A Kiss of Venom (An Araneae Nation Novella) (10 page)

“Something like that,” she agreed. “Living the way he was, I
had accepted that one day a female might bring us a child of his. Maisy’s age would have put your liaison with Armand around the time he lost you, the time when he was lashing out hardest.”

The thought curdled my gut.
“What changed your mind?”

“
A female who wanted back into Armand’s life and access to his fortune wouldn’t have played as hard to get as you did. Besides the fact Maisy is such a sweet girl, and so transparent. She had no idea who he was or what you were doing here. If you had truly wanted to use her as leverage, you would have trained her about what to say and do to get into his good graces or to earn his pity.” She lifted her hand as I opened my mouth. “Don’t give me that look. It happens more often than you would imagine. The fact I would never turn a child of our line away makes me soft-hearted, not soft-headed.”

“I’ll grant you that.” I knew that was true. Where there was wealth, there were those who coveted it.

“Then you’ll also allow that it made good sense for me to suspect you were one of his females.”
She exhaled softly. “But only one had ever made him lose all his sense, and that was Astrid—you.”

I wasn’t sure if she meant that as a compliment or not, but I took it as one
. “I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances.”

She folded her arms. “Circumstances are of our own making.”

“Yes, they are.” I mirrored her pose. “We all make choices for survival we may come to regret.”

One blonde eyebrow rose. “Do you regret what you’ve done?”

“Do I regret protecting my daughter?” I shook my head. “No. I don’t.”

Her lips quirked. “Do you understand the ramifications of what Armand wants for Maisy?”

It was hard to say it. “To name her his heir.”

“How do you feel about that?” she asked, as though my turning green hadn’t made it obvious.

“There is no love lost between your family and me. I worry that stigma would wash onto Maisy over time.” My chest tightened. “I worry for such a young girl to be given such great responsibility.”

Lourdes smiled then. “I think I managed well enough.”

I wanted to agree with her, but it wasn’t the same. “You were trained from birth to rule.”

She inclined her head, conceding the point. “She was trained from birth to survive.”

Fierce pride expanded my chest. “She’s so much braver than she ever should have had to be.”

“Trials we endure as children are what forge us as adults.” She approached me, putting her hand on my arm. “Before we break down to the matter of my niece’s station, we must first discuss yours.”

I blinked at her. “I came for your sister.”

“That is an admission of treason,” Rhys rumbled behind her.

“For it to be treason, I would have to belong to your clan.” I scoffed. “And I don’t.”

“You were born here. You grew up here. Your child is of this family,” he persisted.

“You’re right. So when I say that I was exiled as little more than a child from the only home I’d ever known, by your wife’s loving family, I’m sure you understand why I don’t hold them as high in my esteem as you seem to.” Blood rushed in my ears. “Maisy’s is the life I most cherish. Not theirs.”

Lourdes
’s hand slid to my elbow. “Not even Armand’s?”

“The girl who loved him died.” I shrugged her off me. “I’m not the same person I was then.”

“I know.” Her voice gentled. “That girl was treated cruelly, though it was by necessity. I played a part in your exile. I can’t undo the choices I made, and I wouldn’t if I could. You were right when you said I was born to rule.” Her gaze sought out Rhys’s. “Until recently, that was all I knew.”

The stark love for her in his eyes made me wish I had never followed her line of sight.
It hurt to see that kind of love, to remember how it felt, that it existed, that I no longer had it.

Focusing at the wall behind their heads, I steadied my nerves. “What will you do to me?”

“If she had any sense,” Rhys muttered, “she would have you executed along with the others.”

“Others?” I stilled. “You caught them?”

“You sound surprised.” Rhys bared his teeth. “Why is that?”

“Armand
told me he spoke with one of the males,” I said, “but that he implicated me.”

“He did.” Rhys’s fangs distended. “When Armand brought him to Lourdes to hear his concerns, the bastard tried to dart her with gods only knows what.” With no small amount of satisfaction in his voice, Rhys
informed me, “I persuaded him to confess. He and his partner are in the west end awaiting trial.”

I frowned. “But you said I should be executed—”

“No one makes an attempt on Lourdes’s life and lives.” He cut me short. “No one.”

I clamped my mouth shut and eased one quiet step back.

“Stop trying to intimidate her.” Lourdes gave him a stern look. “Either behave or wait outside.”

