Igniting Darkness Read online

  Cassel. The name goes off in my head like an alarm bell. Look . . . to . . . cas . . . tle were Captain Dunois’s—oh, how I miss his stolid presence!—words to me. Was he warning me of this man? But I cannot think about that now. Not with the king and Cassel himself watching me with coolly assessing eyes.

  Fremin swallows again—a nervous habit I am quickly learning to recognize. “The road is a dangerous place, Your Majesty. Especially with so many mercenaries recently released from service. With such valuable cargo, of course Lord d’Albret would send his most skilled men.”

  “There is skill, and then there is brutality,” I point out.

  “Are you saying your brother would put your sisters in danger by sending brutish men to accompany them, Lady Sybella?” It is the first time the regent has spoken since we returned from my room.

  Yes, I want to scream at her. They will always be in danger from him and their family. “I am saying he would send brutish men to retrieve them through unofficial channels should official channels not rule in his favor.”

  With his eyes still on me, General Cassel leans down and speaks directly into the king’s ear. A flicker of annoyance crosses the regent’s face, and she leans ever so slightly closer in an attempt to hear.

  When Cassel is finished, the king nods in agreement. “I must think upon this, for it is not as straightforward as first presented. Monsieur Fremin, you are excused for now. But do not leave the palace without consulting my marshal or General Cassel.” Fremin starts to protest. “I have not said I am putting the matter aside. You may rest assured that I will get to the bottom of this. Unless you doubt me?”

  Fremin swallows the rest of his protestation and bows. “Never, Your Majesty.”

  “Then leave. All of you,” the king growls.

  Relieved at the dismissal, I sink into another deep curtsy. But as I move to disperse with the others, he stops me. “Stay a moment, Lady Sybella.” My brief hope of an easy victory crumples. He waves at the regent, Cassel, and the two bishops to stay, then studies me, mouth pursed in thought. “I am told that when they searched for you this morning, they found you in a chamber that . . . wasn’t your own.”

  “That is true, Your Majesty.”

  Since he is careful not to declare Genevieve’s identity, I do not either. He falls quiet again, and I can practically hear the wheels of his mind churning.

  “So tell me, are you from the convent of Saint Mortain?”

  The ground at my feet shifts and lurches, dread seeping into my bones. In the utter silence of the room, the regent looks sharply at the king. One of the bishops crosses himself, while the other clutches the thick gold crucifix that hangs at his neck. For a brief moment, I consider denying it, but since it is clear he knows—or suspects—lying would only make it worse.

  “It is true that I was raised at the convent of Saint Mortain, Your Majesty, as are a number of the women of Brittany.”

  “Have you been trained in the arts of death as an assassin?”

  While it is the king who speaks, the regent’s eyes bore into me, hungrier for the answer than even the king. “I have been trained in the art of weaponry, Your Majesty, for protecting those I serve. I have also studied poisons so that I may detect them when the need arises. But surely you know all manner of things may be used for good or ill.”

  “Answer the question.” Although General Cassel does not raise his voice, it cracks through the room like a whip.

  “Yes. That was one of the many things we learned at the convent. We also trained in the care and anointing of the dead, the departing of souls, and how to ease the pain of the dying.”

  The king leans back in his chair, satisfied. “Two days ago, I would have believed everything you said here this morning unequivocally, for who would accuse such an obedient and humble demoiselle of what Monsieur Fremin suggested? But surely you can see how your true background gives much credence to his claim.”

  “Your Majesty, I am still precisely who I was two days ago—a woman who loves her queen and her sisters and wishes only to serve their best interests. I serve you, as her lord and husband and my king, as well.”

  “Even so, I must consider Monsieur Fremin’s accusations carefully. Unlike most ladies, you have the wherewithal to carry them out. You, too, are dismissed. And like Fremin, you are not to leave the palace without permission. If you’d like to prove your innocence, you’d best find those men-at-arms.”

  It is all I can do to keep my feet firmly under me and not stumble out of the chambers.

  The king knows of the convent. He knows I am an assassin. We have, all of us, been exposed to our enemies.

  The question is, how?

  Of a certainty the queen did not tell him.

  Could Rohan have sent word? I wince, remembering how boldly I taunted the man with my connection to the convent when he first arrived in Rennes with the news that he was to replace Lord Montauban as governor of Brittany. But surely if Rohan had informed the king, his message would have arrived long ago. And the king did not know two days ago, else he would never have ruled in my favor over Fremin.

  It takes but the span of two heartbeats before the answer crashes into me.

  Genevieve.

   Chapter 3

  Genevieve

  Nestled among the thick folds of a Flemish tapestry, I watch the others emerge from the audience chamber, my head reeling with all I have just witnessed. Fremin storms from the room like a bull through a field. He is not only angry, but scared. And if he works for Pierre d’Albret, he should be. I think back to Sybella’s words this morning, her face as she talked about the “pressing matter,” and feel certain it is related to this man and his accusations.

  I am half tempted to follow him so I may report back to Sybella, but have too recently learned how awry well-intentioned interference can go. Not to mention that, if what I understood is correct, Sybella herself is a d’Albret.

