Page 72 of MidKnight
Quinn’s answer projected to everyone.Doubtful, Dove. I’m hitting the border of Rasle now. I can already see a pocket of supposed ‘civilians’ up ahead in the hills near the ocean. Looks way too organized to be actual civilians. They could be from Cheryn. But could be from Rasle, too. I’ll let you know when I get closer.
Be careful.
I took Invisibility. No one can see me.
I turned to Declan, “We heard Rasle’s ambassador and Malia complain about Sedara tonight.”
“One doesn’t necessarily connect to the other,” Declan shook his head. “My mother would destroy Sultan Raj. Isla’s country is so small she’d be wiped off the map. Complaining versus doing something—”
Rasle has at least three groups of soldiers hidden in their northern hills near the shore,Quinn interrupted Declan.
I bit my lip. “I know. It doesn’t make sense. Are they fighting each other? If so, why’s Isla here? She needs to be focused on her own country if she and Raj are on the brink of conflict with one another.”
Ryan threw out, “If they aren’t fighting each other … and they are amassingtogether—then that would be a different story.”
Declan shook his head. “Both against Sedara still wouldn’t stand a chance.”
I had to throw out the question, “And why would she visit me? She hasn’t tried to convince me to join some movement. Or uprising.”
Ryan’s eyes flew to Declan. “Maybe she thinks our loyalty lies with Sedara.”
Declan gave a bitter laugh, “If they think that, the joke’s on them isn’t it?”
“Is it?” I asked, “If there wasn’t some kind of secret agreement between mother and Sedara, then why would Queen Diamoni have sent that note about finding Avia?”
We were quiet for a moment as the weight of that soaked in.
Connor spoke first, “Two countries get together to complain about the big, bad monarch across the sea. Tired of taxes, tired of the navy bullying them wherever they go. They complain and whine and notice their neighbor, Evaness, gets all the good treaty terms. Evaness doesn’t have to pay extra fees to trade with Lored for wine or spices, though every other nation does. The countries start to wonder why Evaness gets special treatment. Then Sedara sends their most powerful prince over, across the sea, to Evaness. And their jealousy grows.”
“Bastard you mean,” Declan chimed in.
“Still powerful as shite,” Ryan countered, clapping Declan on the back and nodding for Connor to go on.
Connor stared out the window, thinking, before he continued, “Evaness prospers with the prince’s magic. That prince becomes engaged to Evaness’ crown princess, set to be a knight. And then … the crown princess disappears.”
“Dragon hunting,” Declan put in wryly. “Officially, she was dragon hunting.”
Connor nodded. “Yes. Officially. But … Isla was a regular visitor here. She would have noticed that Avia was never in state meetings. Never went through the extensive trainings that Bloss did. Avia never sat in the back of the room, forced to observe every obnoxiously boring state interaction as Bloss was.”
Declan picked up the thread of thought and continued to unravel the tangle. “She’s not an idiot, Queen Isla. She would have started to wonder why—when dragon hunting is so dangerous—Queen Gela never prepared her second daughter for the crown.”
“She guessed that Avia wasn’t a second daughter,” Connor concluded, turning back to us from the window.
My entire body felt tight as a wire. I hung on their every word. I knew what they’d say next, but I needed to hear it aloud.
Declan met my eyes as he said, “Isla began to wonder who Avia was … if she wasn’t a second daughter. Another bastard from Sedara? Maybe. But bastards aren’t worth much in terms of treaties. We’re far too common.”
I went and grabbed Declan’s hand. “Stop calling yourself that,” I muttered. I bumped him with my hip, moving him slightly in his chair. He gave me a side smile but kept his eyes on Connor.
Connor leaned back against the window, ruffled his brown curls, and mused. “Isla began to wonder if Avia wasn’t something else, some chess piece that gave Evaness power over Sedara.”
Declan grimaced. “Rasle has plenty of spies and mages of their own. Cerena’s newly a castle mage. Just hardly more than a hedge witch. If she could restore that old midwife’s memory, imagine what Isla’s people might have found.”
“But how does Cheryn come into all of this? How does Sultan Raj fit in?” Ryan chimed in.
Blue suddenly started chirping madly, flying to the middle of the room and doing circles.
“If you’re trying to tell us something, you’re failing miserably,” I told the little bird.
