Lies in Blood by A. M. Hudson Page A

to meet with him.”
    “ But your people,” he gasped dramatically, like a shocked old woman, rising to his feet, “they won’t like it.”
    “ Well, it’s my decision. I may be young, but I’m not stupid.”
    “ I think they’ll fight you on this.”
    “ Then I’ll damn well overrule them,” I said, stomping my foot. “Ouch!” I swiped Blade's hand off my arm, cupping my sore skin. “You pinched me!”
    “ You stomped your foot. Try again.”
    I walked cautiously away from him and stood across the room, looking out the window. “A meeting with Drake, in person, to talk—sift through the lies and webs in this whole prophecy—is what’s best for my people. War leads to death. And secrecy—” I turned around to look at Blade. “It begets secrecy. I need to flush this out.”
    “ Okay. So, now you believe that for yourself, what will you do?”
    “ Tell them that’s the plan.”
    “ Tell whom?”
    “ My people, my council, my House. And they will go along with it, because anyone who opposes will be asked to step down.”
    Blade appeared beside me, the dark shadows shaping his smile. “That’s my girl. And when they oppose you—which they will—what will be your immediate reaction?”
    I pictured myself in front of the House, standing at the head of the boardroom table, calm, taking slow breaths, staying silent until they all finished arguing around me. “I’ll whisper,” I said, “to get their attention. I’ll tell them this is the plan. Tell them, including David, that I overrule them.”
    “ Just tell them?” he prompted. “No yelling?”
    “ I think quiet repetition should suffice.” The corners of my lips pulled outward, making me smile.
    “ And…how do you know this is the right course of action? How do you know I’m not leading you into some trap, bending you to my will?”
    “ Because I trust you.”
    “ You trust Arthur. You trust Morgaine. You trust—”
    “ Point taken. But…” I exhaled softly, touching my chest. “Blade, I’m following my own heart. Often, when people tell me something or ask me to do something, I do it because I’m trying to be the queen I’m supposed to be, even if it feels wrong. But I don’t care about that anymore. I care about doing what’s best for everyone—for my people and my family, myself last. What they think of me doesn’t really matter anymore. So, if I do what I always think is right, then I’m choosing who to trust, not just walking blindly, guided by every voice of reason I hear.”
    He clapped his hands once, then again, and again, getting faster and faster until it was a full-blown applause. I took a soft bow.
    “ See?” he said. “I don’t really need to teach you anything about being queen, Ara. I just need to shine some light on what you already know.” He touched my shoulder. “You’re a good person. You may take longer than everyone else to figure out how to rule your own roost, but I’d take a good soul as queen any day over a judicial prick.”
    “ Thank you, Blade.” I hugged him, wondering if that comment was a stab at David. “I think I just…it helps having someone believe in me, you know?”
    “ We all want to believe in you, Ara. Some of us are just afraid.”
    “ Why?” I sat down on the chair.
    “ It’s like falling in love.” He leaned his butt on the table beside me again, taking the marker out of his back pocket. “We need this—this queen, the safety, the protection, so bad that we’re scared, if we hope, it’ll all fall apart.”
    Those words rung true deep within me. “I know how that feels almost better than anyone.”
    “ I know. And that’s why I know that, even if this not-yet-conceived child does turn out to be the devil, and that’s why Drake wants her dead, you’d kill her in a heartbeat—” He held up a finger. “After checking your facts, first.”
    I nodded, smiling. “Yes. Fact checking. My new instant reaction.”
    “ Right. And calm breath, too. When