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Rharreth huffed and sheathed his knife. “Fine. I suppose I might as well hear you out, spy, since I apparently don’t have another choice.”
“A wise decision. We can discuss how best Escarland and Tarenhiel can help without appearing to help. I have observed enough on my visit to know that you are still a much better alternative than your cousin for all kingdoms involved.” If anything, Prince Edmund settled deeper in the chair. If his hands had not been bound, he seemed like he would have clasped his hands behind his head in total relaxation. “Now, I would appreciate it if you would untie me so that we can have this conversation as one member of royalty to another.”
Rharreth yanked off the blindfold, but he did not remove the bindings tying Prince Edmund to the chair. Instead, Rharreth leaned against the mantle, his back to the fire, and crossed his arms. “That is the best you’re going to get.”
Prince Edmund blinked, his gaze darting around the room for a moment as if to take in his surroundings again. He gave a cursory tug on each arm to test the bindings before he settled back into the chair. “Was getting to your allies here at Gozat Stronghold your whole plan, or do you plan to go all the way to Tarenhiel?”
Rharreth just glared at Prince Edmund, that knot working at the corner of his mouth again.
Melantha reached out for Rharreth again, this time squeezing his shoulder. Odd that she had to be the calm and reasonable one right now. She drew on every scrap of the serenity she had learned to exude all those years in the Tarenhieli court. There was a time and place for anger and passion. But, perhaps, there was also a time for calm and thoughtfulness as well. “Rharreth, we need him.”
Rharreth gave a growl in the back of his throat, but he focused on Prince Edmund. “We are on our way to Tarenhiel. We don’t plan to ask for aid from either the Tarenhieli or Escarlish armies. We merely require the security of the border at our backs when I challenge Drurvas to take back my throne.”
“I see.” Prince Edmund gave a nod, his mouth pressed into a line. “I suppose you gave your supporters a place along the border to rendezvous. Is your cousin’s army chasing you?”
“If they believed the false story that was fed them, then they are following the train tracks.” Rharreth’s gaze remained hard, as if it was internally killing him to share this much information with this Escarlish spy. “My army is to meet me elsewhere.”
“Then it is a good thing I was able to alert King Weylind and King Averett of the coup so that they will mobilize at the border. I would hate for your cousin to take advantage of the situation to raid into Tarenhiel again while its defenses were down thanks to the assumption that the peace treaty was still in place.” Prince Edmund glanced toward Melantha, his gaze searching.
Was he wondering if she had purposely caused this mess? It had been a risk, sending both armies to Weylind’s doorstep without a chance to warn him. It would look bad, given her history as a traitor.
“We needed to get the fighting away from the innocent citizens in Osmana. Drurvas was preparing to go door-to-door searching for us. We had to buy time for Rharreth’s supporters to gather, especially since many of the warrior families that are on our side are the far-flung families that live away from Osmana.” Melantha was not sure why she was desperately explaining herself to this Escarlish prince. Perhaps a part of her believed that, if she could make him believe her, then maybe Weylind would as well. “This was our best option.”
“I understand. I’m sure the coup was rather thorough. Most usurpers don’t make a move unless they have a better than average chance of success.” There was a grim set to Prince Edmund’s jaw. Melantha had never heard of an attempted coup against the Escarlish King Averett, but perhaps such attempts had all been stopped before they had a chance to fully form.
Melantha glanced at Rharreth, seeing again him gasping for his last breaths, his organs shutting down after they had been torn apart by bullets. “We only survived thanks to my healing magic. It seems Drurvas managed to retain at least one repeater gun that was not handed over to Escarland at the end of the war.”
The line of Prince Edmund’s mouth set even harder, grimmer. “Then this truly does make it Escarland’s problem in more ways than one. Not only would we prefer Rharreth remain on the throne, but Drurvas has already broken the peace treaty with Escarland.”
“Yes.” Rharreth’s posture had not relaxed, but he was at least glaring with less hostility at Prince Edmund. “He intends to start the war with Tarenhiel once again, and all the warrior families who were unhappy with peace have rallied behind him. He, and they, would rather continue to fight a losing war than ever admit defeat.”
A bleak outcome. Once Melantha might have been happy to know that the trolls were warring their kingdom into the dust, but no longer. Now, she desperately wanted to save this kingdom and make it flourish.
“If that is his intention, he might very well start the war again even before he has finished you off.” When Prince Edmund leaned his head against the back of the chair this time, the gesture seemed more weary rather than feigned nonchalance. “Unfortunately, at the time I sent my message, I was not aware that the two of you survived. If Weylind and Averett have begun gathering at the border, it will be with the assumption that you are most likely dead and that Kostaria is likely to attack once again. They will see an army gathering at the border—any army—as a sign of aggression. I don’t think the Tarenhieli-Escarlish army will attack first, but if Drurvas raids across the border, they will strike back. Without information, they are just as likely to strike at your gathering army as they are Drurvas’s.”
Melantha sank onto a chair, her stomach churning. Had she set up both sides for more bloodshed and pain? She had been trying to spare the citizens of Kostaria, but instead, she might have gotten more of them killed.
And their blood would be shed by Farrendel’s hands. If there were any Tarenhieli counterattacks planned and if Farrendel was as healed as Prince Edmund claimed, then he would be at the front of the army leading the attack, as he always was.
She clenched her fists. “We have to stop this.”
“If you let me go, I will see that another message is sent, alerting King Weylind of the presence of a friendly army on his border.” Prince Edmund met Rharreth’s gaze, unwavering even as he had to know such a request was unlikely to be granted.
“No. I would have to entrust you with the location of my gathering army, something I am loath to do.” Rharreth shook his head, then glanced at Melantha. “The blizzard has lessened, and should clear up by morning. Now that you are awake, we will leave at first light. No spy’s message will get to the border faster than we will, now that we have Ezrec’s aid. And you, Prince Edmund”—Rharreth turned back to the Escarlish prince—“will be coming with us. You are our ticket across the border.”
The next morning, Melanthafound herself walking outside of Gozat Stronghold, bundled once again in her layers of warm clothing underneath her parka.
Around her, most of the troll warriors of Gozat were gathering. Many were strapping on skis or loading weapons and supplies onto sleds pulled by teams of dogs. The dogs varied from fluffy black and white to scruffy black-and-brown dogs to gray, rangy dogs. All of them appeared to have some wolf in them, and Melantha made sure to steer clear rather than approach. The dogs sent up a constant howling bark until Melantha could barely hear anything over their noise.
Next to her, Rharreth pushed Prince Edmund in front of him. The prince was bundled in a parka and mittens as well. By the way he was holding his arms in front of him, wrists together, his hands must have been bound underneath the parka and mittens. Hopefully Rharreth had not made the bindings too tight. In this cold, it was more important than ever that Prince Edmund retain circulation in his hands.
Several of the troll warriors stopped and stared at Prince Edmund. Ezrec glared at the spy prince, as if he was personally affronted that a spy—a human spy, no less—had managed to infiltrate his town and stronghold.
Melantha was not entirely sure why Rharreth was making such a point of parading his captured spy in front of everyone, but perhaps he was making sure that Prince Edmund’s presence here was known. The human prince would be hard-pressed to return to spying in Kostaria, at least for a good long while.
Heading for one of the sled teams with ten dogs in harness, Rharreth shoved Prince Edmund onto the empty sled, then considered a moment, glaring at both the prince and the sled. “It seems he will have to ride with us. Since I have to steer on the back, that means he will need to sit either in front of you or behind.”
That was the reason for the glare. Melantha crossed her arms and studied the sled as well. She was not sure which she would prefer.
