Theo’s stomach dropped at the thought of Sephardi in the prison and what she would endure. How could she have turned to the Accords?
“I know it may pain you—”
“She betrayed her kingdom,” Theo said, thumbing the edge of the glass.
“I was also informed of Miss Carter’s actions,” he stated flatly.
Theo’s thumb ceased its circling, all his nerves vigilant. “Do you planto send her to Elric too?” Theo sniped.
His father inclined a brow.
“I’m aware of your plan to have Lord Godfrey cart her off to that wretched prison. I won’t allow it, especially after last night.”
“Never once have I seen one enter a battlefield. She is far from the old mystique who used to walk these halls.”
“She’s a different breed.” Theo’s eyes fell to the vase and the newly added snowdrops.
“And proved to be a valuable asset.”
“She’s more than an asset,” he breathed. “She saved me and many more.” He placed the glass on the desk, no longer thirsty for the taste of his father’s kusu. “You wanted her to prove herself, and now she has. Amaris entered that battlefield, not knowing if she would live, all to save as many as she could.”
His father inhaled deeply, biting the inside of his cheek as he folded his arms. “You may be a leader on the battlefield, but there’s a difference when it comes to leading a province,” his father said. “I couldn’t very well allow a potential murderer to roam about freely, but she most certainly proved her loyalty last night when she tended to each fallen soldier herself.”
Theo had fallen asleep before she’d begun treating the wounded. She must have been exhausted to have treated every man and woman, especially with the injury to her thigh.
“I will have a letter sent to Freville’s family stating he was likely killed by Deavopan soldiers,” his father began, “and I would like you to offer Miss Carter a permanent position as mystique.”
“I doubt she’d be willing to accept your proposition after how you treated her.”
“Who would turn down an official position as a mystique to a province?”
“Was her healing not enough before?” Theo’s leg muscles tightened with his anger, sending spasms around the cut in his thigh. “She risked herlife to save me in a river, healed Esaias from scrying fever, and jumped in front of that whip.”
His father set aside his kusu, releasing a deep sigh. “Theo,” he began, “I don’t expect you to understand the decisions that must be made to protect one’s people as their leader, but I do implore you to see the rationality of our situation. We have our family and our people to protect. We must not trust just anyone. Their loyalty must be proved beyond a doubt.”
Theo picked at a chipped part of the upholstered chair, digging out a sliver in the wood. “I’m well aware of what can happen when trust is placed in the wrong hands.”
Twice now he’d been betrayed. He still didn’t know who’d betrayed his squad and sent them on a fool’s mission to Oystein Castle. Maybe he never would. But at least Sephardi hadn’t been successful in her mission to kill Amaris. As much as he wished otherwise, his father was right about one thing. He could no longer blindly trust.
“I’m sure you are,” his father said. “I know you have not sought me out only for her freedom, but to discuss what we’re to do about future attacks.”
“We need reinforcements,” Theo began. “We need to ask for the king’s aid.”
“I agree, but we also need to see if our friends in Westbury have suffered similarly.”
“The Grants can suffer every bit of what we went through last night,” Theo hissed. “They deserve it.”
“I don’t like or respect Lord Grant any more than you do, but he is still a lord in Luana, and as such, he’s entitled to our security. When we have enough healed forces, I want you to take a small party and journey there. We are to determine whether there are any damages and whether we need to send a part of our army to Westbury.”
“We can’t risk spreading ourselves thin. They have their own people to defend them. They prefer it that way anyways.” The Grants were the lastpeople Theo wanted to help. “We should focus our efforts on making it to Charibert to ask for aid from the king’s armada.”
“Westbury isn’t entirely out of your way. You’ll travel there and send a messenger to report back,” his father demanded.
“Won’t we be sailing down the coast?”
“No, you’ll journey through the Scarlet Mountains. I won’t jeopardize good soldiers for the sake of efficiency. The waters are no longer safe.”
Theo shook his head, grasping his temples. “But it’ll add at least a few days if we stop in Westbury, especially if they insist on arguing with us,” he shot back. They did as they pleased, however they pleased.
