CHAPTER SEVEN
BALA MADE THE potion herself per instruction from the surgeon. Nyssa took it with no hesitation once Lex told her it would help her sleep. After tucking her into the bed on the roof, Lex and Bala retired back downstairs to the porch.
Nyssa fell asleep before the first Ulfram howl.
Bala leaned over the railing as darkness settled and watched Dorian participate in the drinking game her people were playing around the fire. As to how much the Prince had already drunk, she wasn't sure. She didn’t entirely trust that Corbin would keep Dorian from making a complete ass of himself even though the Fire Second was sitting just across from him.
"So," Bala started as Dorian began singing. "Nyssa is having blackout panic attacks, and Dorian has decided to drink himself to death."
Lex was quiet for a solid second before lifting her cup to her lips. "Yes," she finally replied.
"And how is the Second Sun taking her grief?"
There was another pause as Lex sat up, elbows leaning on her knees. "How is the newly crowned Venari King taking hers?" Lex asked softly.
Bala thought about it. How she'd screamed into the Hills on her way home. How she'd thrown all her possessions from her previous dwellings into a large pile and set it all aflame in the middle of the night. Spent the last four nights sitting at Draven's desk staring at maps and letters between him, Nadir, and Hagen discussing their nonsense as well as politics.
Bala raised her cup to Lex. "Duty first," she forced herself to say.
Lex mimicked her cheers, and together they downed their remaining bits of wine.
“You know, I never thanked you for getting me out of there that night,” Bala said.
Lex waved her off. “I wasn’t about to watch both my kings be murdered at the hands of the Bedrani.”
Bala glanced again at Dorian, who had finally settled down on the log beside his Second. The pair looked to be discussing something more serious than who was the better singer.
“What is their plan?” Bala asked.
“I’m not sure they have one,” Lex admitted. “Man arrived on the shores of Magnice the morning we left. Rhaif’s reaction was to silence any rumors of their arrival and not tell anyone of them coming on our shores. It was only the two boats, almost as though they’d made a wrong turn or perhaps sailed around because they saw the fire blazing two nights before. We packed. Left under cover of night.”
“What did you tell the rest of the kingdom?”
“They left their crowns on their thrones.”
“So they are exiled?”
“I won’t pretend to know what the Bedrani did upon finding out other than put a bounty on their heads,” Lex replied. “I’m not sure what they told the people. Dorian was already being watched for taking Draven the horn. His days had been marked. The bounty on Nyssa’s head is new.” She looked out at the fire, a haze setting over her. “They’re hiding something from me,” she added.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… today before you found us, Nyssa pulled Dorian aside to tell him something.”
“They share everything,” Bala said with a shrug. “What makes you think it’s a secret?”
“Because I know my Princess well enough to know when she’s hiding something that she believes will make me think less of her. I worry for her. I do not know how she is going to take this war even with all of us around her.”
“You’re not going to like my plan then,” Bala muttered.
“Why?”
Bala tensed at the question as the worries of her own crown came to mind. “My crown may be stripped from me,” she admitted.
“What?”
“My trouble with securing it when I arrived is not the only threat on my head. A year ago, when Draven brought Aydra back to our home, about a third of our people left us when she was injured. The older generation and followers of Parkyr. They wanted Draven to declare war on Magnice, either by killing Aydra or sending more Infi into Magnice’s streets. Draven refused, and they left. Now that he is gone, they may come back and try to take over. Especially given the nature of Draven’s death and his burning your kingdom. I’m sure they’ll think it was him going through with the plan to take the crown, not as an act of vengeance for her.”
“Why would they take your crown?” Lex asked.
