Harthon dipped his chin.
“You want to go into the Domus to…what?” He waved his hand. “Kill the king? Take his place? Steal whatever resources you find thriving there?”
“You said it yourself. The Domus is killing our world. Whatever resources are found within it can help us. That is the primary objective.”
Aric’s mouth curved. “How benevolent of you.” He mulled over a drink before asking, “What if they don’t allow you to take those resources? We don’t know the state of things within Centralis, but regardless of whether Donon or another king still rules, I doubt its people will want to share.”
“I won’t be asking if they want to share,” was Harthon’s direct response.
I hoped for those peoples’ sakes that they didn’t choose to fight back. Harthon would bring his forces in and decimate them.
“Whoever has control of those resources will have an awful lot of power,” Aric slowly stated.
“They will.” Harthon didn’t bother denying it as he set his goblet down. “Does that bother you?”
Part of me expected Torr and his men to burst through the doors, or for Aric to grasp some hidden dagger and throw it. Harthon was tense as a snake, coiled to strike back.
Aric rolled his lips thoughtfully. “Doesn’t bother me if I’m on the right side of that power.”
“Your position will depend on whether you align yourself with my goals.”
“Which depends on many factors,” Aric shot back. “But I don’t think that is a concern for this current dilemma. We need to enter the Domus and understand what we’re dealing with. Power negotiations or disagreements can come after.”
He may as well have said he intended to fight Harthon for control after our quest was done. Aric had already proven he was self-serving. He was also a capable man with an ego, and in no world would a man like him want to be subordinate to another.
Bringing him into this was a terrible idea.
“That works.”
I swung to Harthon, gaping. Thatsodid not work.
“It works,” Harthon repeated, “but we go with only my men, and if you try to kill me, Etarla, or any of my men during this little adventure, I will cut out your intestines and strangle you with them.”
“I take one man with me,” Aric amended. A half-crazed glint reflected in his eyes as he added, “And the same goes for you, my friend, if you try to kill us.”
The same anticipatory edge shone in Harthon’s face, and my jaw dropped a little more. Then both men drank at the same time, as if sealing this backwards truce.
Reckless and violent, both of them.It was a wonder they were still alive.
Aric swallowed and added, “This all assumes the Horrads don’t kill either of us first.”
It was my turn to chime in. “I thought that was the whole point of us cluing you in here. You have the experience to help us navigate First.”
“I do.” His next words washed away that comfort. “But the last time I snuck in, I was the sole survivor. I wasn’t unscathed, either. Nearly lost my eye.”
Of course, that was where he’d earned his scar.
“Yours, though, they’d probably want to keep intact.”
He didn’t specifyin my faceor outside of it, and that implication sent my goblet to my lips. The liquid burned down my throat, but I took another gulp, because it felt entirely necessary.
“How did you get those eyes and that knowledge, anyway?” Aric asked.
“We’ve given you enough detail,” Harthon interjected, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I didn’t think telling Aric the story of my encounter would be giving anything valuable away, not after all we’d just revealed, which meant Harthon was withholding that information as some sort of power play. A way to assert a little dominance over the Princeps.
I was certain Aric was aware of this, but all he said was, “The Horrads don’t always send someone back like this. Oftentimes, the fools who come across them are never seen again. But when the Horradsdosend us a gift, people take several days to regroup before attempting to seek vengeance. The Horrads will be expecting that delay, so we won’t give it to them. We’ll begin passing through the mountains at dawn. To do that, we need to depart within the hour. There’s a village in the foothills where we can rest tonight.”
