Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

of them. Then there was you, sir Regent. But everyone said you were honest, and you made no attempt to seize power for yourself when you could have. That leaves only one other person who wanted the King dead, and had the means and opportunity.
    You, Gabrielle.'
    They all looked at Jordan as though he was mad. Gabrielle held her head high, and stood a little closer to her husband.
    'Of all the people I've spoken to,' said Jordan evenly, 'you were our family's most outspoken critic. You hated Lewis and Dominic, despised me as weak, and abhorred our father's preoccupation with war.
    Over and over again I heard you say that our line was corrupt, that none of us was fit to hold the throne.
    It was an obsession with you, Gabby. You believed that Redhart needed an honest man as King if it was to survive. And who do we all know that everyone agrees is honest beyond question? Your husband, Count William. I don't think for a minute that he knew anything about this. If he'd even suspected you meant to murder your father, he'd have stopped you. So you didn't tell him. You waited until you and Dad were alone together, and then you killed him. With him gone, William would become Regent, and after you'd had time to work on him, eventually he would have taken the throne by popular acclaim. If the will hadn't gone missing, and with it the clue to the crown and seal, your plan might have worked. William would have been King, and you would have been Queen. All for the best of reasons, of course.'
    'Tell him he's a liar, Gabrielle,' said William. 'Tell him.'
    'How could I have killed Dad?' Gabrielle asked Jordan calmly. 'There wasn't a mark on him, or a trace of poison in his body.'
    'You used your magic,' said Jordan. 'Your air magic. You use it so rarely people tend to forget you have air magic by your Blood. You used it to suck the breath out of his lungs. Just like I saw you use it against the Unreal birds at Court.'
    'All right,' said Gabrielle. 'You worked it out. What are you going to do about it?'
    William looked at her, and all the colour went out of his face. 'What are you saying, Gabrielle?'
    'There's no need for you to be involved in this, dear. I killed father. It was all my idea, and no one else's.
    Redhart needed a strong King.'
    'And you as Queen,' said Jordan.
    'Of course,' said Gabrielle. 'But what are you going to do, Viktor? If you put me on trial, it would be a major scandal. It could even lead to civil war, and you can't afford that. Not when your own grasp on the throne is still so precarious.'
    'He was my friend,' said William. 'Malcolm was my friend. How could you do it, Gabrielle?'
    'My father never had a friend in his life,' said Gabrielle. 'He was pleasant enough to you because he needed your counsel. But if he'd ever found out that you and I were cousins, he'd have annulled our marriage without a second thought.'
    'So that's why,' said William softly.
    'Well, Viktor,' said Gabrielle, 'what are you going to do?'
    'I can't let you stand trial,' said Jordan. 'You're right about that. And I can't banish you, either. You wouldn't go without your husband, and I need him. I could have you killed, but William would never forgive me. So, you'll remain here in the Castle, in your quarters, under unofficial house arrest. William will be your guard. For the rest of your life you will never leave your quarters, or talk with anyone other than your husband. Break my rules, and I will have no choice but to have you killed.'
    'No need for threats, Viktor,' said Gabrielle. 'I accept your conditions. It's more than I expected. You might turn out to be a worthy King after all.'
    She turned away and headed unhurriedly for the doors. William looked at Jordan. He nodded, and William bowed quickly and went after his wife. They left the Court together.
    Jordan let out his breath in a long sigh of relief. Then he yawned widely, and stretched till his arms ached.
    He slumped back in his throne again, and stared round the empty Hall. It seemed very large and echoing with everybody gone. He'd never really thought about what he was going to do once he got this far. He hadn't had a chance. Everything had happened so quickly. One day he was just another travelling player, wondering where his next meal was coming from, and then suddenly he was part of a conspiracy to impersonate a Prince of the Realm. And not very long after that, he was playing the part for real.
    He didn't regret killing Viktor. The alternative would have put too many