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“This is not a negotiation,” she bristled. “It’s an interrogation.”
“Zoei,” I sighed. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase:you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?”
“And I can catch even more flies with dogshit. What’s your point?”
I grimaced at the crass term. “My point is—be patient, go slow. You don’t need force to get what you want. Words work just as well.”
At her blank stare, I continued. “Leave your sword on the sidelines and use your brain.”
“Are you implying that I don’t?”
I considered my response. “Perhaps not on a daily basis…”
She huffed, stepping out into the waning sun.
I’d missed the way sunlight drenched my skin from head to toe. Even the light rays of the setting sun seemed more impressive today. I rolled my sleeves way above the elbow, letting my forearms feel the blessings of the Goddess.
Two hovercrafts lay in wait.
I boarded the first one with Zoei and two of her guards, while her assistant and two more guards filed into the second, smaller craft.
Our knees bumped as we got comfortable, and she had the cheek to frown over at me. The hovercraft rose in the air, turning in the direction towards the borders with remarkable speed—I was beginning to understand that members of the Highblade clan wasted no time.
“Get your knobbly knees out of the way.”
She pushed at them, trying to force me into giving way.
“Excuse me,” I refuted, nudging her stocky thighs. “I have longer legs than you. I need the space.”
“Why the hell would you think you have longer legs than me?” she demanded.
“I’m taller than you, remember? By two inches. Always have been, always will be.”
Zoei stared at me for speechless seconds before turning to one of the guards. Her frown was fiercer than I’d ever seen it. “Gerald, get the gag.”
“No!” I reached out to place a palm on the guard’s leg. “Gerald, Gerald. Don’t get the gag. I’ll be quiet.”
“Remaining silent is not a power you seem to have,” Zoei said gruffly, glancing out the window.
“Well, we have lots to discuss,” I muttered a little more quietly than before. “We know Almanera is implicated in all this, but to what end?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” she said impatiently.
“But aren’t you curious?” I pressed. “What made him believe he could have you assassinated and implicate me and my clan in treason, all while staying away from the chaos?”
“Stupidity,” she rumbled. “He will regret this.”
“So many things make sense now,” I pondered aloud. “Why no one was there to receive us in Boroville for a pre-arranged diplomatic visit the morning after your coronation. Almanera said they hadn’t received my council’s message when they intentionally hadn’t planned anything to begin with.”
“Because there was no reason to,” she surmised.
“Exactly.” I sat back in my seat and tapped my chin in thought. “I couldn’t fathom why Almanera seemed surprised to see us. I remember the way sunlight had illuminated his eyes, making them seem as though they were huge and bulging. I thought, at the time, that it had been a trick of the light. Or that I was simply too tired from the night before and wasn’t really seeing things clearly. But I think Almanera was truly shocked to see me in his village that morning. Because he naturally assumed your clan would have reacted to the assassination by detaining me. Why bother setting up a welcome party for people who may not even be alive?”
“He was tired of waiting,” she said.
“Waiting for what?”
Gerald reached for something at his feet, and for a moment, I thought he would retrieve the gag. Fortunately for me, all he pulled out was a leather document holder. He handed it to Zoei without a word.
