“What?” Erich stepped back. “No. He was far too honorable to be one of them.”
“Then how did he break the curse?” Isa responded.
Erich shrugged.
“Isabel,” Aden said, drawing her attention back to him. “What’s important now is what we can control. Go. Prepare the Floutast for travel.”
Isa stared back at him, her arms still crossed. “This does not mean I agree to leave in the morning.” She stepped away, climbing the stairs to the eastern hallway.
Entering the privacy of the library, her first instinct was to sit down and sob—for her father, for Aden, for herself. But she did not have time for that. If she kept moving, she could avoid the thinking.
Going straight to her work table, she gathered the prepared volumes of Floutast and started wrapping them tightly in some linen she had brought for that purpose.
Not unexpectedly, Blanca quietly entered the library a few moments later. “You poor dear,” she said, placing an arm around Isa’s shoulder. “This is too much weight for one small person to carry alone. He is right, though.”
“Why do you always side with him?” Isa asked, her voice angry and uneven. She hiccupped, her throat taut from trying to keep the tears at bay.
“Will it make you feel better if I stay here with him?” Blanca asked, completely unperturbed by Isa’s angry words and seeing straight through to the heart of the issue.
Isa nodded and threw her arms around the older woman’s neck. “Would you?” she asked.
“Of course, my dear,” Blanca assured her. “And Luca will, too. It was his idea.”
“Thank you,” Isa whispered. The calm in her mind told her that it was the right decision, even if it was indescribably painful for her heart.
“Now let’s get you and Floutast ready to leave first thing in the morning.”
Chapter 27
“What is this news you bring?” Aden asked his younger brother when Isa was out of sight. He wanted to change the conversation before Erich commented on the discussion that had just taken place.
“Why will her father die in a jail cell if this Floutast is not delivered?” Erich asked, obviously very interested in commenting on the conversation.
“The Council has been using threats to get what they need from even the wealthier families,” Aden responded. “Be sure to take this information back to Father. It does not sit well with me.”
“That is concerning,” Erich responded. “Though news from the shore is not promising. The Majis ships have been raiding along the coast. Even with King Gareth’s troops, we’ve been unable to fend them off. Although they did capture a spy who revealed that the first real attack will be taking place in a few weeks.”
“So soon?” Aden replied. “The exile is not complete until this coming silverreign.”
“This is war.” Erich shrugged. “Honestly, we should be more surprised that they have not attacked sooner.”
“What’s the plan, then?” Aden asked. Iseldis was his home. His family would be fighting this battle. If they lost, it would cost them their lives. He found himself angry that he would not be there to help them, but he also felt oddly separated from the looming threat. He would not be here to see it. He and his brothers had been preparing for this their entire lives. They had trained in the castle guard and the elite guard, each often bragging about how they would be the hero to defeat the incoming Majis armies. These next years would be the most difficult his kingdom would likely ever know, and he was the first casualty.
“I’m leading three squadrons of the elites to meet with the Chendas troops on the shore,” Erich said.
“You’re going back?” Aden asked. “When the sea almost just killed you? Brave.”
“If we want to talk about brave,” Erich retorted, “let’s talk about you wooing a woman while you look like that.”
Aden growled.
“Alright, alright.” Erich held up his hands. “I was only jesting. How have the nightmares been? Did you ever find a way to manage those?”
“Nightmares?” Aden responded, confused. “I’ve never had a problem with nightmares.”
“Oh, you haven’t?” Erich shrugged. “Never mind. Anyways, Father won’t let Ian out of the capital, as he can’t have his heir killed before the war begins, though of course Father himself will be at the shore at the first sign of another attack.”
“One of them should remain home, though Ian must be livid.”
