Page 16 of To Save a Kingdom

Well, no. But… “Can we afford to offend him?”

“Maybe, maybe not. He’s a little too angry with Tsara ta notice, I think.”

Mentally crossing her fingers, Aliya nodded. “I hope you’re right.”

“Elessan?” A woman with the same dark skin as Elessan pushed her way through the crowd.

A heartbeat of silence passed before he came into view. His jaw was slack as he stared at the woman. “Mother?”

Aliya’s pulse skipped as they embraced, heedless of the glances from those surrounding them. She swallowed, blinking back the burning in her eyes. In the time Aliya had known him, his loneliness and desire for home had been obvious. Perhaps, with his mother here, both emotions would be assuaged and he could be happy.

They were too far away for Aliya to catch their murmured words, but her heart cracked and split open at the devastation and relief in his expression.

She had no idea how long it had been since he’d seen his mother, but it had likely been years if not decades.

Elessan glanced over his shoulder at her as he led his mother away. Their eyes met and she gave him a small smile.

His eyes warmed and he nodded as they turned out of view.

With their departure, and the disappearance of King Enorathil, the tension in the courtyard broke. The sun elf king’s retinue split, leading his stag off to the stables. The rest of the castle inhabitants went back to their duties.

Aliya hid a smirk as she imagined the stable hand’s expression when faced with a giant deer. Blinking her eyes, she glanced at her guards where they stood, surrounding her.

Well, that had been fun and exciting.

Tsara would likely spend the afternoon bringing her father up to speed on current events, and if so, Aliya wouldn’t need to worry about seeing the king for several hours. That left her with time to wade through more of the correspondence she’d been working through before this disturbance.

Meeting Zadé’s eyes, she said, “Please let His Majesty know I’ll see him at dinner.”

Zadé raised an eyebrow. “You sure, princess?”

Aliya nodded. “I’m positive he and I will have plenty to talk about in private. We may as well do it on full stomachs.” At least then she could fortify herself against whatever chaos he wrought.

Rolling her shoulders to loosen the knots beneath her shoulder blades, she sighed. “I’ll be in my office if anything happens.”

Chapter 7

Aliya

Aliya closed the door to her study with a sigh, resting her forehead against the cool stone of the wall. She inhaled. The heavy sensation pooling in her stomach was back. The only thing worse than bad news was waiting for bad news, and she had no doubt King Enorathil’s visit would bring nothing but.

Part of her wished the elves had departed before the monarch arrived, intercepting him on their return home. But truces and trade agreements didn’t need to be destroyed in person. A simple letter sent by courier would suffice. And that would have left her without Elessan and Zadé’s backup.

It was best this way. At least she had elven allies here who could try to mitigate any damage. Hopefully.

“Daughter.”

Aliya froze for a heartbeat, her breath chilling in her lungs, before she regained control of her reflexes. Turning, she blinked.

Her father, Baron Walter Larimar, sat in the chair behind her desk. As if this was his castle instead of hers. Like he had the right.

What would happen if she decided to toss him in the dungeon for overstepping his bounds? Such retaliation was the least of what Malkov would’ve done, had anyone dared to take liberties with him.

And by the dungeon, she didn’t mean the relatively cozy cells just below the main gate. No, she was thinking about the tiny windowless pit buried beneath the guard tower that was too narrow to lay down in—the oubliette. A few nights in a space too small to be comfortable, with no light, would be enough to turn the strongest man’s stomach.

But her power wasn’t as secure as Malkov’s had been, and she needed every ally she could get. Even one as untrustworthy as her father. Besides, if she alienated him, he could make her life very difficult if not outright hazardous.

Taking a deep breath and using the action to push down the rising swell of irritation, she breezed to the credenza and poured herself a glass of the unknown amber liquid in the crystal decanter.