Page 45 of Pawns of Salistya

‘Qynthia, would you like to begin by giving us an overview of the state of the Queendom of Nyarelle?’ Eliasson asked.

‘The Queendom’s population is sitting just shy of fifteen thousand,’ the Queen started, before giving the same information she always did. The Queendom is thriving, the history of thecontinent is being preserved, and children are being trained to carry on Nyarelle’s legacy. Nothing changed in Nyarelle as it was the most stable Dom in Fyriane. Which made sense considering it wasn’t directly involved in combat with the tidal beasts, risking their lives every day, or finding new mining areas, or battling nature to harvest enough food to feed the continent, the way Salistya, Marlyst and Arlom respectively were. If I were to come back in another life, the life of a Nyarellean seems like a sweet deal.

But then I wouldn’t have my magic. Would I really give that up for a safe, complacent life? I’d planned on having that kind of life in the Isles. But I would have still had my magic, still been called out on missions from time to time. The thought of not having it … No. I wouldn’t give that up for a safe life. My magic was as part of me as were the limbs on my body.

‘Any questions for Qynthia at this stage?’ Eliasson asks, interrupting those thoughts. I focused back in on the conversation.

Silence.

‘Slaviya. A report on the Salistya Queendom,’ Eliasson said, hurrying to add a ‘please’ after she shot him daggers. Despite my husband’s role as chairman, Slaviya could never shake her disdain for being commanded.

‘Salistya’s army is strong,’ she started.

I held back my snort at the blatant lie.

‘Our population is sitting at approximately thirty thousand, with roughly a thousand new trainees heading to the Solista Isles every year to commence their training. The average graduation rate of those trainees sits around the ninety percent mark, with seventy percent of that returning to Salistya to serve in the army.’

This meant a ten percent casualty rate, which sounded about right with the brutality of the training and the tasks it involved, including sparring, magic training and eventually full-blown missions. Buttwenty percent are choosing to stay on Solista? That’s higher than I would’ve expected, and more than I thought Slaviya would allow.

Curiosity got the better of me as I interjected, ‘Twenty percent retention rates on the Isles is higher than usual. Any reason for that?’

She stiffened slightly. Not enough for others to pick up on, but then again, we weren’t surrounded by other mages. Her body’s reaction couldn’t escape my notice no matter how hard she tried.

‘There’s been a change to the requirements on the Isles,’ she said. ‘With the influx of Arlomans joining the Salistyan trainees, we require more cooks, cleaners and trainers to assist.’

I mulled over her words. Makes sense. But not entirely. And my strengthening sense of knowing agreed with me on this. I decided to keep going, the knowing telling me it was the tidal beasts and that it was knowledge the other royals needed.

‘A plausible explanation,’ I replied. ‘But you don’t require a hundred and eighty graduates for those roles when, over the last two years, Arlom have sent four hundred and twenty-seven trainees your way. And that’s not mentioning the plethora of experienced Solistans who would be an appropriate choice for trainers rather than graduates fresh out of school.’

I felt Xylan’s head whip towards mine, but my eyes didn’t budge from my sister’s. I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

‘Unless,’ a wry smile formed on my face, ‘the experienced Solistans are refusing to assist?’

‘They’re not.’ Her answer was too quick for it to be believable. At least to me, anyway. Either she’s lying and they’re refusing orthere’s something else going on. Or it’s both. The options weren’t mutually exclusive.

‘Alright, I’ll believe that. For now,’ I said, the last words coming out as a warning. ‘The Solistans aren’trefusing. So, I’ll ask the questionagain; is there any reason for the higher than usual retention rates on the Isles?’ I made my tone mirror the uncompromising one my father used on us in his many lessons. I knew Slaviya would recognise it for what it was, and I could see the message, that answering my questions was non-negotiable, was delivered loud and clear. I would pay for this later.

‘Alongside the need for increased aid with the trainees in Senora, there are more tidal beasts moving towards the Isles and further down the coast heading towards Arlom. I allowed an increased number of graduates to remain on the Isles to help if an attack occurs,’ she admitted.

There. That wasn’t so hard.

‘How far away from Arlom are we talking?’ Eliasson’s hand came to grip my thigh harder than usual as he directed the question at Slaviya.

‘The last sighting was reported a few days ago. At that point, they were about halfway between Savast and Amarald. The army has provided decoys, which are proving effective. We have halted their progress further south, and I have troops stationed across the whole Salistyan coast right up to the mouth of the Pass on our side,’ she declared.

‘And Varqel has Solista under control?’ Between being the head trainer andgeneral of the small army based there, that was a lot for even someone as capable as him. Why didn’t V tell me this was going on?

‘He does now. I have permanently stationed Bastra as the Isles’ army general,’ she replied.

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. She putBastraon the Isles? The Salistyan’s harshest and most ruthless killer? Well, that explains why he’s not at the Forum with Slaviya like usual, leaving her as the sole representative of Salistya. Fuck, this wasn’t good. Ineeded to see Varqel. And kick Mazyr’s head in for his spies’ lack of reporting.Again.

‘Interesting move,’ I commented. What the fuck else was I meant to say? Red flags were flying around in my head. I wanted to wipe that smug look off Slaviya’s face.

‘Who better than my trustworthy Second to assist Varqel in maintaining the integrity of the Isles?’ she said, clearly goading me, enjoying the betrayal rocketing through me. She knew I hated Bastra. She knew I would protect the Solistans with my life, my loyalty to them set in stone in my training years. But how the fuck do I protect them fromhim? From his corrupting influence?

‘Who better, indeed,’ I replied, refusing to show what was going on inside my head. It was spinning, as I realised something wasn’t right. I was missing something. Story of my bloody life right now.

‘The Queendom’s breeding programs are strong. We are averaging three thousand births a year, which is a dramatic increase since I’ve taken over as Queen,’ Slaviya continued, her voice smug. The pride she had proclaiming that more people were procreating, majority against their will, under her reign was disgusting. Clearly, she wasn’t lingering on our previous conversation. It’s almost as if she hadn’t just shoved a sword into my back placing Bastra on the Isles.

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