“When have I lied?” he says. “You bring the king’s doubt upon yourself.”
“Who are you working with, Alek?” My breathing feels tight and shallow. He’s too clever. I know Rhen brought him here in hopes of uncovering something, but Alek always knows how to twist things so the outcome is exactly what he expects.
His expression doesn’t flicker. “I have customers and vendors all over Syhl Shallow. You know this.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it. Who’s Lady Karyl?”
He looks up. “I have no idea. Is that someone of importance?”
I want to punch him. “That’s who left you a message with Jax!”
He sighs as if bored of my interrogation. “I cannot keep track of the name of every servant sent to leave me a message, Tycho. At this point, I wouldn’t even know which message this might apply to.”
“So if it is not a matter of trust,” says Rhen, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand, “do you question Tycho’s loyalty?”
Alek slides his cards together, then surveys the board. He must be satisfied by what he finds there, because he lays a coin down, then looks at me. “In fact, no. I don’t question your loyalty at all.”
That shocks me still.
“If anything, Tycho’s loyalty is rather … impressive,” Alek continues, and his voice is just as even as Rhen’s. “I personally would find it rather challenging to devote myself to a king who once fled his duty, hid his identity, lied about his abilities, and then allowed me to be chained to a wall and flogged.”
There’s blood on my tongue. I’ve bitten the inside of my cheek. I don’t think I’m breathing.
Alek glances at Rhen. “To say nothing of carrying that devotion so far as to sit here politely playing cards with the man responsible.”
I expect that to make Rhen flinch, because I feel the impact of those words like a sledgehammer. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t look away fromAlek. “A man in power has to think about more than just the life of one person—or two, as it was. I had a country to protect. A choice to make. So I made it.”
“I don’t fault you for it,” says Alek.
“I honestly don’t care if you do or not.” Rhen sets down a coin. “Tycho, the bet is yours.”
I have no idea how they’re continuing to play cards right now. I don’t even look at the cards in play; I just add another coin to the pile. I feel like I’m simultaneously being strangled and set on fire.
Alek does this every single time. It’s diabolical. Masterful, the way he makes me reconsider every decision I’ve ever made.
But then I realize what Rhen just said.
I honestly don’t care if you do or not.
It wraps up with the words he said to me last night.
There’s little use dwelling in self-doubt.
I look at Rhen. My chest feels hollow, but my voice is steady when I say, “You may not care for my opinion either, but I also don’t fault you for it.”
“On the contrary,” he says. “Your opinion means quite a bit. Alek, where do your loyalties lie?”
“With Syhl Shallow,” Alek says. There’s no tension in his voice, but I can see that his eyes are no longer studying the cards, and are instead studying Rhen. “As I hope you would expect.”
“Of course.” Rhen pauses. “So I would assume you are loyal to your queen?”
“As you are loyal to your king, Your Highness.” Alek shrugs. “The problem arises when one’s subjects begin to question the king and queen’s loyalty to each other.”
“Is it a matter ofquestioningtheir loyalty,” says Rhen, “or judging it?”
Alek says nothing. He senses a trap.
“Your queen has chosen to marry the king of Emberfall,” Rhencontinues. He looks at his cards, surveys the arrangement on the table, and lays down a coin. “So you can see whereherloyalty lies. And surely you would have no question about mine.”
