Will merely sat back in his chair, his gray eyes cold as he regarded the prince. ‘Mimicking the sensation of suffocation,’ he said, his voice dangerously calm.
‘Stop it!’ Josie’s vicious command cut through Aya’s shock, but before she could lift a finger, Will dropped whatever hold he had on Aidon. The prince gasped for air.
‘Now that I understand you’re Visya, Aidon, you’ll hear me quite clearly when I say that I have no hesitation in exercising my affinity on you. And that if you refer to her as a weapon again, I won’t even bother with it when I cut out your godsdamn tongue. Understood?’
Aidon took another shuddering breath, but it was to Aya he turned, his face drawn as he said, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.’
He buried his head in his hands, letting out a muffled groan. ‘This is a fucking mess.’
Josie placed a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. Something passed wordlessly between them, and Aidon finally cleared his throat and said, ‘I was sick as a child, and no healer could discover what it was. My uncle sent for one of the Saj of the Maraciana in a last-ditch effort to save my life, and he discovered my power. Keeping it inside had been killing me slowly. Apparently, someone in my family line was Visya.’
Aya bit her lip as she surveyed the prince. He met her gaze, a dull smile on his face. ‘You see, then, why my uncle would want to keep this quiet.’ He laughed roughly, dragging a hand down his face once more. ‘A Visya prince. The end of my family’s line.’ Aidon leaned forward, his arms braced on his knees. ‘I can’t take the crown if anyone knows the truth. The gods forbid it.’
Will remained silent, his gaze fixed on the prince. She could see the cogs of his mind moving, his fingers steepled together in front of him.
The rules of the realm were set – only the eldest sibling could rule. The crown passing to another family line was something that hadn’t happened in over a century.
‘Would your uncle side with Kakos?’ Will finally asked, that contemplative frown still on his face. Aidon shook his head.
‘While we may not be as traditional as the north, we don’t condone heresy. If Kakos is trying to revive the Decachiré, then they are a threat not just to humans and Visya, but the gods. He would never support that.’
‘Even if in their heresy, they support you, a Visya, takingthe throne?’ Will pressed. ‘I doubt Kakos gives a damn what the gods have decreed.’
‘Even then. Kakos’ support would not sway centuries of custom and belief in my own kingdom,’ Aidon retorted. ‘My uncle knows that. I think he rather hopes to not get involved – to let your queen fight this religious war on her own should Kakos truly attack.’
It would be the safest option, Aya supposed. Especially if the king’s nephew wanted to fight. She knew Aidon would stop at nothing to defend his people, including revealing his power to save them.
‘What if you had Gianna’s support for you taking the throne?’ she asked softly, her eyes fixed on the ground. ‘Would that get your uncle to agree to the alliance?’
‘She would never agree to it,’ Will retorted.
But Aya kept her focus on a tear in the carpet, her palms gripping the edge of the chair cushion. ‘If she was willing to offer me in marriage, then I think she might accept anything.’
The room grew still, a tense silence descending on them.
‘Apparently I’ve missed something,’ Josie finally said slowly.
‘The king claims Gianna intends for me to match with your brother,’ Aya explained. ‘He believes she alluded to it as a potential exchange for an alliance.’ She refused to look in Will’s direction, refused to see whatever was stirring in those gray eyes.
‘Gianna would use you in such a way?’ Josie asked, the disbelief evident in her voice. ‘Why?’
Aya shook her head, searching for the words to explain all that she suspected, but it was Will who answered, his voice flat. ‘Because there would be no greater concession than to give you one of her own.’
‘But you’re Visya,’ Josie pushed.
‘Perhaps she feels differently about a saint on the throne,’ Will answered for Aya in that same dull tone. ‘Or perhaps she doesn’t believe it to be heresy, because Aya wouldn’t be crowned at all.’
Aya met his stony gaze. His face was unreadable.
‘Reasons aside, if Gianna is desperate enough to offer me up, perhaps she’d be desperate enough to back a Visya on the throne if it meant your uncle lends us his forces,’ Aya finally said.
‘There is another option,’ Aidon hedged. ‘One that doesn’t involve Gianna at all.’ His eyes raked over her, as if searching for the power she’d displayed.
‘Absolutely not,’ Will growled.
‘If my uncle knows the prophecy is true, he may be more willing to fight,’ Aidon plowed on. ‘There would be infallible proof of Kakos rising to power.’
‘Thereisinfallible proof,’ Will interjected. ‘We’ve seen it in our own damn kingdom, and still he refuses to act. The answer is no.’
