His Queenās apprehension at the task he had asked of her came as no new surprise to Ori, if someone had asked him to spy his own siblings he would have opposed with great ferocity. Although, his darling wife was not one to let such an emotion cloud her judgment, she was a level headed, warm hearted individual, they were traits which had drew Orion to the beautiful Stanford girl in the first place. Amalie had an innocence and human kindness that was seldom found in the North, she was a Queen who truly cared for her subjects, she had their interest at heart, she was a rare gem and Orion knew he was lucky to have a wife such as her. Although his people loved her, a shadow had formed over her head, if it wasnāt bad enough that she was in fact a southern woman, when Harriet had married Charles Rayleigh, the Queen had been called every slanderous name under the sun after that marriage, ātraitorā being the dominant utterance, falling off people sly lips. Orion made a point of damning the accusations and imprisoning the influencers, he loved his wife enough as not let her become subject to slanderous gossip. Although it did pose the question of loyalty and although Orion never expressed the topic of this to his council, it was a subject which weighed heavily on his heart. The Queen was undoubtedly in a difficult situation and as much as he wanted to believe that she would remain solely loyal to him, a question posed, would she be able to relinquish all ties to her sister so easily?
Orion watched as his words sank in, the severity of what he was asking sinking into his wifeās beautiful features, he felt utterly shameful for asking to carry out such a task, but he needed everything he could get on the Rayleighās, by any means possible. āOri, Iā¦I canāt. Sheās my sisterā¦ Iā¦ I canāt betray her like this. Isnāt there any other way you canā¦?ā Orion winced at her expression, a slight sting of rejection welling in his chest āPlease, donāt ask me to do this, darlingā
A heavy sigh escaped the Kings lips as he ran a hand down his tired face, was their another way? He doubted it, he didnāt think his wife would forgive if he subjected her sister to an interrogation by his men, not with some of the methods they used and he doubted she would open up to a stranger, a spy placed in her household. He simply shook his head offering her a small smile of sympathy āI am sorry my love, but I see no other way without hurting you more.ā
āSweetheart, if you do this for me, I will swear to you Harrietās protection when I defeat these rebels. She will have a good life, I will even set her up in a marriage with my own brother, I swear to you she will not become a victim to her husbands crimes.ā Orion inwardly cringed as his retorting to blackmailing his own wife, he felt so small at that point, yet it was the only way he could make her see sense, promising her sisters safety was something he could rely on to change his wifeās mind.