I am going to cut straight to it because I don’t have much time. Twenty more citizens died before your uncle agreed to meet with me. Naupurian goats wandered over the Moolek border and were butchered (a few for bloodletting to the gods—Retaw in particular). The skirmish has grown into an argument over land once again. And, of course, how and which animals should be off-limits from bloodletting.
Moolek has experienced tremendous drought and yet has not asked for any help. I guess he planned on letting people starve to death (the fool). Maharaja Moolek wishes to come to the palace to draw up a new amendment to the treaty. Which really should be us signing and enforcing the twenty-first treaty again. I have yet to understand why he would want to give up home advantage when I am already here. You should reread the twenty-one treaties before sending a reply. Let me hear your opinion on the matter. Of course, as always, if something urgent occurs inform me immediately.
P.S. Good luck with Adraa.
Hughes shakes his head at me from where I sit on the floor. “She isn’tthatpretty, sir.”
I guess I look rather pitiful, but it isn’t like I’m not getting work done on the cold hard ground in the middle of the large tiled entryway. “Don’t know what you are talking about, Hughes,” I say, because it is all I can come up with. I go back to my letter.
I have reread all the treaties, all the beginning documents that tried to solidify our freedom from Moolek, all the violent tug and pull over the years until we finally broke free. Everything makes sense: Moolek’s citizens’ desperation due to the drought, the bloodletting, the argument over land renewed. Everything besides the fact that my uncle wants to talk of peace here, hundreds of miles from his lands. After articulating what I think needs to be amended or clarified in the twenty-first treaty, I stumble over my words.Why? Why come here?He’s avoided meeting me for eighteen years already.So why now?
Footsteps sound outside the ice door and I jerk up. I slip the unfinished letter in my pocket. With a whisk of my hand, the tabletop evaporates and I’m standing, pacing, moving. I can’t stay still.
I cast open the door, watching the ice fracture. Shards fall and splinter like glass.
Then Adraa steps through. Her expression shifts between confusion and maybe, hopefully, pleasant surprise. “Hi.”
“Hey,” I answer. I’ve been here all day and that’s all I’ve got. Exactly how fast can someone become pathetic?
Adraa lifts the strap of the saddlebag. “I’m here to deliver the firelight.”
“Jatin is busy right now, so you can give it to me.”
“I should probably give it to him myself.”
She’s going to do it then, introduce herself to me, the real me. But I don’t want that to happen. “I thought this would also be easier, so we could train together after.”
Adraa’s eyes brighten at that, and then dull just as quickly. “I should tell you something.”
Blood. She’s going to say it. But I’m not ready to tell her. My mind sweeps through all the interactions we’ve had since I’ve been here. Pretty sure she would still hate me. I’ve got to distract her.
“It’s okay. I’ll tell Jatin these firelights won’t last the full two months. Don’t think he will even notice.”
“He’s that busy, huh?” She looks to the stairs, and then sighs. “Still, I should meet him properly.”
Gods, she doesn’t want to meet me as much as I don’t want her too. My chest tightens. This further solidifies my dread.I think it would be worse—contempt.That’s what she had said. The wordcontemptbounces around my head.
“Rainbow.”
Adraa swivels her attention back to me and away from those bloody stairs. “What?”
“Do you want to rainbow? It’s something we did at the academy. Duel through all nine types of magic. Skip the colors your opponent can’t do.”
“I know what rainbowing is.”
I smile broadly. “Good. You’ll take the challenge, then?”
“So we would start with orange instead of red?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, then. One.” She points to herself as she drops the saddlebag. “Zero.” And she points to me like she’s won something. I’d have to beg to differ. Relief and happiness soar through me and it feels like victory.
Despite all my planning, I didn’t ask the palace guard to stop their training for the day. My acts of deception shouldn’t negatively affect everyone surrounding me. But now Adraa and I walk to the training field with a hundred men and women sparring or developing their magic. Kalyan isn’t among them, even though he should be. Guess I negatively affected him with my tangle of lies.
Heads are already turning, one after the other. The men nearest us have lowered their weapons completely. Adraa is unfazed.
“Oh, that man is going to burn a building down one day if he continues to jerk like that when he casts red magic.” She nods her head in indication.
