She opened her mouth to correct him but found herself coming up short. What excuses could she give? It was exactly what she had suggested when she accused him of partnering with Kakos.
‘Why press Dominic in her letter?’ she asked instead. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be leading the effort for allyship? She told you to bide your time.’
Will laughed, the sound low and hollow as he swungaround to face her, his lips twisting into a sneer. ‘That surprises you, does it? Our queen knows Kakos’ activity is a threat not just to our realm, but the gods themselves. She’ll leave nothing to chance.’
It was telling though that Gianna didn’t trust Will to secure the alliance without her involvement, especially given how close she had always kept him to her affairs. Her Second had seemed to be her closest confidant, and Aya always assumed that was because the queen trusted him implicitly.
Will turned, gripping the rusted iron railing that ran along the cliff edge, his brow furrowed as he considered the sea. ‘Gianna is ambitious and severely untrusting,’ he finally murmured, as if lost in thought.
‘But you’re her Second,’ Aya pressed. ‘And …’
And her rumored lover.
His eyes were dark as they cut to her. ‘You and I both know nothing stands in the way of Gianna taking what she decides is hers.’
The words settled heavily between them. Unease flooded Aya’s stomach as Will turned his gaze back to the ocean, his hands tightening once on the rail. But before she could push him further, he was turning again, aiming for the path. ‘I think I’ve had enough inquisitions for one day,’ Will muttered. ‘I’m going to the tavern. I’d ask you to join me, but I know how much you adore my company.’
Aya rolled her eyes. It was hardly noon. ‘You deal with your disappointment in such productive ways.’
Will glanced at her, his jaw tight with anger. ‘Kakos issiphoningVisya power. They’ll be experimenting on humans next. An attack is surely imminent. We are on the brink of war, negotiating an alliance with a king who can’t get his head out of his ass, all while Gianna undermines our efforts in the name of the very gods we seek to protect by stopping thisthreat,’ he ground out. ‘Our most important source is nowdead. I’ll deal with my disappointment however I like.’ He started down the path, hands shoved into his pockets, shoulders bunched.
‘You should be careful,’ Aya called after him. ‘The woman you mock is our queen.’
He didn’t bother to turn around. ‘Even I, Aya, would not be foolish enough to openly mock our queen.’
A liar, Aya tried to remind herself as she watched him disappear around the bend. Will was a masterful liar; almost as masterful as she was.
But the thought was hollow.
Aya was trained to trust her intuition. To question the logical and expected. To trulysee. And what was she seeing of him?
His frustration wasn’t forced. With the Council, with Dominic, with Gianna.
Nor was his restlessness. Will wanted answers as badly as she did.
And Aya wasn’t sure where that left her.
37
Will closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the cool stones of the sea wall. He took a second to thank whatever gods still bothered to care that he’d found a spot of shade. It was sweltering, making his skin feel as though he was about to burst and turning the dull thud that ached behind his eyes into a persistent, piercing pain.
He should’ve gone to the bar like he told Aya he was going to. It was foolish to be here – to seek this help. But he was desperate.
Perhaps he’d simply take Aya and leave this godsforsaken place without a word. He’d help her wrangle her power some other way, and Gianna … well, he’d have to find a way to deal with his queen regardless.
He had no plans to return to Tala.
‘You look like shit,’ a voice drawled from the shadows. Will let out a heavy sigh, enjoying a moment more of blissful darkness before turning to face the tall figure with tawny skin and silken charcoal hair. Despite the smirk twisting his lips, his hooded eyes were wary as they scanned Will.
‘Ryker,’ Will greeted the boy tersely.
But he wasn’t a boy anymore, as the several feet he’d grown over the last five years clearly showed. No … Ryker was a man now. And it was a man’s voice that said, ‘Heard you were in town. I figured it was only a matter of time before you’d come sniffing her out. Why she agreed to see your sorry ass is beyond me.’
Will pushed himself off the wall. Gods, Ryker was tallerthan he was now, despite being three years Will’s junior. And though he was lanky, Will could see the cut of his muscles as he folded his arms across his broad chest. He’d always thought Ryker would’ve made a good fighter. Perhaps would’ve even made the Dyminara, if they took humans and the boy had grown up in Tala. But Ryker had other allegiances.
Will’s eyes flicked to the rose tattoo on Ryker’s bicep, the bottom petal peeking out from his shirt. So it was official then. Last he’d seen Ryker, he was merely following the Bellare around like a lost pup.
‘I see she’s still having you play errand-boy,’ Will mused, matching Ryker’s smirk with one of his own. The younger boy’s vanished as his features twisted into a glare.
