But then his gaze flicks up. “If he’s your guard,” he says roughly, sitting back in his chair, “call him off.”
That makes me startle, and I turn my head to see that Rocco has moved away from the wall to stand at my shoulder.
“Rocco,” I say, and my voice is just as rough and shaky as Rian’s. “Stand down.”
I have to force my fingers to unclench from my skirts. I hate that Rian is right about so much of what he said. Corrick was also to blame for a lot of what went wrong.
So am I.
But my apothecary brain has seized on one word in the middle of his lecture, because it’s possibly theonlyword that would break through all my grief and rage and fear. I have to roll it around in my head to make sure he really said it, because out of everything, it’s the one part that doesn’t make sense.
“Wait.” I sit up straight, then swipe the tears out of my eyes. “Did you saypoison?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tessa
Much like Corrick’s home in Kandala, the Palace of the Sun is vast, and it takes a while to walk from room to room. When Rian leads us to a wide, spiral staircase, sunlight beams in through the yellow-and-red stained-glass windows to create a vivid pattern on the walls. We’re heading to his strategy room so we can look at maps and records, but my eyes keep falling on the signs of battle that must have happened right here. Little burn marks along the walls, nicks in the railings that must have come from a blade.
Rian sees me looking, and he says, “I didn’t lie about the war either.”
It’s the first thing he’s said since offering to explain about the poison, and his voice is quiet, mild, almost an apology after the way we were yelling at each other.
“I know,” I say, making my voice match. “I saw the outside.”
“A lot of people haven’t returned to Tarrumor. You saw thedamage—they’re afraid to rebuild in case Oren’s people return to raze the citadel again. Easier to head into the hills.”
“But you stayed,” I say.
He nods. “I’d never convince them to return if I were hiding, too.”
“What have you told them?” I ask.
We’ve reached the landing, and he looks at me in the buttery light from the windows here. “Told them?” he echoes.
“Your people,” I say. “What have you told them about what happened with Kandala?”
“They’ve seen the ship. It’s not seaworthy right now. It’s clear we were attacked, and there’s no secret the most likely offenders would be Oren and his pirates. I’ve said a few people from Kandala’s contingent survived.” He glances between me and Rocco, who’s followed along with Rian’s guards. “And here you are.”
My heart thumps against my rib cage. I didn’t intend to walk right into the reasons Rocco and I discussed coming here, but the opportunity has arisen, and I don’t want to waste it.
There is more than one way to fight.I swallow and hope I don’t throw up on him again. It doesn’t help that I still want to stab him, too.
“On the ship, you were so worried about the promises you made to arrange for a trade for steel. Are you still?”
He glances over in a way that tells me he can see right through me. “Of course.”
“Do you intend to return to Kandala to negotiate again?”
“I sense it’ll be a bit harder if I return without the king’s brother and two of his guards.”
I take a slow breath to let those words land so I can speak evenly.“To say nothing of the fact that you’d be returning as a king yourself, not a displaced emissary.”
“You seem to be maneuvering toward a goal, Miss Cade, and you’ve made no secret of your feelings for me.” He stops beside an open door, and I can hear the muffled sounds of a woman’s voice somewhere deep within. “Ask for what you want. If we can come to terms, we will.”
I somehow forgot that he was like this. Everyone at court in Kandala was always full of double-speak and hidden motives. Rian obviously hid some things, but he’s always been direct.
“Fine,” I say. “I want to go back to Kandala. If you need steel, you want to go back, too. You know King Harristan won’t negotiate with you after what happened. You need me and Rocco to explain so you don’t look like a complete villain.”
