72
Lara
Lara smoothed Delia’s dark hairback from her face, committing every inch of her daughter to memory. The baby watched her with solemn hazel eyes, seeming to recognize the weight of the moment despite circumstances being so far beyond her capacity to understand. She caught Lara’s index finger in her chubby fist and pulled it to her mouth, as she did all things, her first few teeth sharp against Lara’s skin.
They’d left Midwatch and headed south not long after James departed north for Cardiff. Lara had carried her child through the bridge, allowing no one but Aren to take Delia from her, and even then, only for short intervals. To give up even a heartbeat of time with her baby felt like having a piece of her excised with a knife, because heartbeats felt limited and fleeting as Ithicana prepared for war. Except now they were at Southwatch, the skies overhead gray and swirling, but not half so violent as they were in the north.
“Sarhina’s coming.” Aren ran a hand down her back, and though she knew he intended to calm her, Lara could feel his tension. His grief. It made her breath catch, and the selfishness in her core screamed,Run. Take them and run.
Instead she said, “Everything is in order?”
“Yes. Sarhina has quarantined Southwatch and has spread rumorsthat a fatal illness has run through all of Ithicana. The rumors will change to poison when the time is right, but fear of infection should keep everyone well away while we set the stage for Katarina. The storms won’t last forever.”
Lara knew that, but God, she wished they would. Wished the typhoons would scream their wrath over the Tempest Seas and drive away anyone who dared to attack Ithicana, sinking anyone who thought themselves capable of claiming the bridge.
But War Tides was coming, whether she liked it or not.
Footfalls caught her attention, and Lara looked up to find Sarhina approaching, Athena and Cresta at her heels. Normally seeing her sisters would be a pleasure, but Lara’s stomach filled with trepidation.
As though sensing her feelings, Sarhina stopped a few paces back, nodding once at Aren before she said quietly, “I wish I were meeting my niece under better circumstances. Just as I wish I could do more for you in this fight, sister. If not for the need for discretion, I’d fight at your side, but someone must see this act through to fruition.”
Lara’s tongue felt thick and her throat tight, but she managed to say, “You are certain that your parliament will seek out trade terms with Katarina?”
Sarhina nodded. “As soon as they understand that Amarid has taken the bridge, they’ll send messages. Yield was poor in the fields north of Nerastis, and Valcotta has struggled with illness in their herds. It’s hard times for all, and to regain trade with the north would be a boon.” Her blue eyes flicked to Aren. “I know they angered you in your meeting with them, but please don’t judge them too harshly. It is their sworn duty to act in the benefit of those they represent, and they are not politicians trained in tact.”
Aren gave a small shrug. “It will make it all the more believable when they approach Katarina with a deal, because she’ll have heard about the conflict from her spies.”
They continued to discuss the specifics of the plan, but Lara lettheir words fall away in favor of focusing her attention on Delia. She was starting to frown and fuss, hungry as always, and an answering ache formed in her breasts even as tears stung in her eyes, for this would be the last time she’d feed her child. Even if all went as planned, she’d be long weeks away from Delia, who would by then be firmly on the breast of her nurse.
Lara blinked rapidly, trying to keep her tears in check, only to hear Aren say, “At least you answered our call, Sarhina. Zarrah has not answered a single letter. Not one.”
There was anger in his voice, reflective of the betrayal she knew he felt over Zarrah having seemingly turned her back on Ithicana in its time of need. “We came for her,” he’d said time and again. “We risked everything for her.”
“Zarrah hasn’t answered your letters because she hasn’t received them,” Sarhina said.
Lara looked up sharply. “What? Why?”
“Because she’s in Harendell.”
Lara’s lips parted in shock. “You can’t be serious? We’ve heard nothing, and Keris has said not a word.”
“I’m not surprised.” Sarhina rocked on her boot heels. “She’s posing as Daria, and I doubt Keris would risk her true identity being discovered by sending a message.”
“Why would she go to Verwyrd?” Lara demanded. “She needs to rule in Valcotta, and there is far more good she can do from Pyrinat than pretending to be my brother’s bodyguard in Harendell.”
“She might think otherwise.” Aren ran a hand through his hair, then gave a shake of his head. “Keris is at risk, and Zarrah loves him like life. Protecting him might have been her only concern.”
Lara narrowed her eyes, every instinct in her body telling her that Zarrah wouldn’t have thrown aside Valcotta’s rule just to race to Keris’s side. He could take care of himself, and Zarrah knew that.
“Lestara.” Sarhina spat in the dirt as though saying the queen of Harendell’s name had brought a foul taste to her mouth. “Or at least,that was the original reason. Zarrah did not take her rise to the throne well at all.”
James’s voice filled Lara’s head.Everyone in Cardiff believes that my cousin is cursed, most especially my aunt Calythra, who is Lestara’s mother. They didn’t send Lestara to Silas for better trade terms on furs—they sent her to get rid of her.
“LestarahatesKeris,” Aren said. “Zarrah knows that better than anyone, but if Alexandra’s goal is to control the bridge, then she won’t risk losing trade with Valcotta by killing off the empress’s consort. I think she’ll keep Lestara in check.”
“Don’t be so sure. The second reason Zarrah went north, which I learned from Arjun, is that it appears the Harendellian cattle infected with wasting disease were deliberately shipped to Valcotta. She left believing that Edward was behind it, but she has surely come to suspect that it was Alexandra. If she can find proof, she has grounds to declare it an act of war on Valcotta.”
“Which will give her grounds to sail to Ithicana’s defense.” Aren scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I should never have doubted her. I feel like an ass.”
