The Tangled Tree Read online

  ‘Really?’ he whispered.

  ‘Remember what you said, about the cage?’ I kissed Kohén’s cheek. ‘He is barring the door yes- but he is still in here with me and for that I am grateful enough… but there’s not room enough in here for three, Kohl, so you must let yourself out and relinquish the idea of taking me with you, for I have made my choice. I choose for you to walk free of this- not I.’

  A tense silence followed this statement, and I could hear my pulse in my ears as I returned Kohl’s stare, willing him to believe me, but it was not Kohl who broke the stalemate, but the sound of the door cracking open once more.

  ‘Oh my god!’ the shrill voice was akin to a firecracker going off in the heavy silence, and we whirled as one and found ourselves gaping at Kelia with matching expressions of surprise.

  Oh no… !

  ‘Kelia!’ Kohén snapped, stepping back and taking me in his arms. ‘Why aren’t you at the flower show?!’

  ‘Greeting that snotty Amelia-Rose bitch like the rest of the kingdom while choking on rose-stink? Not likely!’ Kelia scoffed, and I was momentarily distracted by the fact that Amelia-Rose Choir and her rich, renowned step-father, Shepherd Choir, had arrived in Arcadia to haggle for Karol’s favour at last. Would that affect how things were progressing between Karol and Ora? It was common knowledge that she had always had a ‘thing’ for the Barachiel bloodline, after all.

  Oh and she’ll be so excited to learn that he’s dismissed his Companions- she’ll probably have to be pried off the birthday boy with a crowbar! But Karol’s always hated Amelia-Rose though… right? Ugh, I hope a change in tune on her part won’t instigate one on his!

  But Kelia’s hazel eyes flared with outrage after she’d taken the three of us in, and I remembered that I had interests of my own to safeguard that were in far more peril now than Ora’s were, and snapped back to attention just as she exploded:

  ‘What’s going on in here?!’

  ‘How did you get past the guards?’ I demanded, excited to think that there was a crack in Kohén’s security- one I would willingly fall through if it meant getting a few minutes alone with the duchess to warn her of Kohén’s hold over Kohl!

  ‘There’s no guard on the door right now,’ Kohén grumbled, looking aggravated. ‘I dismissed him for a few hours.’

  ‘Oh.’ My heart sank, knowing that he’d had getting away with the murder of his twin on his mind when he’d done that, and Kohl gave him a foul, knowing look.

  ‘Are the security cameras off too, big brother?’ Kohl snapped. ‘Or were you just going to turn one to face the front gates while you dragged your likeness’s body out the rear gates?’

  Kohén’s face creased, but as he turned and opened his mouth to express whatever emotion was making his fingers spark (so much for me having screwed him human!) Kelia lunged forward and stole focus once more.

  ‘What is she wearing, Kohén?!’ the irate girl demanded, locking her gaze on my neck. ‘You were supposed to be punishing her, not frosting her like a cake!’

  ‘Get out of here, Kelia,’ Kohl growled, motioning toward the door. ‘This is a private discussion and you have already interfered enough!’

  Kelia rolled her eyes. ‘Oh I’m the interference? You’re the one who fucked her in the first place, so you get out!’

  ‘I did what?’ Kohl whipped around to gape at his twin. ‘That’s what you thought she was guilty of doing? That’s preposterous!’

  ‘Like Hell it’s presumptuous!’ Kelia got the word wrong but none of us deigned to correct her. ‘I saw it written in your own hand- you recollected making love-’

  ‘Oh!’ Kohl whirled back to look at me, and he was green. ‘THAT was the letter that he read?’ I nodded and he turned on Kohén, his face draining of all colour as he put two and two together. ‘You didn’t know that she wasn’t a virgin still when you did this to her, did you? That’s why...’ He gripped his face in his hands like he was going to tear off his skin and hair in exasperation, and my blood turned to dread and began pumping away like mad. I’d so hoped to keep Kohl from learning that! Not only would he be more convinced that I was lying when I said I was happy now, but he’d have to live with the knowledge that he could have had me if he’d pushed hard enough. ‘You idiot. If that’s what you suspected, why not ask me outright?’

  Oh god Kohl stop trying to solve this mystery and get the HELL out of it!

