The Deceiver's Heart

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  From the moment I awoke, I knew Kestra was gone. I saw it in Gerald’s terse expression as he hastily sent the other attendants in the room away. I heard it in Harlyn’s voice as she described the efforts of the doctors who had stopped the infection in my arm from spreading into my shoulder. And I felt her absence, deep within my heart.

  I knew Kestra was gone. I just didn’t know why, or how long it had been.

  “Which of you is responsible?” I asked.

  After a silent exchange of looks with Gerald, Harlyn began with the easiest part of the conversation.

  “You’ve been unconscious for three days. Your arm is still—”

  “Did Kestra leave by choice, or was she forced away?”

  Harlyn’s eyes darted, and her fingers twitched with discomfort. She barely looked at me to say, “A little of both, I suppose. Once she understood the danger of staying, she willingly left.”

  My glare at Harlyn darkened. “The danger of staying? Who threatened her?”

  Now Gerald answered, “No one threatened her. But surely you have considered who she is—”

  “The Infidante.”

  “Who she is … now that both her adopted parents are dead.”

  I groaned and leaned against the headboard of my bed. “Kestra is the heir to Woodcourt.”

  “And if Lord Endrick is removed?” Gerald prompted.

  “The Scarlet Throne would be hers.”

  “Yes, if the Dallisors are in power. As King of the Halderians, obviously you cannot allow that.”

  “Obviously.” I closed my eyes and tried to keep hold of my temper. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know,” Harlyn whispered.

  I spoke louder. “Where is she?”

  “Harlyn does not know, nor do I,” Gerald said. “Loelle promised to take her somewhere she would not be found. Not by Lord Endrick or the Dominion. Not by us and—”

  “Not by me.” I pressed my lips together and let my fist beat on the mattress beneath me. If anyone but Loelle had arranged this, I might’ve had a chance. But Loelle would hide Kestra with the benefit of magic. For all I knew, she could be right under my nose and I wouldn’t know it.

  Gerald cleared his throat again. “I might add, my king, that you have responsibilities now. The Halderians lost a good many fighters in Reddengrad, but the Dominion sustained heavy losses as well. We must prepare strategies for taking the Scarlet Throne once Endrick is gone.” He hesitated, then added, “If Kestra attempts to take the throne, you must order her removal. Anything else, and the Halderians will consider you—”

  “A traitor.” I was finished with this conversation and snarled, “Get out, both of you.”

  Gerald said, “Do not be angry with Harlyn, nor with me. I warned you not to give your heart to Kestra. Your feelings for her may be sincere and deep, but now they may also be a form of treason.” He put a hand on Harlyn’s shoulder, who looked like she wished she could vanish as completely as Kestra had done. “This girl will be your queen one day, the sooner the better. Open your heart to her now. That’s all I ask.”

  “Ask?” I nearly spat out the word. “I was never asked about any of this!”

  “No, you weren’t. But you were warned.” Gerald sighed with regret, as if this was my fault. “All the heads of households are meeting downstairs in an hour, expecting to welcome their king. We hope you will be a good one, Simon. And you will be … if you can let her go.”

  With a sharpness in her expression I had not expected, Harlyn stood and started to follow him out the door, but turned back and said, “If I had known about her, I wouldn’t have let things get this far. I’m not eager to play the role of future queen when it’s obvious that your heart is already spoken for. But I’ll do it because it’s in the best interest of my people. I am in your best interest, Simon, even if you’re too blind right now to see that.” With that, she stormed out the door.

  Blindness wasn’t the problem. If anything, I saw far too clearly what had happened while I was unconscious.

  Except for what was required of me in my new role as fool king of the Halderians, I remained in my room all day, staring out at the dark clouds as they rolled in, wondering if their rain would become snow by morning and if Kestra was warm and safe, wherever she was. Wondering if she was thinking of me, if she missed me. I couldn’t seem to put two thoughts together without her being in at least one of them.

  Very late that night, a knock came to my balcony door. At first, I mistook it for the pouring rain, but it came again, more urgently this time. My first instinct was to call for the guards, but I quickly reminded myself that an intruder would simply burst in, not knock. And second, that until a few days ago, I had been involved with the rebellion, and a rather competent fighter in its ranks. I shouldn’t need to call for help.

