“One last thing,” Stone said, leaving her hand hanging between them. “I’ll take a crew of my choosing. Some of my best are currently residing under the city, but I won’t fly that far without them.”
The prisons.
If the people of Vargah didn’t see her as an enemy before, surely releasing several prisoners without reason would do the trick.
“How many?”
“Three,” Stone said. “I need them for the job. And after it’s complete, they’re pardoned. Free from any remainder of their sentencing. Free to leave Vargah if they wish.”
Kamari sighed. She should have anticipated some sort of bargaining. “I will need to check their records for any violent crimes.”
“They were smugglers,” Stone said. “Born on the wrong side of the wall. Just doing what they needed to do in order to survive. Like me.”
The wrong side of the wall.
The Outpost.
While the small colony was far enough from Vargah and Novaria to stand on its own, it technically resided in Vargahian territory and reluctantly Vargah had supplied just enough rations andastrato keep the Outpost afloat, and not a pinch more.
The very least she could do is pardon a few criminals who likely had no other choice in careers. Then, when Desmond was back, she’d bring up supplying the Outpost with more humane rations, now that Novaria and Vargah had joined forces, there should be more than enough.
“Okay.” Kamari ignored her sister’s glare like the plague itself. “Deal.”
Stone’s hand met hers, a smile lighting up his otherwise cold face. “Deal. Pleasure doing business, Majesty.” He leaned around Kamari, his smile spreading. “Commander.” Stone winked and Kamari bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “It was good to see you again.”
Four
Aesira
“What the hell was that?” Aesira had kept quiet the entire walk back to the Citadel, not trusting for a second any loose lips that might be listening. But now that they were in Kamari’s room and it was only the two of them, no roles to be played, she let her fury flow through her voice. “You’ve just made a deal–”
“I did what I had to do.” Kamari placed the stack of journals on the desk in her room.
A wave of dizziness swept through Aesira. There were so many things she wanted to say.
How could you make a deal with an Odega?
How could you nottell me your plan?
Only when she glanced at Kam and saw the way she worried her bottom lip through her teeth, did her edges soften. She couldn’t imagine the stress Kamari was feeling, with Desmond gone and the treaty threatened. Aesira was here to protect the wall, but more than anything, she wanted to protect Kamari. Even when she made choices that Aesira couldn’t fathom. “Are you sure you can trust him?”
“No,” Kam said, “but I’m desperate enough to.” Kamari pushed the curtains back, and from where Aesira stood, she could see the dust from the earlier sandstorm had settled. The red of the city now muted to a murky brown.
Aesira shifted, the bronze of her chest plate glinting in the midday sun. “I’ll head to the Phoenix tonight, doesn’t take much to get the people of this city talking. Someone other than Stone must have heard of Ravki.”
“Thank you,” Kam said. “I know the plan is outrageous but if we can find Desmond, if we can get him home–”
“We? What do you mean,we?”
Kam sat at Desmond’s desk, stacking the remaining books and journals into a neat pile. “I think you know what I mean.”
Since when did Kamari become the reckless one? Since when did their roles reverse? Aesira’s heart raced, a busy beating thing pressing against her ribs. “Are you out of your mind? You’re going with them?”
Her sister ignored her, stacking and restacking the journals on top of the desk as if organizing them would help bring clarity to the situation.
“There’s a reason no one travels past the Outpost, Kam. Sandstorms. Dust clouds large enough to take down a ship. Not tomention the accounts of many deadly beasts.” Kamari flinched and Aesira knew she’d said the wrong thing again.
If Desmond truly left for the west, those were all things he would have had to endure.
