Page 71 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
Etusca gives her a tremulous smile. “I might not be your nursemaid anymore, but it’s still my job to look out for you, my dear,” she says before hurrying off to harass the council.
“I’m starting to wonder if Etusca and Diomi are the only two people on our side in this place,” Ana says when Etusca’s gone. She turns to rifle through our packs to pull out a fresh pair of pants. I haven’t missed the fact she returned from the infirmary with hers cut off up to the thigh. “I’m glad she’s on the case. Diomi says he’ll convince the council to help us, but I wonder if he’ll be enough.”
“That’s not a problem,” I say, stretching out across the bed and watching her intently. “Like I said before, if they don’t give us what we want, we’ll make them.”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“What?” I say, sitting up straighter. “You’ve never complained about my methods before.”
“Never?” she asks skeptically. I think back to months and months ago, when I first took her from the palace.
“Alright, no time recently,” I admit.
“You’re just thinking too much like a soldier,” she says.
Again, she sounds like my brother. It’s stupid, but the accusation stings. Ana once told me she saw me as more than someone who swings a sword and gives out orders.
She turns abruptly away from the packs and toward me, studying my face. She clearly reads my frustration in it, and I’m annoyed with myself for being so transparent.
“I said you’re thinkinglikea soldier Leon; I’m not saying that’s all you are.”
I nod, realizing that if she’s reading me like a book anyway, I might as well be honest.
“I understand that the dryads work differently to humans or fae. But that’s the problem. You’re telling me none of my usual tools will work here, and that makes me feel…well, lost.”
I stand and walk to the window, not sure if I want to see her expression after I’ve admitted this.
“Because you don’t know what to do?” she prompts, waiting for me to clarify.
“Because I’m left wondering why I’m here, if my skills aren’t any use.” I sigh. It’s new and uncomfortable to dig up my emotions and lay them on the table when I’m far more used to shutting them down. But Ana deserves anything she wants from me—including my honesty.
“Arguing with those dryads just took me back to those years when Fairon was sick, and my grandfather tried to force me to fill his shoes and play the role of heir,” I say. “I’ve never felt more useless. I’m not like you or Fairon. Politics isn’t my game.”
I feel raw—exposed as an open wound—so I nearly jump when Ana comes up behind me, wrapping her arms across my chest.
“You’re here because you makemebetter,” she says, resting her cheek against my back. I close my eyes, soaking in her words and the warmth of her.
“And how exactly do I do that?” I ask. “Aside from doing my level best to keep you alive? Because I obviously need to improve on that.”
She balls my shirt in her fingers and tugs on the fabric, using it to turn me around. Ana gives me a stern, serious look, her hazel eyes bright with a fire I know better than to mess with.
“You do a damn sight better than I would on my own. I’m never going to be a great fighter, Leon, not like you. But that’s okay. I’m better at observing things, I think, and noticing what people need for me to talk them around instead of using force.”
Sheisgood at that. I remember the way she persuaded Wadestaff to join our cause and her brother to go after Oclanna. She even convinced Eryx—the most stubborn bastard I’ve known, gods rest his soul—to help her save her friends in Otscold’s purge, way before the rest of us.
And she’s convinced me, time and time again, to follow her wherever she wishes.
The dryads were an impenetrable wall when we arrived here, but before the mortifus attack, I could see the cracks she’d already made in their denial to help us. Meanwhile, I only slowed us down.
“I made a mess of things with the council, didn’t I?” I ask.
“You were trying to help us,” she says, stepping closer so she has to tilt her head to meet my gaze. “And I have no doubt you could terrify every one of those Agathyrians senseless if you had to.”
“But?” I ask.
She shrugs. “But I don’t think that’s the right strategy here. We complement each other, and in order for that to work, you have toletme balance you. The situation with the council is a good example. These negotiations are delicate—we shouldn’t apply too much force. The dryads’ biggest fear is bringing war to their borders. It’s why they agreed to the treaty in the first place. Now they’ve gone and nearly killed two members of their neighbors’ royal families. They’ll want to smooth things over quickly, and that gives us a big advantage.”
“It’s insulting, really, how much sense you make,” I say. “I thought I was supposed to be the old and wise one.”
