His eyes traveled over the room once more, and then he slapped the table twice. "We're finished."
No one spoke to Nadir as they filed out of the tent. Soli was one of the last to rise, and Bala knew she was repeating every demand Nadir had just said and possibly plotting to go against him somehow.
Lex pulled her pipe from her pocket and began to pack it as the last people left. Bala moved from her chair to sit on the table between them, curling her legs under her.
"What is Soli's problem?" Bala asked.
"You know her," Nadir said, kicking his feet on the table. "Anything other than duty is considered weak. Can't imagine she was very ecstatic about Nyssa and I. I'm sure she was the one leading the charge to take my title away."
"What—did she think she would be a better Commander?"
"Probably."
"That's laughable. You'd all be dead or starving."
"I know," Nadir agreed.
Lex kicked back in her own chair then, and she passed the smoking pipe to Nadir. Bala's thoughts wandered back to their task for the next day.
"When do we leave tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sunrise," he said as he blew out the inhale. "Most of the merchants do not have their goods ready until a couple hours after. It'll give us time to get there and make ourselves hidden."
"Don’t they know you already?"
"They do," he answered. "But I'll not be parlaying with the Noble this time. Nyssa will come to us."
"And if she is caught?"
"She won't be,” he affirmed.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I trust her."
Bala paused, rubbing her hands together as she contemplated her next words. “How long has she been there?” Bala asked.
“Six weeks now,” Nadir answered.
“The long game, Princess,” she mumbled under her breath. “And you bartered for a night with her the first time?”
Nadir merely nodded with his smoking exhale.
“How did she seem?”
“Scared,” he answered. “But determined. I could tell she’d been holding it in.”
“Sounds like her,” Bala muttered as he passed her the pipe. Bala slouched as she inhaled it. She'd not allowed her own guard down in weeks, and the sweetness of the herb was a welcome reprieve.
“So…" Lex began, now picking at her nails with her knife. "We’re just going to brush over Bala’s claim that you’re in love with my Princess?”
Nadir looked as though he would laugh, but instead, he simply shook his head, a small smile rising on his face.
“I am,” he breathed. "I once asked Aydra about her. Obviously, Aydra boasted about her siblings and told me how proud she was of them, how beautiful her sister was and how she worked so hard to become a better fighter. She also told me that Nyssari was scared of everything, shy yet fiery… that once I met her, she would more than likely not say but a few words to me… The person I met that night at the banquet couldn’t have been more different.”
Lex snorted, and Bala exchanged a knowing smirk with her.
“She was funny… smart… gorgeous… charming—”