  I can scarcely credit it. There is no family resemblance between her and Pierre. The only point of commonality was the cold, hard look that was on her face earlier for the briefest of seconds.

  And who are these sisters of hers? Are they from the convent as well? Pierre d’Albret’s household?

  While I do not fully understand what just transpired in that room, Sybella’s ability to maintain her composure in front of the king and his court, then pivot to the role of a distressed sister with such believability that it nearly brought a tear to my own eye was a wonder to behold.

  She comes striding out of the salon just then, her mask still firmly in place, her hands clenched, her face white. I wait long enough to be certain she is not followed, then slip unobtrusively behind her as she passes the tapestry. She continues in silence until she reaches the stairway. Once there, she climbs three steps, glances to either side to be certain no one is about, then looks down at me. That is when I can see that the paleness of her face is due to fury rather than fear. “What did you say to the king to sour him against me?”

  “You are a d’Albret. Is that not enough?”

  “He has known I was a d’Albret since I first arrived and has not held me in suspicion before.” She grasps the iron railing. “Where were you last night when I came looking for you? You weren’t on a mission for the convent, since you had not heard from them.” She takes a step toward me. “And so I ask myself, why were you not announced, if not on an assignment? And I will tell you, I do not like the answer.” She stares at me, her breathing fast and hard. I open my mouth to answer, but she talks over me. “Where. Were. You.”

  I have no choice but to tell her. The entire court will find out soon enough. “With the king.”

  She glares at me. “You were sleeping with the king.”

  I shrug. “Not sleeping exactly.”

  She grits her teeth. “So you were bedding him?”

  Sleeping sounded so much better. I nod.

  Quicker than an arrow released from a bowstring, she is upon me, her hand grabbing my chin and bringing it c
lose to hers. “You betrayed us.” Her voice is a low, furious hum, her anger a solid wall that has me wanting to take a step back, but her fingers are like a vise. “You aren’t here hoping for a be-damned crow feather. You have some hidden agenda of your own. One that involves destroying the queen.” She shoves my face away from her. “You have exposed us all to the king.”

  And there it is, the ugly, brutal kick I have waited for, all the more painful for being delayed long enough to allow hope to take root. As I struggle to find words to explain, she descends another step toward me. “Was it to get even with the convent for ignoring you longer than you liked? Or has your loyalty to Brittany been eroded by your years in France?”

  “Disloyalty was never my intention!” Desperately needing a moment to regain my footing, I glance at the deserted landing. “Surely we do not need to discuss this where any wandering ears can hear.”

  In answer, she turns and strides up the stairs. Something hot and ugly uncurls inside me, filling my skin so that I fear it will burst. At first I think that it is my own temper flaring to match Sybella’s, but it is more corrosive than that. Shame, I realize with a shock. This thick, suffocating feeling is shame.

  When she reaches the landing, she whirls around to face me again, blocking my ascent. “Is that why Margot died? Did she discover your plans for treachery?”

  Her words slam against my chest and send me reeling backwards. I grip the bannister. “No!”

  “Your word is meaningless to me,” she says, but something in my manner must convince her, for some of the reckless fury fades from her face. “What are you doing here, Genevieve?”

  “Must we discuss this in the hallway?” It takes all my training to keep the pleading note from my voice.

  She gives a brusque nod, then strides to the fourth chamber on the right and motions me inside. The door closes behind us with a click of foreboding. “Very well. We are alone. Now you can explain this treachery of yours.”

  That she would leap to such a conclusion hurts deeply. “Why are you so certain that I betrayed you?”

  “Because the king knows I am from the convent of Saint Mortain and what we do there. He did not know that two days ago.” Her expression hardens as the threads she has grabbed hold of begin to form a pattern. “You said you were with the king last night. Is that why you are poisoning the queen?”

  Her accusation knocks all the air from my lungs. “No! Not the queen!”

  Her eyes grow so frigid that I feel an actual chill scuttle across my arms. “But you are poisoning somebody.”

  “No! Not now.”

  She tilts her head. “But . . . ?”

  “It had nothing to do with any of this. It was when I left Cognac, the only way I could escape.” There. I said I had to escape. Surely she’ll begin to understand now.

  “Or was it the only way you could worm your way into the king’s bed and betray everything the convent stands for? Do you have any idea how much you’ve put at risk? Any idea whose lives might be ruined?” For one heart-stopping moment, I am certain she is considering killing me where I stand. “How much danger complete innocents will be in because of you?”

  Her words pour over me like acid, the burn of it mixing with the searing shame I already feel. “I was trying to save them, you rutting sow, if you would only let me explain.”

  She folds her arms and raises her eyebrows. “I am listening.”

  I force myself to draw a full breath. “I told you, we had not heard from the convent for five years. Nothing.”

  As I talk, she crouches down to peer at the rug, tilting her head sideways as if examining the surface. When I pause, she looks up at me. “Continue,” she says curtly.

  “Margot . . . Margot got tired of waiting and entered into a liaison with Count Angoulême. That is how she died.”

  The hand she had been running over the rug stills. “He killed her?”