“This is me behaving
,” he snarled. “I won’t leave you alone with an assassin, even a poor one.”

Lourdes turned her back on him so she could fully face me. “We decided—”

He scowled at me as if the cold shoulder she had given him was my fault. “She decided—”

“—that in light of the
ir full confession, you will be released into a council member’s custody until further notice.” When I gaped at her, Lourdes gave me a sympathetic pat. “Colleen sent assassins for me. You, she sent on a wild-goose chase.” Her lips compressed. “This is confirmation she knows my sister is no longer in Erania. Given your history with Armand, she no doubt hoped you would create a scandal, giving the real assassins time to complete their mission and escape with no one the wiser.”

I shook my head to clear it. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” Lourdes chuckled. “I didn’t say
which
council member is your guardian.”

I groaned his name
. “Armand.”

Her amusement waned. “He’s sworn his life for yours.” At my gasp, she added, “It was the only reason the council permitted you to remain here. You must swear fealty to me, and if you break your vow, you will both pay for the offense with your lives and Maisy will grow up without her parents.”

My heart beat faster. “He had no right to do that.”

“He disagrees.”

“He was foolish.”

“Be that as it may, what’s done is done.” She strode to Rhys’s side. “We really should be going. You have another visitor who’s anxious to see you. Just…keep in mind if the Araneidae are to claim Maisy, we need to act quickly to ensure she’s well-protected before news of her new relation leaks.”

“After I’ve spoken with her, I’ll let you know.”

Lourdes nodded, frowning when she noticed her husband’s preoccupation with me.

Rhys shot her a grin meant to reassure, then strolled over, fitting his wide palm across my throat, and squeezed just hard enough my breath caught. “Second chances are rare. Thirds don’t exist.”

“Rhys
.” Lourdes sighed his name.

“I understand,” I choked out, fighting the urge to tear at his fingers.

“Good.” He released me. “I would regret killing you, eventually. I like your daughter.”

After they left, I stood rubbing my
neck, debating whether Rhys liking Maisy was a good thing.

Chapter Six

After waiting what felt like hours, I decided Maisy was too furious or too hurt or both to see me. I wrapped my arms around myself to keep from shattering. Everything I had done since I left Erania had been to protect her. I never told her who her father was, and she never asked me. Not even once.

I had warred with myself all her life.
To tell her, not tell her, to tell her, not…

Somewhere along the way, I decided I would give her his name when she came of age, when her skin was thicker, when his rejection wouldn’t sting as much, when she had
the strength to endure what it required for my claim to be proven. Yet she had endured all that, all alone, while I was stuck in here.

When a small hand pressed into my back, I
jumped.

“Momma?” an equally small voice asked.

I turned slowly, taking my cues from her. “Hi, baby.”

Fat tears filled her eyes
, and she held her arms up to me as she had done when she was younger.

“I wanted to see you. Armand said I couldn’t. He said you were in a lot of trouble, so I told him it was my fault too.” She sobbed. “He
wouldn’t believe me, but it is. You were just protecting me.”

Swinging her up in my arms, I smiled into her hair. “None of this is your fault. Not a drop of it.”
With a grunt, I hitched her up higher so I could put my back to the wall and slide us to the floor. With her at eye level, I grasped her hands in mine and inhaled. “How much has Armand told you?”

“I heard him talking to Lourdes.” Her
timid smile sent my heart tumbling. “Is it true?”

My head bobbed. It was the best answer I could manage with my throat so tight.

She glanced up at me through thick lashes. “Does that mean we’re going to stay here?”

I gave her hands a squeeze. “Do you want to?”

“It’s nice here. Lourdes and Armand are kind.” She bit her lip. “I like Rhys.”

I must have made a face, because she laughed.

“He calls me Little Princess Lost.” Her cheeks glowed.

I couldn’t help myself. I pinched one. “He does?”

She picked at the hem of my shirt. “Do you want to stay here?”

Thinking back on what Lourdes had said, I told her the truth. “I may not have much choice.”

Brightening, Maisy leaned close. “We have our own rooms. Each of us. They’re connected by a door, just like at home. We don’t have much now, but Armand said we could fill them with whatever we want. If we stay, I mean. We don’t have to. We could go home when they let you. If you want.”