  ‘Because you were being so forthcoming with me?’ Kohén jeered, but then sighed. ‘I didn’t know that asking would make a difference. Your letters said all that I thought I’d needed to hear.’

  Kohl looked at me. ‘Are you… are you okay? Did he-’

  ‘She’s fine,’ Kohén protested, cheeks pink. ‘But for the record, clearing up the misunderstanding was such a delightful experience that I’m rather glad that it was made in the first place.’ He kissed my temple. ‘For both of us, right darling? Now we don’t have to argue over whether or not we’ll be together forever- because it’s been decided for us.’

  I wanted to kill him, but I did not. The look on Kohl’s face made it pretty clear that I wouldn’t be able to beat him to it if the opportunity arose anyway, so all I did was nod and smile tightly, my own cheeks pinkening to know that Kohén had a point- physically I was better than fine. Once the initial obstacle had been taken out of the equation, having intercourse with Kohén had been, well, nothing sort of magical.

  But Kohl’s not going to believe that, and he’s not going to give up! And my hint about that bible will only convince him further that he has cause to fight! I need.. I need… I need Martya’s brain! What would she do?

  ‘You better be joking, Kohén!’ Kelia shrieked, drawing our focus back to her. ‘Yesterday afternoon you were ready to rip him limb from limb to beat her with them, and now you’re in love again? It’s sickening.’ She pointed toward the door. ‘You’ve had your fun with her, your highness, and I won’t tell a soul that you used someone who wasn’t pure, for your sake! But get rid of her NOW or-’

  ‘Yesterday afternoon, you led me to believe that Larkin had been unfaithful to me with my twin,’ Kohén said softly, calmly and in that dignified way that made him seem years older than the rest of us. ‘But that was a false allegation- one derived from a double entendre, in fact, and so Larkin was as pure as the driven snow when I-’

  ‘Ploughed her?’ I suggested dryly, turning to face the mirror and pretending to smooth my hair. My hands looked calm, but I could feel my fingers trembling.

  ‘Yes, that.’

  ‘Gross!’ Kelia exclaimed, and rambled on- tearing my character to shreds and keeping Kohén distracted. The new full-length mirror revealed Kohl’s reflection within it and behind me. Sensing my gaze immediately, his eyes drifted from the arguing pair and latched on mine and he bit his lip, asking me what he could do, and making my head swim with the want of being rescued by the handsome prince, just like in my books.

  This is it! You can either signal that you need help, or ask for him to send his mother or communicate that you are scared and that he is in grave danger- or you can get him out of it by giving nothing away.

  Blinking back tears before their sheen could be seen, I shrugged, moved my fingers from my hair, to the circlet of diamonds around my neck and stroked them lovingly, letting my gaze drift from his to it, as though the sparkling stones held more appeal for me than his beautiful eyes did. I allowed my lip curl in the hint of a bittersweet smile, and then met his gaze again, seeing that his brow was now furrowed in confusion. I needed to get a message to Constance for his sake, but I could not risk involving him.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I mouthed, then allowed a sweeter smile to develop, before turning and resting my head on Kohén’s shoulder lovingly. ‘I’m his.’

  Kohl stared at me like he was waiting for the punch line, and I took it as a credit to my character that it was so hard for him to believe that I was actually content with my lot. But then I moved my lips against his twin’s shoulder in an affectionate kiss,
and I saw Kohl’s muscular abdomen notably suck in beneath his shirt-like I’d socked him- and I supposed that I had.

  Either way, I knew that I’d shattered everything that he’d believed that he knew about me, and it was a bruise that would never fade from my ego.

  He thought I was a Companion now, too. And just like that, the rain began to fall.

  3.

  ‘I don’t care what she did or did not do, she broke rules!’ Kelia was still raging on. ‘She had a bible in her room! She’s been lying to us all and manipulating everyone and when she leaves on Sunday, it had better be with a criminal brand and a slut one-’

  ‘She won’t be leaving here on Sunday,’ Kohén said quickly as I spun around, feigning offence, ‘so I am not obligated to even discuss branding her until I intend to travel outside of Arcadian perimeters!’ he turned to Kohl. ‘And would you knock that rain shit off? You’ll ruin the flower show and we’re already in enough trouble with father!’

  Kohl gave him the finger.

