“It would.”
“I met with him last week, at his invitation,” he said.
Tension immediately thickened the air, even as Harthon remained relaxed in his seat.
If Aric had already aligned himself with Koerlyn, it would be that much harder to defeat the monster. And if they were aligned, Koerlyn may have told Aric the truth about how I was powerless, save for my knowledge of the tunnels.
Then again, Koerlyn telling Aric that there was a route into and out of the Domus would be counterintuitive to his own ends. Aric would want to take me and enter Centralis himself.
“He hates you,” Aric added with an air of amusement.
“And here, I thought we were old friends. I’m devastated,” Harthon deadpanned.
“He wants yourmagvis, and he wants my help in taking her from you,” Aric revealed boldly. “He promises impressive rewards.”
“I’m sure he does.”
And I was sure that Harthon was currently planning where he’d strike Aric with a dagger if the Princeps made a move for me here and now.
But Aric’s only move was to uncross his arms and clasp his hands together on the table. “As tempting as those rewards may be, Koerlyn is crazy. And while I appreciate some amounts of crazy, too much can’t be trusted. Whether or not you get the Domus involved, there is a decent chance your battles will turn into a war, and Territories are going to need to pick sides.” He glanced at me, then told Harthon, “I’m picking yours.”
The declaration loosened the tightness of the room.
He was our ally, then. We’d accomplished our goal.
I wondered if Harthon felt the same urge to leap in triumph, because all he did was nod and say, “I’m glad your trip here was worth our time.”
“Likewise. Though let me be clear,” Aric started, cutting my relief short as his gaze slid back to me. “I’m not completely convinced that amagvissuddenly appeared outside of the Domus and you were lucky enough to stumble upon one.”
Chapter 22
Don’t let him rattle you.I raised my eyebrows in bored offense, meeting his skeptical gaze so he could better see my eyes. The violet and gold couldn’t be denied.
Harthon wasn’t fazed. “I’d share your suspicions if roles were reversed. Her appearance is bizarre, but my best guess is that Donan’smagvisdied shortly after the walls came up and the earth granted us another one, just as it granted us the very first. Our patrols found her in hiding.”
“Or sheisDonan’smagvisand came out of the Domus itself, in which case, there is a way in and out of those walls. Or, she’s just an ordinary woman born with strange eyes,” Aric proposed.
Sitting here in silence wouldn’t do a thing to help our cause. Themagviswould know exactly where she came from, and she surely wouldn’t appreciate someone questioning her identity. Embracing my role, I laughed a little. “No commoner has ever had eyes such as mine. And to your first point, I didn’t come from the Domus.”
Aric slouched back in his chair, grinning at my interjection with intrigue. “So where did you come from, then?”
“Do you remember anything about your own birth?” I deflected.
“I suppose not.”
“You cannot expect me to, either.”
He lifted a gray brow, clearly entertained by my response. “You came to be as a baby, then?”
The best lies were those that were close to truths. “I didn’t appear twenty-two years ago as the woman I am right now.”
“And how did those eyes go undiscovered for so long?”
“The woman who took me in lived remotely. I was hidden when there were visitors.”
“Clearly, then, you didn’t wish to be found. Knowing that, how is it that such a powerful being such as you came to be here with Harthon? Surely, he couldn’t force your obedience.” He asked his questions pleasantly enough, but I didn’t miss the challenge lining the words.
“When Harthon found me, I knew it would be a matter of time before others found me as well. My predecessors were fooled into making an oath that turned them into prisoners. I didn’t want others to try to do the same to me. Harthon is a strong leader and I support his mission, so I came voluntarily.” For thinking on my feet, it was a sound explanation.
