“Oh, I know that. Believe that. What is uncertain is who you see as your enemy.” The commander resumed his circling. “That is why we stand on the side of the road, away from the presence of the Empress, Your Grace. For while she may be blind to the advantages this alliance holds for you in the long run, I am not.”
Tension sang through his veins, but Keris allowed none of it to show on his face. “Then allow me to provide clarity. My enemy is Petra Anaphora. Not Zarrah, not the rebellion, and not you.”
Silence stretched, the only sound the rapid breathing of the soldiers and the wind howling through the surrounding forest.
“You have all the answers, but I see your intentions, Your Grace. You’d pit the rebellion against the Usurper, spend the strength of both forces, then, while backs are turned, take Nerastis. You don’t tell your generals of plans for peace because Maridrina’s plans are unchanged. The war rages on.”
“On my honor, that is not my intent.” Keris said the words knowing that this man probably
considered him honorless. “I am a true ally to Zarrah. Our goals are shared. And this conversation should not be happening behind her back.”
but decided against it, for that truth was Zarrah’s to tell. That this conversation was happening behind
“Baa! Baa!” The commander mimicked a sheep’s call, his soldiers laughing. “You want her here so you can cower behind her?”
Keris’s fingers curled, his irritation rising. “Do not mistake my respect for her as cowardice.”
The commander shrugged. “Perhaps you tell the truth. Perhaps you do desire to aid my empress, to fight for peace, but in that case, you are making promises that you can’t keep. Already you are the weakest king Maridrina has seen in generations, so what hubris flows through your veins that you believe you can return to Maridrina and order your army to fight to liberate their mortal enemy? They will laugh in your face and then rip you apart before staking your head on Vencia’s gates.”
Zarrah, and with survival, which meant that he’d not given nearly enough thought to the motivations of Keris’s irritation fled, for this was the fear that lurked deep in his heart. The knowledge that when those he’d deemed minor players in the game. He was discovering now that they weren’t minor at all. Zarrah would need him most, he might fail to deliver. Hearing it voiced by this man made that fear a thousand times more intense, for it validated what Keris already knew.
“A weak ally that promises much and delivers nothing is no ally at all,” the commander said.
“You’re a liability that the Empress cannot afford, and as such, one we will be sending back to Maridrina.”
Keris’s lips parted to protest, but before he could speak, Zarrah’s voice cut through the air. “As it stands, Commander, it seems that you are a liability that I cannot afford.”
This was the first piece of intelligence about his country that Keris had received since leaving Vencia, and some level of proof that his orders were being followed. “At present, they are there for defense. Petra has made it abundantly clear that she desires to invade Maridrina. A plan made clearer through my own efforts to spy on Welran. But ultimately, when Zarrah makes her move against Petra, I’ll commit my own forces to aid her.”
“Of course you will. Except answer this, Your Grace: why do none of your soldiers know your plans?”
Keris’s hands turned cold.
“We have spies in your palace in Nerastis. Your officers speak freely around paid company, and not one has whispered of your so-called plan for peace. Only about continued plans for war. Why is that?”
There was a reason. A reason that terrified Keris so badly that his mind shied away from even considering it, even though it had the power to destroy his plans with Zarrah. “Screaming my strategies for all to hear is a good way to arm my enemies.”
“Oh, I know that. Believe that. What is uncertain is who you see as your enemy.” The commander resumed his circling. “That is why we stand on the side of the road, away from the presence of the Empress, Your Grace. For while she may be blind to the advantages this alliance holds for you in the long run, I am not.”
Tension sang through his veins, but Keris allowed none of it to show on his face. “Then allow me to provide clarity. My enemy is Petra Anaphora. Not Zarrah, not the rebellion, and not you.”
Silence stretched, the only sound the rapid breathing of the soldiers and the wind howling through the surrounding forest.
“You have all the answers, but I see your intentions, Your Grace. You’d pit the rebellion against the Usurper, spend the strength of both forces, then, while backs are turned, take Nerastis. You don’t tell your generals of plans for peace because Maridrina’s plans are unchanged. The war rages on.”
“On my honor, that is not my intent.” Keris said the words knowing that this man probably
considered him honorless. “I am a true ally to Zarrah. Our goals are shared. And this conversation should not be happening behind her back.”
“Baa! Baa!” The commander mimicked a sheep’s call, his soldiers laughing. “You want her here so you can cower behind her?”
Keris’s fingers curled, his irritation rising. “Do not mistake my respect for her as cowardice.”
The commander shrugged. “Perhaps you tell the truth. Perhaps you do desire to aid my empress, to fight for peace, but in that case, you are making promises that you can’t keep. Already you are the weakest king Maridrina has seen in generations, so what hubris flows through your veins that you believe you can return to Maridrina and order your army to fight to liberate their mortal enemy? They will laugh in your face and then rip you apart before staking your head on Vencia’s gates.”
Keris’s irritation fled, for this was the fear that lurked deep in his heart. The knowledge that when Zarrah would need him most, he might fail to deliver. Hearing it voiced by this man made that fear a thousand times more intense, for it validated what Keris already knew.
“A weak ally that promises much and delivers nothing is no ally at all,” the commander said.
“You’re a liability that the Empress cannot afford, and as such, one we will be sending back to Maridrina.”
Keris’s lips parted to protest, but before he could speak, Zarrah’s voice cut through the air. “As it stands, Commander, it seems that you are a liability that I cannot afford.”
GUIDING THE HORSE with her knees, Zarrah kept the arrow she’d nocked trained on the
commander’s chest. “Step away from him. All of you. Then put your weapons on the ground.”
“You were supposed to keep her at the camp,” the commander barked at the mounted
soldiers galloping up behind her.
Rather than allowing them to answer, she said, “You cannot have it both ways, calling me Empress but then undermining my authority. You may have wished for a mindless figurehead, but that is not what you’ll get with me.”
In truth, it had taken some doing to convince the soldiers to give her a weapon and a horse, for they’d been following the commander’s orders since the beginning and did not wish to go against him.
But Daria and Saam had her back, defending Keris’s right to be brought into the camp. The