Regardless, Stara could not have made a different decision if she’d tried. Whatever her rational mind would have told her was right or wrong, she could not listen. Her whole life, everyone around her—and her own rational mind—had also told her it was wrong for cousins to be together. And even then, she could not listen. She absolutely loved and adored Reece. She always had. And nothing anyone would say or do could change that. She had to be with him. There was no other option in life.
As Stara stood there looking out, watching his ship become smaller on the horizon, she heard sudden footsteps, someone else on the fort’s roof, and she turned to see her brother, Matus, walking quickly toward her. She was pleased to see him, as always. Stara and Matus had practically been best friends their entire life. They had been outcasts from the rest of their family, from the rest of the Upper Islanders, Stara and Matus both despising their siblings, and their father. Stara thought of Matus and herself as being more refined, more noble, than the others; she saw her other family members as being treacherous, untrustworthy. It was as if she and Matus had their own little family within the family.
Stara and Matus lived here on separate floors in their mother’s fort, apart from the others, who lived in Tirus’s castle. Now that their father was in prison, their family was divided. Her other two brothers, Karus and Falus, blamed them. She could always trust Matus to have her back, though, and she was always there for him, too.
The two of them talked long and often of leaving the Upper Isles for the mainland, joining the other MacGils. And now, finally, all of that talk was beginning to feel like it might become a reality, especially with all the sabotage the Upper Islanders had been inflicting on Gwendolyn’s fleet. Stara could not stand the thought of living here any longer.
“My brother,” Stara greeted him, in a happy mood.
But Matus’s expression was unusually darkened, and she could see immediately that he was troubled by something.
“What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head disapprovingly at her.
“I think you know what’s wrong, my sister,” he said. “Our cousin. Reece. What has happened between you two?”
Stara reddened and turned her back on Matus, looking back out at the ocean. She strained to see Reece’s ship in the distance, but it was already gone. A wave of anger rushed over her; she had missed the last glimpse of him.
“It is not your business,” she snapped.
Matus had always been disapproving of her relationship with her cousin, and she’d had enough. It was the one point of contention between them, and it threatened to drive them apart. She did not care what Matus—or anyone else—thought. It was none of their business, as far as she was concerned.
“You know he is set to marry, don’t you?” Matus asked her, accusing, coming up beside her.
Stara shook her head, as if to push the awful thought from her mind.
“He will not marry her,” she answered.
Matus looked surprised.
“And how do you know that?” he pressed.
She turned to him, determined.
“He told me. And Reece does not lie.”
Matus stared back, shocked. Then his expression darkened.
“Did you get him to change his mind then?”
She stared back, defiant, now angry herself.
“I did not need to convince him of anything,” she said. “It was what he wanted. What he chose. He loves me. He always has. And I love him.”
Matus frowned.
“And are you okay then to destroy this girl’s heart? Whoever she is?”
She scowled, not wanting to hear this.
“Reece loved me far longer than he loved this new girl.”
Matus would not relent.
“And what of all the carefully laid plans of the kingdom? You do realize that this is not just a wedding. It is political theater. A spectacle for the masses. Gwendolyn is Queen, and it is her wedding, too. The entire kingdom, and distant lands, will be there to watch. What will happen when Reece cancels? Do you think it will be taken lightly by the Queen? By all the MacGils? You will throw the entire Ring in disarray. You will set them all against us. Are your passions worth that much?”
Stara stared back at Matus, cold, hardening.
“Our love is stronger than any spectacle. Than any kingdom. You would not understand. You have never had love like ours.”
Now Matus reddened. He shook his head, clearly furious.
“You are making the gravest mistake of your life,” he said. “And of Reece’s. You are going to bring down everyone with you. Yours is a foolish, childish, selfish decision. Your childish love should stay in the past.”
Matus sighed, exasperated.
“You will pen a missive and send it on the next falcon to Reece. You will tell him you’ve changed your mind. You will instruct him to marry this girl. Whoever she is.”
Stara felt herself swell with anger toward her brother, an anger stronger than she’d ever felt.
“You speak out of line,” she said. “Do not pretend to give me counsel. You are not my father. You are my brother. Speak to me of this once more, and you shall never speak to me again.”
Matus stared back, clearly stunned. Stara had never spoken to him that way before. And she meant it. Her feelings for Reece ran much deeper than her bond with her brother. Much deeper than anything in her life.
Matus, shocked and hurt, finally turned and stormed off the roof.
Stara turned and looked back out at the sea, hoping for any sign of Reece’s ship. But she knew it was long gone.
Reece, she thought. I love you. Stay the course. Whatever obstacles you face, stay the course. Be strong. Call off the wedding. Do it for me. For us.
Stara closed her eyes and clenched her hands, and begged and prayed to every god she knew that Reece would have the strength to follow through. To come back for her. That the two of them would finally be together forever.
No matter what it took.
CHAPTER TEN
Karus and Falus, Tirus’s two sons, walked quickly down the spiral stone staircase, descending deeper and deeper, heading toward the dungeon that held their father. They hated the indignity of having to descend to this place to see their father, a great warrior who had been rightful King of the Upper Isles. And they silently vowed revenge.
Yet this time, they brought news, news which could change everything. News which finally gave them cause for hope.
Karus and Falus marched right up to the soldiers standing guard at the entrance to the prison, men loyal, they knew, to the Queen. They stopped in their tracks, reddening, hating having to suffer the humiliation of needing to ask permission to see their father.
Gwendolyn’s men surveyed them, as if debating, then nodded to each other and stepped forward.
“Hold your arms out,” they commanded Karus and Falus.
Karus and Falus did so, bristling as the soldiers stripped them of their arms.
They then unlocked the iron gates, opened them slowly, and let them in, closing and slamming and locking the gates behind them.
Karus and Falus knew their time was short; they would only be allowed to visit their father for a few minutes, as they had, once a week, ever since he had been imprisoned. After that, Gwendolyn’s men would command them to leave.
They walked to the end of the long dungeon corridor, all the cells empty, their father the only one down here in this ancient prison. Finally, they reached the last cell on the left, lit dimly by a flickering torch against the wall, and they turned to the bars and peered inside, searching for their father.