“What do you think?”
“Blayne, I’m—”
“It’s a bit late for an apology.”
A reticent sigh. “We still have three days. I’ll figure out a way, there must be something we haven’t thought of—”
“We offered them everything. Everything! Didn’t you hear the advisors? The only thing we haven’t proposed is the country itself.” A harsh laugh. “Would you prefer Jerar go under Pythian rule, dear brother? We can’t match the wealth of Caltoth, the only thing left is a crown.”
Something hit the wall with a shatter. “They are supposed to honor the Great Compromise. Why won’t they honor it?”
Darren’s voice: “Caltoth has been attacking our border for years! They can’t claim the incident in Ferren’s Keep a territory dispute—”
“King Joren will never choose honor when faced with his own country’s gain.” Blayne’s tone was full of contempt. “Why should one carry out a century’s old pledge when he can further his own?”
“It isn’t right. We have supported the Pythians for years—”
“Loyalty is never built upon honor, brother. It is built upon blood.”
I stepped away from the wall and asked Gemma to tell the king I was feeling a bit faint. I could not join them for dinner. It had been a mistake to listen in on Darren and his brother. The princes hadn’t said anything I hadn’t already assumed, but somehow hearing the words spoken aloud made it worse.
I could not sit across from that merciless duke and force a smile to my lips. Not tonight.
I had Sofia help me back out of my dress and then pulled on a fresh pair of breeches, yanking my long-sleeved wool tunic up over my head.
“My lady? You’re training, again?” My lady-in-waiting blinked at me in confusion. “Aren’t you exhausted?”
“I am.” I grabbed my scabbard and swung open the door. “If Darren asks, tell him I am outside the soldiers barracks. But tell him I want to be alone.”
****
Paige found me an hour later drilling myself in the soldier’s arena to the east of the palace wall. I was fighting the flurry of cold with my blade, cutting a swathe through falling snow and pretending it was the Pythians instead. My breath came out staggered and hot, but I kept swinging and swinging until she finally dragged me away.
My guard pried the blade right out of my hands and tossed it to the frozen ground, handing me her flask. I took a long swig while she waited. And then another. I drank the entire container without even emitting a gasp as the searing contents tore a hole through my chest. Blood started to move and my fingers burned as they tingled, the warmth slowly working itself back to my limbs.
Paige studied my hands. “You should have worn gloves, my lady.”
“Did Darren send you?”
“He did.”
“Do you know what it is like to feel powerless?”
She didn’t bother to reply.
“I’m powerless. They summoned me here to help win the Pythians’ favor. Me. A lowborn.” I hacked back a cough. “Lowborns can’t lie. Did you know that?”
“I’m a lowborn,” the knight scoffed. “I can lie.”
“Well I can’t. I mean…I can lie. But not well. Duke Cassius told me he could read the truth all over my face. I’m a truth-teller.” I wobbled and then acquiesced as Paige led me back to lean against the barracks’ fence. “And I couldn’t lie and tell him to pick Blayne. He wanted me to give him a reason and I couldn’t. He-he hurt Ella. And—and I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it.”
“You don’t trust the crown prince. So why are you trying to defend him?” Paige gave me a hard look. “Clearly the Pythian duke knows you are lying. You should try a different angle.”
“Like pleading for our country? Begging for our people?” I choked back a laugh. “He doesn’t care. They are toying with us, Paige.”
She chewed her lip. I suspected she and the rest of the palace staff had already heard the rumors.
“They play to win.”
“Perhaps you need to show them what they’ll lose.”
“How is that any different? They lose what cannot be won.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Caltoth can give them more than Jerar ever could.” I let her lead me back toward the palace, anger fading to cold. I was shivering and hot. I needed another searing bath, and then the chill of my bed. I needed everything and I needed nothing. I felt despair seeping its way back into the pit of my stomach.
“Thank you, Paige,” I mumbled.
She clapped my back as she handed me off to Sofia and Gemma.
There was nothing else to be said.
****
The final evening of the Pythians and my visit was spent in a somber silence.
Our attempt at negotiation had failed. Darren and Blayne no longer feigned pleasantries as the night dragged on. The king didn’t bother to eat the meal in front of him—his white beard was stained coppery red along the rim, and with every wine that was brought his eyes grew the icy blue of a storm. I kept waiting for the royal family to break, but the king and his two sons were well trained in the art of restraint.