Free Heir in Exile by Danielle Bourdon

and I know you won't do that,” Sander said. A vein stood out in his forehead.
    “I won't have to. Come back tomorrow. I believe Helina may have something that will prove to you once and for all that you are Siona's son. If her confession is not enough, which it should be, then I think there is one other way.” Aksel stared toward the windows, mouth quirked into a pensive curve.
    “What way is that?” Sander asked.
    “Tomorrow.”
    “ Now. ”
    Aksel just smiled and lifted the tumbler for another sip. He hissed on the exhale.
    “You have tried to stall this meeting since I got here. Now you want me to come back tomorrow. Why?” Sander said with a sudden frown.
    “As I said. I am feeling ill today.” Aksel didn't meet Sander's eyes. Didn't glance away from the window.
    “Lies.” Sander turned on a heel and stalked out the door.
    He didn't look back.

Chapter Seven
     
     
     
    Chey waited until the gloom inside the cabin grew too dark to see before she risked turning a light on. The remains of a bowl of soup sat on the counter along with an empty bottle of water, proof she had at least attempted to eat something for dinner. Washing the bowl, the small pot and the spoon, she set the dishes to drain, dried her hands, and fished out another bottle of water from the fridge.
    She wondered where Mattias and Sander were. She knew both men would be back here at some point this evening, and that they planned to take every precaution to throw any followers off their tail. Chey trusted them both not to lead anyone back here.
    Just as she approached a bookcase along one wall, she heard the door knob rattle. Crossing back to the kitchen, she slid the gun off the table and thumbed off the safety. Facing the door, she watched it swing open, mentally preparing herself to shoot-to-maim should someone enter who was not Mattias or Sander.
    Mattias came first, followed by Sander. “It's us,” Mattias said when he saw her standing ready.
    “I was beginning to think you wouldn't show tonight,” Chey admitted. She put the safety on and set the gun on the table. Right away she knew something was wrong. Sander's expression was a hard mask, lips pressed tight, a muscle flexing in his jaw.
    Mattias closed the door behind his brother and followed Sander into the living area. “We took special care to make sure no one followed us here. One of my meetings ran over as well.”
    “What's wrong?” Chey said after Mattias finished explaining.
    Mattias perched on the arm of a sofa while Sander paced, hands on his hips, glaring at the floor.
    “I got here just as he did,” Mattias said. “What happened, brother?”
    “You were right. He's got something else up his sleeve. If he's telling the truth, then he has put me in a position I cannot wrap my mind around.” Sander spat a curse and thrust a hand through his hair.
    “Is it as bad as all that?” Mattias asked, frowning.
    Chey stood near Mattias, arms crossed over her chest. She regarded Sander with growing concern. She'd never seen him so agitated. A vein pulsed in his forehead, and every so often, he exhaled a sharp breath as if he was struggling to calm himself.
    “It's worse,” Sander said. He scratched the short edge of his nails along a subtle layer of whiskers starting to fill in along his jaw. “He is attempting to get me to exile myself on the grounds that I am not rightful heir to the throne. Helina, if he is to be believed, is not my mother.”
    “ What?” Mattias shoved up out of his casual lean.
    “Sander, why would he say such a thing?” Chey frowned, not understanding what was going on.
    Sander looked at Chey, then met Mattias's eyes. “I too have secrets. When I was around thirteen years of age, I caught father in what I thought was a tryst with a maid. The back end of a tryst, I should say, because when I actually discovered them he had just murdered her.”
    Mattias burst into their mother tongue, pacing away from the couch closer to Sander. He switched to