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My stomach dropped. I knew the situation was bad, but I hadn’t known all that. “I see.”
“Of those fifteen nations ravaged by the forces of Vekas, one was granted refugee status for those fleeing the violence. Six had complete and total banishment orders, which allowed summary executions of any fleeing citizens if they tried to cross the border into Camdaria.”
“Are you sure of this?”
Aodin leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I am certain. We on the Isles have our own issues, including isolationism and plenty of paranoia, but we have kept particularly acute records of King Nathaniel’s choices, especially over the past decade. My elders know much more, but I am less knowledgeable in that area.”
“I had no idea.”
“I know. Like I said, I do not say this with any accusation, but when you state that Vekas is killing innocent civilians, Camdaria is, too, just in a much more passive nature by refusing to stand up to Vekas, and by allowing them to go unchecked because the other counties aren’t worth risking your military for. In the process, Camdaria has doomed hundreds of thousands to death. By closing their doors for those fleeing to Vekas, they ensured there was little chance of escape. Camdaria is the largest nation and one of the sole refuge spots on this continent. That is the only reason why we in the Isles are allied with your nation.”
I felt like I was getting hit with even more surprises in the past twenty-four hours or so that’d already been chockful of them. At the same time, I was impressed. Aodin had come across as frivolous to me, and more than silver-tongued considering he was in politics. Suddenly, I was seeing an intelligent, insightful man who genuinely cared about the people of his nation.
“Is it normal for most of your court diplomats to be so trained on all these facts?”
Aodin’s expression shifted. “Well, I suppose you can say I’m not your typical court diplomat.”
“Oh?” Ayla said, getting up from my side to sit in the chair across from him. “Are you telling us you’ve got a mysterious side?”
Aodin chuckled. “A man needs his secrets, does he not?”
“Does he?” I countered, more than curious. Obviously there had to be something afoot with the clear dichotomy of his public persona and how he was with us. “Hard to build trust that way.”
“You have a point there, Your High—”
“Please, I think all things considered, Kai would be much more appropriate.”
“That’s going to take some getting used to.”
I grinned. “That’s perfectly fine, but I do like to be on a first name basis with those who save my life.” Aodin shot me a smile at that, and it seemed like a genuine reaction. As a political figure, I knew he had great control over what emotions he showed and when, so I took it as a compliment that he allowed me to see a sliver of real feeling. “But I’m not distracted from the fact that you’re trying to divert attention.”
“As astute as ever, Your Hi… Kai. You see, the reason I know about all these other nations is because I’m part of a political movement that started on the islands. We call ourselves Arbiters, and our biggest concern is paving a way for a peaceable end to the war. You can imagine my surprise when I found out what a proponent you were for ending the conflict. You’ll have to forgive me, Kai. I thought you were going to be a war mongering royal who wanted the glory of battle over peace. I’ve never been so pleased to be so wrong.”
“So, that’s why you risked everything to help us,” Ayla said.
“Well, mostly, yes. But it was also the right thing to do.” Aodin gave a firm nod. “Continuing in the vein of honesty, I admit our political faction hasn’t been able to gain much momentum. We’ve had to move in silence so as not to attract the attention of King Nathaniel, who could effectively crush us before we ever got off the ground.”
I could well see that happening. It would be so easy for my father to send spies, assassins, or even outright threaten the Isle. Although they were officially allied with Camdaria, it wouldn’t be impossible to turn on them.
“Our biggest project currently is trying to convince the Elders of Verdana Isles to break the tentative alliance we have with your nation and become entirely politically neutral. It won’t fix things, but it will be the perfect start for us to give the Arbiters a real push.”
“You think that’s possible?”
“I hope it is, because if we become neutral, we’re not beholden to Camdaria’s refugee decrees and will be able to accept any from the affected nations. Perhaps our withdrawal would urge other nations unhappy with your father to break their allyship. Although we do need Camdaria to keep Vekas at bay, we also need to force your father’s hand on bringing peace.”
“It seems like he’s determined to keep the war going,” Ayla said. I wished that I could disagree, but I couldn’t. I’d understand if we had some weapons contract or way to profit from the war. It wouldn’t be a good reason, but at least it would be an understandable one. But, no. As far as I knew, our kingdom was hemorrhaging money right and left from the war. Enough so that someone was fudging internal expense and inventory reports on a massive scale.
“I can tell you without a doubt, the king is actively doing things to keep the war going, and none of us understand why, beyond some alpha ego thing about destroying his enemies. But at best, Camdaria and Vekas are in a deadlock.
“Actually, the entire reason I even became a diplomatic ambassador was to look for potential Arbiter sympathizers within the court. I just underestimated how difficult it’d be to find anyone with anti-war sentiments when they all pretend the war isn’t happening at all.”
I’d thought he was going to say something about being a smuggler, or his meddling in dubiously legal issues. I hadn’t expected him to tell me about an entire secret political movement he was a part of. It was a huge extension of trust, and I didn’t take that lightly. If I ended up turning on him and somehow ingratiated myself with my father, I could have Aodin executed and wipe out all the Arbiters without even breaking a sweat.
“But the reason I’m telling you all of this isn’t just because I want to explain why I took such a risk. I want you to fully understand the implications of what I say next, because I’d like to offer you a deal.”
“A deal?” Ayla parroted. I appreciated that I wasn’t the only one clearly trying to keep up with everything.
“Yes. I don’t mean to take advantage in a time of need, but it’s clear that your lives as regular citizens of Camdaria are over. So, I propose that I get you safely smuggled into the Verdana Isles if you, Kai, former heir apparent of Camdaria, agree to persuade the Elders, alongside me, to sever our alliance with King Nathaniel and your nation.”
