“Who might that be?”
“He’s a former general himself,” she says. “Served many years in the Emerald Wardens, fought valiantly at Goldenmere, and was willing to sacrifice his own life to save an infant ifrak.”
“Ingrid…”
“Oh, have you heard of him?” she asks, grinning in full now. “General Xandril, what course of action would you advise our king take?”
She’s teasing me, yes, but also, she has a point. When I was nothing more than a general, I never questioned what course theking should take. I advocated for my men and the land in the best way I knew, and trusted the king to make the correct call.
Learning that trust was misplaced in Farandir has led me to question so many things I once took for granted. But what would the general version of me think? Before I let doubt and obligation muddy my mind, how would I have approached this?
“Well… Your Highness,” I begin, straightening to attention in my seat, my thoughts beginning to assemble themselves into an orderly formation like well-trained soldiers instead of the ragtag brigands they’ve been. “I would advise the king not try to sort through the conflicting reports from afar. That he might have more clarity if he visited the border personally. The subjects in the region are frightened by the uncertainty, and there are soldiers carrying out orders they disagree with. They could all benefit from reassurance and the knowledge that their new king is not the same feckless sort of coward that Farandir was. That he is not willing nor eager to abandon or condemn them for the grave sin of needing him.”
Ingrid’s still smiling at me across the table, her chin in her hands, looking all too satisfied with herself.
“I thank you for the insight you’ve offered, as well as the meal and enjoyable company, Your Majesty,” I say, pushing back from the table. “I regret that I can’t stay longer, but I’ve got some travel arrangements to make.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ingrid
“So it was the discovery of the halemercy meadow and subsequent trade around it that began to reunite the reaches after The Great Fall?” I ask, interrupting Marchioness Drevane in the middle of her history lesson.
I brace myself, waiting for an insult or admonition. At the same time, I hold her gaze, a silent challenge being issued. In the few weeks I’ve been receiving these lessons, I’ve definitely become a better student, but not to the extent that my tutors’ complete turnaround makes any sense.
“Halemercy was an important part in establishing the Blooming Road, but not the sole driver of trade,” Duke Calessevan says, a firm correction delivered with his usual haughtiness, but there’s no sneers or scoffs. There haven’t been for my last couple of lessons.
What could have led to the change of heart?
“It’s just… I’ve looked for more information about halemercy and the meadows, and I can’t find anything? Morwen said if there isn’t any here, there may not be any in all the reaches, so if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be worth re-establishing the trade?”
The marchioness begins to scoff, then conceals it in a cough. “There is none here,Your Highness, because the flower isextinct. Choked out by soulstem. Something that any child of the reach would—”
“Ysenna,” the duke says in a warning tone.
Marchioness Drevane clears her throat. “If you’ll excuse me,” she practically hisses, dipping her head toward me before leaving the room in a hurry.
“I believe that is enough for today,” the duke says, the hard set of his jaw belying his easy posture.
I don’t have to be told twice. Scooping up my study materials, I scamper out of the twisting tower before even my guards notice I’m on the move. It’s been more than a week since my lessons have brought me to tears, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend longer than necessary in that terrible classroom.
What I really want to do is see Xandril again.
I haven’t bothered him since our dinner in the war room. After hearing about all the troubles he’s tasked to solve, I can’t imagine he has a second to spare for me. Dinner that night wasn’t exactly what I expected, but in a way, it was better. I saw a side of Xandril that I never expected him to show me. Something on the other side of his thorny walls, where there’s a tender-hearted demon who cares so deeply for his homeland and will do anything to save it.
I’m no stranger to that kind of love and sacrifice. Xandril feels about the reach the way I do about Phillip, and whether he knows it or not, the demon king is a large part of why my brother’s life will be spared. Without Xandril and his deal with Anumar, I wouldn’t be here, I would have had no value to the Dealmaker worthy of the bargain I required. Phillip would be…
I can’t finish the thought, but I follow it long enough to reach the conclusion I’ve been dancing around since my first day in the demon realm: I have to do what I can to help here. It’s only right.
And that means not letting Xandril deal with the Iron issues alone.
Asking around about the king’s whereabouts leads me to the training grounds, barely able to contain my smile as I climb to the ramparts with my guards. The sound of steel on stone unravels my last bit of restraint, and by the time I’m able to see over the railing of the guard tower down into the fight, I’m already grinning ear-to-ear.
Xandril’s stance is wide, knees bent and claws at the ready while three—no, four—other demons surround him with weapons drawn. The scorched and scratched ground tells the story of a battle that’s not been kind to any of them, and I notice that more than one of the demons on the battlefield is breathing hard, a few are bleeding, and all are sweating despite the winter air.
One of Xandril’s opponents charges, then another. He seems to anticipate their moves, stepping out of the way of one and lowering his head like a charging bull, ramming into the second and sending them sailing over his back, spikes leaving deep furrows in the other demon’s armor before they hit the ground. He straightens just in time to turn into another blow, blocking it with the spikes on his shoulders.
It’s incredible to watch. For someone so large, he moves with such sure footing, out-maneuvering even those half his size.