  Kelia flushed purple, drawing me out of my mental ramblings. ‘But she had an affair with your twin! That makes her a whore in every sense of the word and people need to KNOW it! And then they need to watch her being swept to the gutter!’

  ‘Watch your mouth,’ Kohén snapped. ‘Larkin corresponded with my brother, but she never slept with him!’

  ‘Lies!’

  ‘No, it’s the truth!’ Kohl came back to life and stood at Kohén’s side, staring Kelia down, and I blinked owlishly, stunned at the sight of them standing united once more. ‘I swear, Kelia- your jealousy will be both of our undoing- not just Lark’s!’

  ‘As Larkin will be this kingdom’s!’ Kelia countered, her voice shrill.

  ‘They had a crush on one another, Kelia, and they corresponded via the letters that you showed me,’ Kohén said quietly, resting his hands firmly on her shoulders and looking her dead in the eye. ‘I am wounded by it, but it’s not a crime and if it were, it is one that you are guilty of having committed just a while ago when it was YOU corresponding with Kohl and trying to win time with him alone.’ He held his hands out. ‘How can you demand that I brand Larkin a criminal, without expecting me to extend the same courtesy to you?’

  She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘This was a little more intense than that!’

  Kohl quirked up the corner of his mouth. ‘Because I wasn’t interested enough in what you had to offer to nibble at your rancid bait?’

  Ouch!

  Kelia’s eyes bulged and then suddenly, she was turning around and throwing open the door. ‘That’s it! I won’t be offended like this for a second more! And I’m certainly not sharing this place with her!’

  ‘No you won’t be!’ Kohén said firmly after exchanging a heated look with his brother. ‘Because Larkin will be staying, and you will be leaving. And if you go quietly, you will be compensated generously for-’

  ‘I am NOT leaving, and a noble girl cannot be compensated for being treated so poorly!’

  ‘You’re not a noble anymore!’ Kohl reminded her.

  ‘Neither are you!’ she spat back. She rested her hands on her hips and looked back at Kohén. ‘We had a deal, Prince Barachiel and if you think you can worm your way out of it and send me off to the Corps, then you’ve underestimated me!’ She pointed out into the foyer. ‘A crime has been committed here, and I am going to report it! ALL of them!’ She spun on her heel and marched out and Kohl and Kohén were hot on her heels. ‘The affair! The bible they were passing around! The fact that she wasn’t a virgin when you-’

  ‘She was!’ Kohén roared, and my heart lurched in my chest. ‘I am sorry if you are upset but making more false allegations will not get you a golden brand, Kelia- but whipped!’

  Oh no, if she talks, I’m going to be investigated anyway!

  ‘Oh, I’m so scared!’ she taunted, storming along the corridor ahead of us. ‘In fact, I am so scared that I think I need to seek a Shepherd’s counsel immediately and confess that I am being made an accessory to a crime, and threatened! And I think I’ll find one at the garden show, and SCREAM the truth so that all of Arcadia hears it before you can silence me!’ She laughed. ‘Welcome to Arcadia, Shepherd Choir- have some SIN! And some unseasonable frost because the inconsequential twin has blue balls!’

  I came to a halt and stared after her, aghast. Kelia was going to ruin us all, Kohl would suffer the most and the goody two-shoes Amelia-Rose would have a field day with such scandalous information! And why? Because Kelia was a demon who wanted to hold shiny things in her hand more than she wanted to shine on the inside!

  Breathing heavily, I reached behind my neck and unclasped the choker, and then took off after her in a sprint. ‘Kelia, wait!’

  ‘You’d try and take down three of us just to spare yourself a few years in the Corps?’ Kohén demanded, sounding incredulous as he loped after the angry redhead.

  ‘Of course she will! She’s a lazy little shit!’ Kohl grunted, matching him step for step.

  ‘Says the guy itching to get the hell out of the Corps and now can because he just HAPPENS to be born the same year as the incredible Martya? Pfft! What a load!’ Kelia waved her hand over her shoulder. ‘There are strings being pulled all over the place here for the chosen few, and I won’t be hung from one while that whore grows old and fat in the lap of luxury!’

