‘He’s right,’ Aya pressed. ‘There are too many unknowns right now. My studies aren’t complete. And if word gets back to Kakos, it could accelerate the conflict before we’re ready for it.’
Too close; they were circling too close to the truth about her power.
No one will follow darkness into battle.
Aya dug her fingers into the arm of her chair as Aidon rubbed a hand across his jaw. ‘So whenwillthis news be shared?’ he asked.
Silence stretched between the four friends, and Aidon let out a hard laugh. ‘You’re joking.’
‘My power is an advantage,’ Aya reasoned, desperate to keep Aidon from digging further. ‘You of all people understandhow valuable the element of surprise can be. Gianna will tell the realm when the time is right.’
‘You’d ask my troops to join this war with no knowledge that a saint exists.’
‘I’m not—’
‘My kingdom needs to know, Aya!’
The proclamation settled heavily in the room, Aidon’s voice rumbling with authority. Aya could feel her brows rise. A king – that’s who had been speaking. She hadn’t heard that tone from him before. Even Josie looked surprised as she glanced at her brother.
Aidon rubbed at his face, his voice strained. ‘But, fine. For now, I’ll talk to my uncle. See what, if anything, would change his willingness to commit our forces.’
Aya knew it marked the end of their meeting. Josie was already standing, desperate to find Viviane. Aya walked them to the door, but Aidon lingered, even as Will excused himself to bathe.
‘I’m sorry for how I reacted,’ Aidon finally said after Will left. ‘I was scared.’
Aya raised a brow, a small smirk lifting the corner of her lips. ‘Finally, you’ve come to your senses.’
Aidon rolled his eyes. ‘Not of you,’ he said incredulously. ‘Foryou. For myself, too. I was scared that you knew my secret. And what yours meant for you.’ He leaned against the armoire on the far wall, his arms folding across his chest. ‘You’re not all that terrifying, you know.’
‘Even though I’m a weapon?’ She had meant her teasing to sound light, but there was enough heaviness to the words that she knew he sensed how deeply he had cut her.
‘I didn’t mean that. It’s how I’ve been trained to think of us my entire life. But it’s not how I see you.’
Us.
Because he was one of them. Visya, just like her.
Aya swallowed, desperately wanting to alleviate the heaviness that had settled between them. But she found herself hesitating, the light, verbal sparring that usually came so easily with Aidon suddenly full and thick with implications. He tilted his head as he considered her, a grim smile on his face.
‘Gianna’s offer is eating at you, isn’t it.’
Aya swallowed, her hands twining behind her back. ‘Do you think it would encourage your uncle to make an alliance?’
‘Would that be what sways you to accept the match?’
She knew what the answer was. For Tala – for her people – she would. And yet she found herself unable to make that promise aloud. She told herself it was because it didn’t change the danger she’d bring him. But perhaps it was also because of the hesitation she saw in his own gaze as he watched her.
Could he live with that? That their match had been born not out of his duty to the Crown, but of hers to her queen.
Could she?
Aidon pushed himself off the armoire. ‘Before you answer … remember that this isn’t just about alliances, and duties, andus. It’s about him, too.’ There was no accusation in his voice, but it didn’t stop Aya from instantly rejecting his notion, her mouth opening to argue. Aidon cut her off with a soft chuckle. ‘You can lie all you want to me, Aya. But at least be honest with yourself. You have feelings for him. For me too,’ he added with a sly smile. ‘But ignoring whatever is between you and Will while making this decision would be foolish. And as I recall you saying, you’re no fool.’
Was it even a decision? If Gianna pushed this, and Dominic accepted … they were merely pawns in a grander game. She knew he felt it too – knew it was what drove thedesperation behind his kiss on the beach. They cared for each other, it was true. But …
Haven’t you ever wanted something for yourself?
‘How are you so calm about this?’ Aya asked, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
