“I need to speak with Stellan directly,” I say.
“How will you get him to confess who he’s working with?” Janus asks as a train attendant glides into our compartment. She places a delicate porcelain cup before me. The steam carries the sharp, citrusy scent of lemon.
“I have my methods,” I say. I don’t expect Stellan to drop his campaign and work with me. Instead, I am using the meeting as an excuse to visit Gianna.
As much as it pains me, I need to consider the possibility that Gianna betrayed me in exchange for the truth about herfamily, Stellan knows who they are. Gianna’s connections to the Council, including her former engagements with Hammond Bishop, Fynn, and her aunt’s failed engagement with my uncle, place her in a unique position to gather sensitive information. It’s possible that either Fynn or her aunt told her that Don was Fynn’s real father.
The idea that someone I’ve trusted my whole life could prioritize her own needs over our friendship is like a knife sliding between my ribs. But it wouldn’t be the first time someone I loved betrayed me. I cannot allow personal feelings to cloud my judgment. I must uncover the truth, no matter how hurtful it may be.
“Do you have an idea who Stellan’s informant is?” Bennett asks, looking up from his electronic notepad.
I narrow my gaze at him. “Let’s stay focused on why you are both here. Shall we?”
Bennett nods, but there’s hurt in his eyes. If he wanted me to confide in him, he should never have lied about Corvina.
Janus sits taller. “If another crisis or natural disaster occurs in your absence, the chain of command will be me, followed by Keris Telfour.”
I nod.
“I want you both to watch Prince Alden while I am gone. If he asks, you will tell him I’ve been tied up in meetings, but I will have my answer regarding his proposal tomorrow night,” I say. Janus and Bennett exchange a look that tingles my fingers and toes. “What’s the look?”
Janus removes her reading glasses with deliberate slowness. She folds them carefully.
“I hope your answer to him is yes,” she says. “The Council unanimously supports the marriage. It’ll establish long-lasting peace between our countries. There have been whispers about more paw prints breaching the northern border.”
“Did my grandmother tell you that?” Why isn’t she talking to me?
“No, she’s been indisposed, but the Blade Commander there contacted Soter Telfour about it today,” Janus says. “Which is why I must emphasize how King Simon and Prince Zeus will have no choice but to back off if you are married to Alden. He controls Lua’s armies. We can’t forget that they are still a threat despite Alden being here. The new paw prints at the border to prove it. The wolves are getting restless. You need to put an end to their threat.” Her magic has the potted plants lining the compartment’s walls rustling, their leaves curling with the sensations of hostility.
I grit my teeth. I had no idea there was a unanimous vote for me to marry Alden. “I understand that’s what you think, yes. But I am still determined to find another way. Alden doesn’t want to marry me as much as I don’t want to marry him.”
“He talks about you as if he wouldn’t mind,” Bennett says.
I roll my eyes. It is all an act.
“You might use this time in Aurora to ask Wilder to remain there. He will not disobey a direct order if he’s as loyal to you as you claim. That way, you will no longer hesitate to do the right thing, Leigh,” Janus says, with Bennett nodding in agreement. “The Council and I still are wary of him after what happened with Stellan in the square. You’d be doing the right thing by cutting him loose.”
My hands itch to wrap around their throats. Wilder isn’t the problem. Alden is. “He did nothing wrong.”
Janus glides her tongue over her straight teeth. “Leigh, I am not trying to antagonize you.”
I sip my tea, eyeing her above the rim. If that were true, then why is she backing me into a corner with this proposal? Her threat is there, even if it is a veiled one.
“To ensure the Council is represented in your talks with Stellan, I would like Bennett to accompany you to Aurora and sit in on your meeting.”
I scoff. “That’s not necessary.”
Janus holds up her hand. “It is nonnegotiable. Bennett will attend the meeting to ensure Stellan understands he will be met with force if he continues his harmful discourse and rhetoric to turn Aurora into an independent nation.”
It takes all my willpower to keep my jaw from dropping. “Threatening him won’t win us any favors with the Nebula.” Stellan will only double down about us being the enemy.
“Plenty of Nebula are still loyal to us.”
I sigh. The Nebula won’t stay on our side long if Stellan continues to threaten us and we threaten him back. It’s a game of cat and mouse, and I am done playing. It’ll only end in bloodshed.
“I’d prefer if Bennett didn’t come to Aurora,” I say.
“Leigh, I am an asset. My presence will help make negotiations with Stellan smoother,” Bennett says, and I almost laugh.
