Page 50 of Knightfall
Willard’s eyes widened. “But—”
I took a deep breath and fought down the fear in my chest. He’d shared his family’s vulnerable state with me. “Willard, I haven’t seen dragons since I was a child. Not since the last Fire War.”
Bloss! Dammit! Don’t.
“Then … why did you leave?”
“To save Evaness, of course. From people who might unintentionally destroy it. People who are better off unnamed.”
“Ahh,” Willard nodded.
Good save.
“Were you successful?”
Willard’s last question was like an arrow to my heart. I met his eyes and fought back tears. I had to answer him. But I couldn’t let him see how the answer affected me. A queen had to appear in control. “No. Not quite.”
Quinn swung open the door at that point, cutting off our conversation and any further confessions I might have made.
Chapter Fourteen
Quinn hustled me down the stairwell, berating me.
Then I spent the afternoon surrounded by tutors, updating me on the status of each of Evaness’ provinces. That was how I spent the next two weeks. Reviewing the provinces, our nobles and their alliances, then reviewing the foreign countries and our current relationships with each.
Sedara was our strongest ally, thanks to my ‘marriage’ to Declan, bastard son of their queen. But, our relationship with them had become strained over the past year.
Declan supervised me but didn’t participate for the most part. He sat at a separate desk, as far from me as he could get, running his hands through his blond hair and staining it with ink from his quill as he muttered about holdings and livestock and tried to puzzle out the issues from different provinces. Somehow, he did manage to listen with half an ear. He’d interrupt my tutors if he disagreed with some fact or figure.
“Sedara and Cheryn actually have had at least twenty aggressive incidents over the past eighteen months,” Declan interrupted the young man talking about the two countries. “Cheryn’s sultan has sent pirates, stolen goods, been really aggressive. Only seven of those incidents are considered public knowledge. The remainder, I’ll tell you about some other time.”
My stomach fell. Twenty incidents? That was serious. I turned to him. “How about now?”
Declan glanced meaningfully at the ledgers he was working on.
I ignored him and turned to my tutors. “Please give us the room for half an hour.”
The men bowed their way out, and I looked sharply at Declan, who sighed. “As you know, Sedara, has the strongest navy. That navy controls access to a lot of trade. Sultan Raj is ticked about that. Sedara’s navy also controls the magical weapons made by the elves on the Isles of Peth.”
I nodded. “Access to Peth’s weapons made a difference during the last Fire War. It’s how Mother survived.” I clamped down on memories of running through the woods—of treetops that flickered like matchsticks, burning from the top down. I shook off thoughts of my fathers, herding me toward a royal safe house underground, away from the dragons that scorched the countryside.
Declan inclined his head in agreement. “I’m pretty sure Sultan Raj thinks elven weapons will make a pretty big deal in the next one, too.”
Fear pulsed white-hot in my stomach. I didn’t want to live through another war. Ever again. Chances of me surviving one were slim. I gulped and stared up at Declan. “When do you think that might be?”
He shrugged, unaware of my discomfort. “The confidential incidents this year have all been to do with attempts to steal elven weapons. Cheryn’s only been successful once, that we’re aware of. They stole a shipload of enchanted chains that bind the wearer. Force him or her to do as told.”
A shiver ran through me. “And one of the princes of Cheryn is coming here … to meet my sister.”
Declan sighed. “Yes. And that’s all strange as well. Five brothers. One full djinn. The other four are half. And they’re sending the eldest, but the least powerful brother. He supposedly only has super speed in his arsenal of tricks.”
“Why are they sending the weakest prince?”
Declan shrugged. “Unsure. Unless they’re sending him with a length of elven chain they think makes up for that weakness.”
I meet Declan’s eyes. “Shite. So, they don’t really want an alliance? Quinn’s people are going to search each and every one of his bags. No one is to accept anything from them. Nothing. What kind of magical spells work with those chains? Do we know?”
Declan rolled his eyes. “There you go with the drama again. Is this the fire salamander all over again?”
