Keris pulled his wife againsthim, eyeing the dying light of the sun through the expansive windows, longing for darkness to fall and, with it, any reason to leave this room. But it was not lost on him that the stakes were too high to lose himself in his wife for long. “Which bitch?”
“As much as I’d love to say Alexandra, I mean Lestara. I know you have been working to undermine her and the Cardiffian alliance. What progress have you made turning William against her?”
“None. The letters you brought were timely, but in truth, I don’t think they’ll be enough to sway William. Lestara has his measure and has dug her claws in deep. Plus, she’s pregnant.”
Zarrah released an aggrieved sigh. “Of course she is. God have mercy on that child to be born to such a family.”
“I’d thought Alexandra would move swiftly to be rid of her, but now I’m not so sure. I think she’ll keep Lestara in play until she’s ready to move on Cardiff, which is likely to be years from now.”
“Maybe.” His wife’s expression was thoughtful. “Lestara makes emotional choices, which Alexandra won’t like. If I were a betting woman—”
“Which you are.”
She smiled. “My bet is that Lestara won’t survive the birth of the child. It’s risky business at the best of times, and it would be nothing for Alexandra to arrange to give her something that causes her tobleed out. Ronan can hardly blame Harendell for that, and he still has the advantage of a grandchild sitting pretty as heir. As long as Harendell agrees to move on Amarid, he may be content. It’s not as though she’s a favored daughter.”
Keris frowned, a memory crawling up from the depths of his mind. “Sara said something to me when I first discovered what Lestara had done. She said that she’d overheard the harem discussing Lestara and that Coralyn had been grooming her for…err—” He winced. “—me.”
Zarrah lifted one dark eyebrow. “Coralyn did love to meddle.”
He rolled onto his back, staring at the bed’s canopy. “Why would Coralyn choose Lestara as her successor to rule the harem?”
“Maybe because Lestara was young and beautiful?” She bent over his chest and examined the healing wound on it, frowning. “I feel compelled to also point out that Lestara was the only one who hadn’t given birth to one of your half siblings.”
“Minor factors.” When she grimaced, he added, “In Coralyn’s mind, at any rate. She would have backed the woman she believed would lead me to the greatest success. I can’t begin to fathom why she believed Lestara was that woman.”
“Coralyn died before Lestara showed her darker attributes. She seemed to get on well enough with the other women while I was imprisoned with them.”
It was not a topic that he relished discussing with his wife, but Keris couldn’t let go of the sense that he was missing something. “Coralyn would have had her measure. Would have sensed her ambition and selfishness. What about Lestara was worth saddling me with such a risk?”
“Get Sarhina to ask the other women in the harem?” Zarrah shifted so that she was looking down into his eyes. “Though beyond how poorly Lestara took your subsequent rejection and the fact that she’ll surely kill you if she gets the chance, I don’t really see why Coralyn’s intentions matter.”
Keris didn’t either, and yet…“She told me that Ronan would kill her for failing if I sent her back to Cardiff.”
“Her position secured a trade deal with Maridrina.”
“A minor one. We aren’t in high need of furs in Vencia.” He rubbed at his temples. “Fuck.I wish I’d paid more attention to the things she said to me, but every thought in my skull was getting you off Devil’s Island. Ronan had to have known there was no chance of her becoming queen of Maridrina, prophecy or no. What was his goal for her? What was she supposed to achieve?”
Zarrah curled up next to him, her fingernails tracing lines up and down his chest. “The Cardiffians put a lot of weight into prophecy, Keris, and I’ve heard that Ronan’s queen, Calythra, is a seer of renown. I’m not sure you can rely on logic to understand the things they do.”
“Except if we are to break the alliance between Cardiff and Harendell, we need to understand it.” He sighed, distracted by his wife’s touch and wishing he could lose himself in her for days on end. But there was no time for that.
“Lestara knows your face and knows it well,” he continued, rolling onto his side. “The Harendellians won’t take it well to learn that the empress of Valcotta is roaming the Sky Palace in disguise. You can’t stay, Zarrah. Especially given what is happening back home with the herds.”
“It was Harendellian cattle that brought the disease. Cattle that somehow escaped from their isolation to join other animals.” Her face hardened. “Seems rathertimely,don’t you think?”
His anger rose, much of it directed at himself. “Alexandra neglected to mention that Harendell was the source.”
“The animals were premium bulls sent via shipbeforeEdward died.”
Zarrah’s tone was steady, but he could feel her fury. “Do you think he’s responsible?”
“Hold that thought.” His wife slipped out of bed and crossed the room to her discarded clothing, only to let out a yelp. “What is that?”
Fiona had appeared from the sitting room and sat watching them expectantly. “Oh. That’s Fiona. She’s a poison-sniffing dog. Saam bought her.”
“Did he now?” Zarrah stooped to stroke Fiona, then shooed the dog into the other room before picking up her jacket.
She extracted a letter that showed signs of having been read many times and handed it to him. Keris frowned at the sight of Eddie’s familiar handwriting, skimming the letter and then turning it over to reveal where Zarrah had helpfully decoded the hidden message.
