“You’ll have plenty of time for that on the ride back.” For once she spoke without sarcasm, but her pity only made it worse.
I wiped my eyes, determined to keep from crying until we were on the road, and I could blame it on the bright winter sun. I didn’t want any of the servants to report back to Darren. I needed to look strong; I wanted the court to remember my moments standing up against the Pythians, not the crippled girl who let a prince get the best of her.
“Let’s get out of this place.” I would prove him wrong. The non-heir might have helped me initially, but I had clawed my way up from the very bottom rung of the Academy, and I wasn’t done. I had earned my rank and my potential was improving every day. I could still win.
He is just jealous.
Darren was falling behind, and I was in no mood to play the doting wife. I wasn’t going to remain at the palace to appease his insecurities. He could fret over Ian all he wanted. I would train in the north, and while Darren was busy with Crown affairs, I was going to pass his blasted potential and shock the whole country when the former lowborn Ryiah was declared Black Mage instead. And only after I wiped that insolent smirk off his face would I accept his long, drawn out apology.
Because wrapped up in conceit the size of Jerar was my Darren. Somewhere. Deep, deep down. And that part I loved. With every bit of my being.
I just vehemently hated the rest.
Paige and I were five feet away from the palace doors when I realized who was waiting at their exit.
Would I never be free of the Crown?
I approached with caution. “Blayne.”
“So full of distrust.” The crown prince made a clucking noise at my leery expression. “And to think I came bearing gifts.”
I fought every instinct I had not to scoff. Any present from him was not without its price. I waited for him to reveal this “gift.”
The young man dug a drawstring purse from the satchel in his hands and tossed it my way. I reached out to catch it and almost dropped it from the unexpected weight.
Peeking inside I saw the leather pouch was stuffed to its brim with coin. Not just any coin, but gold. Enough to feed a village for a lifetime—enough to feed several villages, in fact. My arms sagged under its bulk, and it was all I could do not to gape.
“What—how?”
“It’s all my father would allow.” Blayne sounded pleased. “It’s not much, of course, but you did ask my brother for aid. For the north.”
“The north,” I echoed, still not quite comprehending the wealth in my hands. I had forgotten all about my request until this moment.
“Consider it a parting gift. After your speech the last night, it was the least that I could do.”
“T-thank you, truly—”
Blayne waved his hand in disregard. “Our interests are the same, Ryiah. Perhaps now you will be more willing to forgive the transgressions of our past.”
I nodded dumbly and watched as he peeled himself off the wall and faded into one of the corridors behind.
I finished stuffing the satchel into my now-overflowing pack and followed Paige to the waiting stable-hands and our mares outside.
She waited until we had passed through the palace gates and the main city onto the King’s Road itself before she finally spoke her opinion aloud.
“I thought you hated him.” She didn’t bother to say whom.
“I…” I paused. Anger at Darren was still taking up the majority of my thoughts, but Blayne was confusing me as well. What was he up to? Everything he did was surprising me. More than once he’d had the opportunity to make my stay difficult, and yet everything he did had been in my best interest. I didn’t trust him, but it really did seem as if he were trying to make amends.
I studied the white tree line ahead of us. “My feelings don’t matter one way or the other.” Blayne was to be king regardless. “If he wants to claim amity, who am I to refuse?”
Chapter Nine
When Paige and I returned to the keep, our arrival was met with enthusiasm. Correspondence from the capital had preceded our arrival, but the commander and her regiment were eager to hear the news first hand.
“Of course a treatise hasn’t been signed,” I finished, fumbling under the commander’s intense scrutiny. I could never tell what she was thinking. “But the Pythians agreed to extend their visit, and even their ambassador believes it is only a matter of time.”
“Well, this is quite a…development.” The commander grasped a hot mug of cider tightly in hand. “I think I speak for most when I say none of us anticipated this news.” She paused and took a long sip from her cup. Her knuckles were white. “We hoped, of course, but hope never wins a war.”
“That’s not all.”
The woman’s eyes bulged as I took out Prince Blayne’s purse and emptied its contents onto the table between us.
“W-what’s this?” she breathed.