My hands curled into fists. “So she sat in her gilded tree while the rest of us fought and bled.”
“Kings and queens have been doing that since we learned to put crowns on heads,” Talthis said. There was no heat in it. Just bitter humor. “You should be familiar with the pattern by now.”
I thought of Duron.
Point taken.
Still, the thought of some Spring council weighing Aurelia’s life like a gamble on a board made something ugly twist in my gut.
I looked at Nali. “Do you know where she’s headed?”
“They remain on a return through the caves,” she said. “When they emerge, our scouts will know their direction.”
I rubbed my hands over my face, fingers scraping over stubble. “How long until I can at least hold a sword without my arms shaking?”
Talthis glanced at the light filtering through the tent flap. “Give it a couple of days,” he said.
Silence settled between us, threaded with the distant murmur of the forest outside. Birds called somewhere high in the canopy. A breeze shifted the tent walls, carrying the cool, green smell of the Emerald Forest inside.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll stay. I’ll wait for word.” I pointed a finger at Talthis. “But I want to know everything your scouts report. The minute they emerge from those caves, I want her location.”
“Done,” Talthis said easily.
“What do you want in return?” I asked warily. With Talthis, there was always a favor traded.
“We are, in fact, short on soldiers who have actually seen Heliconia’s army up close. Consider yourself conscripted.”
Naliadne grinned. “Careful, Prince, he’s already the general of the Chosen One’s army.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
She winked. “A good spy doesn’t reveal her secrets.”
I glared.
“Rest now,” she said. “I’ll send word to your aunt that you’re awake.”
“She’s here?”
Naliadne softened. “She is on an errand for my father and not permitted to travel with me. But I will get her a message. It will please her to know you are well.”
“Thanks,” I told her.
When they were gone, I slumped back against the pillow. Aurelia was alive. Trapped once again in those blasted caves. But alive.
I was useless for the moment—but not for long.
Heliconia had lost half her camp.
And somewhere in Lightshore, a queen was weighing lives and deciding whether to risk hers to save theirs.
I stared at the tent roof until it blurred.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Callan
The palace had never felt so small. Not when I was a boy hiding from my father’s rages. Not when I was a young prince expected to smile at foreign dignitaries while my father threatened their emissaries behind closed doors. Not even seven years ago, when Aurelia had broken our engagement and I’d returned home without a bride or the promise of another kingdom to rule over. But today? Today, the marble halls of Grey Oak felt like a coffin built expressly for me.
