Fractured Core (Untold Tales Book 6) Read online

  Which was probably how Katya learned to do all the things she needed in order to keep it. But there was no use dwelling on all of that, it would only make me feel bitter about the situation.

  "That's an excellent plan." I nodded to each of them and they took it as their cue to leave.

  Jonathan cleared his throat. "What would you like me to do?" he asked.

  I blinked a couple of times. "You mean now that you believe I'm telling the truth about being a princess?" I snapped. I didn't believe in myself enough as it was, I didn't need some prince doubting me too.

  "You can stay out of the way." I turned, not wanting to give him a chance to say anything more. It wasn't easy to lead a rebellion, and this was making it all the harder.

  I'd take my chances with the masses outside the door rather than staying inside with this man.

  Chapter Three

  I smiled blithely as everyone went through all of their reports. This wasn't like when I had my meetings with Brutus and Rita. They could tell what was important and what could be left out. Plus, I could trust them to carry out whatever needed to be done.

  But the people liked to know that I was listening to them, potentially because Katya wasn't.

  "Just another thing I can thank her for," I muttered to myself.

  "I'm sorry, Your Highness, what did you say?" someone asked.

  "I was just thinking about how beautiful your gown is," I said, flashing her a wide smile. It was pretty, if a little worn and dirty, which at least made my cover-up believable.

  "Oh, thank you, Your Highness. I can send you the information of the dressmaker, if you'd like?" Her eyes lit up as she spoke, and I could tell from the expression in them that I'd just given her the biggest compliment she'd ever received. Personally, I didn't feel like my opinions should be worth more because I was a princess, but no one seemed to agree with me.

  "I would appreciate that," I said instead of voicing my thoughts. "What can I do for you?" I hurried her on to the next part of the conversation. I had a lot more people waiting to see me, and I had other things that needed my attention after that. The last thing I wanted was to be doing this all day.

  "My father has been crippled by a horse and is now unable to work. He was the breadwinner in our family, leaving me and my five-year-old brother to pick up the slack. I was hoping you'd know of some work I could do so I can feed us?"

  The look on her face broke my heart. I racked my brains for something I could suggest to her, but came up blank. Without knowing the village she lived in or what skills she had, there was very little I could do about it.

  "What's your name?" I asked, realising I should have started with that and used her name throughout the conversation to make her feel as if we had a connection. My father would have done that. So would Killian. Even Katya would likely have thought about it. But not me.

  "Hannah," she said.

  I nodded, finally seeing a solution that might work. "How would your father and brother feel about moving to the encampment?" I asked. "There are lots of children here, your brother would have playmates and your father could teach them skills that could be useful to the rebellion. There's more to it than swinging a sword."

  Her eyes widened. "I wouldn't want to be a drain on resources, Your Highness..."

  "You wouldn't be." I smiled kindly. Or at least, I tried to, I had no idea how it actually came across. That was a part of my problem. "I'd be employing you as my lady's maid."

  She gasped loudly, as did several of the other people assembled around. Perhaps I should have given that title to someone who'd been here from the beginning, or even the daughter of a noble who had come over to our cause. But this girl needed it the most, so that was what I was going to do with the position.

  "You should see Rita, and she'll see to your positioning."

  The woman nodded frantically. "Thank you, Your Highness. You've saved our family." The emotion on her face wasn't anything I could put a name to, but it filled me with guilt. How could they pin all their hopes on someone like me? I wasn't even doing anything good for them unless it was by accident.

  Hannah dipped into a curtsy and rushed away, probably to find Rita and the details of her new placement. I gestured to one of the servants to go warn her.

  The next man stepped up and bowed. "Your Highness, your beauty is understated when people talk about it."

  I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. I hated it when people started their conversations with me like this. "What is your name and how may I help you?" I asked instead of allowing my true feelings out.

  "My name is unimportant, Your Highness. I'm a manservant to Duke Travers, and have been instructed to deliver a message to you."

  Travers? My eyebrows raised at that. He was an influential man at court, and not one who could be ignored. What could he want with me and the rebellion? I thought back through the people who'd defected to us, trying to work out if any of them had come from the Travers household. I couldn't think of anyone, but that didn't mean anything. We were gaining too many people for me to have even met all of them.

  "Thank you for delivering it," I said. "Please proceed with it."

  "The Duke wishes to make a statement. He is currently on his way to the palace to attend the ball Queen Katya is throwing. Once there, he intends to make her rule unstable," the man said.

  I gulped. That didn't sound like it would end well. "How does he intend to do that?"

  "There's a visiting prince, Your Highness. I'm not sure if you're aware of him. A Prince Jonathan. The Duke intends to assassinate him and start a war with his kingdom."

  Gasps of shock came from the people within earshot, and they quickly began to talk amongst themselves. I searched the assembled people for Jonathan's face, and found it after a few minutes, confusion written all over it. They had no idea he was here, which meant that Gideon must have been continuing the charade that he was the prince for people to still believe he was there.

