Page 173 of A Crown of Lies

Eris let out a hiss, shoulders tightening.

Isaac squeezed her shoulder. “Are you all right? Do you need to stop again?”

She shook her head.

Isaac hadn’t wanted to stop, but Eris had insisted when the cramping pains got too bad. She’d had to walk a circle until they stopped. Then they’d ridden through the night at a painfully slow pace to keep her from being jostled too badly in the saddle. A carriage would have been better, but they didn’t have that option.

The initial journey had been on foot. They fled Ostovan with only their clothes and weapons, no provisions or coin. After a few hours, they happened on a farmhouse. The residents weren’t in the house, but Isaac insisted they take enough food to survive the journey, and one of the horses from the barn. In exchange, Eris left her diamond engagement ring. That would more than pay for the goods they’d had to take.

It pained Isaac to know they’d had to steal to survive, but he’d do whatever it took to make sure Eris made it to safety.How did we get here? How did it all go so wrong?

He thought of Niall’s betrayal, of the way Michal had lorded over his queen and made her kneel like some common woman. If she hadn’t been so selfless, so concerned about the life of her child, she would have gutted him. Isaac still wished she had let him do it for her.

Eris shifted in the saddle, letting out another small grunt of pain.

“We’re almost there,” Isaac promised her. “But if you need to stop, say the word.”

He glanced up at Greymark’s castle in the distance, sitting atop the next hill. The sight of it made him anxious, especially knowing that Katyr was there, waiting for him. Then his heart sank. By now, Kat would have found someone to pass Aleks off to. He might never see Aleks again. Though Isaac knew it was for the best, it still hurt.

Their horse started forward again, lazily winding down the hill they’d just climbed up.

“You must be eager to see Kat again,” Eris said, just to make conversation. “Do you think word of what’s happened has reached here yet?”

Isaac nodded. “It’s been long enough that I’m sure they’ve all heard.”

“Katyr must be worried sick about you.”

Isaac sighed. “I hope he made it here okay.”

Of course he had. Isaac knew Kat was a capable fighter. He was strong and brave and beautiful. Divine, he didn’t know how Eris could stand being away from Ruith for so long. It’d been less than a week since he’d seen Kat, and already, he was desperate to be back with him.

“Be honest, Isaac,” she said, suddenly. “Do you think we’ll get Brucia back? Do we stand a chance of winning back our home?”

“There’s always hope if you believe. What other option is there but to fight?”

She was quiet for a long time as the castle loomed closer. “Are you angry with me? For kneeling?”

He hesitated with his answer, unsure of how to phrase it. “I’m angry at the situation. I understand why you did what you did. It was the right thing. We would have died there, and the future efforts to reclaim Brucia with us. I wanted to fight because it feels wrong, letting them win, even temporarily. Yet, I’m glad you stopped me. I promised Katyr I’d be safe, that I’d come for him. I can’t do that if I’m dead.” He cleared his throat. “However, when we finally get to him, and the time comes, I want to be the one that kills him.”

He flexed his hand into a fist, letting himself imagine it. There were few men in the world that Isaac wanted to see dead, but Michal was among their number.

Eris let out a lighthearted chuckle that was good to hear. “You might have to get in line behind Ruith.”

Isaac snorted at that. “The Crow is the better tactician, but we both know I’m the superior swordsman. Besides, he’s to be my king, which means it’s my duty to keep him—and you—out of the fighting as much as possible.”

“But there will be fighting. Is this a war we can win, Isaac?”

Isaac nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. Whatever forces Greymark has, it won’t be enough. We will need a larger army, and we will need sea power. Someone will have to sail to D’thallanar. Greymark is practically landlocked, though, which means we’ll have to sneak someone through Trinta or Brucia’s port. I don’t know who we’d send, though.”

“Let’s get into Greymark before we start planning diplomatic missions,” Eris said.

He sighed but relented. They rode on in silence for a while, the castle coming closer and closer. For some reason, Isaac’s chest became tighter the closer they came. He wanted more than anything to see Katyr again, but knowing Aleks was gone… That was a conversation he was dreading. Isaac hoped he hadn’t irreparably damaged their relationship by saving the infant prince and asking Kat to protect him.

He cleared his throat again and reached for something, anything, to fill the silence so he wouldn’t have to think about it. “So,” Isaac said at length, “boy or girl?”

Eris smiled, her hand going to her stomach. “Girl, I think.”

“What makes you say that?”

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