For
two weeks I had been unconscious, recovering from a lethal dose of Theridiidae venom. It was apparent that during that time Armand and family had wheedled their way into her good graces.

“Do you understand what it means if we stay here? If we tell other people that Armand is—that he’s your father? He will expect you to learn what it means to be his heir. Is that what you want?”

It was hard watching a serious expression dampen her enthusiasm. It was a familiar puckering of her lips when a melody was wrong or when a slip of her tiny fingers on her harpsichord’s keys made a sour note. This was how she looked weighing matters beyond my grasp, and that’s how it felt now.

Though I knew what was at stake, the risks were
all hers to take.

“I don’t want to go back to the way things were.” Maisy straightened her shoulders. “I want you to promise me, and I want you to mean it. I want your vow that you won’t take any more jobs, ever.”

Taken back, I stammered, “I—I give you my word. No more jobs. Well, not those kinds of jobs. If we stay here, I’ll have to find a way to support us. I’m sure your friend Rhys could help with that.”

Scrunching her face, she shook her head. “You should do something that makes you happy. Like music makes me happy.” Her lips parted. “Oh. You could train more falco, like Tiah. When I visited the stable master yesterday, he said he would give his eyeteeth for a bird as clever as she is. When he cleaned her roost, he found five rodents, two gold chains and a gold locket with a piece of hair in it.”

“Impressive.” Tiah did love shiny things. She would have made a fine pickpocket for another master.

“I visited her every day you were sick.” Maisy leaned in for a hug. “She misses you, though.”

“How about we go visit her?” I dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I could use the exercise.”

She scrambled off my lap. “Will you talk to Master Giles about a position?”

“I will consider it.” Employment was the least of my concerns until I spoke with Armand.

Then, well, I had no idea what tomorrow would bring, let alone how I could afford the amenities Maisy had mentioned. Leasing two rooms in the Araneidae nest would
cost more than I would have earned in a lifetime.

Perhaps I ought to ask this Master Giles if his falco needed a handler after all.

“Oh,” she added with a grin. “I finished Lourdes’s song. Rhys helped me with the melody.”

“He did
?” Eager to stretch my legs after my long confinement, I stood. Maisy grabbed my hand and tugged me stumbling into the stables, convinced she had discovered my calling, eager for me to meet Giles.

When she was younger, I explained away my lack of talent by saying the gods had given her my portion. It was that difficult for her to understand why nothing consumed my life the way her studies did hers. As she wizened with age, she decided every person was born with a great talent, and it was our task to unravel our mysterious gifts. On the cusp of unraveling me, nothing would stop her now.

Raking fingers through my hair, I tamed the worst snarls, but my curls felt matted as a bird nest.

Ah well. If I was going to be interviewed as a falconer, I
would at least look the part.

Bubbles tickled my nose as they burst. I
sank deeper into the tub, swiping a hand through the steam curling in the air. I studied my fingertips—wrinkled—then wiggled my toes—also wrinkled—and sank until hot water closed over my head. When I ran out of breath, I pushed upright.

I groped blindly in the direction of my towel, only to have it drop neatly into my hand.

“You should have knocked,” I admonished, without opening my eyes.

“I did.”

“I didn’t hear you.”

“It must have been all that water in your ears. Is Maisy asleep?”

“I put her to bed hours ago. Her bed. Her room. You would think she’d never had her own room the way she acted.” After blotting my face, I cringed to find him at my elbow. “Enjoying the view?”

He flicked soap from my shoulder. “I would be if there weren’t so many bubbles.”

White froth covered the water’s surface with glossy bubbles. I was tempted to stay put, but they would all burst eventually and expose me. “Would you mind turning your back while I get dressed?”

“If you insist…” He waited expectantly.

I shooed him. “I do.”

He inspected the gown I had hung on the back of the door. “How was your talk with Maisy?”

“Enlightening.”

“Care to shine the details my way?” His shoulder twitched, but he caught himself.

“She wants to stay.” I stood and toweled dry. “She wants to be your heir.” I wrung water from my hair. “Though I didn’t mention it to Lourdes, Maisy also wants to marry Rhys when she’s older.”

His shook his head. “I will never understand the appeal.”

I smirked. “You would have to be female to understand.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” he asked quietly.

I reached over his shoulder and snatched my gown. “I’m not blind. He’s handsome, and he has a certain roguish charm.” After pulling the lace over my head, I fastened the buttons. “He’s also terrifying.”

