Page 110 of Bride of Ash & Dust

When I’m finally clean, dressed, and composed, I’m not at all surprised to find Zarek already standing in my brother’s chambers. He’s wearing what looks like an old groom’s uniform, and I notice it matches the simple green dress Anura brought me. I wonder if that was intentional, if whoever unearthed these clothes from the storage rooms meant for us to look like a matched set. As if this was just another stop on our ridiculous Unity Tour.

I shake my head, trying to forget about the Unity Tour. It sounds like the unity between Vsenrog and Marion has been suddenly, and violently, ruptured, and I’m trying not to think about what that might mean for Zarek. Or for me.

I step forward, moving closer to my brother. Elrick smiles at me from the bed. He looks tired already, and he’s so pale it makes my chest feel tight. Last night, Elrick insisted his injuries weren’t that bad. But it’s much harder to lie like that in full daylight.

Owain told me that Elrick insisted on being the hero when the soldiers of Vsenrog attacked, that he held them off while his men fled. Owain’s voice was gruff, but his eyes were bright in the thin moonlight as he led me back to the lodge. He said my brother was reckless, and I’m sure he was right, but he couldn’t entirely disguise the pride in his voice.

Owain was in Elrick’s room last night when I fell asleep on one of the couches, but this morning, Gerard stands beside Elrick’s bed with one hand resting on the pommel of his sword. I glance from Gerard to Zarek. Zarek smiles at me, a quick curl of his lips, and something inside my chest flutters. Elrick clears his throat, then turns to Anura.

“Anura, my dear,” he says. “Would you be kind enough to close the door?”

She does, and he smiles at her in a way that strikes me as much too forward. Gods above, everyone will know how he feels about her if he’s not careful. Elrick clears his throat again, then turns to Zarek.

“Just to be clear,” Elrick says. “Everyone in this room knows who you are. You’re the snake of Vsenrog, former prince of Dungal. And you answer to King Malrik.”

Zarek doesn’t respond, but a muscle in his neck pulls tight.

“For the moment, I see no need to share that with my men,” Elrick continues. “I’m sure you had your reasons for introducing yourself as my sister’s guard and not her husband.”

Zarek bows silently, not agreeing, not disagreeing. My brother frowns, then continues.

“You’ve both heard what happened to us,” Elrick continues. “My men and I were attacked by soldiers from Vsenrog on our way back from Ethiria. We fled here, and hells, we’re lucky to be alive. Anura came several days later, carrying the message from Mayor Ulrich about Vsenrog troops massing south of Tanic Pass. There’s been no declaration of war, no inciting incident, and yet, it appears that your kingdom has invaded and attacked mine.”

Elrick’s eyes settle on Zarek’s, and in that moment, despite the bandage around his arm and the fact that he sits in a bed and not a throne, I can see the king he will become.

“Why?” Elrick asks.

The room falls silent. Somewhere outside, a bird calls through the thin mountain air. A heartbeat later, her call is answered by another, farther in the distance. Zarek bows before my brother.

“Prince Elrick of Marion,” Zarek finally says. “I have no answer for you. I thought Malrik wanted the new gold mine, the Dragon Mine, and I was—distracted by that.” That muscle tightens in his neck again. “Malrik hid his plans well. Even from me.”

Elrick snorts, then settles back on his pillows. “Tell me everything you know,” he says.

And we do. Zarek explains the Unity Tour, Prince Syvan’s soldiers, the strange camp in the mountain where he was drugged and I was abducted. When Zarek talks about what happened inside the mine, how a strange man in white robes needed royal blood for a magical ceremony, my vision blurs with tears that I try to blink away. Elrick frowns as Zarek describes the elf who apparently walked out of the stone wall of the mine and murdered the man in white.

“This is insane,” Gerard snorts.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Zarek replies.

Elrick presses his lips together in a thin line. “Are you suggesting,” he finally says, “that King Malrik wanted access to the Dragon Mine for some kind of magic?”

“I’m not suggesting,” Zarek says. “I was there. In fact, I’m not sure it was ever intended to be a mine at all.”

Gerard sputters. Elrick’s frown deepens.

“How much gold has it actually produced?” Zarek asks.

Gerard opens his mouth, then closes it. Elrick shakes his head.

“Still,” Gerard snaps, “you can’t honestly tell me you believe a word of this tripe.”

Elrick waves his hand. “Calm down. I’m not agreeing with anything.” He turns back to Zarek. “But why attack my men? We weren’t even close to the Vsenrog border. We had quite the diplomatic mess to clean up in Ethiria after your sudden marriage to the woman promised to Prince Laurance.”

“I assume the attack was meant to get rid of you,” Zarek replies. “With all due respect, now that I’m married to your princess, you and your father are the only things standing between Malrik taking control of the entire kingdom of Marion.”

The room falls silent again. Gerard glares at Zarek. My brother suddenly looks smaller, sitting in a massive bed with half his body wrapped in bandages. Elrick turns to Zarek again.

“But your king doesn’t need four troops of Vsenrog soldiers to get rid of me,” he says in a low voice. “Why are those troops waiting in the mountains? Why cross into Marion at all?”