Darren’s hand grazed the side of my wrist. He threaded his fingers through mine and abruptly shoved back his chair to join.
“Because we will destroy everything.” Darren’s voice rang out clear across the room. “Every village, every crop, every homestead. We will set the whole of Caltoth aflame.” His grip on my hand tightened. I could hear all the frustration and rage from the past week seeping back into his speech. Darren wasn’t his brother; his strength lied in passion, not policy. “We will destroy its ruby mines and melt them right into the earth. We will plunder and pillage until nothing is left.”
The room was so quiet at this point a pin could have dropped and I would have heard it. Every single set of eyes was fixed upon us—the king, his eldest, the Crown advisors, the Pythians… even the servants had stopped serving.
This was the moment.
I swallowed and made myself finish. Because even Darren couldn’t anticipate where I was about to lead next. “In short, your grace, we will lose the war. Without Pythus we will lose. But we won’t be the only ones losing.” Now. The final threat. “Because we will also light our fields on fire. We will destroy every last inch of our lands. We will do this so that when the Caltothians acquire their victory with you by their side there will be nothing left to take.”
My words grew bolder:
“Do you know the difference between a nation of merchants and a nation of warriors?” I followed through without waiting for a reply. “Only one of them is prepared to fall on its blade. King Horrace might promise you the world but in the end you will reap the greater loss.”
Absolute silence. Not a breath, not a cough, not a whisper. Nothing.
I forced myself to exhale, slowly, and then the duke started to clap.
And then he started to laugh.
“Well, well,” the man finally said, “just when I thought negotiations had run their course.”
I froze and Darren’s grip tightened on my own, tugging me gently back into my chair. Everyone was waiting for Duke Cassius to continue, to decide whether or not to condemn my actions.
I willed myself to breathe.
The large man leaned forward so that his elbows hit the table, jostling his goblet of wine. His gaze was fixated on Darren’s father.
“Now tell me,” Duke Cassius drawled, “why is it that the best argument I’ve heard all week came from a little girl?”
The king opened his mouth and shut it tightly.
“I do believe your stuffy board of advisors were a large waste of my time, Lucius.”
“My apologies.” The king’s reply was forced. “It appears I have misjudged my men.” The steel in his tone promised quick recourse. There was a hushed panic at the other side of the table as my victory turned sour.
Recklessness had a price. Always.
“I suppose I must send word to my brother.” The duke stood abruptly, thrusting his goblet into the arms of a scrawny man that had been attempting to squeeze past, unnoticed.
“Are you not leaving in the morning, your grace?” Blayne’s question was full of nonchalance. “Surely your news can wait until then… unless perhaps your visit is being extended?”
The duke waved an irate hand. “Don’t play the fool, young prince, it doesn’t suit you.”
The king cleared his throat. “This is wonderful news, Cassius—”
The duke turned sharply around. “Wonderful it may be, but we still have much to discuss. A decision such as this will require great examination. I expect it to take no less than a month to find terms my brother will agree to.”
“Whatever it takes.” King Lucius did not bat an eye.
****
“We should stay.” Paige sat down on my bed with a thump as I finished gathering the last of my belongings. She was rapping her fingers against the bedframe loudly. Every tap came harder than the last. “Now that the Pythians…”
“Paige.” I looked up from my packing with an exasperated groan. “You know that isn’t necessary.” King Lucius had only ordered my presence as part of decorum—even with my feat the night before I was still excluded from the negotiations themselves. True, the Pythians were extending their visit for the time being, but only the Crown and its board of advisors could partake in meetings. Since I was neither, there was no point to prolonging my stay.
Well, there was Darren…I bit my lip in frustration. I would miss him; I missed him already—even now while we were still in the same city, the same residence. In the two short weeks since I’d arrived I had spent perhaps three hours in his company, and each time we had been in the midst of crowding nobility. Yes, we’d had a short exception in the library, but even Blayne had managed to interrupt that.