AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s the scar on your hand that gave you away.” Serin jerked his chin toward Aren’s left hand, which rested on the table, the curved white scar from an old knife fight clearly visible. “Along with the mask, you always wore gloves when you met with outsiders. But not at your wedding, which of course I was in attendance for. Such a dramatic ceremony it was.”
Gorrick stood, yawning, then strolled over to the bar as though to sweet-talk Marisol. His friend smiled and laughed as she polished the glass she was holding, but a heartbeat later, she’d disappeared from the room. To find Taryn, who’d secure Lara.
If that was even a possibility.
God, he was a fool for lowering his guard. For believing that it had ended last night when Lara hadn’t gone into the palace. Perhaps that had only been a ruse, and even now, his Maridrinian wife was spilling out everything she’d learned to her father’s lackeys.
“Not like you Ithicanians to make a mistake.” Serin lifted his hand to get a servant girl’s attention. “We, of course, suspected that you paid our shores visits from time to time, but not until now did you so blatantly announce your arrival.”
Aren’s eyebrow rose.
“It was the steel, you see. It was marked at Northwatch for transport through the bridge over a year ago, and yet the load somehow arrived in Vencia only yesterday, offloaded only this very morning. And via a ship claiming to have come from Harendell, not from a Southwatch ferry.”
Fuck.Ahnna was going to kill him if he managed to survive this.
“I’d suggest that it was an amateur mistake, but this isn’t your first visit to Vencia, is it, Your Grace?” Serin accepted a coffee from one of Marisol’s girls. “You seem far too comfortable for it to be your first time.”
Aren picked up his cup, eyeing the spymaster. “I’ve always had a fondness for Vencia. Plenty of attractive women.”
Serin gave an amused sniff. “I would’ve thought those days would be behind you now that you’re a married man.”
“Perhaps they would be if you hadn’t sent me such a harridan.”
The coffee in Serin’s cup quivered, and the tiny man set it down swiftly to hide the reaction. Apparently, Lara had not stuck to the spymaster’s plan in her methods of seduction. Which was probably a good thing, because Aren suspected he and Serin had quite different tastes when it came to women.
“We could send you another . . . perhaps one with a kinder, gentler disposition.” Serin’s eyes flicked to Marisol. “I see you have a fondness for blondes. I can think of just the princess for you. She was my first choice, but fate conspired against me. Against both of us, it would appear.”
Aren’s curiosity over why Lara had been chosen flared once again before being pushed aside by concern for his friend. Marisol had been linked to him; that meant she was in danger. “Tempting. Unfortunately, such practices are frowned upon by my people. I’ll have to content myself with what you sent me.”
“Speaking of Lara, how is she? It’s been some time since we received word from her, and her father has grown . . . concerned.”
Aren’s mind raced. If the steel hadn’t been unloaded and processed until this morning, it was possible they’d only been under the Magpie’s scrutiny for a matter of hours, all of which Lara had spent passed out in a bed upstairs. Alternatively, this could be a ruse to distract Aren while the Maridrinians secured their princess. “She’s well enough.”
“Her father would like some proof of that.”
“When I return home, I’ll suggest she put pen to paper. But I must warn you, Lara isn’t the most . . .obedientof wives. She’s more likely to tell me to shove both pen and paper up my ass.”
Serin’s brow crinkled. “Perhaps remind her of her father’s enduring concern for her welfare.”
Aren rested his elbows on the table. “Cut the shit, Magpie. We both know your master cares nothing for his daughter. He got what he wanted, which was free trade on steel and weapons. So what else is it you’re after?”
Waving his hand as though to dispel the tension, Serin gave him an apologetic smile. “Appearances must be maintained, you understand. Frankly, you can slit the little bitch’s throat and my master would care not; what hedoescare about is your commitment to the alliance between our kingdoms.”
“He has his steel, as per our agreement. What more does he feel he deserves?”
A sage nod. “It’s true you’ve held to the letter of the agreement, as have we. What I’m referring to is more . . . thespiritof the agreement. The treaty was for an alliance of peace between Ithicana and Maridrina, and yet you continue to host and trade with our greatest enemy in your market at Southwatch, allowingthemto purchase the goods Maridrina so desperately needs. My master asks that you reconsider this practice.”
“You want me to cut ties with Valcotta?” Cut ties with the kingdom that provided close to a third of the bridge’s revenues every year? Valcotta was no ally, but neither were they Ithicana’s sworn enemy the way Maridrina had been in the past. Yet if Aren did what Serin was asking . . . “I’ve no interest in going to war against Valcotta.”
“Nor is my master asking you to.” Serin slid an embossed silver cylinder across the table, the lacquered seal Maridrinian blue. “He merely requests that you cease supplying them in their war against us.”
“They’ll retaliate, and war will be on my doorstep whether I asked for it or not.”
“Perhaps.” Serin took a mouthful of his coffee. “But if Valcotta attacks your lands, rest assured that Maridrina will retaliate against them tenfold. We do not take kindly to those who interfere with our friends and allies.”
Words of support, but Aren heard the threat beneath them.Do as my master says, or face the consequences.
“Think on it, Your Grace.” Serin rose to his feet. “My master looks forward to your writtenresponse detailing your commitment to our friendship.” The thin smile returned. “Safe travels back to your homeland, andplease,do give Lara my regards.”
