Page 69 of Caroline the Cruel
Angus passed through the door. One look at the disheveled woman, and he was snarling in Jaden’s direction.That could be interesting.Jaden waved a hand at Caroline. “I didn’t do this, if that is what you were thinking.”
“Caroline, I thought you were taking the king back to Roskide,” Angus said, shifting his focus.
Caroline smirked. “Didn’t go as planned.”
Angus and the queen were glowering at each other, which seemed like the perfect time for him to slip from the room and go discover the state his father was in.
Right as he was about to cross the threshold, Caroline said, “Oh, Jaden?” He paused at the door, not turning back. “You warned me not to expect perfect results, but this is far below perfection, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, gritting his teeth. He sensed whatever his father had done was narrowly close to getting them all killed. His muscles tensed as he stood there waiting to be dismissed.
“My patience is waning.”
“I know,” he said, closing his eyes, taking in a deep, steadying breath. “I’ll do better, Your Majesty.”
“You may go,” she said, finally.
He let out a long exhale and rolled his shoulders as he stomped down the hallway in the prison’s direction. Veetula’s former king would talk, and then Jaden would figure out a way to deal with the repercussions.
“Have you seen your father?” His uncle’s voice bounced off the marble walls, catching up with him, and he winced. Jaden had been hoping to avoid this conversation, but he had to tell his uncle what he’d learned.What the queen, his wife, had learned.
Caroline had released her compulsion on his father, allowing him to speak freely to his son, though he didn’t understand why she would do that. Surely, she would know that his father would tell Jaden how she’d coaxed the information out of him. Jaden shivered at the memory, though if he were being honest, the man was only getting a taste of what he’d never hesitated to do himself.
“We need to talk,” was all he said to Breicher, then kept pace as he led his uncle to a little used room where they might have a private conversation.
He ushered Breicher in, then closed the door, latching it behind him. He grabbed a stale pitcher of water and poured it in two glasses, shoving one across a side table. As the cool water flooded his chest, chilling the air in his heated lungs, he cursed the dead Gods.
“What is it, Jaden?” Breicher demanded, ignoring his glass.
“She knows.” Jaden raked a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends.
Breicher started pacing. “Shit.”
“Exactly. And that little stunt you just pulled is like poking a hungry bear. How much do you think she’s going to take before she starts executing us?” Jaden shot his uncle a scolding look. He didn’t care that he was his elder, or the king. Someone who didn’t have their vision blurred with revenge, or their emotions in a knot, needed to get a hold of the situation before it was too late.
Breicher sat with his head in his hands as Jaden explained what his father had told him, careful to leave out the parts that would enrage the king. Particularly that Caroline had another Ivanslohe’s blood.
“I didn’t find her with the intention of doing that. When I saw that dress, I lost it.” Breicher let out a hopeless sigh. “What am I supposed to do, Jaden? I can hardly stomach the thought of being with her after what she did to all those innocent people.”
“And you trust my father painted an accurate picture of what happened?”
Breicher shook his head and Jaden watched him wrestle with his thoughts. He was sure what had happened was gruesome. He’d seen her and Angus when they’d come back, but he was also familiar with the type of shit his father pulled. He wasn’t ready to make a judgement yet and planned to do his own digging to find out what had really happened.
“I spoke with countless witnesses, Jaden. Caroline had said only five or six people had died, but there were over thirty fresh graves.”
Jaden wasn’t here to argue with the King of the Joined Kingdoms. He was here to talk some sense into him. “Either way, you need to play nice. Work with her. Buy us some time so I can figure out what to do, okay?”
“Fine,” Breicher said, groaning.
“Starting now.” Jaden squared off against the arguments bubbling up in his uncle’s mind. “Go to her now. Apologize. Tell her you need some time to digest what happened. Tell her you think you can still work together. Lie to her if you must. I don’t care but go.” Jaden pointed at the door and stood there until Breicher conceded and left in search of the queen.
“What do you want?” the queen said, wrenching back and letting another dagger sail. It spun end over end until it sank dead center in the target almost twenty paces away. Breicher halted, in awe. She picked another up from the pile and positioned herself, ready to hurl it.
“I’m sorry,” he said, forcing the words out. “I shouldn’t have done that. I was angry and in shock. Iknowyouknow, Caroline.”
Caroline lowered the weapon, turning ever so slowly toward him, and his pulse raced like a rabbit who knew a fox had caught its scent. “Youknowbecause I have allowed you toknow. Because I don’t wish for there to be anything between us. But I too am in shock, husband. I thought you might have taken my word for it. Especially considering your brother is not only lying, but trying to do whatever it takes to keep us apart. I felt that was quite obvious.”
Spinning in a flash, she launched the dagger. It landed in the red rectangle at the top, the only space around the perimeter empty. Picking up another one, she said, “Go get them for me.”
