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“I am glad to hear that. I’ve always thought she was good for you.”
He clears his throat. “Would you prefer I recite the king’s declaration?”
“That I’m a traitor to my realm? No, I’ve caught the gist of it.”
“Yes, well … I have been ordered to capture you and the princess Romeria and bring you both to Cirilea for judgment before the king.”
“And kill my legionaries, I gather.”
“What’s left of them, yes. And whoever else you’ve allied with.”
The Ybarisans standing outside the gate, he means. “I imagine you appreciate the destruction I alone could cause your army.” I’ve spent my life hiding the true strength of my affinity from others, saving it for when it would serve me best. Still, few have seen my full power. Lady Danthrin, for one, and I’m sure that news has traveled to Cirilea by now.
“His Highness has warned me, yes. But he believes you will be too honorable to incinerate your own kind in such a devastating way. That you would rather die in an honest battle.”
“I assumed my brother would have too much honor to steal my crown. So, what have assumptions about honor taught us?” My laughter is a hollow sound in the night.
Lord Telor’s gaze veers behind me, toward Ulysede. Even in the dark, his awe is visible. “My scouts informed me of a magnificent gate where Stonekeep used to exist. I accused them of imbibing in hallucinogens and put them on latrine duty. I suppose I shall apologize at some point.”
Now my laugh is genuine. “I can assure you, the gates are real and the city behind them, even more so.”
“Is this to be your new home then?”
“Islor is my home, and though it may seem within our borders, that is not Islor.”
“I cannot begin to understand what that means.”
“No, you cannot. I fear there is much you have heard, Ailis, but much more you have not. I would beg you to stay your judgment and your choices until you have given me a chance to speak.”
“Beg.” Telor’s eyebrow arches. “When has the great and powerful Zander ever begged?”
“Never, I will admit. I am far too arrogant. But in this instance, yes, I would plead with my once-loyal allies and those who share a genuine love of our realm. Islor is in great peril.”
“Yes, both mortals and immortals are dying every day because of this Ybarisan plague that you allowed to take hold.”
I could claim that I didn’t know about the poison until I’m without breath, but I know that’s pointless. “It goes far deeper than that, and the poison may be the least of our issues soon. But to explain it would require faith in me that I have not forsaken Islor, that I am working to save it from ruin. In all the years we’ve known each other, as you look upon me now and listen to my words, do you truly doubt this?”
His lips twist. “I’m listening.”
Behind him, Braylon and others shift in their saddles, restless, as if they think I might lash out at their lord, that I have no respect. My anger spikes at the nerve, but I squash it, keeping my focus. “You and I have sat across the table, late into the night, more times than I can count, fantasizing about a world where we no longer had to survive off the blood of mortals.”
“I recall those nights and that fantasy.” He smiles fondly, before it slips away. “I dare say you and your princess have taken it in a far darker direction than the one I dreamt of.”
“That is Queen Neilina’s dream coming to reality. Not mine, and not the princess who rides at my side. We are playing both pawn and scapegoat.”
Telor surveys my line of companions in the distance. “And your brother the king would claim you are still playing the lovestruck fool.”
“I would say the same if I knew as little as he did. But he is wasting your time, having you chase after me when he should be gathering Islor’s forces at the rift.”
“We are aware of the growing army on the Ybarisan side. I have soldiers there.”
“Not enough. Did you know you have traitors among your ranks? The mortals, certainly, but also elven.”
“I did not. How do you know this?”
“Because Prince Tyree delivered crates of poison himself. His right-hand man, who is with us now, witnessed it.”
“Lies to sow discord.”
“Possibly,” I agree. “But I would lean toward caution.”
Telor’s brow furrows as he glances over his shoulder at Braylon. No doubt he’ll be tasking him with ferreting out the truth as soon as we’re done here. “What do you know about what to expect?”
Far more than I care to share right now. “Neilina plans to claim our lands for herself, once and for all. A vast army is gathering from all over Ybaris, fueled by lies of King Barris’s assassination and their children’s murders. They will cross on Hudem. Soldiers and casters. She is drawing heavily from Mordain. Their elementals, all of their strongest.”
