Page 3 of Waking Roslyn

“When do you go?”

“Soon. Within a fortnight. King Terius has given me more time than that, but why delay? There is nothing for me here without my wife.” His voice choked off, and I looked over to see tears sliding down Lisette’s cheeks. She had a hand pressed over her mouth, trying to smother her grief.

I couldn’t stand not seeing what was going on anymore, so I moved carefully and parted the drapes just enough that I could see into the room with one eye.

My mother was crumpled on a couch. Both my father and my uncle stood, looking tired and defeated. My father opened and closed his hands, then licked his lips before fixing his eyes on Richard. “Will you take Roslyn with you?”

“No,” my mother protested, bursting to her feet. “We can’t.”

My father put his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. “What choice do we have? Prince Marcos is already ill. The fever wiped out the rest of the royal family. If King Terius and Marcos both succumb, Roslyn is the next in line, and the earls won’t stand for it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

All three adults turned to look at me in surprise.

My hands had parted the drapes without my permission. My mouth had asked the question even though my mind was so shocked that coherent words felt impossible.

“Rose.” My mother’s tears increased. “I’m so sorry.”

“You’re sending me away?” My own voice sounded wooden and hollow as I asked, desperate for them to deny it.

“Come here, Rose.” My mother beckoned, scooting to one side of the couch and patting the seat beside her.

“Come, Lisette,” Uncle Richard said.

I looked back and saw that Lisette had come out of hiding as well. She looked as pale as I felt, but she went to her father. “Let’s let them talk,” he said as he led her from the room.

I went to my mother’s side and leaned into her warmth as she wrapped her arms around me.

“You know how we’ve talked about our position in society?”

“Yes.” Aside from the royal family, my father was the highest-ranking duke.

My mother’s arms tightened around me. “Well, there have been…rumors.”

I frowned, waiting for her to explain.

“With the death of the king’s brothers, your father became the next in line after Prince Marcos.”

“Yes, but he cannot inherit.” I’d always known that. Since marrying a commoner, my father was now prohibited from inheriting the crown.

“Yes, so then the next in line was your Aunt Selina.”

“Right.”

“But now that she is dead, it would fall to you.”

My breath sped up, and my eyes raced from my mother to my father, back and forth, hoping it wasn’t true. “But…if father cannot, then why?” Logically, I knew all the answers; we had discussed the situation before. But that had all been in theory. Facing it as a reality now brought up all the questions I should have thought to ask before.

“I am the one who cannot rule,” my mother said. “Your father inheriting would mean putting a commoner on the throne, and that is unlawful. But you…you are noble enough that you could still legally inherit. Unfortunately, there are some—” She swallowed. “There are some—” Her voice broke off again and she looked to my father.

He pulled over a stool so he could sit right in front of us and caught my gaze. His expression was stoic, but something in it terrified me. “Rose, some believe that it would be better if you weren’t in the line of succession at all.”

My chin pulled back. I didn’t like the sound of that, especially after they’d talked about people wanting to hurt me, and my concern doubled when I looked to my mother and saw her chin quiver.

“Roslyn, there have been threats against you,” my father said.

My face went numb. “What kind of threats?”