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“Yet Tidestone has the ships weneedto take Ammarett. We will take the stronghold! Then we shall sail our army around the coast, attack the capital from the ocean only a brief distance away, and the city will fall within hours.”
“We already lost several pathfinders trying to stake out a way to attack Tidestone,” Malyr said. “To no avail. Twelve net catapults line the cliffs and the walls. Their archers are exceptionally well trained, easily shooting us down by the hundreds if we fly in from the valley. We have no siege weapons of our own, and even if we did, that stronghold has grain stores large enough to last them a year, if not longer.”
“Grain stores more than half empty, as per our calculations, and winter hasn’t even arrived yet,” Asker bit out as he lifted his gaze. “Think back on how clear and precise my visions have been in the past. Have they not given us…” he lifted his hands, gesturing at the lands that lay south, “…all of this?”
“And yet your visions failed you when we ravaged the fields that supply grain to Tidestone. Brisden’s soldiers captured your mate. And you sawnone of it.”
“Vision are…” Asker’s mouth opened and closed, his voice brittle once it returned. “Nothing happens by chance. Marla’s capture was written in the stars by the goddess herself. It is not for us to understand why, but to trust in her wisdom. We have to offer this girl up in an attempt to retrieve Marla. Weneedher. Without my mate, we will make no progress in this war on any border; that, I guarantee you.”
“No guarantees needed. That we have been stuck at Deepmarsh Castle for months now proves it just fine.” With a sharp inhale, Malyr turned away, staring toward a bright clearing ahead for a while before he finally faced us again. “I want a healer to confirm she’s untainted and indeed as valuable as you believe her to be. Once her maidenhead is deemed intact, send a scroll to Tidestone with the conditions of the exchange. If Brisden gives us Marla, he can have his daughter back. If he refuses… well, I shall see to it, then.” His knowing gaze settled on me before he offered a smug grin. “Until such time, she is to remainuntainted,Sebian.”
So no bouncing her on my cock, then.
That still left me with a dozen other things I could do to have Domren’s future queen scream my name. Learn it by heart. A sad consolation, but still better than nothing while I bided my time.
I shrugged. “Fine.”
“If I may suggest,” Asker said, his averted gaze going to Malyr. “Perhaps it would be best if you kept your distance from her for the time being? Given your… history with the House Brisden?”
A muscle hardened in Malyr’s jaw, eyes going to Galantia, then back to me. “Mingle with the humans. See if any of them would dare to betray us by trying to sell-off one of their daughters to Domren instead. That cannot happen. We cannot lose allies, not even the fickle ones.”
In a burst of shadows and plumes, Malyr shifted into his ravens and flew off.
“Politics…” I took a bite of the bread in the bowl by the cold pit. Stale, but filling enough to keep my starved ravens from eating grubs without my consent. Few things were worse than the taste of dirt stuck under one’s tongue. “Now I have to gallivant around the feasts with lord this and lady that.”
“Sounds like a task made for you since there’s always wine to be had.” Asker stared at my lips, then shook his head. “You’ve been lazing around for far too long, shunning your part in this war.”
I turned away, eyes fixed on the horizon. “My part in this war starts with our attack on the capital and ends with Domren’s guts dangling from my beaks.”
Even if it was the last thing I would do.
Asker’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Take one of the horses. Once Elovan deems her strong enough to travel, you will take the Lady Galantia to Deepmarsh Castle. Staying by her side is your chance to help us see this through. Get revenge. Earn forgiveness.”
Scoffing, I glanced back at him. “I don’t give a shit about your forgiveness.”
“I wasn’t talking about mine.”
A twinge beneath my ribs. How could I ever forgive myself for what I’d done? For what Ihadn’tdone? “I have other things to do.”
“What other things? Drink? Sleep? Bed every whore the court has to offer once?”
“I might bed some of them twice.”
“May the goddess help me, you’re driving me insane, Sebian…” he huffed. “This girl needs someone by her side, for we both know Malyr willnotkeep his distance. Having Bridsen’s daughter is more of a temptation than he can ignore.”
Just like having Domren’s betrothed was a temptation I wouldn’t ignore, but there were easier ways to go about it than what he had in mind. “Feel free to play her bodyguard. Just don’t let her get captured, as is so often the case with those in your care.”
That shut Asker up, if only for a moment. “If I remain too close to her for too long, she might trigger convoluted visions, muddling my interpretations.”
Sounded like a problem that wasn’t mine…
“Malyr will have a taste of revenge with her, holding himself over until he can get to her father, and I don’t blame him.” Just like I knew he wouldn’t blame me for going after a taste of my own revenge. “She might’ve caught him off-guard now, but he’ll keep himself under control from here on.”
“And if not?” he asked. “Nobody is strong enough to stand against him.”
“Neither am I.”
“No, but his shadows would never attack you,” he pointed out. “You two share a strong friendship.”
