“My mother?” The string of the bow was taut between my fingers as I kept the arrow pointed down. “My mother was her friend. Or at least that was what I was told.”
“Your mother was so much more than that,” she called back. “I’ll tell you everything about her—about you.”
“She knows nothing,” Casteel said. “The Ascended are masters of manipulation.”
“I know.” And I did. “There is nothing you can say that I will believe. I know about the Rite. I know what happens to the third sons and daughters. I know how the Ascension works. I know why you need me.”
“But do you know that your mother was Queen Ileana’s daughter? That you are the Queen’s granddaughter? That is why you are the Maiden. The Chosen.”
My lips parted on a sharp inhale.
“You’re not even a good liar,” Casteel snarled. “What you’re suggesting is impossible. Ascended cannot have children.”
The Duchess tilted her head. “Who said that Queen Ileana is an Ascended?”
“Every Ascended in Solis has claimed as much. Your history books have stated it,” I exclaimed. “The Queen herself has called herself an Ascended. Are you seriously trying to say she is not what she is? When she does not age? When she does not walk in the sun?”
“They were lies designed to protect the truth—to protect your mother and you,” she replied.
“Protect me?” I laughed, and the sound was harsh to my ears. “Is that what you call keeping me locked in my rooms? Forcing me to wear the veil and forbidding me to speak, eat, or walk without permission? Is that what the Duke was doing when he took a cane to my back simply because I breathed too loudly or didn’t respond in a way he found appropriate? When he put his hands on me? Allowed others to do the same?” I demanded as Casteel stiffened even more. Anger flooded me, and I almost lifted the bow then, almost released the arrow. “Is that how you and the Queen protected me? Don’t tell me you didn’t know. You did, and you allowed it.”
Duchess Teerman’s porcelain features hardened. “I did what I could when I could. If he hadn’t met his fate at the hands of the one beside you, he surely would have once the Queen knew.”
“You mean, my grandmother? Who sent Lord Chaney after me? Who bit me?” I demanded. “Who most likely would’ve killed me?”
“I didn’t know that,” she argued. “But I can explain—”
“Shut up,” I said, done with her, done with their lies. “Just shut up. There is nothing you can say or do that will make me believe you. So get whatever it is you think you’re going to do here over with, Jacinda.”
Her features sharpened at the use of her first name, something she sporadically required from me.
“Feisty,” Casteel murmured. “I like it.”
“I’m this close to shooting her in the face with an arrow,” I warned him.
“I like that, too,” he replied.
The Duchess stepped forward. “I can see that nothing I say at this time will help make this go smoothly. Perhaps the gifts I brought will change both of your minds.”
Casteel straightened as she tilted her head back, toward the soldiers. Several moved to the catapults. Soldiers gripped the sacks, emptying whatever was in them and then knelt as releases were thrown. I tensed as metal groaned.
The catapults swung forward, one after the other, releasing the gifts as Casteel grabbed me, shielding my body with his.
But what was sent at us flew high above us. They flung through the air, over the battlements. We turned as they hit the stone walls behind us. The sound of them, the fleshy smack, the smear they left behind on the walls that could be seen even in the moonlight and along the floor as they tumbled forward, turned my stomach as the bow loosened in my grip. The nocked arrow trembled.
One had long, black hair.
Another a shroud of silver.
A glimpse of skin that was once a beautiful onyx.
An expression frozen in fear for an eternity.
Heads. They were heads.
So many of them.
Magda.
The mother of the woman who’d died.
Keev, the wolven.
The Atlantian man who’d refused my touch.
A head rolled to a stop by Casteel’s feet. The moment I saw the blood-stained beard, my throat sealed.
Elijah.
Chapter 39
I staggered back a step, my horrified gaze lifted to Casteel and then to where Duchess Teerman had stood. She was no longer there. I turned back to Casteel.
His chest expanded, but no breath left him as he stared down at the gift.