A vice grips my heart and squeezes painfully as my feet falter.
But Lachlan rips his hand out of hers and scowls at her. I’ve never seen him look so furious before and I’m relieved it’s not towards me. If I’m being honest, I’m elated to see him handle her with such a firm hand. That line drawn in the sand between them eases some of the resentment I had felt stirring.
But diplomacy wins out.
We can’t have Ashur refusing to help us with the crystal because we offended one of his assistants.
I clear my throat, garnering their attention. “Is everything alright, Captain?”
Lachlan glares at Neva a moment longer before turning softer eyes to me. “Aye, my queen. Just some discussions on boundaries.” He enunciates ‘boundaries.’
I bite my lip to keep the laughter from slipping out.
“I see.” My attention returns to Ashur, who is conversing with a passerby before leading us again.
“So what brings you to our shores, Your Majesty?”
“Did Odessa ever gift the island anything?”
Ashur freezes. “Yes…yes she did. Why?”
“That object is hindering magic. We need to destroy it.”
He strokes his long, braided beard. The gold cuffs around his wrist jingle with the movement.
“And how is our moonstone blessed by Ishtar blocking magic?” His eyes darken under the shadow of his lowered brow, and I feel that I’ve greatly offended him.
“Well, for starters—” Lachlan starts in. His shoulders square with the change of tone that Ashur exhibited towards me.
My eyes flash to his and I shake my head once.
“You remember that the Odessa from the last fifty years, wasn’t the real Odessa correct? And was being impersonated by a creature from our enemy’s realm?”
His face tightens. “Yes.”
“That creature lied about many things, including the moonstone.”
“How so?”
“It’s not a moonstone at all by quartz imbued with asphidra venom.”
He reels back, clutching the large amulet that hangs on his chest. “And you’re certain?”
I grimace, realizing this will be much harder than I thought. “We are. We’ve destroyed several others and magic has regenerated since.”
We walk again and Ashur nods thoughtfully to himself. “We keep the moonstone in the town square. It’s an important monument to the citizens of this district. After it was gifted to us, our island flourished. Businesses opened, trade boomed, and we prospered.”
My brow wrinkles with his words. “And the people believe it is because of the moonstone?” The words come out more clipped than I intended, but the meaning is still the same.
“Indeed. So you can see why I am hesitant to allow you to destroy it.”
Allow me? I choose my words carefully, easing around the anger I feel pulsing through me.
“Even if it is the very thing that is crippling our entire realm?”
Ashur grimaces. “You are undoing everything that made our realm thrive. Reinstating the training grounds takes men away from their businesses. The moonstone is a blessing to us. You can see how that looks?”
I blink, slowly. Business and wealth,not duty and honor.
