Henry.A message.
For a moment, my mind didn’t grasp her words. Then I felt like a fool. Why had I thought she was going to say something about me? Us?
There was no us. Only in the lie I told.
I sat back in my chair. “I said no in Yargoth. I’m saying no now.”
Her eyebrows pinched together as if I’d hurt her. I looked away.
“We barely made it out of...” She glanced around furtively and lowered her voice. “Of Calimber. We can’t do this alone.”
“We’re not doing it alone. Isn’t that why you sent off Jek, Yarina, and Sigrid? To join Skelly and complete their half of the plan?”
Her eyes grew wary. “Yes. But that plan only works if our timing, disguises, and explosives are perfect. Having more allies would be a wise precaution.”
I shoveled some oatmeal into my mouth. Bland mush, more like, but my body needed it. Especially if we couldn’t pick up more supplies.
“Even if we could get him a message, andifhe were willing to help us, too much time will have passed for him to march an army to Calimber.” I glared at my soupy oatmeal. “Besides, I want to avoid an all-out war. I’ve seen Dracles cut down enough people to last a lifetime.”
“Then how do you plan to get to Renwell?” she snapped, her eyes like fire and honey. “You think he’ll just step down from the throne without a fight? Infiltrating the mine is hard enough. The palace would be impossible. Even I can admit that my earlier plan of sneaking in to rescue my brother and sister was foolish, with little chance of success.” She gripped the edges of the table, as if she wanted to throw it. “Everett, Delysia, Melaena, and thousands of other people in Aquinon are essentially Renwell’s hostages. Are we going to abandon them after all this?”
Sparks snapped beneath my skin. My blood had been simmering all night, but Kiera always ignited it further.
“We aren’t abandoning anyone,” I growled, practically nose-to-nose with her over the remains of our breakfast. “I just haven’t planned that far ahead since I might be buried beneath a cliff before Arduen’s Night.”
Her cheeks paled, but she held her ground. “If that happens... If we both die in the mine, we need someone to carry on after us. Someone with allies who would risk death for their families and loved ones. Who would save Aquinon.”
I swallowed hard, my gaze skimming over the scar on her cheek. “You truly think Henry would do that?”
The fire in Kiera’s eyes turned silver. “I once thought that betrayal was the blade that cuts the deepest. But now I think it’s love. Love will make a man face down his worst enemy simply to die in the same place as his wife. Love will defy birth, status, rules, sides, beliefs... even death,” she whispered. “Love is the strongest weapon of all.”
It will also drive a man to the brink of the Abyss and pull him back again. It will make him set aside those betrayals and lies for a truth that cuts too deep to survive.
It will make him want to sacrifice an entire kingdom for one woman.
You.
I slowly pulled away from her, my thoughts in ashes. “You’re so gods-damned beautiful when you win.”
She blinked, her lips parting. Fucking Four, how I wanted to swoop in and steal them.
“Did I?” she asked. “Win?”
I drained the last of my beer. “Tell him to meet us in Twaryn, wherever the logging camp is. He shouldn’t look suspicious there if he gets caught.”
Kiera nodded, her eyes distant, as if she were writing the letter in her mind. “I’ll add a few words that allude to Delysia so he knows we’re on her side. If he’s as in love with her as I think, he’ll come.”
How easily she believed this soldier’s feelings.
“We don’t have long until midday,” I said. “Let’s win some coins and send your letter.”
Two hours later, we had a pouch full of silver and copper coins. The patrons had surprisingly enjoyed competing with Kiera and her knives. Many congratulated me on such a fine wife. I smiled and enjoyed the role I played. Perhaps a bit too much.
I played a few matches of Death and Four and won easily. My most difficult opponent had been the one everyone in here was calling my wife.
I also asked a few discreet questions about the river checkpoints and the patrols who guarded them. Most of the drivers were only too willing to complain about the recent searches and rough treatment that made their jobs harder.
We leftBeards & Barleywith flushed smiles and led our horses to the courier’s office. We found Nikella still there, a line of drivers waiting for her to pen or read a letter to them.