  "Please tell the Duke that while his intentions are appreciated, we do not condone the taking of innocent life in order to further our cause." I spoke loudly enough that even the people assembled at the back could hear me.

  "I'm not sure the Duke will take that reaction well," the man said, shuffling from side to side.

  "My interests aren't in whether or not the Duke is happy. I want to keep all of my people safe. A war doesn't do that for anyone. Far from it."

  The man pursed his lips. I wasn't sure he was going to tell his Duke what I'd said, which made writing a letter for him to deliver pointless too. Perhaps we should find a way to tip Gideon off that a threat was coming to him, though that would risk the information slipping into Katya's hands. If she found out that someone who supported me wanted to start a war, then she could feasibly turn people against me, something she hadn't managed too well so far.

  "Please, inform your Duke of my decision. I'm afraid I must now consult with my advisors on this matter and all audiences are now suspended."

  The people complained about that to one another, but there was nothing I could do. I needed advice on this, and it wasn't something I could gain while in front of lots of people.

  I gestured for one of the guards. "Please have Prince Jonathan meet me in the cabin as soon as possible."

  "Of course, Your Highness." He dipped his head and disappeared into the crowd in the direction in which I'd last seen the prince.

  Hopefully, I hadn't pushed him too far away with my frosty attitude and he'd be willing to help now. Though I supposed it should say something that he was still here and hadn't disappeared back to his kingdom at the first sign of trouble.

  I should give him more credit.

  I whistled, and Sapphire swooped down from the sky, landing on my outstretched arm. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed my hawk until Jonathan had returned her to me.

  I stroked two fingers over the soft feathers of her head. She cooed and closed her eyes. "Who is the most beautiful hawk around?" I asked her, putting on a voice
I only ever used for Sapphire.

  She cawed and flapped up to sit on my shoulder, where she'd stay until she had the urge to fly once more. There was no use controlling her when there was so much space around, she'd want to hunt and stretch her wings. I could never deny her that.

  Chapter Four

  The door swung open and Prince Jonathan walked in. He'd lost the arrogant air he'd had originally, he even had a small hunting axe strapped to his waist. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

  With a slightly scruffier appearance, and stubble on his jaw, he suited life in the camp.

  "I hadn't realised hawks could act like that, Your Highness," he said, nodding to Sapphire on my shoulder.

  I smiled but didn't answer the unspoken question in his voice. I had no explanation for why I'd forged the bond I had with Sapphire. Perhaps it was because I also had an affinity with archery and that was almost like flying. Or maybe it was just because my brother had given her to me.

  "May I make a suggestion, Prince Jonathan?" I set the kettle on the fire. If we were going to use the cabin for this conversation, then I was going to take advantage of the warm fire to make myself some tea.

  "Of course, Your Highness."

  "This Your Highness, prince and princess stuff is getting kind of old. Can we drop it?"

  He chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask."

  "Don't think this means I've started liking you." The kettle whistled and I pulled it off. "Tea?"

  "Yes, please." He paused as if collecting his thoughts. "Does this mean I can call you Lucia?"

  "Only if I can call you Jonathan."

  "Nothing would make me happier," he responded.

  I sighed. This wasn't quite how I'd intended all of this to go. I set the two mugs of tea on the table and took a seat. The one next to Jonathan this time instead of the one opposite him.

  "Once, you'd have been just my type," I admitted.

  "That's because you haven't gotten to know me yet," he pointed out. "A prince is any princesses type in theory."

  "And you don't think I would have once I got to know you?" This was a surprise, though I didn't want to tell him that, it would sound unnecessarily rude.

  Jonathan chuckled. "Do you want the honest answer, or one that would make me look better in your eyes?"

  Despite myself, I was smiling. "Let's try to the truth. I always find that's less likely to come around and bite you."

  "In which case, I used to think that all that would make me right for someone was that they were a princess. But recently, I've been starting to think that isn't the case," he admitted.

  "Is that why you haven't gone back to your kingdom yet?" I asked. It had been plaguing my mind for a while and I was pleased to think I was going to finally get an answer.

  "Partly," he admitted. "Though the other part is that my father sent me to your palace in order to secure a marriage alliance, he'd be less than pleased to find out I failed so miserably at that."

  I laughed loudly, causing Sapphire to lurch from my shoulder and fly up into the rafters of the cabin. "Sorry," I said to her.

  She cawed down at me, but didn't return to my shoulders.

  "Oops." The smirk on Jonathan's face made something flip inside me.

  I shook my head. "Not what I intended to do."

  "I doubt this is where you intended our conversation to go too," he pointed out.

  "It isn't." I rubbed a hand over my face. "Do you know anything about what's going on in the palace?"

  He shook his head, picking up his tea but not taking a sip. "The last I knew was before I left when that huntsman took my place."

  "I thought as much," I admitted, trying not to let my disappointment show.

  "Is this about the assassination attempt? I don't think he realised I was here, if so."