  ‘Kelia, please!’ I hugged myself so my breasts wouldn’t bounce as I ran after them all. ‘I’m sorry you’re so upset, but so am I! Nothing in my life has gone as planned either, but making things worse for someone else won’t make them better for you!’ I had the necklace pooled in my fist. ‘But I know that all you want is to feel safe and cared for so here-’

  ‘Get away from me!’ Kelia whirled around suddenly, causing Kohl and Kohl to hurtle past her and out into the centre of the harem, where the hot baths were gurgling under the misty glass-autumn above. ‘What position are you in to be doling out advice?’ she spat toward my feet but I yelped and backed up in time so that it hit the tile, not me. ‘Slut! Everyone thinks you’re an angel, but I know you’re the spawn of Satan in some way, and so was Martya!’

  ‘Hey!’ I lunged forward and shoved her back, hard. ‘Say what you like about me, for I am inclined to agree with you! But leave her out of this! Martya was a saint!’

  ‘Martya’s six foot under, not high above!’ she hissed. ‘And thank goodness for that! She didn’t read books that were nearly big enough to hide her wretched face well enough, so good riddance!’

  I saw red, as though I’d been set on fire. ‘God, you are hideous. How did it take me so long to see it? I though Kohén sodomised you because he was a pervert, but clearly- he just couldn’t tell the difference between your mouth and your arse hole, because the stuff that comes out of both orifices is the same!’

  ‘He did what?!’ (Kohl)

  ‘You told Larkin what?!’ (Kohén). ‘You KNOW that we haven’t technically done ANY-’

  ‘I hate you!’ With a mottled face and an indignant gasp, Kelia pulled back her hand to slap me but I swung out my own arm to block her and suddenly, I heard a loud crack.

  What was THAT?

  Kelia let out a blood-curdling scream and reeled back, holding her right bicep with her left hand so that I could see the way that her forearm was dangling unnaturally. ‘Aahh!’ her shriek bounced off the high celling and hit me directly in my chest. ‘You broke it!’

  ‘Oh my god...’ I recoiled, pressing my hands to my lips in a prayer position. I’d barely felt the impact, but evidently I’d been right when I’d told Kohén the night before that I was perfectly capable of defending myself.

  ‘Oh! Oh… my arm is BROKEN! Bitch! Hellion!’ Kelia bowed at the waist and screamed again and I pressed my hands to my ears, certain that my eardrums would rupture. Kohl and Kohén raced past me and flanked her like bookends. ‘Oh! Make the pain stop!’

  ‘Whoa- it is broken!’ Kohl exclaimed, sending me an awed and slightly shocked look.

  Oh no, oh no o
h NO! I AM a hellion!

  ‘Both the radius and the ulna,’ Kohén confirmed grimly, leaning over to regard it up close, and I sobbed and turned away because blood was dripping from the webbing of Kelia’s fingers to the floor, and I knew that if she held her arm the other way, I would see bone pressing through her perfect, noble skin. ‘She needs a doctor or a healer- and soon.’

  ‘I’m sorry!’ I cried, feeling worthless. Elijah and the duchess were going to be so mad to learn that I’d done something so awful on such an important day. ‘Kelia, it was an accident!’

  ‘It was self defence, actually,’ Kohl pointed out, crouching beside her to peer at her arm. ‘It’s not your fault that she doesn’t have the bone density to support her bad temper!

  ‘No one will question what happened here with us as witnesses Larkin so please, calm yourself.’ Kohén waved his hand at me and then bent over to address Kelia, but I wasn’t comforted by either of them. I didn’t care how much trouble I was going to be in, only that she was in agony because of me!

  What have I done? Oh my God, I am evil!

  ‘Kelia I know you’re in a lot of pain,’ Kohén said, his voice velvet as he rubbed her back. ‘But you need to stop screaming and breathe.’ He looked at me, and his face was red. ‘And whatever she said, please know that I never penetrated her-’

  ‘Shut up!’ I pressed my hands to my ears again. ‘Not a word more!’

  ‘Fuck you! All of you!’ Kelia hacked out, and I spun to see her staggering toward me but around me by the pool, giving me a wide berth. ‘This is evidence of how twisted she is! I’m going to find a healer and I’m going to tell them that I swore to tell the truth about her and so she attacked me and-’

  ‘Kelia, NO!’ Kohén moved after her, his face white and I knew that this was bad. One spoiled brat the palace could ignore, but one with bone jutting out of her skin? The only person that we could possibly call to help us now was Karol, and I doubted that he was even in the castle, or would help without strings attached anyway.