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“Both.”
She sighed and gritted her teeth. Why did she have to see her father? Ruadhán had sent an escort, so what? Would they try to convince her to come with them? Sure. Could they force the issue? Not a chance. Unless of course her father exiled her from the city, but even then, she had other options. She could just as easily travel to Brónach or the little cabin nestled in the trees of the mountains. No one would follow them there. Except maybe Eoghan.
Arianna pivoted away from the foyer. “They can wait.”
“Come again?” Talon asked.
“The royal city. They can wait.”
Talon looked her over, likely seeing the same stubbornness in her that Ellie displayed on a daily basis. He cleared his throat. “There’s been concern over your safety.”
Rion bristled at the comment. “What about it?”
Talon shifted beneath her gaze. Not Rion’s. Hers.
“What happened?”
“Word is spreading. People have gathered outside the gates. Most just want a chance to see you, but—”
“But what?”
“There have been . . . issues,” Talon said and Arianna thought she might burst at the seams.
“Stop trying to coddle me and tell me what’s going on.”
“What Talon doesn’t want to say,” Ellie rounded the corner. “Is that there have been attacks on the outskirts of Levea. They’ve had a few fatalities, but the guards are trying to keep everyone in order.”
Talon glared at Ellie, but Arianna’s heart jolted. “Fatalities?” People had died over her and she hadn’t even known it? “What do they want?” If she could prevent—
“You. Dead, if their chanting is anything to go by,” Talon finished.
She gaped at them. “Why?”
“Why does anyone want anything? You represent change; not everyone likes change.”
“But I haven’t done anything.”
Ellie’s face turned serious. “Your name unified two nations that have been at war for a decade. It freed the slaves positioned at a major war camp and it’s forcing all three of those groups to work together. Quite successfully, I might add.”
“For now,” Talon said and Arianna wondered if there was more he wasn’t telling her.
“Why didn’t I know?” she asked him, hurt rising in her chest. Gods, she wanted to end death and torment, not bring it to her home city.
“You have enough going on.”
“I don’t care,” she exclaimed. “If there are people dying on my account, then I want to know about it. Gods,” she paced the balcony, fear and worry coursing through her anew.
What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t stay in Levea if people were dying outside the city gates just for wanting to see her. And Levea was still recovering. What if the mass of followers attracted another attack? They’d be left completely defenseless outside the walls.
She startled when Rion took her hand. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles then clenched his jaw. “You should speak with your father.”
She didn’t very well have a choice now, did she? “I don’t want to be away from you.”
Rion took a half step closer. “I know, but I’ve seen what rogue factions can do. So has Talon.” He didn’t need to say the rest. She understood. They’d rage war and even if the factions weren’t strong enough to penetrate Levea’s walls, those outside of them would suffer.
Ellie’s chipper voice broke the tension. “I can stay with him.”
Arianna eyed her younger sister, then Rion. Would the guards respect Ellie enough to not attack Rion? She couldn’t be sure what kind of orders her father had given them. Was her mate in danger even as they stood inside the estate? Could there be—
