Cormal squinted at him, like he wanted to protest but couldn’t actually get around the Prince’s careful word choices. “That doesn’t mean it’s not doable.”
“But if we offer her a better alternative? Yes, she’d have to admit she was wrong to us, but she’d be bettering the country for a number of its citizensandgetting her son back in the form she prefers.” The Prince stared them all down. “That’s better.”
“She may prove to be intractable,” Brannal pointed out.
Perian had been banished here, after all.
“She might,” the Prince conceded with a shrug. “But if she needs something that will allow her to change her mind and save face, this might be the best option. If she can bring you back because you can save me, that’s a reason everyone can understand.”
“I’m, uh, not supposed to leave the estate,” Perian said hesitantly.
“No, I know,” the Prince agreed hurriedly. “I’m not asking you to.”
“And I would do anything for you,” Cormal told him, “but I can’t sneak people into the castle. Not after what I did.”
This made the Prince smile. “Rebuilding trust takes time, and I respect that you’re working on that. I propose that I write to my mother. If she hasn’t already worked out that I’m not at the castle, she’ll realize it soon enough. I’ll present everything to her logically and ask for special dispensation for you all to come back on her assurance as Queen that no harm will come to any of you.” He looked around the table. “You don’t have to come, of course. I realize that I would be asking you to expose yourselves to the risk of harm, though I promise I would do everything I can to mitigate it. Mother would have to agree to protect you.”
“You realize what else could happen, Prince,” Brannal pointed out. “If she thinks we’ve taken you hostage here, this could bring a world of trouble on Perian’s head.”
Perian elbowed Brannal. “Hey, don’t I get to have an opinion about my own life?”
“Of course you do,” Brannal agreed immediately. “I want the risks considered and understood, but I won’t stand in the way of the choice you make.”
Perian subsided. “Thank you.”
“It’s possible,” the Prince acknowledged. “But I don’t think it likely. I’ll reveal that I came here seeking further help, and thenwe realized there was a risk to me from demons. I’ll paint you all as the safest way to get me back to the castle, which is true.”
“What if she agrees only to get everyone there?” Cormal asked.
“I’ll demand a guarantee of safety,” the Prince said calmly. “Yes, she could go back on it, but there could be serious consequences if she did. I certainly wouldn’t remain quiet about it.” He hesitated for a moment. “And if we’re being completely truthful, while sheer numbers absolutely count for something, if former Summus, current Summus, Secundus, Arvus, and me all align ourselves with Perian? Knowing how others in the castle feel? It wouldn’t be a pretty battle, and I am entirely certain my mother is aware of that. She doesn’t want a civil war.”
Trill shivered at the very thought. It was true that they were a particularly powerful group, but the whole thing made him more than a little nervous. Still, though, he’d seen the Prince break down when he’d been able to briefly touch Cormal, and Trill couldn’t imagine not helping any way he could.
“I’ll do it,” Perian agreed. “You know I want to help you, and I agree that doing this in the safety of the castle when the Queen—and Renny!—is informed is the best way.”
“You know I’m in,” Molun said with a huge grin. “Sounds like fun.”
Arvus and Brannal both exchanged long-suffering sighs but added their own agreement.
“I’d like to be on the right side, for once,” Cormal said. “As long as we’re doing things above-board and with full approval, I’m happy to participate. I mean, I’ll run away and live in a cave with Kinan if I need to, but I don’t want to deceive anyone at the castle.”
Kinan’s expression had gone very fond. “You could always make sure the cave was warm, right?”
“Always,” Cormal agreed, leaning in to give a kiss to what should have been Kinan’s cheek.
And that just left Trill and Yannoma. Trill eyed her. She was shaking her head.
“You’re too soft-hearted,” she told him.
“I know,” Trill admitted.
He’d always known that. He was pretty sure it was why he’d had so much trouble with his mother and grandmother—and why he hadn’t been able to leave them until it was basically too late.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Molun hastily assured Trill. “Honey, we will figure this out. We know you’d be taking the biggest risk, coming to the notice of a, uh, hostile monarch.”
Arvus added, “Your participation is not in any way required for our affection or our time. You can still come back with us and stick with our original plan of not revealing what you are to others. We’d be very happy with that.”
“So happy,” Molun agreed.
