He slid to a stop, leveling a finger at her. “You know better than anyone that my father left a weak legacy. A nation dependent on others for survival—and we suffered for it. But I accomplished the impossible, which means my son will inherit a nation that is not to be trifled with. You wanted these results, Coralyn, so don’t you dare lose your spine because you mislike the manner in which I achieved them.”
His son. Not Keris, but whichever one of his half brothers managed to inherit. Nothing new, nothing unexpected, but for reasons Keris couldn’t articulate, it hurt more than Serin and his father conspiring to kill him.
“There is nothing more important than family, Silas.”
His father silently regarded Coralyn for a long moment, then asked, “Then why do you care so much for the fate of the daughter who betrayed us? Lara is the key, Cora. With her, we can break Aren and get the information we need to win this.”
Cora? Keris blinked, having never heard his father speak with such familiarity to his aunt. Always, he spoke of her with disdain. Resentment. Frustration. But there was a rhythm and comfort to this argument that suggested his father kept his aunt far deeper in his counsel than Keris had realized.
Silence.
“He said he doesn’t believe that Lara will take your bait.” The words came out in a rush of annoyance. “But he was clearly lying. I saw the fear the idea inspired in his eyes, and if he fears her trying to rescue him, it’s because he believes it’s possible.”
“Do you?”
Keris held his breath, waiting for his aunt’s response, for it would validate the information Valcotta had given his father about Lara.
“Yes. I think she’ll come for him and that you’ll be forced to face the monster you created, Silas.”
His father smiled. “You are rarely wrong about such things. Did you learn anything else of use from him?”
“Indeed. Your father married a woman named Amelie Yamure. You might not recall her, for she was only in the harem for a short time before she went missing, presumed dead. I learned tonight that she was an Ithicanian spy sent to infiltrate the inner sanctum. I also learned she is Aren’s grandmother.”
Keris didn’t bother hiding his surprise at that revelation. His grandfather had been wed to an Ithicanian spy?
“Why would Aren tell you this?” his father asked, posing the very question Keris was thinking.
“He has strong opinions on our customs, and when I suggested he had no basis for his views, he offered her experiences up as an example. It’s been an age since she was here, but we can only assume that she’s the source of Ithicana’s information on the inner sanctum’s defenses. Consider her perspective and you might better defend against their continued intrusions.”
Frustration boiled in Keris’s veins, because his aunt was achieving the exact opposite of the ends he’d hoped for. And there was nothing he could do about it.
His father rubbed his chin. “You’ve learned more from him in a few minutes of idle chatter than Serin has from weeks of torture.”
Coralyn snorted softly. “The man is trained to resist Serin’s techniques, but I do not think a lifetime isolated within Ithicana prepared him for political machinations.” Then she rose to her feet. “I did what you asked. Now you’ll hold up your end of the bargain. Give your word that you’ll allow the other girls to live out their lives in peace. That you’ll call off Serin and threaten him with consequences if any of them are harmed.”
“Done.” His father rose to his feet and left the room, leaving Keris alone with his aunts. Lestara rose and retrieved a drum the musicians had left behind, beating a rhythm and singing in the language of her homeland loud enough that any listeners would be unable to hear the conversation within the room.
Keris leaned back in his chair. “Well played, Auntie. What does Aren think he’s getting in exchange for this information?”
“What he believes he’ll receive matters little, given that I have what I want.”
“So… you lied to him?” Keris didn’t know why that surprised him, but it did. Coralyn was most certainly not above deception, but this felt… off.
She lifted one brocaded shoulder. “For the ruler of a nation that depends on trade, he’s a poor negotiator. One should always hold back full payment until the goods are delivered.”
Sickness filled Keris’s stomach, along with frustration with himself for not anticipating that she’d have her own agenda. “Did he give you a method to reach his people?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Her head cocked. “Why do you wish to know, Keris? I was under the impression you were ambivalent about Aren’s fate.”
“I am. But I grow weary of my family being surrounded by corpses. Give me the contact and I’ll put an end to this.” It was risky, because Serin’s men always followed him outside the palace, but what choice did he have? He needed the Ithicanians to help him free Valcotta.
“It’s not worth the risk of your father catching you meddling, Keris. Serin is watching you, looking for any possible mistake. And if you believe I’ll risk you for the sake of my gardens smelling more appealing, you don’t know me in the slightest.”
His panic was rising, because he was losing control. Had lost control. “I need to do something.”
“Why? Why is this so important that you’d risk everything? Not only yourself, but your sisters, for if your father realizes I was the one who told you the information, which he will, he’ll renege on his promise to stop hunting your sisters. We can endure the corpses, but we cannot endure more of our children dying.”
Because I cannot endure her dying! was the thought that screamed to be voiced, but he couldn’t. The harem hated Valcottans. They hated Zarrah. “Because it’s too much like what was done to my mother.”
Coralyn’s expression softened. “I know it is, dear one. But it won’t last much longer. Once Aren realizes I haven’t helped him, he’ll put an end to this himself.”
“You’re crueler than I’d believed, Auntie.” And he hated it. Hated that the one he loved like a mother was capable of this.
“Family is everything.” Coralyn motioned for the other women to follow her toward the door, though she paused to pat his cheek. “And there is little I won’t do to protect the harem’s children. Goodnight, Keris. Perhaps tomorrow will bring an end to all our woes.”
50
ZARRAH
The harem had been up to something tonight at dinner—even without the note Keris had written in his book, that would have been obvious. But Zarrah didn’t dwell on what the conversation between Coralyn and Aren might have achieved as she allowed the servants to prepare her for bed because after tonight, none of it would matter at all.
The clock in the tower struck the first toll of the ninth hour, announcing the harem’s curfew had begun. It was time. Zarrah swallowed down the twist of emotion in her stomach, but her grief refused to be vanquished. As did her regret.
What she wouldn’t give for the chance to say goodbye. To apologize for the grief her actions would cause. To tell him—
Tap.
Zarrah jumped, whirling around to face the window.
Tap.