“Don’t go.” She gazed into his eyes, almost tempted to draw upon her magic, to try tomakehim obey the order. But she’d tried to use her power on him before, and it hadn’t worked. For good or ill, he had power of his own, and he couldn’t be manipulated. Not by magic. “I’ll make youtentarts,” she tried instead. “And a cobbler. Five cobblers.”
“That sounds magnificent.” Vorik smiled sadly and touched her jaw.
“But you’re not going to stay.”
He patted her hand, letting his rest on hers, though he was poised to step back and out of her grip. “Not if there’s a chance that, by going, I can help our people find a peaceful way forward. And maybe if I can convince the stormers to want to vie for peace and make it clear we’ll only negotiate with you, that might also help you in your quest for your throne.”
Syla wanted to try again to change his mind, to tell him that having him fighting at her side would be the best way to ensure she could retake the throne, but she recognized that she wouldn’t sway him. Maybe, after the choices he’d made in the mine, he had believed he would walk away from his people, but things had changed.
With her throat tight with emotion, Syla said, “Then I’ll request that you be careful and not do anything foolish. Have a plan before walking in. I’ll agree to whatever within reason you offer your people to entice them to negotiate with mine. As long as they let you live.”
Vorik didn’t point out that she wasn’t yet in a position to offer him or his people anything on behalf of the Kingdom.
“I’ll keep your wise counsel in mind.” He kissed her, then slipped out of her grip and turned.
“Wait,” Syla blurted, tears threatening to creep into her eyes.
Vorik turned back, his eyebrows rising.
Syla wanted to make one more attempt to sway him. Images came to mind of Jhiton leaping out of the shadows and slitting his throat as soon as Vorik walked into their camp. But his jaw was set with determination. He didn’t need her breaking down and weeping to make things harder.
“You can’t go without any food,” she said, then held up a finger and jogged into the house.
Teyla and Vonla had already gathered jars, jerky, and bags of dried fruit and vegetables from the pantry. Syla grabbed a large bag to pack for Vorik. Realizing he would have to walk and thenswim before reaching his dragon, she didn’t select as many items as she might have otherwise, but she picked a number of tasty foods, including persimmons, a rarer fruit grown on the farm that he might not have had before. She also selected a few jars of jams, trusting he and his people might find them novel and flavorful, and a loaf of bread, a brick of cheese, and a few bags of dried fruit. When she spotted sugar-sprinkled, dragon-scale cookies, she almost filled a sack with them. If he got tired of carrying so much food… well, he could snack along the way.
“Do you need help with anything, Your Majesty?” Celena asked from the doorway as Vonla and Teyla walked out with their own provisions.
“Just selecting foods suitable to buy the love of stormers.”
Celena looked toward Vorik, who waited by the carriage.
“Not that one,” Syla said, “though he’ll definitely eat some of this.”
“I actually brought a few sweets along if you want to send them. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be away from home but didn’t have much time to pack so grabbed what I was working on in the kitchen.”
“If you have anything particularly delicious, I’ll send it.”
“Allof my food is delicious, Your Majesty.”
Syla recalled that Celena had dreams of starting a bakery. “Of course. I remember the cookies.”
“I have some of those and some chocolates and also chocolate nut butters. Those don’t take any baking, and my kids love them. Adults do too.”
“I have no doubt.”
Celena hurried to the carriage, then returned with tins of cookies and jars of the nut butters. Vorik gripped his chin and watched in bemusement as she and Syla maneuvered everything into one bag, then brought it to him. His nose twitched a few times as he peered in.
“The dragon-scale cookies and persimmons are for you,” Syla said. “And maybe the bread since that doesn’t stay fresh for long. I wrapped it in oilskin so that it’ll stay dry if you have to swim. The rest of the stuff you can share with your people. Maybe that’ll entice them and make them want to explore my proposal.”
“I would think so.” Vorik accepted the bag with a bow.
“I also tucked in one of my new salves. I’ve been using my power to imbue healing formulations with magical power.”
“Excellent. I may need such a salve.”
“Everyoneneeds such a salve. Oh, but I forbid you from giving anything to your brother.”
“Nothing at all? Not even a cookie? How will we sway him to our side?”
