“I wish for it not to end here,” I say, pulling his attention back to me, “but tostarthere. One day, Alzans, Jokeni, and Okahi will trade here too.”
His eyes sharpen, searching my face “You have grown much since becoming king,” he finally says. Wariness fills him as he shakes his head. “May it last long enough for me to die in peace.”
His pessimism bothers me, but then, he is much older than I. He has suffered for longer. Has lost more people. Has witnessed too many ceasefires fall apart. His wife is not a love match. His children are dead. His kingdom is on the brink of financial ruin. There is no space left in his life for hope to burn.
“Can I have all of these?” Arienna asks, gesturing to her pile of goods. A dozen candles sit beside two bars of soap. I pick up one of the latter and inhale.Gosberries. My eyes narrow.
“This better not be for Jace,” I growl.
She giggles. “Noooo. It’s for Fabia.”
She sneaks a look at Jace, standing beside me, then me. Her smile brightens. My head of security plucks the bar of soap from me, sniffs it, then places it down on the table to grab another one.
“Get her this,” he says.
“Honey dew and chocolate?” She sniffs, then nods. “Itisnice enough to eat.” She giggles.
I glance at Jace. Those are two of Nicholas’ favourite foods. He grins at me, and I frown, wondering if I’ve missed something about my brother.
“We’ll take the lot,” I tell the merchant before guiding my wife through the rest of the market. The Vylian king and queen split off to go their own way. The six Court members follow us, each trying to talk to my wife. But she keeps striking them mute by asking them about their sex lives, then getting distracted by the next pretty thing.
My skin prickles as we move through a tightening crowd. The only people who are supposed to have weapons here are me, King Dravr, and my guards. Even the stalls of the blacksmiths are only covered in metal decorations. Still, I’ve not felt this onedge for decades, not since I was a child tasked with leading my first squadron into battle.
My eyes skirt around the market. My fingers itch to draw one of the twelve knives I have strapped on me: two inside the toes of my boots; two tucked inside the shafts, resting just above my ankles; two sheathed on the undersides of my forearms, hidden beneath my full sleeves; two larger ones crossing at my back, over my clothes, but under my wings; and four throwing knives on the top of my wrists.
But a knife is shit protection against magic. My eyes lift to the sky above, checking to see if any of the snipers look on edge.
“You must know that this peace cannot last,” Dragon Coo murmurs as she steps up next to me as Arienna is distracted by a stall of books. Her dusty pink hair is much darker than my wife’s. It’s cut at the same length though, stopping at her shoulders so it doesn’t bother her wings. “And when it breaks, you do not want Raza to be fractured from within.”
“If we are fighting to protect our freedoms,” I say, looking her over for any signs of betrayal, “then we must not give them up ourselves. It is time we know a world without war.”
“A fairy tale,” she seethes. “Shall we know the might of the gods simply because we wish for better?”
“I do not seek immortality or the power of creation. I wish merely for our children to grow up without having to do safety drills in school.”
“They should know how to protect themselves.”
“They are children.”
“I was a child when I went to war. As were you.”
“Do you not wish for a better world for your daughter?”
She shrugs. “If I suffered and managed, why shouldn’t she? It made me stronger.”
“It made you weak, unable to see any other view but your own.”
Her eyes narrow. “What I cansee, Your Majesty, is that you will kill everything that makes Raza great.”
“If suffering, fear, and hatred is greatness, then fuck it.”
Scowling, she moves away from me to talk to one of the other Dragons. I fight the urge to stab her in the back. I do not care for fighting “honourably” – especially when there’s any risk of my queen being caught in the middle.
“Is everything okay?” Arienna asks as she turns to face me. The excitement she’s carried all this time starts to slip, and I want to kill Coo just for taking that from her.
“Yes,” I say, forcing my nerves to calm as we move down the stalls. “We have another hour before our dinner with the ladies and lords, but until then, shop and enjoy yourself.”
“What if I want toeatnow?” she says, nibbling on her lip teasingly.
