A laugh tore from her lips, and Zarrah snatched up a handful of dirt and chucked it across the fire at Daria. “That’s an important question?”
“A big cock can make up for a small man.” Several of the other women in camp shouted their agreement.
Picking up a piece of wood, Zarrah added it to the fire. For all his failings, Keris was a force to be reckoned with. “Nothing about him was small.”
“Hmm.” Daria gave an approving nod, and then her expression turned more serious. “Some women desire a man who will burn the world to be with her. Some desire a man who will save the world at the cost of her. Which sort of man he is may be beyond your control, but you can choose which woman you wish to be.”
Wisdom on a prison island in the middle of nowhere, yet Zarrah couldn’t deny the truth of those words. But none of that mattered. It was over between her and Keris. He’d moved on with Lestara, and the chances of her ever seeing him in this lifetime again were small enough to be nonexistent. So instead of looking at the stars, Zarrah met Daria’s gaze. “Tell me more about the rebels’ plans.”
KERIS WOKE WITH a start as something landed heavily on his lap.
It was Aren’s massive cat. The creature yawned in his face, then began grooming itself.
“Off,” he said, blinking blearily at the glow of the sun on the horizon as he pushed the cat away. It hopped onto the railing, then leapt into the nearest tree.
It was past dawn. He’d slept late.
Racing into the room, Keris grabbed his bag and the letters he’d written. With rapid strides, he went in search of the room Dax had been assigned. His bodyguard, who’d been sound asleep
facedown on the bed, jerked upright and nearly fell off the side.
“I need you to remain in Ithicana until I return,” Keris said, tossing the letters on a table. “I need a liaison.”
Dax’s mouth fell open. “I don’t want to stay here,” he blurted out. “It’s full of snakes. There was one on the floor when I came in last night, and though that boy took it away, I couldn’t sleep for fear of one wriggling its way inside my trousers.”
A number of choice responses rose in Keris’s throat, but instead he said, “I won’t order you to stay, but I am asking you.”
“Who will watch out for your sorry ass?”
“Lara will.”
His guard burst into laughter. “That would be the sister who cut you open yesterday?”
“That’s how Veliant siblings show their love. I’ll be fine.” Spotting the knife Jor had taken from him, Keris sheathed it and then rounded on Dax. “It’s a simple yes or no. If it’s no, I’ll have the Ithicanians arrange for you to be brought to Southwatch, and you can get yourself back to Vencia on a merchant ship and resume your duties in Sarhina’s guard.”
Dax made a face. “So I have to choose between Sarhina and the snakes?”
“Correct.”
“Snakes it is. Sarhina terrifies me.”
“I thought you might say that.” Swinging his bag over his shoulder, Keris picked up the letters and drew closer. “While you’re here, I’d like you to keep your eyes open.”
One eyebrow rose, Dax’s forehead wrinkling. “You mean for me to spy?”
Keris shook his head. “We have no real understanding of Ithicana or its people. How they think or function. This is a unique opportunity to rectify that limitation, and if we use it to our advantage, so much the better.”
Dax stared at him.
Spreading his arms wide, Keris said, “Make friends. It’s what you do.”
“Yeah, you should try it sometime.”
“Kings don’t have friends.” Keris walked backward to the door. “But if we did, you’d be one of mine.” Not waiting for a response, he left the room and walked rapidly to the stairs, descending two at a time. When he reached the ground level, he found Ahnna striding down the hall, the Princess wearing the usual drab clothing the Ithicanians favored, though today she was armed with an obscene number of weapons.
“Good, you’re here,” he said to her, shoving the letters into her hands. “This should give your forgers enough fodder to keep my people convinced I’m enjoying a lovely holiday in this snake-infested mud puddle of a kingdom.”
“Kiss my ass, Your Grace.” She glanced at the letters. “I hope the cut on your back goes foul and that you slowly rot to death, but I doubt I’ll be so lucky.”
Keris shrugged. “Dare to dream, Princess.” He hesitated, then added, “You’re being handed an unprecedented opportunity to negotiate peace between our kingdoms.” Pulling his signet ring off his finger, he handed it to her. “Find words that we can all live by.”
Ahnna examined the gold ring, the flat surface bearing a V surrounded by a pattern of indentations unique to him, though the methodology behind the identifier was a well-kept secret only a few in Maridrina knew. “My brother might take issue with me negotiating. He doesn’t trust me as he once did.”
A flicker of pity ran through him, because it had been Ahnna who’d held Ithicana together during Aren’s absence. “It’s not because of you.”
Ahnna glanced at him in confusion. “Pardon?”
“Harendell’s silence. It’s nothing to do with you.” Rocking on his heels, Keris considered his words. “For a very long time, Harendell was something of an obsession for me, so I made an effort to learn everything I could about it, particularly the gossip. Which is why I know King Edward signed the Fifteen-Year Treaty without consulting Queen Alexandra. She’s never quite forgiven him for
A number of choice responses rose in Keris’s throat, but instead he said, “I won’t order you to stay,giving up her precious son to be wed to a woman not of her choosing, and I’d bet my kingdom she’s the one dragging her heels.”
“You’d bet your kingdom on a game of cards,” she muttered.
“She didn’t choose you,” Keris continued, because the Princess had the right to know what she was getting into. “Which means no matter what you do, you will never be good enough for William in her eyes.”
“Her feelings are irrelevant,” Ahnna muttered. “Edward rules Harendell, not Alexandra. He signed the treaty, so she’ll have to take me as I am.”
Keris snorted softly. “Alexandra is Harendellian to her core. She’ll kiss both your cheeks and pour you a cup of tea, then smile prettily with her ankles crossed as you choke to death on the poison she put in your cup.” He needed to find Aren before he was left behind but wanted to make peace with Ahnna before he did. “She’ll then blame Amaridian assassins so that your brother doesn’t come sailing in to avenge your death. So go, but watch your back.”
Ahnna’s brow furrowed, but if the warning had put any fear into her heart, she didn’t show it. Only walked with him out into the rain, the pair of them striding down the path that circled the lake.
“When you weren’t up at the crack of dawn, Lara suggested you’d lost your nerve and would leave her to do your dirty work,” she said.
“Slept late.” Keris kept his eyes on the ground before him. “Too much of your brother’s shitty wine coupled with the fact that I hate mornings.”
Ahnna lifted her face to the sky, rain splattering her face. “You might come to regret that wine soon enough. Seas are rough.” She pointed at the darkness to the west, illuminated every few heartbeats by bolts of lightning. “That’s a ship killer.”
Unease prickled Keris’s skin as he watched the flickers. Not because he was afraid of the storm, but because he was afraid the storm would cage him on this island. That his sleeping late would mean days, even weeks, longer that Zarrah would have to fight for her life. “Can we sail?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but a hooded figure approached, and she addressed him instead.
“I’m surprised to see you here, Aster. It’s not like you to allow Lara out of your watchful sight.”
Raina’s father scowled. “I don’t care for the company she intends to travel with.”
Keris didn’t have time for this conversation, but old guilt made him pause. “Raina was your daughter, correct?”