“Did she…” he cleared his throat, “…did she mention me?”

I stopped with a comb tangled in my hair to stare at him. “You’re jealous.”

“Of Rhys?” He stiffened. “I don’t think so.”

I couldn’t resist twisting my thumb in his side. “You think she favors him over you.”

Armand rubbed the base of his neck. “She does want to marry him.”

“Well, she can’t very well marry you.” I laughed. “You are her father.”

“Yes.” His voice softened. “I am.”

I gave a mighty yank of my comb that made my eyes water. “You can turn around now.” I spun a strand of silk from my finger, holding it between my teeth while braiding my hair, then tied the end.

He flipped the ruffled collar. “I like it.”

“You should.” I picked at the fabric. “You chose it.”

“Your belongings were confiscated.” He feigned hurt. “I was trying to be a gracious host.”

I ran my fingers along the hem, which barely covered my bottom. “Gracious, huh?”

His gaze followed the motion. “I had to guess your size.”

“It’s unfortunate you didn’t have, say, a trunk full of my clothes to base your measurements upon.”

“The trunk was evidence.” He stepped from the bathroom. “I couldn’t very well tamper with it.”

Rolling my eyes, I trailed him. “Despite your questionable taste in gowns, I do appreciate this. I might even have a means of paying you back, but you’ll have to let me know what the lease costs.”

He sank into a chair and crossed his legs. “These are Maisy’s rooms. Every heir is given a suite. These rooms are hers. She will also be receiving an allowance you will be in charge of administering until she comes of age.” He drummed his fingers on his ankles. “You’re her tenant. Any arrangement you make is between the two of you. Though I am interested
in how you planned to compensate me.”

I folded my arms over my chest when his steady gaze pebbled my nipples.

“Maisy has decided I’m a falconer. She had me speak with Master Giles about a position earlier. I believe he will first discuss the matter with the maven given my lack of credentials and the fact my sole character reference came from a nine-year-old, but he was impressed with how I trained Tiah.”

If I obtained the position, I knew just who to hire on as my apprentice—the hen
-and-eggs girl, Holly. Who better to help me than a girl familiar with the care and keeping of fowl?

A smile
tempted his lips. “I’m glad you’re settling in to the idea of staying here.”

I shrugged. “Where Maisy is, I will be. I might as well make myself useful.”

He leaned forward. “You don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”

“How would I live?” I laughed until I realized he was serious. “No. You aren’t supporting me.”

“I had to offer.”

“I ceased to be your responsibility a long time ago.” I made a circuit of the room until I located
a pitcher of water and poured a drink. “I can take care of myself and Maisy without your help.”

“What if
I want to take care of you, both of you?”

I set down my cup before it slid through my fingers. “It’s too late to make an offer like that.”

He pushed from his chair. “Are you saying there’s no hope for us?”

“There is no
us
. We had our chance. It’s over.” The best I could offer was, “We can be friends.”

He stalked me across the room. “That’s not enough.”

I stumbled, trying to escape him. “Who are you to say it’s not enough?”

He lunged, almost grasping my wrist. “You still desire me.”

“What’s your point?” I picked up my pace, counter-circling him, easing toward the door.

“You wouldn’t have given yourself to me if you didn’t have some feelings left for me.”

“You didn’t know who I was then,” I reminded him. “There were no strings attached.”

His strides grew longer. “Then why do I feel caught?” He beat me to the door, twisting an old-fashioned key in the lock and pocketing it.

I jabbed a finger at the door. “Unlock that.”

He patted his pant
s leg, making it jingle. “Not until you hear me out.”

A low growl rose in my throat. “Start talking.”

He stood taller. “I want to marry you.”

I backed into the nearest wall. “You aren’t serious.”

“I lost you once.” He advanced on me. “I’m not going to lose you again.”

Forget him, I was insane for not screaming for the guards. “I don’t know you.”

He clicked his tongue. “You know me better than anyone ever has.”

Palms sweating, I felt my way past him. “I
knew
you better—and that was a long time ago.”

“We’ll have a lifetime to fill in a decade.” He rolled his shoulders. “How hard can that be?”

Familiar anger spiked. “It might have been easy for you, but it wasn’t for me. I can’t forgive and forget just because you’re asking me to. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t pretend everything is fine.”