AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook my head. “I’ve come to make you an offer.”
She leaned back in her chair. “This should be good. I’m not sure you have much I want at the moment, Fin.”
I shrugged, sitting back in my chair as well. “Perhaps, but I wouldn’t be too hasty.” Kalliope went to stand beside her. Good. With them both present, we would come to an agreement much faster. “There’s a Corvo usurper, and even if Eduart isn’t involved, which I highly doubt, we know his troops are mobilizing within Corvo as we speak. And I propose we stop Eduart once and for all.”
Pyra smiled, glancing at my guests behind me. “Oh? Why would I do that? I have no love for the Corvo Kingdom. Eduart can take it if he wants it.”
“So you say,” I replied. “But I don’t believe you are as indifferent as that.”
Pyra was smart. She knew as well as I did that Eduart was a threat to everyone. Perhaps she knew it more than most. She just needed a bit more convincing.
“Now that Prince Alastor is dead, King Eduart has no puppet in place to take what he’s always wanted—the wealth of the Corvo Kingdom. The very harbor your own traders frequent and make pit stops at from all around the world,” I reminded her. “If Eduart controls that harbor, you and I know your business here is screwed. You also know it’s only a matter of time before he takes Noctem, too. Because King Eduart is coming to the desert lands next. I’ve heard the city boasts as much, and if my people can’t suppress his armies, they will take it, and you will be surrounded by three kingdoms controlled by the man you loathe most in this world. And you will lose your power, Pyra. You know you will. It’s only a matter of time.”
“And you are going to help me keep Eduart at bay?” she said, only mildly scoffing at the idea. “What about thistrue sonof the queen I hear is holed up in Castle Corvo? I know the princess has fled, Fin. Who will rule the Corvo Kingdom if we get rid of this new king? Because I know what civil unrest does to countries, and I will not incite a war for a ruined, falling kingdom like Corvo. For all I know, the princess is dead. Corvo will not ally with me, nor do I want them to.”
Kalliope took the seat beside her sister, suddenly interested in our conversation.
“Don’t worry about the princess,” I told them and rose to my feet. Their skeptical expressions sharpened.
“Why not?” Kalliope asked carefully.
“Because she is alive,” I said. “And I know where she is.”
They both looked at Stone. “This is where you come in, I take it?” Kalliope deadpanned.
“No,” Del said, taking a step forward. “This is whereIcome in.” She removed her hood, letting it fall around her shoulders. “I am Delphinia Corvo, heir to the Corvo throne. And if you help us—if you help my people by removing the usurper—I promise you, those loyal to me will be with you. They will stand with Noctem against King Eduart.”
Both women’s eyes glittered with intrigue and surprise, though their expressions gave little away.
Pyra scrutinized Del up and down. “Princess Delphinia,” she drawled, shaking her head. I moved to stand protectively beside Del. “You’ve caused quite a commotion lately.” Pyra rose to her feet, as did her sister. Both of them stood on the other side of the desk, and Pyra looked from Del to me and back to Del again.
“How do you fit into this picture, Fin?” Kalliope asked, but I could tell she had assumptions already because the look in her eyes was unsettling.
“None of that matters,” I told them both. “Only that all our people are in trouble, and we can help one another.”
Pyra walked to a small table and poured herself a glass of water, nodding to a servant I hadn’t noticed through the foliage to get some for the rest of us. No wonder herbirdieswere so good at getting information. They hid themselves well.
“Princess Delphinia,” Pyra said, then took a sip of water. She licked her lips. “You just lost your husband in that terrible accident. Eduart’s youngest son. Do you grieve him?”
Del swallowed thickly. “There was no love lost between us,” she said flatly.
“No,” Pyra mused. “I imagine not. I know what Alastor was like.” Pyra’s gaze shot to me, and a slight smile curved her lips. “You wouldn’t have had anything to do with his sudden death, would you, Fin?” Pyra waved her question away and refocused on Del. “Never mind. What matters is that your people are dying. Your kingdom is riddled with the wasting sickness. It’s why you’ve been so vulnerable. Your kingdom is falling to ruin, and I’m not convinced—”
“There’s a solution,” Del blurted. “To the wasting sickness. I just need time to confirm it.”
“A solution.” Pyra parroted. “To the wasting sickness?”
“Yes. I’m so close to getting it figured out. I would have already, only...”
Del’s voice trailed off, and I knew she was considering all that had happened in the past two weeks—even just in the past two days. My hand moved to her lower back, uncertain of what else to do other than offer her my strength. The motion didn’t go unnoticed by Pyra or Kalliope.
“I’m taking her to the desert,” I told them. “Where she will be protected. But when the time comes—”
“Ifthe time comes,” Kalliope interjected.
“When,” I said more firmly. “Can we count on you, Pyra?” I looked at Kalliope. “On both of you?” It was Kalliope I was more worried about.
After a few pulse-pounding moments, Kalliope looked at her sister and shrugged. “I’ve been itching for a good fight. And I’ve been wanting to put King Eduart in his place since the day we arrived on this continent.”
