomach. “What do you mean ‘made a mistake’? What was their intent?”

Pagiel’s face was still hard and angry, but I was pretty sure I caught the faintest glimpse of apology in his eyes at what he had to say next. “They had no actual interest in her personally, Your Majesty. They attacked her because ... because they thought she was you.”

Chapter 5

Whatever look came over my face, it was enough to finally crack Pagiel’s anger. He blanched and hurried forward, falling to his knees. “Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“No, no,” I said, putting out a hand to stop him. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” His words had stunned me, making everything I said and did sluggish. I felt as if I were moving underwater.

Dorian gave me a sharp look. “Neither did you.”

“How can you say that?” I exclaimed. “That poor girl was beaten because of me!”

“Not because of you. Because of them. Although ...” He shrugged, his expression considering. “When I think about it, I suppose there is a remarkable resemblance between the two of you. An easy—if stupid—mistake.”

“That doesn’t help,” I grumbled. “Not one bit. All that means is that every girl in our kingdoms with hair like mine now needs to watch her back.”

“They were fools to do this,” declared Dorian. “Not just because of the violation of my land, but also because they should’ve known you wouldn’t travel alone. If any one of them had half a brain, they would’ve deduced right away that they had the wrong girl.”

“And yet that changes nothing.” I sighed and turned back to where a worried Pagiel still knelt before me. “Get up,” I told him. “Where is she now? You said she was with a healer. In the Oak Land?”

Pagiel got to his feet. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I should go see her,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.

Dorian scoffed. “Oh, yes. That will certainly improve the situation. Go take a jaunt between kingdoms. Expose yourself to more risk.”

My temper flared. “What else do you expect me to—” I bit my lip on any other angry protests as I reminded myself we had an audience. Swallowing back all the things I wanted to say to Dorian, I attempted to put on as calm a look as I could for Pagiel. “I’m very sorry this happened to Ansonia. I can’t promise immediate retribution for it, but I can promise you it won’t ever happen again.”

Pagiel nodded, his face growing fierce once more. “I understand. But if you do strike back at some point—”

“Then you can definitely be part of it,” I finished, guessing what he was going to ask. I didn’t like to encourage revenge, especially in someone so young, but he was certainly entitled to his outrage. “We’ll let you know. In the meantime, go back to Ansonia. If there’s anything she needs, anything at all, just have her ask Dorian’s staff and they’ll take care of it.” I felt no moral qualms about speaking for Dorian, especially since he ordered my own people around half the time too.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Pagiel glanced at Dorian. “Your Majesties. I believe my mother is, uh, already working with the servants to ensure Ansonia is comfortable.”

Oh, I didn’t doubt that in the least. A pang of regret struck me as I recalled that last antagonistic meeting with Ysabel. I’d been semi-sympathetic to her concerns for Pagiel but had mostly treated her as though she was behaving in a hysterical and exaggerated manner. Whatever she was doing now, no one could accuse her of overreacting. Her daughter’s life had been wrongfully threatened.