  Still, after pulling a robe around myself, I carried my sword to the door, inched open the curtains, and saw Trina, soaking wet.

  I immediately opened the door and invited Trina in. To calm her shivering, I pulled the top blanket from my bed and wrapped it around her, then sat her in front of the fire in my room.

  Out of basic courtesy, I should have waited until she was warmer before speaking, but I had no patience for it. I asked, “What are you doing here? Is there trouble?”

  “Well, Kestra is involved, if that’s enough of an answer.” Trina frowned over at me. “Is Tenger still here?”

  I shook my head. “I’m told he’s on his way to Highwyn to rescue Basil and to retrieve the Olden Blade for Kestra. Why?”

  She mumbled to herself, “He wasn’t going to harm Kestra. Loelle lied about that.”

  I wasn’t following her reasoning. “Why would Loelle have lied?”

  Another shiver went through Trina, one that probably had nothing to do with the cold. Forgetting the blanket around her, Trina leaned forward and said, “Let’s go back earlier, to the note you accused me of writing to the Halderians about the location of Lonetree Camp.”

  I nodded. “Harlyn told me it came from someone the Coracks trust with their lives.”

  Tilting her head, Trina said, “I think that’s true in the most literal sense.”

  “Loelle?” My expression twisted. “Impossible. She’d never endanger so many people.”

  “Wouldn’t she? I was there when she asked to be the one to take Kestra into hiding. Why her? Loelle is no fighter, no protector.”

  “No, but she understands magic better than anyone on our side.”

  “Which also makes her the best person to understand the purpose of Kestra’s necklace. Remember that she told everyone the priority in rescuing Kestra from the Dominion camp was the necklace, even above Kestra herself. That’s why Wynnow grabbed it during the rescue.”

  My heart pounded harder. “Do you think Loelle knew what removing the necklace would do to Kestra?”

  “I think Loelle could sense the magic in it, something none of the rest of us could. She knew Kestra was an Ironheart, so she must have at least suspected what would happen if it was removed.”

  I understood that, but this didn’t sound like the Loelle I’d ever known. Unless I’d never fully known her.

  Trina leaned into me. “There’s more, Simon, and it’s worse. Kestra told me that on the way to Brill, Loelle stole the necklace back from Wynnow. Why would Loelle have wanted it?”

  I shook my head. “We know it lured Lord Endrick to Brill. But Loelle wouldn’t have planned it that way. After going to so much effort to give magic to Kes, she wouldn’t risk it all by forcing a confrontation with Lord Endrick.”

  Trina had an answer for that too. “I don’t think Loelle intended for Kestra to face Lord Endrick, but I do believe she wanted him to go to Brill. Loelle didn’t like the Brillians and never trusted Wynnow. The Brillians were close to being able to replicate everything Endrick can do, only without magic. I believe that Loelle thought Endrick would see it and destroy Brill for it.”

  “So Wynnow never betrayed Kes?”

  “No,
she absolutely did, but I think her betrayal happened after Lord Endrick came to Brill. He probably threatened to destroy Brill, just as Loelle wanted, and so Wynnow needed to offer him something even better. Wynnow must have offered up Kestra as a trade for a guaranteed peace.”

  “Only Kestra didn’t cooperate. She fought back, maybe even achieved some level of victory over Endrick.”

  Trina added, “And in his anger, he destroyed most of Brill’s capital city, including the royal palace. Including Wynnow.” She touched my arm. “Whether she intended it or not, Loelle is the one who corrupted Kes. And now Kes is with her.”

  A hard lump formed in my throat. “Where are they?”

  “I don’t know. All I can tell you is that when we stopped for a change of drivers, Loelle insisted on driving the carriage herself, claiming only she and Kestra could go the rest of the way. I was dismissed.”

  “We’ve got to find them. If Loelle went that far to get Kestra under her control, then she’s got a much bigger plan in mind.”

  “Agreed.” Now she smiled. “But it’s not all bad news. I also have a special message for you. Kestra wants you to know that she remembers everything now. More importantly—” Trina stopped mid-sentence as she noticed my exposed arm. Her eyes widened with alarm. “The burn!”

