“Jhiton is rarely angry.Lesvais pissed. Not just at me. You killed her dragon.” Again, he didn’t think he was telling Syla anything she didn’t know, but he second-guessed himself. He shouldn’t say anything at all on these matters. But it was so easy to speak with Syla, to answer her questions. Maybe he needed to distract her from asking them.
“She was trying to kill me at the time,” Syla pointed out. “Your people have invaded the Kingdom that I’m blood-bound to protect.”
She was right—and he wouldn’t argue with her on the matter—but a hint of doubt entered her eyes. Probably because she was a healer and conflicted about using that weapons platform to kill. He’d come to know her well enough to believe that guess correct.
“I understand,” he said quietly. “But you’ll want to watch the sky above even more assiduously than before if she’s around.”
“The sky? She came out of the water like a sea serpent.”
“The oceans are dangerous too. You’ll also want to watch them.”
“I need to watch everything.”
She looked toward the door, and he wondered if her own people were still after her. Did assassins lurk among the uniformed men on the ship? He wouldn’t be surprised. Syla being crowned probably hadn’t done anything to squelch the ambitions of others who sought the throne for themselves.
“I’m sorry, Syla.” Vorik came to her chair and lifted his arms so that he could drape them around her, but the chain linking his shackles made that hard. She ended up as bound as he, but she didn’t move away from his embrace. Instead, she leaned her head against his chest. “I wish I could stand with you against all who threaten you,” he said. “You deserve loyal allies.”
He rested his face against the top of her head and inhaled her scent. She must have found a moment to wash since the stormy battle, for her hair smelled lovely. A lush floral and fruity scent that was far more appealing than what lingered in the air from the candle.
“I wish you could stand with me too. I’d like that a lot. Instead, you’re here to kidnap me.”
“I’m not doing a good job of it.”
“You do have me trapped in your embrace.” She poked at the chain.
“How trapped do you truly feel, given that there’s a powerful dragon perched ten feet above us? Close enough that she could swing her head down, smash her snout through that porthole, pluck me up, and snap me in two?”
“Her snout wouldn’t fit through the porthole.”
“She could smash through the entirehull.”
“That is true. She once extricated me from my room via the roof.”
“And thus you don’t feel trapped at all.”
“Not by you. By my duty perhaps. But I’m alive when others aren’t, so I guess I can’t whine.”
“It’s all right to whine a little when the world is unfair.” Vorik kissed the top of her head as he enjoyed the warmth of her body—ofher—in his arms.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Syla tilted her head back to gaze up at him. Her expression was more contemplative than adoring, though she wasn’t trying to escape his embrace, so he trusted she enjoyed having him close. “Since you saved my life, I’m struggling with what my duty dictates I should do.”
“Question me under the influence of that drug?”
“Yes. I know you would feel it a betrayal to your people if you let anything important slip.”
“I would.” Vorik smiled. She had also come to knowhimwell.
“How would you feel if I tried to trade you to them in exchange for the shielder components?”
“The shielder components that would, if turned into a shielder, effectively end our ability to attack your islands?”
“Yes, wouldn’t that be delightful?”
Vorik snorted, certainJhitonwouldn’t agree. Nor would any of the chiefs. But all Vorik had ever wanted was a way to feed his people. If that could be achieved by other means, wouldheobject to a cessation of hostilities?
The problem was that, once all the islands were protected again, the Kingdom wouldn’t have any reason to concede to demands—or even polite requests—made by the stormers. More, they would undoubtedly hold a grudge. He was amazed thatSylawasn’t holding a grudge. Oh, she hated Jhiton and kept trying to killhim, but, even though she should, she didn’t hate Vorik. He couldn’t help but wonder if a deal might be struck if he were involved. But his people wouldn’t let him make deals—he wasn’t even as trusted as he should be right now. And Syla… Therewasn’t a guarantee that she would remain queen, not with so many plotting against her.
“If our people could get food to see them through the harsh winters,” Vorik said carefully, aware that she was still watching him, her words perhaps not as much of a joke as they’d seemed, “Iwouldn’t care if your islands had all their shields back. But my people wouldn’t trade much for me.”
