“And her two sons are wardens, aren’t they?” he said. “She will have Phelan and Lennox break the dream and she will claim the right to rule.”

I was quiet for a moment. And then I said, “Do you want to see her reign?”

“I have already told you that I think our court has had its moment.”

“Then would you support Olivette Wolfe? Or Nura Sparrow?”

He chuckled. “Olivette has made it quite clear she wants nothing to do with the mountains. She is Bardyllis, through and through. As for her partner . . . I fear I do not know much about her to say if I would support her claim or not.”

He wasn’t wrong. I sensed Olivette was uncomfortable here. She longed to return to Endellion. I sensed Nura did, too. And it didn’t feel right to put such weight and responsibility on them now, not when Olivette was still reeling from her father’s secrets and had been wounded by a nightmare. Not when both girls had outright said I don’t want it.

“You dislike Lennox?” the duke asked.

I did my best to keep my face neutral. “He’s not who I envision for the mountains.”

“But Phelan is.”

“Yes.”

The duke sighed. “As I said, Miss Neven, he is—”

“For Bardyllis,” I finished the phrase. “And Bardyllis is a well-established province. Anyone could be polished and trained to be sovereign over it, to inherit the land from you. But that is not so when it comes to Seren. Its people have been scattered for a hundred years. Its fortress has been abandoned. Its court broken and cursed.” I paused, hoping my words were finding their mark with the duke. The master of coin. “I don’t know how long you’ve been disguised, Lord Deryn. I don’t even know your true name, and I won’t ask for it. But I want you to consider releasing Phelan from Bardyllis and supporting his claim for Seren. You say he is your heir, and yet your blood is of the mountains, not of the meadows and the coast. This fortress was your first home, Your Grace. Remember where you have come from.”

He was pensive, listening. I wondered how easy he would be to sway, if he would remain faithful to the bargain he had agreed to with my father, or if he would shift course. I knew my wisest action was to let him simmer on what I had said.

I rose from the table.

“Take the remainder of the day to mull it over,” I said. “But if you do decide to join me in supporting Phelan’s claim, come to the hall at sunset and raise your glass to me.”

“I shall consider it, Miss Neven,” he said with a nod. “Now, then. Who sent you to poison me?”