  I nodded. "That was my assumption too." I took a drink of my tea, feeling its warmth spread through me. At least, I was going to pretend it was the tea and not getting to spend time with Jonathan that was doing it.

  "Is there anything we can do? Perhaps to warn the man in my place? I wouldn't want him to die because he helped me."

  "We don't even know that Gideon is still pretending to be you," I said, lost in thought.

  "Gideon? You know his name?"

  I nodded. "From your description, it has to be him. Though I don't understand how he's managing to keep the pretence a secret. He's known Katya for longer than I have, she'll know who he is." Which made me wonder what was going on there. "We need a spy in the palace."

  "Is there an easy way to get one?"

  "Not without risking someone's life." That was my problem with the whole rebellion. I wanted to overthrow Katya and take my place as the queen, but I loathed the idea of risking other people's lives in order to achieve that. It felt callous and very much like I didn't care about the people whose lives I'd sworn to protect.

  "Perhaps it's time to consider infiltrating the palace ourselves?"

  "You'd come with me?" He was full of surprises today.

  "Of course. It's my deception that got you into this mess."

  "I wouldn't say that," I assured him, taking a sip of my tea to give myself a moment to think. "Even if you weren't here, we'd need to do something about the threat to your life. It doesn't matter if its Gideon in your place, or if it was you there, we'd need to do something."

  "So you believe that the Duke will go ahead with his plot anyway?"

  "Almost certainly. He hasn't shown up here, and that's telling enough. We'll get reports that he's either killed an imposter, or that he's ended up dead at some point, and I fear that there isn't anything we can do about that."

  Jonathan scraped his chair back and stood up, rounding the table so he was beside me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, but didn't try to initiate any more intimate contact. I appreciated that. Not all men would act the same in his position.

  "Then we should warn Gideon," he told me. "And if that fails, I'll write to my father and assure him that I'm not at the palace, but am working on what he wanted. It's only partly a lie."

  "That you're not at the palace, or that you're not doing what he wants you to?" I turned so I could face him, surprised by how close the two of us were now he was standing behind me.

  "What he wants me to." He pulled away from me and went over to stare at the ever lit fire. I wasn't even sure who tended it anymore.

  "Dare I ask what that was?" I had some ideas, but I didn't want to think the worst until he told me to.

  "He wanted me to secure a marriage alliance. Preferably with you, but I suspect he'd have been happy with Katya too. And if you weren't going to come easily, then I was to try and seduce you."

  I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "Seduce me? Does he think we live last century? Even if you'd succeeded, that wouldn't have meant automatic marriage."

  The firelight reflecting off his face revealed a small smirk. "I know that. But for some reason, he thought that would work."

  "At least that means you might be able to convince him that you're fine if we can't get news to Gideon."

  And if they foiled the Duke's assassination attempt, then perhaps Katya would be able to forge a letter in his handwriting, she'd always been good at that. Though I supposed that would depend on if she knew about Gideon impersonating him or not. She had to, though why she was still going along with the charade, I wasn't so sure. Knowing Katya, there'd be an excellent reason.

  "Can I ask you a question?" I blurted, following my train of thought through and coming to something I needed to know the answer to.

  "Of course." He turned to face me but stayed standing by the fire.

  "Why didn't you stay and try and forge the alliance with Katya?"

  He chuckled. "Would you forge a marriage alliance with someone who you aren't sure could hold the throne? Even from the few whispers I heard in my time at the palace, it was clear that more than half the people in the kingdom hate Katya's rule. My father wouldn't be pleased if I went ahead with that one a
nd lost the alliance."

  "Do you always do what your father wanted?" I found it oddly comforting to know that he felt that way, and it warmed me to him more than I wanted to admit. Now that he'd dropped the brash and entitled act, he actually seemed nice. Not that I was going to tell him that.

  "The honest answer? Up until a few weeks ago, yes. But then I came here, and for the first time, I felt like I had a chance to be my own person. With the huntsman in my place, I felt like I should seize my chance. Perhaps that's selfish, but..."

  "I get it," I said before he carried on. "I feel the same way about being here. There's something freeing about it."

  Sapphire cawed from up above, as if trying to support my point. Just like she got to fly free of any constraints here, so did I. And by the sound of it, Jonathan felt the same.

  "It is. No matter what happens, I'm glad that I ended up here."

  I was too. But I wouldn't say that aloud. I wasn't completely sure I could trust him, and until then, I was going to hold him at arm's length.

  Something told me it might not last as long as I first thought.

  Chapter Five

  "Your Highness, this package arrived for you today," Hannah said as she pushed her way into my tent. "It appears to be a dress, I thought you might want to wear it today."

  I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I hadn't meant to sleep in as long as I had, but the warmth of my blankets had been hard to ignore.

  "They arrived? That's good." I'd been waiting for my latest order for weeks. It was hard to fight in the traditional style dresses that were easy to buy, so I'd ended up ordering some new ones from the tailor she'd suggested. I'd have to remember to thank her once I'd made sure they all fit right.