Silence stretched between them, and then Aren said, “She died, Keris. On the heels of the battle, when we were trying to get her past the gate your father had half pulled out, she drowned. We got her back again, but those minutes she was lifeless in my arms were the longest in my life.”
Keris sucked in a deep breath, having heard no rumors of this.
“Of course you did, Your Grace. Nothing like a bit of wine to calm your nerves over hosting a king
“Even then, she’d lost so much blood from her injuries, it was nothing short of a miracle that she lived. Roused long enough a few days later for me to declare her queen, only to fall prey to an infection. Days upon days of fever that stole her strength. That left her gasping for breath, and You’re drinking everyone told me that she was going to die.”
“And yet …”
“And yet she lived.” Aren’s hands fisted, then flattened against his thighs. “Lara told you that she won’t risk her life for Zarrah, but in the moment, she’ll change her mind. She can’t keep dodging
death forever. So please use this journey south to ask yourself just how much you’re really willing to lose.”
Everything. If he burned in hell for it, so be it. Yet to Aren, he only nodded. “I understand.”
The King of Ithicana left on silent feet, shutting the door behind him and leaving Keris alone with food, maps, and wine. It was the latter two to which he gravitated, but he forced himself to eat. Tasted nothing despite the offerings being of a higher quality than what graced his table in Maridrina, his attention all for the maps. Not that there was anything on them he didn’t know. Nothing he hadn’t seen on those provided by his own cartographers and spies, the prison holding Zarrah little more than a tiny dot with a label.
Sighing, Keris picked up one of the bottles of wine and opened the door.
To find the boy he’d encountered before, less the snake. “You made quick work of your slithery friend, I take it?”
The boy cocked his head. “Doesn’t take long to dump a snake in the jungle.”
“You didn’t kill it?”
“Course not,” the boy said, giving him a dark smile. “They deal with the rat problem.”
“Does that mean I’m going to discover her in my bed when she finds her way back inside?”
The boy shrugged. “It’s always a good idea to check your sheets, Your Grace. Never know what you might find between them.”
“Truer words never spoken.” Keris drank from the neck of the bottle as he followed the boy down the hallway, up the stairs to the top floor, and then down another hall. Though there was a multitude of windows in the palace, all were shuttered, and with the structure being made of the same material, Keris had the uncanny sensation of being back inside the bridge.
Which didn’t help his nerves.
Spotting Dax standing outside one of the doors lining the halls, Keris drew up next to his guard.
“Find anything?”
Dax made a face. “No. Cat’s in there.”
“Vitex will keep away the snakes,” the boy said. “Not only does his kind eat snake, but they are resistant to most forms of snake”—he looked up at Keris—“venom. ” Then he turned on his heel and walked away.
following so that only Aren remained.
“Rude little shit,” Dax muttered. “One of my sons did that, I’d cuff him upside the head and make him sleep with the goats.”
Given that Keris had seen Dax’s sons throwing dog shit at carriages, he highly doubted this assessment, but let it slide. “Go get some rest.”
His guard frowned. “With respect, Keris, it’s you who needs the sleep.”
That was true, but he also had a great deal of work to do before morning. “It’s fine. Just check your sheets for snakes before you get in.”
Dax blanched. “What do I do if I find one?”
“Scream?” Keris suggested. “I’m sure the boy will come help you. Eventually.”
“Awful kingdom,” Dax muttered. “Between the rain and the people and the snakes, you’d have to be mad to choose to live here.”
Keris didn’t answer, only watched his friend walk toward the room at the end, wondering how the man was going to take his orders to remain here as his liaison.
Probably not well.
Turning the handle, Keris eased open the door and stepped inside. The room was large, the fine furniture faintly illuminated by costly vases of Valcottan glass containing the same glowing substance
he’d seen as they’d passed through the sea gate. The only flame was in a lamp sitting on the desk, turned down low. He started toward it, then tripped over something on the floor, a loud clatter breaking the silence. It was the plate of snake meat that Dax had brought, now empty and discarded.
Biting back curses, he searched the shadows for a cat-shaped form. Unease filled him, and he food, maps, and wine. It was the latter two to which he gravitated, but he forced himself to eat. Tasted approached the bed, only to freeze as a pair of glowing eyes appeared over a fold in the blanket. The large cat let out a low growl.
Fixing the cat with a stare, he said, “Apologies for disturbing your rest.” The animal eyed him before tucking its head back in the blanket. Bending to retrieve the plate, Keris set it on a table and then went to take a seat at the desk. It held everything he needed—paper, pen, and ink—and he immediately set to writing. First, a note to Lara informing her of Bronwyn’s request to join her, which he gave to a servant in the hallway. He then drafted a letter to Sarhina informing her that he’d be remaining in Ithicana for an undetermined length of time, negotiating trade terms, then similar letters to the various ministers and administrators who kept Maridrina’s government running. Setting those aside, he began another set, marking the date in the future and fabricating various terms that he and Aren had agreed to. Then another at a later date still, with more terms and conditions for his government to chew on while he raced south.
By the time he was finished, his eyes burned from writing in the poor light, and his back ached from bending over the desk. Go to sleep, he told himself. You can’t help her if you’re too tired to think.
the hallway, up the stairs to the top floor, and then down another hall. Though there was a multitude of Instead he tossed his coat on the sofa and walked to the set of doors at the rear of the room, unfastening the heavy latches and opening a space narrow enough for him to slip outside onto the small balcony. Rain misted his skin, but the wind had died down, and between the clouds, silver stars glowed. There wasn’t much of a view in the darkness, the homes covering the slopes of the volcano mostly unlit. The air smelled of rain and wet earth and jungle, along with the ever-present odor of the stone that the majority of the buildings were constructed from. As though knowing that every aspect of their lives was dominated by the bridge weren’t enough, the Ithicanians needed to smell it with every breath they took. It reminded him of Raina, who, for all she’d wanted to leave this place, had defended it to her dying breath.
Walking to the railing, Keris stared out into the darkness. He wanted to walk between the homes.
To see how this mysterious nation of people lived, what they ate, and what they talked about, because he’d likely never have another chance. Swinging his legs over the railing, Keris looked down to the balcony below to plan his route to ground level.