  Instinctively, I pulled it toward myself. Except when the physicians had applied creams to the flesh, I’d kept my arm tightly bandaged since the crowning ceremony. I’d forgotten it was unwrapped now. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

  “I think it’s just the other way around.” Trina leaned forward enough to get a closer look at my arm. Most of the skin from my wrist to my elbow remained as red as when it had first been burned, but the heat generated from my flesh made my entire body feel like I was constantly standing too close to a fire. The cauterized line had turned to a dark shade of red and the lump beneath the skin was hardening. Trina tenderly pressed on the lump and I yanked my arm away.

  “Did that hurt?”

  I looked at my arm. “No, it just … I felt something happen when you pressed on it.” It was like a thousand vibrations coursed through me, all of them gathering in my arm.

  Frowning at me, Trina said, “When you fell into that pond, with the cut on your arm, the Rawkyren was in the water too, a cut on its leg. What if its blood got into your blood? Simon, what if that dragon is somehow connected to you now?”

  Almost in answer to her question, a fluttering sound came at the balcony door, ending with a thump on the balcony floor. Trina stood, withdrawing her sword, and I crept to the door, parting the curtains again. I barely breathed at what I saw: the Rawkyren from the forest, slightly larger than a falcon now, and obviously here for a reason.

  It must have cauterized the wound on its own leg, which had a black line similar to the one on my arm. Its silvery scales were like mirrors, reflecting the stormy night, so I might not have seen it except it was looking through the window directly at me, with large piercing eyes. I reached for the door handle.

  “Don’t go out there!” Trina said.

  I opened the door and the Rawkyren flew in, landing on my injured arm, which I’d instinctively raised to hold it. I felt the talons dig into my flesh but with the thick mass beneath the skin, I wasn’t hurt. It was almost as if … as if that were the purpose for the lump.

  Trina stood back as the young dragon stretched its wings and looked around the room, like it had come home.

  “I think you’re right about me being connected to this dragon,” I said, almost to myself. Then to Trina, I added, “If only I still had any connection with Kestra.”

  Trina smiled. “I think you do; I have a message Kestra asked me to deliver.” She looked me directly in the eye, then added, “Simon, she wants me to tell you that she loves you too.”

  Watch for the thrilling third book in the Traitor’s Game series:

  It would be impossible to properly acknowledge everyone who deserves my recognition and gratitude for their amazing work. Certainly, I owe my family infinite thanks for their support, encouragement, and faith in me. I am also blessed by the thoughtfulness and expertise of my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, and by the skill and intelligence of my editor, Lisa Sandell, and I am amazed at what it means to be a member of the Scholastic family. To those at every stage of the process, I see only a fraction of the total work you do, and it is first class.

  Finally, I wish to thank my readers, fans, and cheerleaders. Nothing I do would matter without you. Every time you pick up one of my books, recommend, review, or pass it on to a friend, you are paying me the finest of compliments, and for that, I will always think more fondly of you than you ever could of me.

  JENNIFER A. NIELSEN is the critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestselling first book of the Traitor’s Game series, The Traitor’s Game, as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Ascendance Trilogy: The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne. She also wrote the New York Times bestselling Mark of the Thief trilogy: Mark of the Thief, Rise of the Wolf, and Wrath of the Storm; the standalone fantasy The Scourge; the historical novels Resistance and A Night Divided; Book Two in the Horizon series, Deadzone; and Book Six of the Infinity Ring series, Behind Enemy Lines.

  Jennifer collects old books, loves good theater, and thinks that a quiet afternoon in the mountains makes for a nearly perfect moment. She lives in northern Utah with her husband, their three children, and a perpetually muddy dog. You can visit her at jennielsen.com.

  Also by

  JENNIFER A. NIELSEN

  THE TRAITOR’S GAME SERIES

  The Traitor’s Game

  The Deceiver’s Heart

  THE ASCENDANCE TRILOGY

  The False Prince

  The Runaway King

  The Shadow Throne

  MARK OF THE THIEF TRILOGY

  Mark of the Thief

  Rise of the Wolf

  Wrath of the Storm

  A Night Divided

  Resistance

  The Scourge

  Deadzone, Book Two in the Horizon series

  Behind Enemy Lines, Book Six in the Infinity Ring Series

  Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, March 2019

  Cover art © 2019 by Billelis

  Cover design by Christopher Stengel

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-04543-7

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

 

 

 
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