Her comment wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but Arenknewthat James’s behavior wasn’t just Harendellian chivalry at work. The tension between Ahnna and the bastard prince had been thick in the air, the familiarity between the two of them undeniable. Whereas when he’d watched her with William, Ahnna had appeared bored and the crown prince had barely looked at her twice, the connection between them as intense as cold oatmeal. Aren didn’t want to think his sister was fool enough to cross the line with the wrong prince, but the timing of the rising animosity toward Ithicana coincided with Ahnna’s arrival, and James had been at her side since the beginning. If Aren sensed impropriety, then the Harendellians would as well, and they would not view it favorably. “He’s arrogant.”
Lara only made a soft humming noise, patting Delia gently on the back as she swayed. “If Ahnna crossed a line, Edward would send her back and demand reparations for the slight. This is something different, Aren. I…I think this is something worse.” Her hand moved from Delia’s back to her sword, scarred fingers toying with the hilt.
His wife could handle the worst the world had to offer, but God help him, Aren wished she didn’t have to. Wished he could give Lara a moment of peace and happiness untarnished by endless threats against the lives of all she held dear. In his darker moments, he felt the sickness of regret that he hadn’t run away with her once Ithicana had been liberated, leaving Ahnna to rule while he and Lara carved out a simple life.
Aren said none of that, though, only murmured, “Our defenses arebolstered. Ithicana is used to defending itself.” He wrapped an arm around Lara’s shoulders and returned his gaze to the sea. “If nothing else, Amarid is still here to trade.”
Katarina had been a paragon of courtesy of late, offering to renegotiate trade agreements and make reparations for conflict, the traffic back and forth between Northwatch and her capital of Riomar ceaseless in recent weeks.I regret my part in what Silas did to your nation,she’d written.In my old age, I find myself reaching toward peace and alliance, so that I might leave a legacy of prosperity to my son when his day comes to rule.
Aren didn’t trust Katarina as far as he could throw her, but there was an air of desperation in how aggressively she was seeking Ithicana’s favor that made him question whether her actions were driven not by greed but by fear.
And there was only one nation that Amarid feared.
“I wish Ahnna would write,” Lara muttered. “Or Bronwyn and Taryn, though they seem to have thoroughly cut themselves off from politics.”
As much as it frustrated Aren that the two had left Ahnna to her own devices, it did make him happy that Taryn was finally having a chance at the life she wanted. A life away from violence and war, where she could focus on the music she adored. Bronwyn would keep her safe—but more important, keep her happy.
A horn sounded from the lookout, indicating a ship on the horizon. Lifting a hand to shade his eyes from the bite of rain and wind, Aren made out a faint shape through the mist.
“Harendellian?” Lara squinted. “All I can tell is that it’s big.”
The horn blew again. Aren tensed, because the lookout was warning the rest of the island. The Amaridian sailors all turned to the sea, many of them familiar with Northwatch’s signals. Especially the signal that the ship on approach was no merchantman.
Behind him, his soldiers moved to ready the island’s defenses. Theshipbreakers were loaded, and if that vessel came any closer, warning shots would be launched.
Jor and Lia came alongside them, and Jor handed Aren a spyglass. “Your eyes are better than mine, boy. Who’s out there?”
Aren peered through the spyglass, panning the horizon until the ship came into view. A sharp hiss exited his teeth. “Harendellian ship of the line. TheVictoria.The decks are full of soldiers.”
“Just one ship?” Lara demanded, and at Aren’s nod, she added, “Then this isn’t an attack.”
“Make sure we have eyes all around,” Aren shouted, the wind carrying his orders to the soldiers behind him. “Send word down the bridge to be prepared for conflict.”
TheVictoriadrifted closer, turning sidelong just outside the range of the shipbreakers and lowering the rest of their sails.
“What in the fuck are they doing?” Jor growled. “I don’t like this.”
Aren didn’t answer, his eyes all for the empty longboat that was being lowered from the side of the ship.
It was unhooked and left to bob on the swells, Aren’s rising dread bobbing in his stomach along with it.
Everyone on Northwatch, including the Amaridians, stood in stunned silence as theVictorialifted its sails and headed north, swiftly disappearing into the mist.
“Get me a boat.” The words croaked from his throat, barely audible over the wind, so Aren repeated, “Get me a boat!”
Lara gripped his arm. “Let someone else go.”
“No.” Because what if it was Ahnna in the abandoned longboat? What if it was his sister? What if his every fear had become a reality, except instead of demanding reparations for Ahnna’s behavior, Edward had sent back her corpse?
“Aren, please.” Lara’s blue eyes were filled with the same fear that was crushing the breath from his chest, but Aren only pulled her hand from his arm and strode to where his soldiers were lowering a boat into the waves.
With the Amaridians watching in silence, Aren climbed down a rope ladder into the vessel. His soldiers took up paddles, but Aren remained standing as they approached the bobbing longboat.
“Looks empty,” someone muttered. “It’s sitting high in the water.”
It wasn’t empty.
The Harendellians hadn’t sent one of their largest naval ships to deliver an empty longboat. Hadn’t stayed out of range of the shipbreakers because they expected whatever was in that boat to be well received.
