Hunted(42)

He could see the thoughts flying through the duke’s eyes.

But when he spoke, he only said, “Well that’s simple. I’d received a note from a friend of mine to meet her in one of the rooms for a fling before the ceremony. I came, but was attacked and robbed. They stole all the gold pieces I had on me including my knife. That’s how my leg became broken.”

“Did you see who did it?”

“No.”

Lyle didn’t believe it for a second. He sighed. He should have known he’d get nowhere with him.

“Lysse is going to stand trial. I can tell you right now that with the evidence against her—including my own testimony—she will be found guilty as a traitor. You know what the punishment is for that.”

Patrick stood, balancing his weight on his cane, and scoffed. “Death? That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“She is a traitor who was feeding information to the Avagarians which led us to being attacked. Fifteen people were killed, more than that were injured. Some lost limbs that will never grow back. How can you say she isn’t responsible?”

His half-brother remained silent, denial blazing in his eyes. He didn’t want to accept the truth. Eventually he must.

“On top of those traitorous actions, she’s also an Avagarian.”

“Half.”

Lyle tried to hide his surprise at his half-brother’s slip. “Care to expand upon that?”

“She’s only half human. She told me her mother was raped by an Ava. She learned of it from the old woman, Magda, who took her in and raised her.”

This was news to Lyle. He’d heard the stories that her mother had died in childbirth, but no mention of her father. He’d assumed it’d been a single encounter situation.

“She’s going to be found guilty at trial. No doubt about it. If there’s anything you can tell me that I need to know, then now is the time,” Lyle said. There wasn’t much else he could say at this point.

Patrick paced the length of the desk. “I did know about her history, but I did not know she had anything to do with this attack. You make it seem like she wants to start a war between us and the Avagarians. Why would she want to do that?”

“Who knows at this point? We’ve only begun our interrogation. We hope to learn more about her motives during the trial. Maybe she hates us all and wants us to die. Maybe they offered her something she couldn’t resist. As I said…who knows?”

“Are you certain of all this?” Patrick asked.

“Absolutely certain. Penelope Farris witnessed a conversation between Lysse and one of the Avas. Penelope claims she heard Lysse say many things, one of which was her planning the attack. Lysse chose the time of the Claiming because she knew our defenses would be at our weakest with guards patrolling the arena. She fed them information which led to Tarlèan deaths. There can be no other option for her but execution.”

Patrick remained quiet for several minutes.

“When will her trial be?”

Lyle shrugged. “In a few days? A few weeks? It’s difficult to say at this juncture. We’re still gathering our case against her. It’s solid. I’ll repeat myself to make it clear. She will be found guilty as a traitor. Is there anything you can tell me that can help?”

“Help?” Patrick laughed.

“I don’t like this any more than you do. I liked her—”

Suddenly enraged, Patrick turned on Lyle, slamming his hands down on the desk and knocking over a goblet of water. “Liked her? You didn’t like her. You never cared for her. You only wanted her because I did. Admit it. Admit what you did and maybe I’ll tell what you want to know.”

Lyle came to his feet, unable to handle Patrick hovering above him.

“Fine, if that’s what it takes. I…” he hesitated. Apologizing didn’t come easy to him. “I possibly noticed her because she was with you. But that had nothing to do with her leaving you for me.”

“Bullshit! Say it,” Patrick ordered. His eyes flashed with righteous anger, hands pushed hard enough on the desk to shove it an inch.

“All right, I’ll give you this. I might have chosen her because I wanted to…take…her…from…you.”

Each word came out like a tooth being pulled one at a time, and very slowly.

Satisfied, Patrick nodded grimly. “I knew it.”

A knock on the door and Reece entered. “Your Highness, your next appointment is here.”

“Fine, thank you,” Lyle said, dismissing Reece.

Patrick leaned heavily his cane as he strolled for the door. “I’ll be going. I find I’ve had enough chatter for today.”