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“But the others did not, yet still you allow your Magpie to hunt them. Not to bring them back to their family in Vencia, but to put them in the ground.”
A look of disgust flashed over his father’s face, and he waved a dismissive hand at her. “You think you want them, but you don’t, Coralyn. They are violent, murderous creatures.”
“Because you allowed Serin to raise them that way!”
Coralynnevershouted. Keris shifted uneasily in his chair, realizing that he’d underestimated her desire to learn his sisters’ fates. And to get them back.
“To achieve an end!” His father exploded to his feet, pacing back and forth across the room. “And it worked! Once Ithicana has fallen entirely, Maridrina will be poised to become the most powerful nation on two continents. Poised to create alliances that will allow us to drive Valcotta back so that we might reclaim the land we need to sustain our people.”
He slid to a stop, leveling a finger at her. “You know better than anyone that my father left a weak legacy. A nation dependent on others for survival—and we suffered for it. But I accomplished the impossible, which means my son will inherit a nation that is not to be trifled with. You wanted these results, Coralyn, so don’t you dare lose your spine because you mislike the manner in which I achieved them.”
His son.Not Keris, but whichever one of his half brothers managed to inherit. Nothing new, nothing unexpected, but for reasons Keris couldn’t articulate, it hurt more than Serin and his father conspiring to kill him.
“There is nothing more important than family, Silas.”
His father silently regarded Coralyn for a long moment, then asked, “Then why do you care so much for the fate of the daughter who betrayed us? Lara is thekey, Cora. With her, we can break Aren and get the information we need to win this.”
Cora?Keris blinked, having never heard his father speak with such familiarity to his aunt. Always, he spoke of her with disdain. Resentment. Frustration. But there was a rhythm and comfort to this argument that suggested his father kept his aunt far deeper in his counsel than Keris had realized.
Silence.
“He said he doesn’t believe that Lara will take your bait.” The words came out in a rush of annoyance. “But he was clearly lying. I saw the fear the idea inspired in his eyes, and if he fears her trying to rescue him, it’s because he believes it’s possible.”
“Do you?”
Keris held his breath, waiting for his aunt’s response, for it would validate the information Valcotta had given his father about Lara.
“Yes. I think she’ll come for him and that you’ll be forced to face the monster you created, Silas.”
His father smiled. “You are rarely wrong about such things. Did you learn anything else of use from him?”
“Indeed. Your father married a woman named Amelie Yamure. You might not recall her, for she was only in the harem for a short time before she went missing, presumed dead. I learned tonight that she was an Ithicanian spy sent to infiltrate the inner sanctum. I also learned she is Aren’s grandmother.”
Keris didn’t bother hiding his surprise atthatrevelation. His grandfather had been wed to an Ithicanian spy?
“Why would Aren tell you this?” his father asked, posing the very question Keris was thinking.
“He has strong opinions on our customs, and when I suggested he had no basis for his views, he offered her experiences up as an example. It’s been an age since she was here, but we can only assume that she’s the source of Ithicana’s information on the inner sanctum’s defenses. Consider her perspective and you might better defend against their continued intrusions.”
Frustration boiled in Keris’s veins, because his aunt was achieving the exact opposite of the ends he’d hoped for. And there was nothing he could do about it.
His father rubbed his chin. “You’ve learned more from him in a few minutes of idle chatter than Serin has from weeks of torture.”
Coralyn snorted softly. “The man is trained to resist Serin’s techniques, but I do not think a lifetime isolated within Ithicana prepared him for political machinations.” Then she rose to her feet. “I did what you asked. Now you’ll hold up your end of the bargain.Give your word that you’ll allow the other girls to live out their lives in peace. That you’ll call off Serin and threaten him with consequences if any of them are harmed.”
“Done.” His father rose to his feet and left the room, leaving Keris alone with his aunts. Lestara rose and retrieved a drum the musicians had left behind, beating a rhythm and singing in the language of her homeland loud enough that any listeners would be unable to hear the conversation within the room.
Keris leaned back in his chair. “Well played, Auntie. What does Aren think he’s getting in exchange for this information?”
“What he believes he’ll receive matters little, given that I have what I want.”
“So… you lied to him?” Keris didn’t know why that surprised him, but it did. Coralyn was most certainly not above deception, but this felt…off.
She lifted one brocaded shoulder. “For the ruler of a nation that depends on trade, he’s a poor negotiator. One should always hold back full payment until the goods are delivered.”
Sickness filled Keris’s stomach, along with frustration with himself for not anticipating that she’d have her own agenda. “Did he give you a method to reach his people?”
“Yes.”
