Chapter 15
Damon had his people searching all over the Raventon for two weeks straight.
Finally, they found the girl with the jade pendant in a dilapidated chapel on the outskirts of the city. She was dressed in rags, gently feeding medicine to a frail woman lying on a bed of straw.
I recognized her instantly.
It had been nearly three years, but that was my sister-in-law.
She’d clearly suffered through hardship-homeless, sick, barely hanging on. The girl caring for her had apparently been repaying a long-ago act of kindness.
Damon said there was a renowned doctor back in Riverstone who might be able to save her. We needed to get her there
immediately.
Before we left the Raventon, Damon made a visit to the Royal Palace.
When he returned, he handed me a formal document-a royal pardon, clearing my sister-in-law’s record and erasing her
past as a war prostitute.
“Once she recovers,” he said, “she’ll be free to stay in Riverstone with you, openly and without shame.”
I held the decree in my hands, my throat tight, eyes stinging.
“It couldn’t have been easy to get this,” I murmured.
Damon looked a little embarrassed.
“The Clark family… well, we don’t lack much-except maybe discretion. The royal treasury is running low after the war, and
we just happened to have some money lying around.”
He paused, then added,
“And there’s a rare medicinal compound in Riverstone that could help with the Crown Prince’s condition. I agreed to send
a supply regularly.”
Such a steep price.
Seeing my expression, Damon quickly said, “But it wasn’t only for your sister-in-law.”
His voice turned low and serious.
“The Crown Prince is compassionate and wise-he’s the future this country needs. But if anything happens to him, power will fall to Alexandra. And you know what she’s like. Impulsive. Vindictive. If she ever took control, the people would
suffer.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I nodded and threw myself into making preparations to bring my sister-in-law home.
What I didn’t know was that the moment I left, Damon finally let out a long breath of relief. His closest aide, watching him, muttered under his breath: “You’re really something, sir. Acting like it’s all about national duty. But we both know what this is-Mrs. Clark’s sister-in-law stays in Riverstone, and that gives her another reason not to leave. You cure the Crown Prince, Alexandra loses her chance at power, and that charming consort of hers won’t get in your way again. And here you are, sounding all noble.”
Damon smacked him lightly on the back of the head.
“If Isla ever hears you say that, you’ll be out in the fields growing potatoes by tomorrow.”
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