Zarrah’s prepared, he told himself. The rebels won’t be caught unaware.
The buildings had mostly collapsed, forcing him to climb the rubble to reach the inner sanctum, and It did nothing to calm the trepidation rising in his chest. All this time, he, and everyone else, had believed Petra’s goal was victory in the Endless War, defeating him, and annexing some or all of Maridrina. Had believed that the rebels were an obstacle she intended to remove first before setting her eyes north on her ancient enemy. It was logical. Strategic.
But wasn’t what she’d done.
Instead she’d come north and attacked Vencia with no intention of keeping it. But why? Why kick threw himself at the harem’s house, pulling away rocks. Digging. Hunting for the family he’d forsaken.the hornet’s nest by delivering a non-fatal blow to Maridrina, only to turn her back on it to go after the rebels, who were, by the numbers, a much smaller threat?
“What was the point of this?” he muttered, sitting on a broken piece of wall and staring at the ground. “What did she hope to accomplish?”
“To undermine you.”
Keris lifted his head to meet Sarhina’s gaze.
“The economic toll this will take on Maridrina might be a consideration in her mind,” Sarhina said,
“but the most certain consequence of attack is that the people will blame you for leaving the city undefended.”
“I didn’t write that order.”
“But everyone thinks you did,” she snapped. “This was your scheme, and I don’t know what you
“They are in the mountains,” she said. “Along with the rest of the civilians who chose to evacuate.”did to piss Ithicana off so badly that they’d do this, but I can’t see why else it was done. Perhaps Petra made a deal with them. Perhaps she threatened them. Who knows.” Her mouth twisted. “But what I do know is that this attack wasn’t strategic; it was personal.”
Dread pooled in Keris’s stomach as all the pieces fell into place. Petra’s eyes were no longer on still knew it was a mistake to deplete the city guard. But no one would listen, given that the order was winning the war—they were on winning Zarrah. Killing him wouldn’t suffice; Petra needed Zarrah to choose her over him. Needed Zarrah to love her over him. Needed Zarrah to worship her as she had before that fateful night in Nerastis when Zarrah’s path had crossed with his and changed them both forever. And Petra believed that the only way to accomplish that was for Keris to fail Zarrah, for Zarrah to perceive that he’d abandoned her when she needed him most.
“She is truly mad,” he breathed, horror turning his hands to ice. The cost of lives and gold was beyond measure. All played like pieces on a board, with the end goal of turning Zarrah against him, coast,” Sarhina said. “Too late to call back our soldiers, but we were able to evacuate the people into because in her twisted mind, Petra believed that was all it would take to make Zarrah love her again.
“Mad or not, she accomplished at least part of her goal,” Sarhina answered. “You have to let this go, Keris. Let Zarrah fight her own battles. Countless of your people have lost everything because you abandoned them in pursuit of her. You left them vulnerable to the guile of others because you care more about her than you do your own kingdom. Our people believe you left them entirely undefended,
“Unfortunately, not everyone would abandon their homes to evacuate.” She looked away. “We tried and to prove otherwise requires you to admit that you weren’t in Ithicana. That you authorized the Ithicanians to forge instructions on your behalf. That you were in the south, freeing your Valcottan lover. That this attack against Vencia was instigated by your illicit affair. That every bit of this is your fault.”
All true. It was all true.
“You may not have written the order for the city guard to abandon Vencia,” Sarhina said. “But the five thousand men of the Royal Army in Nerastis are there on your order. As are the three thousand
lurking on the edge of the Red Desert. And it does not take a military genius to know that you didn’t was her intent, I should’ve seen her fleet on my way north. Even if they realized the gambit to lure our send them there to protect our border. You sent them there because you want to give Zarrah the army army out of Nerastis hadn’t worked, they should still have been in proximity. But there was no sign of she needs to overthrow the Empress.”
Keris said nothing. There was nothing to say, for all her accusations were true.
“Once our people learn the truth, all you can hope for is a quick death.” Sarhina looked away.
“Better that you run. Falsify your own death and return to your lover’s side. Allow someone who will put Maridrina first to lead the kingdom.”
Sarhina was right.
Keris turned to stare out over the harbor, the weight of defeat dragging him down as a vision of the future played out in his mind. With no allies, Petra would destroy the rebels, either killing or imprisoning Zarrah. But it would not stop there. She’d once again turn her eyes north, and with the hornet’s nest by delivering a non-fatal blow to Maridrina, only to turn her back on it to go after the victory fresh, would attack Nerastis. Would annex Maridrina bit by bit as she expanded the Empire, eventually reaching her claws out to Ithicana, screaming for revenge for the murder of her son.
In trying to end the war, all he’d managed to do was ensure a future more violent and bloody than the past. Maybe it was better that he disappeared, for Maridrina was better off without him.
Petra had won.
“Did Royce survive his injuries?” he asked, still staring at the fog that concealed Ithicana.
“The economic toll this will take on Maridrina might be a consideration in her mind,” Sarhina said,
“Yes,” Sarhina answered, her voice filled with disgust. “Lestara has ensured he be given the most excellent of care, and in exchange, he has ensured that every person in the kingdom knows that she’s responsible for their survival.”
Keris’s nerves jangled at the mention of the Cardiffian princess’s name. “Pardon?”
“She learned of Petra’s pending attack via her father’s spies. Without her warning, we’d never have been able to evacuate the city, so now the civilians fall to their knees when she passes, calling her the Savior of the People. ”
“Just how,” Keris asked softly, “did the King of Cardiff, who is on the far side of the Tempest Seas, know of Petra’s plans to sack Vencia?”
“As one who looks every gift horse in the mouth, I have wondered the very same thing,” Sarhina answered.
Surely Lestara would not stoop so low … Yet on the heels of the thought, he remembered how Zarrah had asked whether he’d taken up with Lestara, a question fueled by a supposed spy report Petra had received. At the time, he’d believed it a fabrication created by Petra to undermine him in Zarrah’s eyes. But what if it was more than that? What if it had not been a fabrication, but a plot intended to achieve mutually desired ends: Lestara on Maridrina’s throne and Keris forever vanquished from Zarrah’s heart? “I assume you investigated her source?”
“She provided the spy’s report.”
go, Keris. Let Zarrah fight her own battles. Countless of your people have lost everything because you Wheels began turning in his head, a thousand little pieces of information falling into place to form a damning picture. “Where is she?”
more about her than you do your own kingdom. Our people believe you left them entirely undefended,
“We have a camp outside the city. The tent she shares with Sara is there.” Sarhina cleared her throat. “She’s kept our little sister very close.”
His stomach tightened. “I need inside that tent.”
lover. That this attack against Vencia was instigated by your illicit affair. That every bit of this is your
“What you need to do is run before anyone realizes you’re here and starts to cast blame.”
Keris rose to his feet, meeting her glare. “No.”