“Stigian’s king.”
“Pliris’king.”
His eyes meet mine over the rim of the glass. He lowers it from his lips and swallows hard. “Fuck.”
I brush my palm down the side of his face and cup his bearded jaw. This time, the sad smile I give him isn’t forced. My grief lodges in my throat, and a single tear trails down my face. “You missed a lot, friend, but I’m happy to see you again.”
He grips my wrist and rubs the long hair on his face against my hand. “No matter what his reasons were for betraying you, Kyron will come for you, Elle.”
“We made amends. In fact, everyone made amends with him, but you didn’t get the chance.” I bite down on my trembling lip, fill my lungs, and slowly release the air. “And I know he will come for me. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Ulric doesn’t know about the treaty between our kingdom and this one, but he understands that Kyron coming for me is exactly what Zek wants. One doesn’t need to be a scholar to understand that anything involving the Allaji king is bound to end in devastation.
With a curt nod, he curls his fingers around the back of my neck, bringing our foreheads together. “I still believe in him. Whatever it is, Kyron can overcome it.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him that this is a problem bigger than our armies can battle. I’ll do everything I can to let that small kernel of faith thrive deep inside him. He needs to hold onto it for as long as possible.
“I know,” I lie.
“Perhaps we can find a way to give your king what he wants before he steps foot on our land.”
Ulric and I turn to Ashavee. We were so lost in our little world of connecting the severed pieces of our lives that we forgot she was in the room. I pull away from him to find her leaning against the table, biting into a slice of fruit.
She lifts a dark eyebrow and continues saying, “Not all of us want war, nor do we want our kingdom built on the backs of those enslaved. We created our mess, and it’s up to us to clean it. I’ll help you find a way to escape.”
My jaw goes slack. In my time here, never have I heard someone in disagreement with Zek’s agenda. Like a pack of dogs, they’re unwavering in their loyalty to the one who feeds them. I didn’t think their nature allowed them to go against their leader, but there appears to be a rebel in their midst.
Ulric squeezes my fingers and smiles up at me. “I told ya, she thinks I’m a handsome bastard.”
Five
KYRON
The Esspress emperor’s sixth wife was quick to answer my request for an audience with her husband. As Borin predicted, her response implied she would ask for a favor in return before she brought me before the emperor. I need the chance to ask him for at least two fully manned battleships to comfortably pull off the rescue mission, and the kingdom to our north is my only prospect of procuring them. The price for this favor could be to the detriment of my morals, but it’s a risk I have to take.
The possibility of Lasandra asking me to service her in any sexual way has my stomach in knots. I’ve given my body to a fair share of women, enjoyed their company and taken my pleasure, but I have no desire for meaningless fucking anymore. My body is for the pleasure of one woman, and one woman only.
“You look like you’re going to vomit.”
I yank my hand from my pocket, releasing the Eporri, and snap my attention to Rowan. The young soldier sits tall on his father’s massive black stallion—Nortus. During most of thetrek through northern Pliris and into Esspress, he has held his tongue. He didn’t even put up a fight when I ordered him to remain with me instead of staying behind with the one hundred and twenty soldiers on the other side of the mountain range. He’s eager to fight, to avenge his sister. I understand all too well that need, but his safety comes first.
“I’m not looking forward to my meeting with the Esspress ruler or his wife,” I say.
“Are you going to give in to her?” Rowan asks.
Looking down the red clay road ahead, I say, “I’m not sure. This is our only hope of getting Raelle back, and we need her help.”
“You should do whatever it takes. Raelle can heal from a broken heart. The same can’t be said if Zek continues to hack away at her.”
He’s right. Zekel will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He has no love for Raelle. Her capture was a power play. What happens to her means nothing to him. The same can’t be said for me.
“If I betray our bond, it will do more than break her heart. I don’t know if I can inflict that kind of pain on her,” I confess.
A thoughtful hum rumbles in Rowan’s throat, and he falls silent.
The gray sky opens, releasing a constant drizzle of rain. It taps against the scale-like plates of Rowan’s black armor, joining the clapping of horse hooves. We ride side by side and take in the scenery of the Esspress kingdom. Thick layers of moss cover the trunks of the massive trees, and beneath them, mushrooms litter the ground with bulbous red and orange heads. The air is heavy and laced with pine and soil. Despite the wet weather and what lies ahead of me, this land is beautiful.
“What do you think Raelle would do if roles were reversed?” he asks, earning a sidelong glance from me. “What if the only way to save you was to do something she didn’t want to do?”
