Sir Henry was at a writing desk in the center of the room with a warmed clearstone in the upper corner and a Dominion tablet in front of him. He looked up with a smile that didn’t strike me as entirely sincere. Of course it wasn’t. That smile was ordered onto his face by Lord Endrick. So were the bland words he spoke.
“You’re safe, what a relief.” Henry gestured to a chair in front of his desk. “Please be seated.”
Where was the talk of punishment, of consequences for my refusal to carry out any orders against Simon? Did Sir Henry know I’d defied those orders?
I obeyed and tried not to appear as nervous as I was. If he knew that my heart was racing, that I was unsteady on my feet, then he’d also know that my memories were returning. Including the truth about who Sir Henry was to me: a stranger and nothing more.
No, not a stranger. Another memory carried through me like a wave. I had told him once that I would never call him father again.
“I never wanted you to call me father in the first place,” he had said.
My eyes moistened. Gabe had advised me to address this man as my father, but I couldn’t. Darrow was my father. Darrow had loved me, and the man facing me now had been involved in my true father’s terrible fate.
Finally, he completed his writing and looked up. “Are you well? Those savages didn’t injure you?”
“No … sir.”
“Basil disappeared the same night as you did. Was he captured too?”
My breathing quickened. I hadn’t expected to be discussing Basil; I hadn’t thought about him at all. But I needed to lie, or risk exposing Reddengrad to Lord Endrick’s revenge.
“He was. They still have him.”
“Filling his head with all sorts of lies, no doubt. These people are liars, I hope you know that, Kestra.”
What he truly hoped was that I didn’t know half of what I already did.
That single thought consumed my mind. I didn’t even realize I hadn’t spoken until my father continued, “You must tell me everything they said to you. With your recent accident, you might have become confused.”
“I’m not confused,” I said, staring him in the eye. Staring at a man who only pretended to be my father because he was under orders to do so. “I know who I am, and I know why Lord Endrick attacked my memories. If he ever wants to find the Olden Blade again, then he had better restore my heart to its original condition.”
Had I slapped Sir Henry, I could not have gotten a more visceral reaction of rage. He stood, throwing back his chair and shoving his writing table forward. I was startled out of my seat and stumbled back until I was at the door to the tent. I turned to run through it, but a soldier appeared there, wrapping his arms around me and carrying me back inside, dropping me to the floor at Henry’s feet.
“How dare you issue demands of your king?” he snarled. “I was ordered here to carry out your execution, Kestra, which I can do simply by removing that necklace you wear.”
I clutched the clasp to protect it. “What is this necklace?”
Any warmth remaining in him turned to ice. “It was a gift from your king, and will be a gift to your king when I return it to him.”
“If you take this, I will die. And by morning, the Coracks will have a new Infidante ready to avenge my death and all of this starts again. But if Endrick returns my memories, then I can be of use to him.”
Then I can be a threat to him. That was my real purpose.
“It sounds as if you already have your memories. How is that possible?”
“I will explain that to Lord Endrick, and no one else.”
Sir Henry continued, “You demand an audience with the king, after refusing his orders? Do you think Lord Endrick will show you any mercy now?”
I’d never expected him to show me mercy. I doubted that Lord Endrick even knew such a concept existed.
In the face of my silence, Sir Henry said to the soldier behind me, “Take her. Find out everything she knows, and when you are finished, return the necklace to me.”
I tried to squirm free, but I barely got two words out before the soldier clamped a hand over my mouth.
“Enough!” My father shouted so loud that the whole camp must know our business. He crouched down until our eyes were level. “Here’s the only thing you have any right to know: I am not your true father, which means that I will gladly carry out my orders from Lord Endrick.” To the soldier, he added, “You know what to do.”
With my arms still tied in front of me, I was yanked to my feet and shoved out of the tent. The soldier’s grip on my arm was unforgiving and he was walking faster than I could keep up.