Following his eye line, Robin stepped to his side. She looked between him and the various bows, then grabbed two from the wall. “You could save a considerable length of time—and see that Aizel and Celesta are safe—if you went straight to the palace and asked for their aid.”
Sol accepted the bow she held out to him. It was nearly as tall as he was, though it was unstrung. “You said I could ask for their aid, not we could ask?”
Robin took the bow from his hands and swung one end of it behind her foot, leaning into its curve as she harnessed its power and deftly slid the string into its proper notch. “I am not welcome in the palace.” Her voice was unconcerned, but Sol did not miss the way she avoided his eyes as she said it.
“I am not afraid to enter the enemy’s house,” Sol responded. “But would it not be less risk to find a local shipping merchant?”
Robin handed the strung bow back to him. “Iseldis is not dangerous for you. Their son, Erich, was recently attacked by Gareth, so I have good reason to believe they are no longer allies with Chendas.”
“That alone does not make them an ally of mine.” Sol lifted the bow, testing the weight of its pull. It was heavy, but years spent working in the sea had given him considerable strength as well. He drew the string back to his chin, holding it there for a moment.
“The Sirilian family appears to have allied themselves to you, however,” Robin replied. “That same son, Erich, wed Aizel a sennight prior.”
Sol quickly released the tension in the bowstring, he knew better than to let it fire without an arrow, and guided the string back into place with his hand despite the biting pain in his fingertips. “You said she was not a prisoner. Aizel would never stoop so low as to marry a Quotidian prince. What kind of chaos did he weave over her?”
“The magic of love?” Robin’s mouth curved into a small smile.
Sol did not try to hide his scoff. From everything he knew of Robin, she was not one to rely on sentiment.
“Your best option is to ally with Iseldis. It will be the swiftest route to Falqri, and offers the most effective means of support.”
“I have you,” Sol responded.
“And I will be here to support you, but the strength of an entire kingdom is far more powerful than that of a handful of outlawed men and women.”
Sol handed the bow back to Robin. “It is very powerful, but I have no skill with an arrow. A dagger or spear would suit me better.”
Robin returned the bow to the wall and opened a chest on the floor below it.
“I thank you for your thoughts,” Sol said, returning to their more important conversation. “But I have no wish to be reliant on Quotidian men.”
Robin handed him a sheathed dagger. “I am Quotidian, and you seem to have no issue with my support.”
Sol accepted the dagger, happy for the excuse to drop his eyes from her face. He would go to Iseldis if it truly was the best option. “But only to ensure that Aizel is not being held there against her will.”
Chapter 5
“This isn’t about proving anything,” Aizel said to King Frederich, her voice quiet and firm. “My people have no intention of attacking your shores. We don’t want retaliation on you for what your ancestors did, but we do want justice now for what the Quotidianisdoing.”
“What power do your people have?” King Frederich asked. “My first responsibility is for the safety of my people. Would you not be the perfect tool for the quotidian to control if they wished to move against us? If they can control your magic through controlling you ...”
“You have magic,” Aizel cut him off. “We are not so different.”
“I don’t have armies of soldiers trained in how to use magic,” King Frederich was quick to respond. “Gareth and the Chendas Examiners promised to unlock and teach us a magical form of defense, but they never unlocked ... Or they never shared what they uncovered.”
Meena struggled to follow the quick implications of the conversation happening in front of her, but she was relieved to see her father sink his head into his hands with a sigh. For him to show any sign of physical or emotional weakness was rare and never happened outside of the very close family members and advisors. Though Aizel had only been introduced to the family for only a few days prior, her father’s open stance meant he trusted her to some extent.
“I mean no harm or disrespect to you or your people, but you must see how I am crushed between two forces which have more power than I can comprehend. What is Gareth plotting, and why did he hide the magic—and his knowledge of the Isle of Exile—”
“Istroya,” Aizel corrected.
“Istroya,” King Frederich repeated. “He’s been hiding this from me.”
Meena began squeezing each finger, one at a time, against her palm, working her way across one hand, and then the other. This conversation was important, but even with Aizel present, it felt like it was going in circles. Surely her father was right? He was a good and kind king. But the flash in Aizel’s eye and the curtness of her tone made Meena uncomfortable. If the Majis were truly innocent, her father was sitting on a stolen throne.
Meena bit her tongue. Her father had not personally done any of the horrors Aizel shared with them to the Majis in Istroya—he did not even know they were happening!
Erich stepped forward to Aizel’s side, placing his hand on her back in silent support. Together, they stepped closer to Frederich’s desk and continued their conversation.
