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That endless, pointless war.
Raina traced a finger along the ground, and he noticed that she was closer to him than the prior night. Close enough to touch, though he did not. And would not.
Her hand stopped moving, and for a moment, he thought she’d fallen asleep. Then she said, “When you are king, you will have the power to end the war, if you want.”
Keris laughed softly, knowing it sounded bitter. “War is easy. It’s peace that is the challenge. An Ithicanian should know that better than anyone.”
“We have peace right now.”
Keris’s skin prickled and crawled, and he turned his head to see one of the men in his entourage watching him from his bedroll, the man’s eyelids easing shut under Keris’s scrutiny. “Peace is like a dance,” he said softly. “It only works if both partners are listening to the same music.”
And Maridrina only knew the drums of war.
Three days.They’d been walking in this endless dark tunnel for three days, and the claustrophobia of it was setting in.
As was exhaustion.
Sleep, you idiot,Keris silently ordered himself, shifting on his pallet. But it wasn’t the discomfort that was keeping him awake; it was that he couldn’t shut down his mind. Couldn’t silence the endless thoughts and fears and anxieties that circled his brain. And each time his body forced him to drift off, he’d jerk awake, heart racing in his chest.
Finally, he gave up, rolling into a seated position, blanket tangled around his ankles, the only light coming from the pair of lanterns turned down low. His entourage slept in a row along the side of the bridge, several of them snoring, and all of them stinking of wine, the ground littered with empty bottles. Farther down the bridge, the travel wagons were stopped against the wall so as to leave room for any southbound traffic they encountered—a necessity given that his entourage had begged to stop early that night, pleading exhaustion. Keris thought the Ithicanians had agreed only to silence the whining.
Glancing the other direction, Keris peered at the still form of an Ithicanian sleeping against the wall, swiftly determining it wasn’t Raina. Which meant she was on watch farther up the tunnel.
Keris rose, starting in that direction.
“Stay in camp, Your Highness,” the Ithicanian standing nearby ordered.
Turning so that he was walking backward, Keris held his arms out. “Where exactly do you think I’m going to go?”
When the man didn’t answer, Keris rounded the bend into the darkness, jumping slightly as Raina’s hand closed over his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To find you.”
She huffed out an amused breath. “Why?”
“Because you’re the only person in this cursed bridge whose presence I find tolerable.”
“Tolerable, is it, Your Highness? Such a compliment! My cheeks are burning.”
“Impossible to tell, given that mask you wear. If a blush is to be the reward for my kind words, I’ve been robbed.”
“Perhaps you should lodge a complaint. We take theftveryseriously in Ithicana.”
Leaning against the wall next to her, Keris inhaled the faint scent of soap that clung to her despite the fact bathing wasn’t a possibility on the bridge, the water they transported with them reserved for drinking. So strange to be surrounded by oceans and a kingdom where it rained almost continuously, and yet inside the bridge, water was precious. “Why do you wear them?”
He had his own opinions on why the Ithicanians wore masks when dealing with outsiders, but he was curious what she’d say.
“I’m as beholden to the laws as any other, that’s why.”
Keris remained silent, waiting. Waiting. And when she cleared her throat, he smiled at the darkness.
“I suppose it’s because it makes us more intimidating in battle. Adds to the reputation that we’re not quite human.”
Her fingers brushed against his, little more than a glancing touch that might have been accidental but wasn’t. “You seem very human to me.”
Raina made a noncommittal noise. Then in a rush of words, she said, “I think it’s just another way to keep us separate—another wall between Ithicana and theoutside.”
Keris was inclined to agree. “Would you take it off, if you could?”
