No, he was one to start something and wait in his luxurious tent for it to be over. “But—”
“I understand your concerns, but you need to put your faith in me, Jonas. I have searched deeply within myself to find the answers I seek. And the answer is, alas, war. This will not end until it’s over. It’s my destiny to align with King Gaius. I trust him. He paid me blood sacrifice unlike any I have ever witnessed before. Incredible.” He nodded. “King Gaius is a good and honorable man who will hold true to every promise he’s made to me. I have no doubt about this.”
Jonas clenched his fists at his sides. “So if he’s so good and honorable, where has he been while our land has been dying? While our people are dying? Where was his assistance then?”
Chief Basilius sighed. “The past is the past. All we can do is look toward the future and try our very best to do whatever it takes to make it a brighter one.”
“Please, consider what I’ve said to you.” The more he’d spoken, the more convinced Jonas was that they were headed down a very dark and bloody path. What he’d seen on the field of battle had only been the beginning of the misery to come.
“Of course. I’ll consider everything. I value your opinion, Jonas.”
“What about your magic? Do you think you can use any of it to help us?”
The chief spread his hands. “That won’t be necessary. King Gaius tells me that he has a very special secret weapon at the ready once we make it through the palace walls. This is not a battle that will continue for days and weeks—or months. It will be over tomorrow. I promise you that.”
Jonas’s mouth was so dry he wished there was still some wine in one of those bottles. “What secret weapon?”
The question was met with an enigmatic smile. “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?” The chief stood up and came around to Jonas’s chair to slap him on the back. Jonas tensed from the pain from his freshly patched-up wounds. “Trust me, Jonas. When all of this is over and we’re reaping the rewards of what we’ve earned here in Auranos, your wedding feast will be the grandest ever witnessed before in Paelsia.”
Jonas left the tent with the sound of the chief’s laughter echoing all around him. He might as well have spoken to a stone wall for all the good it did.
Bleakly, he looked up at the dark sky, speckled with bright stars and a heavy moon, and wondered why it didn’t show a single sign of the coming storm.
Emilia was now so ill that even lifting her head caused her pain and horrible nosebleeds. Cleo had taken over from Mira to read to her sister to take her mind off the battle raging outside the palace walls. The castle felt somber and gray and dismal. Cleo tried to find a ray of hope to cling to, but with each hour that passed since the siege began in full force, everything only seemed more bleak.
“Please, don’t cry.” Emilia’s voice caught. “I told you, you must be strong.”
Cleo wiped the tears from her cheeks and tried to concentrate on the writing of the small, worn book of poetry—one of Emilia’s favorites. “Can’t a strong person cry?”
“You mustn’t waste any more tears on me. I know you’ve shed so many already for Theon.”
Cleo had tried to make her peace with what had happened, but she felt as if the pain was still muffled, as though it was too new. Too raw and hadn’t fully hit her yet. Losing someone she’d only just started to love was bad enough, but the thought of losing Emilia too...
Cleo held her sister’s thin hand gently. “What can I do to help you?”
Emilia settled back on her multitude of colorful pillows. On her nightstand was a large bouquet of flowers Cleo had picked in the castle courtyard, the closest she could get to being outside. It was in the direct center of the castle, a large patch of walled greenery with apple and peach trees and a beautifully groomed flower garden. Both sisters liked to take classes out there when the tutors were agreeable.
“Be strong, that’s all,” Emilia said. “And try to spend more time with your friends in this strange and confusing time, not only with me. I don’t mind being alone tonight.”
Even in her current strife, the future queen of Auranos kept a stiff upper lip, just as she’d always been trained. It was very nearly amusing how unlike the two sisters were despite less than three years separating them in age—Emilia so mature and Cleo the opposite.
Cleo twisted her finger through a lock of her hair. “I’ve been trying to avoid them. Aron’s now lurking in the shadows. I never know when he’s going to jump out at me.”
This made Emilia laugh. “You mean, he isn’t out waving a sword around and trying to protect his future wife?”
Cleo gave her a squeamish look. “Don’t even joke about something like that.”