Page 28 of Pawns of Salistya

‘Oh, save it Slaviya. This isn’t a conversation to have when your legs are failing you like a little baby lamb fresh out of the womb. At least have the decency to sit down. Or in this case, to be physically madeto sit down. You’re welcome.’

The bags under her eyes were more noticeable now that she was closer. I don’t even know why I cared. I should’ve just let her fall, a lesson for her stubbornness. But the softer side of me – which I hate to admit exists even with Slaviya – didn’t want her to hurt. The rational part of my mind knew she wouldn’t care if the shoe was on the other foot. But I couldn’t let it happen. It wasn’t in my nature.

‘You would have lasted one day as the Queen of Salistya before someone came for your head. Vulnerability is weakness, Valare. Did Father not teach you anything?’ The ruthlessness of her words paired with the sneer on her face caused an involuntary shiver to roll down my spine.

‘Oh, he taught me something, alright. Just not what you’d expect,’ I muttered. All of my father’s advice, for lack of a better description,was taken with a healthy pinch of salt. Whatever he suggested, I’d generally do the opposite. I refused to be like that bastard.

Her eyes wandered up my body, taking in the low-cut dress that showed off an ample amount of cleavage, my shoulders completely exposed. Her expression gave away her disgust, the provocative nature of the clothing a stark contrast to her modest Salistyan gown. She tutted in disapproval but had enough sense to not comment further. For now, at least.

‘I trust you have an assassination plan in place?’

Finally, she cut to the chase. The realreason she came to Amarald early. The fact she chose to discuss this here, when Eliasson or another could walk in at any time, cemented her arrogance.

‘Yes. It will be on the last night of the Forum when we have the closing ball. This will allow for negotiations to take place without distraction. When Eliasson heads to the bathroom, I will alert my fellow Sol, and follow him to execute the plan. I’ve set my alibi in place. It will go smoothly.’

She nodded her acceptance, clearly having zero regard for how it was executed as long as it was done. ‘We need to discuss the next steps. I have soldiers stationed at the mouth of the Pass. They are awaiting my order to cross and enter Arlom territory.’

‘What? You can’t infiltrate Arlom the minute their king is found dead. Are you out of your mind?’ I cried, forgetting myself as I digested this news.

‘I can and I will.’ She was completely unapologetic.

‘You can’t and you won’t,’ I countered firmly.

‘Need I remind you, Sister, that the reason you are the queen of this Dom is becauseIput you there. There is a bigger game here, more things to keep away, and you would do well to remember what your part is in all of this.’

I watched her fingers clenched around the arms of the chair, as she attempted to restrain herself from lashing out. Knowing Slaviya, this kind of reaction would only arise if there were something out of her control, like if she was relying on something or someone else. In this case, it looked like she was relying on me.Glee imbued my tone as I realised I may just have the upper hand. But my mind snagged on her comment about keeping things away. I took a stab in the dark. ‘The beasts of the Tidal Seas getting a little bit out of control, are they?’

The tidal beasts. The bane of Salistya’s existence and the reason for their army. I’d had many encounters with them, often being interrupted during training sessions with Varqel to dispose of them when I was on the Isles. For some reason, they always showed up near his house.

They were awful creatures, ranging in size and shape, lurking in the depths of the Tidal Seas. They left destruction in their wake, easily able to take down unprepared or untrained mages whenever they appeared. They had always been an issue for Fyriane. However, in the last decades, the frequency of their visits to our continent’s shores had increased significantly. I hadn’t seen them as of late, though, given all my time is spent here in Arlom, and as Slaviya was less than willing to share information, for her to be implying they are becoming more of an issue, it must be bad.

‘It’s under control,’ she replied coolly, but far too quickly to be believable.

‘Your army is suffering,’ I guessed again, my knowing trying to tell me something.

‘Suffering,’ she remarked. ‘No, Valare, we are not suffering. But the beasts are getting bigger and closer to our shores. They’re making their way down the coast and heading towards Arlom.’

Well, that’s not good. Usually they stuck to the Solista Isles and Salistya.

‘Let me guess, the Solistans refuse to help?’ I asked, already knowing the answer.

She met my question with a cold glare and silence. So, this is why she needs me and why she has the army where it is.

The Salistyan Queendom’s duty within Fyriane was to protect the land from the beasts and prevent them from entering the Pass between the Doms. It wouldn’t be a good look for my sister if Salistya couldn’t uphold its part of the agreement. If Salistya were to fail at this, it wouldn’t simply mean the protection of Fyriane was compromised, but it would severely hinder Salistya’s continued support from the other Doms. It would leave the Queendom vulnerable.

‘I can have a chat to Varqel, see if they will provide assistance for a while until it’s under control,’ I offered, knowing that even if the request came from me, it was still likely to be refused. The Solistans were strict about upholding their part of the contract with Salistya, doing exactly nothing more and nothing less, including only dealing with the beasts when they came for the Isles themselves.

‘That won’t be necessary,’ she replied stiffly. She always hated that I had a stronger relationship with the Solistans. Granted, it wasn’t hard for me to build a better relationship considering she had refused to live at the barracks in her time on the Isles, instead opting to stay away from everyone in her Royal House, pompous as ever. How she had thought it would make it easy for her as a ruler is beyond me.

‘Between my Sol and I here, the beasts will be taken care of if you hold off the majority. I won’t require aid on the Arlom side. Not to mention, I’m going to have a hard enough time as it is being accepted as the sole ruler of the Kingdom. Having Salistyans cross the border will only compromise my position further,’ I pointed out.

‘It’s either that or the Arlom children on the Isles come home early to serve their Kingdom, Valare. I’m not willing for our plan to fall the minute the first move is complete. The army will ensure that doesn’t happen.’

I knew what she was doing. Backing me into a corner, knowing full well I would not let children fight our battles.

‘Absolutely not! They aren’t even fully trained mages yet. I refuse to put innocent children out there to be slaughtered in the name of saving your hide,’ I replied without thinking. ‘And ourplan? There is no our. You haven’t even broached what this plan entails past my actions here. And you know what? I actually don’t want to know. Don’t include me in your warped schemes. You exercised your power as my former queen and put me in this position. I didn’t ask to be here and I’m not a willing participant after the first move is complete. I won’t risk Arlom when it’ll already be destabilised, and that’s what the army will do.’ The more I spoke, the angrier I got.

‘You really need to work on being less dramatic.’ She rolled her eyes, dismissing my words entirely. Slaviya was so delusional she believed I would mindlessly go along with her plans and never question a thing.