Page 110 of Wrath of the Dragons
“Eight,” Cayden replies.
“Six.”
“Eight.”
Zale sighs, sticking his hand out. “Eight hundred ships.”
They shake on it. “You’ll be informed of the battle plans once the treaty is signed and I see the ships with my own eyes.”
“I have high expectations, having heard previous plans conjured by the demon of Ravaryn.”
Cayden’s face remains neutral, giving away nothing as to what’sgoing on inside his mind. It’s a tactic he uses to unnerve others, and it’s certainly working on Zale as he clears his throat again and faces Zarius.
“Do you have any terms regarding our alliance?”
Zarius’s lips are set into a firm line as he assesses the prince he must’ve been conditioned to hate since birth. “Pull your ships back in the Dolent when this is done. We sail to one war; I doubt either of us wishes to return to another if your promises of peace are to be believed.”
Zale nods. “You do the same with your ships and we won’t have an issue.”
“How are you able to speak as if you’re the king?” I ask, drawing his eyes back to me. “You cut deals with us in a café, not a castle. Do your parents—the owners of the navy you’ve promised us—know you’re here?”
“My parents will see reason,” he says, finishing off his coffee and standing from his seat. “Though you and I have more pressing matters to attend, queen.”
I untie the straps of my sandals that travel up my calves as sand spills into the leather soles. Finnian trails his fingers over the bow slung over his shoulder as he studies the secluded beach for any sign of a trap, but only Zale stands a few paces above the wave marks on the shore as he lays out several dried logs.
Braxton insisted on accompanying us to this training lesson, but Zale didn’t have any guards within the restaurant, and I’d rather keep the fragile peace. Zarius stayed behind to debrief with Ser Rhys, and Ryder wouldn’t leave Saskia alone with him—despite there being several guards on board. I only hope the ship isn’t burned to a crisp by the time we return, since Cayden isn’t there to mediate. Once he knew Finnian would accompany me, he strode down the gangplank, claiming he had a quick errand to run. For Cayden, a quick errand can rangefrom killing someone to picking flowers for me, but he was gone before I had the chance to question him.
I kneel across from Zale, my blue gown with a large diamond cutout on my stomach fanning around me. Finnian sits on a piece of driftwood a bit farther back, watching closely as Zale lights the logs between us with some flint. It starts out small but grows as Zale moves his hands around it.
“Fire needs oxygen to grow, but as a wielder, you breathe life into it instead,” he says.
“When did you first know you were a wielder?”
He chuckles softly. “I accidentally lit a curtain on fire when I was a child. It was also a moment riddled with emotion, like your first experience. However, mine wasn’t as complex as nearly losing someone I loved. My younger brother stole the stuffed monkey my grandmother made me, and that I kept under my pillow. He ran through the halls, showing all the other children my most prized possession and I was humiliated.”
“Do you still have the monkey?”
“Thatis not the point of the lesson today,” he answers, and I laugh when he doesn’t deny it.
“What was its name?”
He gives me a flat look. “Pascal.”
“Oh, that’s precious,” I coo, and he groans while pinching the bridge of his nose, gesturing to the fire again.
I reach forward, settling my hands on either side of the gathered logs and focus on the shape of it, the warmth, the scent of embers glowing at the base of the sandpit, but my body locks up when Zale wraps his fingers around my wrists, and Finnian rises to his feet.
“Release me,” I quietly command before turning to Finnian. “I’m fine. You can refrain from sending us into another war.”
He smirks while releasing his hold on the bow and taking a seat again. “Anything for you, Ellie.”
I laugh softly and turn back to Zale who has his eyes fixated onFinnian. “Friend?”
“More like a brother.” When people describe great loves, they often talk about romantic connections, but friendship can be just as epic. “If you could refrain from touching me throughout the lesson, it would be greatly appreciated.”
He slants his dark brows, and nods as understanding washes over his features. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. It won’t happen again.”
I tilt my head, regarding the prince in a new light. “Thank you.”
