Page 53 of To Save a Kingdom

“Yer nobles have plenty enough coin ta buy more ‘afore the cold sets in,” Zadé said.

Aliya scoffed. That may be true, but she had little leverage to convince them to part with their precious gold. The way she saw it, she had only two cards to play: her status as a mage, and her hand in marriage. And she had no idea how to use her magic to get what she wanted, beyond letting someone kill her and extract it for their own purposes.

Her heart chilled as her blood froze. With every new thing that happened, it seemed like selling herself in matrimony was the only option left.

“Wait ‘til Elsan gets back,” Zadé said. “He’ll know more, and we can come up with a plan. Roland’s a prick, sure, but he can be reasoned with. Especially if’n yeh can figure out a way ta give him what he’s after.”

And there was the core of her problem. She pinned Zadé with a stare. “You know Roland, right?”

Zadé sputtered, waving her hand in front of her face as though brushing away an annoying insect. “Not so well as others.”

“But you know him better than us,” Aliya pressed, gesturing to herself and Jalius. “What could he want?” It must be something beyond marrying her. While her father had added Roland’s name to her list, he’d clearly been an afterthought. Roland had come to her kingdom on his own, and Aliya needed to figure out why.

Zadé shrugged. “What do all powerful people want?”

Aliya blinked at her, her eyebrows raising as she waited for Zadé to answer her own question.

Jalius stepped forward. “More power, of course.”

Aliya rolled her eyes. “That’s too broad to do me any good.” She turned her focus back to Zadé. “I need specifics.”

The other woman tapped her chin with a finger as she thought. “Resources. Alliances.” She eyed Aliya. “He’s got ta know yer coffers’re bare. If he didn’t know ‘afore, by now, his spies have figured it out. So, it’s not money he wants from yeh. He knows the Whisperers’re outta his reach fer now.” She paused. “The only other things he cares about are his legacy ‘n influence. No offense, Princess, but an alliance with a crumbling kingdom, ‘specially a non-elf one, won’t contribute much ta’ either. So… what else’ve yeh got?”

Aliya chewed her bottom lip. Her focus turned to Jalius as something sparked in the back of her mind. “Does he have any magic? Or mages?”

Zadé shook her head. “Personally? No, don’t think so. And as fer mages, most o’ those followed Cressida ‘n th’ other scholars rather than the elven royals.”

Aliya focused on the smoke pouring into the sky from the courtyard. So, it was something about her magic. “But he can’t have the Whisperers, and I already denied him access to the Master Artificer and the rest of the team that developed them.”

Zadé shrugged. “I’d say he wants ta change yer mind, or he’s after something else power-wise.”

Giving in to her father’s scheme and marrying Roland would give him what he wanted, either way—control over her, her magic, and her kingdom. “Whatever it is, I can’t let him have it.” She raised an eyebrow in question as she eyed Zadé and Jalius, “But perhaps we can pretend to go along with his plans long enough to figure it out?”

Jalius’ mouth spread into a broad grin. “I love how you think, Your Majesty.”

Aliya smiled back. “Excellent.” She focused on Zadé, but Jalius held up a hand, stopping her.

“The mages will help convince the sun elf king to retain your alliance.”

Nodding, Aliya pressed her lips together. “Thank you.” She looked at Zadé.

Jalius cleared his throat. “On one condition.”

Aliya took a deep breath and turned back to the gnome, grimacing as her stomach churned. Of course there was a stipulation—there always was with him. “I’m not going to agree to another Irrevocable Vow. You should assist me because it will benefit the realm.”

He nodded. “I will, and we are. However, the mages have needs that must be met, as well.”

Her patience boiled over as her chest tightened. “What is it, then? Spit it out.”

Jalius folded his hands over his torso and cleared his throat, as though he had all the time in the world. “King Malkov, your husband, destroyed the Mage College.”

Aliya furrowed her brows. She knew that. Everyone did. What did he… Oh. “I’m sure we can locate somewhere suitable to rebuild, in a location you’ll find acceptable.”

“I’m afraid that won’t do at all, Your Majesty.”

Aliya opened her mouth, ready to accept his agreement but froze at his words. “What do you mean? Will a palace or fort not suffice?” There were plenty of unoccupied ones scattered across the realm, courtesy of the two-century-long war. Some were even habitable. Surely one of those would suit?

“We request a new building, with full control over the design specifications.” Jalius cleared his throat. “We want to make sure certain safeguards are installed to prevent what happened before from happening again.”