Page 119 of The Queens and the Kings
“He’s a fool. What could he do without the soldats? Andwhystart a war he’s unlikely to win?”
“That’s the question,” Arvid countered with surprising ease. “He wouldn’t send a message guarded by a soldat without knowing what result it will have, nor would he get into a war with the mainland without an express purpose.”
“Has he lost his mind?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
Einar thumped a fist into the table. “Arvid, this is our chance! We tell the Ladylord your plans tonight, then the three of us take one of their lightest ships and leave. If Pedr’s willing to help us get there faster than normal, we could take a southerly route to avoid the messenger soldat, arrive ahead of time, and strike. The Ladylord would delay the returning soldat messenger a little bit to buy us time. It’s perfect!”
Arvid, seeming to have the same conclusion in mind, looked at Henrik. His silent question gave Henrik more power than she would have expected from a Stenberg Captain.
Britt held her breath.
Did Henrikwantthis power?
“Assuming,” Henrik said carefully, “that the message doesstart a war, yes. Einar is correct that we have a narrow window of opportunity. Although, you’re still betting on speculation and assumption. His Glory has no reason that we know of to begin a war, so there’s a reasonable chance the message might be something else.”
“What?” Arvid asked.
Henrik shrugged, but trouble shadowed his eyes, “I don’t know, but it would be foolish to make assumptions when war is at stake.”
Einar sent him a hard glare. “Henrik, this is an opportunity to stop any war from happeningandstop His Glory. It doesn’t matter what his motivation is. I will kill him regardless.”
“Maybe,” Henrik said.
“You think there are too many assumptions?”
“Yes.”
Pacing, Einar ran a hand through his hair. He expelled a sharp, frustrated breath. “His Glory is hoping for the message to buy him time to prepare for battle, with so few soldats remaining. That’s all.”
“Butwhatbattle?” Henrik pressed. “With what army? There must be something else.”
Weakly, Einar admitted, “I don’t know.”
Pedr, his tongue running over his teeth, spun to stare outside. After a moment’s contemplation, he tapped on the window pane and asked Britt, “See that?”
Her breath caught when the shadow emerged again, this time less nebulous. Based on the contours alone, it was definitely a wyvern. The flying figure cut through clouds to the north. If she had to hazard a guess, the wyvern soared west. They were too far away from the mainland for it to fly over the sea alone. The mainland must have another ship of the line with the wyvern.
“I see it.”
“Why,” Pedr quietly sang, “would a wyvern be this far out after what happened last time? Whyagain?”
“No good reason.”
“Or a very good reason we don’t agree with,” he murmured, one hand curled around his lips.
“It must be with another ship of the line, no?”
“Or it has built up significant strength. The question is this,” he murmured with a blaze of curiosity. “If the wyvernison a ship, why is the mainland risking another ship of the line and her crew? Didn’t go so well last time.”
“I don’t know.”
Behind them, the consensus finalized. Each soldat grasped hands in agreement. Whatever Henrik’s mysterious, unreadable gaze meant, he’d clearly promised a final fight against His Glory. Einar appeared far too pleased for anything less. Her chest flushed at the thought.
Would this take Henrik away from her permanently?
Or free him for good?
