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“All of them?”
“Yes. You were outnumbered, and your death wasn’t . . . It wasn’t part of my plan.”
He exhaled a long breath, then repeated, “Wasn’t part of your plan.”
Though Aren knew the truth and had forgiven her for it, part of Lara still feared that he’d change his mind. That these past few days were nothing but a trick: a way to show her what might have been if she’d come to this marriage without betrayal in her heart.
He drew Lara to her feet. “No one can know. About any of it. Too many of my people were against this union to begin with. If they learned you were a spy—and a trained assassin—sent to infiltrate our defenses, they’d never forgive it. They’d demand your execution, and if I didn’t agree to it . . .”
Lara felt the blood drain from her face. Not because of the threat to her life, but because of the threat to his. “Is it better for you if I go? We can fake my death, and all the troubles my being here present will be solved.”
Aren didn’t respond, and when she finally found the nerve to lift her head, it was to find him staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused. Then he shook his head sharply. “I swore a vow to you, and I intend to keep it.”
Lara’s chest tightened. “My father will send assassins for me. Anyone close to me will be in danger.”
“Not if they don’t know where you are.”
“They know I’m at Midwatch, Aren. And it’s not as impenetrable as you seem to think. My father won’t let my betrayal go easily.”
“I’m aware of Midwatch’s limitations, which is why we won’t be staying here.” He pulled her into his arms. “And your fatherwilllet it go if he believes the cost of revenge more than he wishes to pay.”
Revenge was worth any price to her father. “Let me go back to Maridrina. Let me kill him and end this.”
“I’m not using you to murder my enemies.”
“He’s my enemy, too. And the enemy of the Maridrinian people.”
“I don’t disagree.” Aren’s hand moved up and down her spine. “But assassinating your father will accomplish the exact opposite of what we’re working toward. Even if Serin can’t prove it was Ithicana, he’ll cast the blame at our feet, and it won’t be long until the Maridrinian people forget Silas the tyrant and start demanding vengeance for Silas the martyr. Your eldest brother is cut from the same cloth as your father, and I don’t intend to hand him an army set on Ithicanian blood.
“If they attacked,” he continued, “we could likely convince Valcotta to ally with us and crush them, but it would beyourpeople who suffered. And at the end of it, we’d be back to the same place as we were fifteen years ago, our peoples hating each other.”
“So we do nothing, then?” Everything he said was true, but Lara couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice.
“We watch. We prepare. But . . .” He shrugged one shoulder. “Any action we might take at this point would cause more harm than good.”
“With Valcotta attacking Maridrinian merchants attempting to land at Southwatch, my homeland will continue to go hungry.”
“It would all resolve if your father would give up the war with Valcotta. Let farmers return to their fields and tradesmen to their trades.”
But he wouldn’t. Lara knew that for certain because her father would never concede defeat.
“As it is, storm season will help by chasing the Valcottan’s back to their harbors. Vencia’s harbor is the closest of any to Southwatch, and your people will capitalize on the short breaks in the storms. Impossible as it is to believe, the storm season is better for your countrymen than the calm. Foodwillarrive on Maridrina’s shores.”
Aren wouldn’t lie to her—Lara believed that. She trusted him. Even if it killed her to do nothing.
He was quiet for a long time, then he said, “But there are two sides to this, Lara. Very few Ithicanians have ever left our shores. Very few of them have ever met a Maridrinian. The result is that they believe your father is the sum of your people. I need you to help me change that. I need you to make them see that Maridrinians are not our enemies. To make them want more than just an alliance of paper and words between kings, but an alliance between our people. Because that’s the only way we’ll ever find peace.”
“I don’t see how that can happen while he lives.”
“He won’t live forever.”
Lara exhaled a long breath. “But my brother, as you say, is just like him. He’ll take advantage of the utopia you envision.”
“I don’t envision a utopia, Lara. Just something better.” He kissed her shoulder, his lips warm. “It’s past time we stopped allowing our enemies to dictate our lives and start living them for those we love. And for ourselves.”
“A dream.”
“Then make it reality.” Reaching into his trouser pockets, he extracted a small silken pouch. “I have something for you.”