  “Not with his bare hands, no, but she became pregnant and died giving birth to his bastard.”

  “Merde.” She shoves to her feet, her gaze flitting briefly to me before she goes to the window. “Go on.” She yanks the curtains aside.

  “When the count told me that the duchess and king were to be married, I didn’t believe it. France consuming Brittany was everything we’d been fighting against.”

  “She was out of choices,” Sybella mutters as she examines the latch closely.

  “That’s what the count said. I took comfort in the fact that I would be in a perfect position to help her now, with all my connections at court and the knowledge I’d gathered over the years about all the courtiers, not to mention the king and the regent.”

  She pauses long enough to stare at me. “That was precisely the sort of aid we were hoping for.” In disgust, she looks back at the window and runs her fingers over the casing, wincing at something.

  “What is it?”

  “A nick in the wood.” She begins rubbing her finger over it, as if trying to smooth it away. “Keep talking.”

  “But much to my dismay, I still received no call from the convent. When Count Angoulême left for the wedding, I demanded he take me with him.”

  The corner of her mouth quirks. “I wager he loved that. Princes of the Blood do so enjoy being ordered about.”

  “I told him I needed to be somewhere the convent could find me, but he refused.”

  “You could have just followed him.”

  “I would have, but he had other news as well. News he claimed was from the convent.” She stops rubbing the wood and looks at me. “The news was that, by order of the king, the convent of Saint Mortain was being disbanded.” For the first time since I have begun talking, she gives me her full attention. “His followers were to be farmed out to other convents or married off to willing husbands. I was now Angoulême’s legal ward, and he was to find a suitable husband for me.”

  “But no such thing has happened! How could you not know he was tricking you?”

  “Of course that was my first thought,” I snap. But how to explain the many signs that seemed to point to the same conclusion. “I considered such a possibility carefully, but he had a message bearing the wax seal of the convent. It was signed by the abbess. And he had never lied to me before. I could not discern a reason he would do so now. And believe me, I considered it thoroughly. But I could never see what he would gain, except the animosity of the convent, and he has always struck me as too self-serving to incur such wrath without good reason.”

  Sybella opens the windows and runs her hand carefully along the windowsill. “And so you left.”

  “Not right away, no.” How do I explain to her the utter betrayal I felt? The sense of aloneness. “Margot had died but three days earlier,” I say softly. “We had been like sisters, and I . . .” Her fingers still, and she frowns before retrieving a tiny scrap of cloth. She holds it up for closer inspection.

  How to explain the enormity of what I’d lost? Not just with Margot’s death, but in the year preceding it? “And there was her babe. I wanted to stay long enough to see if it lived.”

  Sybella shoves the scrap into the pocket of her gown. “And did it?”

  “Yes. She did.”

  “That’s good news, then,” she says softly. “We must see that the babe is well cared for.” She moves away from the window toward the bed, then drops to her knees to peer under it. “So then you left,” she prompts.

  “Eventually. I needed time to study the situation. To consider all my options carefully. I also needed to ensure they didn’t come immediately after me. So I waited and I plotted, and when the time was right, I left.”

  She remains on the floor a few more moments before finally pushing to her feet. She looks up to meet my eyes. “Did you leave with the intention of bedding the king?”

  Something in her eyes, her face—mayhap her soul—forces the truth from me. “Yes.”

  She looks down and concentrates on brushing off her hands. “And how was that supposed to save us? Here—” She motions
toward the rich coverlet on the bed. “You grab one end, I’ll take the other.”

  Grateful to have something to do with my hands, as well as something to look at besides her scornful countenance, I grab the corners and help her carry the entire thing over to the window. “I’m listening,” she says sharply.

  It is easier to talk with her attention focused on the richly embroidered coverlet rather than me. “When I was last at court, the king took a fancy to me. There was no reason to act on it at the time—the convent had not ordered me to, and there was nothing to be gained. But he did promise to grant me any favor I should wish if I would grace his bed. In spite of my assurances to the regent that I had no intention of bedding the king, she had Margot and me sent to Cognac. When I heard that it was by the king’s orders that the convent had been disbanded, I realized I did, at last, have something I truly wished from him.”

  I stare out the window, remembering the absolute certainty I felt in that moment, as if a long-missing piece of my life had finally clicked into place—that I had found my destiny. The memory sears my throat.

  “Since he had already disbanded the convent, there was no reason for me to think he didn’t know about us. And to be honest, I would have assumed the French crown’s own spies would have at least caught wind of us and reported it to him. Especially with the former chancellor Crunard working so closely with both the regent and the convent.”

  I shift my attention from the window and raise my chin slightly. “So that was my intent, to receive clemency for the convent and prevent unwanted fates for the other girls there.”

  Sybella stops rubbing at a spot she’s found on the quilt and lifts her eyes to mine, her brief flicker of understanding quickly shuttered. “So that was your plan. Galloping in on a destrier, fulfilling the king’s carnal desires, then requesting a dispensation for the convent because of it.”

  Under the weight of her scorn, all of my careful considerations and deliberations seem as thin and tattered as a beggar’s cloak. It was a good plan. Would have been if any of what Angoulême had told me was true.