He took hold of her hands, rubbing his thumbs over the back of her hands. “I am. There’s only been one thing missing.”
“What’s that?”
“You. I want you by my side every day.”
“You’re supposed to be running a kingdom, not thinking about me.”
He chuckled. She was always so practical. “Ari,” he whispered. “I have been focused on Emperion. But I’ve also been thinking about having you at my side helping me.”
She stilled. “Are you certain that’s what you want?”
“Positive.” He leaned down and kissed the side of her mouth, breathing in the distinct scent of her lavender perfume. “I plan to speak to your father on the matter.” Although he didn’t look forward to that conversation.
“Please do it soon.”
Savenek kissed her again, this time taking his hands and sliding them down her back, pulling her closer to him. He could feel the heat from her body.
She put a palm on his chest and gently, but firmly, pushed him away. “We shouldn’t do this until you have permission from my parents.”
Was she serious? He raised his eyebrows.
“If my father sees us kissing before you speak to him, I’m fairly certain he’ll never let you anywhere near me ever again—even if you are the prince of Emperion.” Her eyes sparkled, and it took every ounce of his self-control to step away from her.
Taking her right hand, he slowly lifted it to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I understand.”
“And I understand Allyssa beat you in the archery contest earlier today.”
Nice way to ruin his happiness. “We also had a dagger-throwing contest. Did she tell you about that one?” He strolled over to the rosebush on his left and plucked a white rose.
“I did not hear about that.”
He meandered back toward Mayra. “I won that contest.” Although it had been closer than he cared to admit. He placed the rose behind her right ear.
“Speaking of your sister, can I ask a favor?”
“Sure.”
“I’m afraid Allyssa is going to leave the castle tonight. Can you assign someone to watch the laundry room? I meant to ask Marek earlier but forgot.”
He remembered Darmik saying something about Allyssa using her laundry chute to sneak out. “I’ll take care of it.” It seemed odd that Allyssa would leave the castle unprotected knowing how important her safety was to the kingdom. The more he learned about her, the more he realized she took unnecessary risks.
After Savenek left the solarium, he assigned two sentries to monitor the laundry room during the night. Although he couldn’t imagine Allyssa sneaking out since she’d already been kidnapped once. She couldn’t possibly do something that stupid.
Heading to the Royal Chambers, he thought about how he was going to ask Neco and Ellie for permission to court Mayra. Where would be the best place to talk to them? Should Rema and Darmik be present? He had no idea how these things worked. Maybe he needed to ask Nathenek for his advice first.
When Savenek passed the library, a faint light from inside caught his attention, and he wondered if Allyssa was in there. At the next hallway, he rounded the corner and instructed his guards to wait there, out of sight. Then he double-backed and peered inside the library. Allyssa was in her alcove, hunched over several books. Her guards were spread throughout the library, some standing around the perimeter, others sitting at desks, most looking bored. Savenek considered going in to talk to her, but intuition held him back. Glancing down the hallway, he saw his own guards poking their heads around the corner in order to keep him in sight. Instead of spying on Allyssa to see what she was up to, Savenek decided to head to his room and retire for the night. Or at least pretend that was what he was doing so he could ditch his guards.
Entering the Royal Chambers, he didn’t see Rema or Darmik anywhere. He went to his room. Protocol dictated that two men from his guard remain on duty for the night. Luckily, they both stood outside in the hallway. After locking his door, he quickly changed into plain black pants and a shirt. He blew the candles out before hurrying over to the windows. One readily opened, and he climbed outside. The castle had been built with large stone blocks, allowing him to easily climb the side of it.
Once on the ground, he headed toward the main gate that led to the town. If Allyssa planned to sneak out, she’d have to pass through there. Since Savenek wasn’t familiar enough with the workers to pass off as one, he decided climbing over the wall would be easier. He headed north about fifty feet. Leaning against the wall, he waited for the sentry on duty to pass by. Once he did, Savenek quickly scaled the wall. When he reached the top, he rolled onto his stomach, trying to remain flat so no one would see him. Then he slid over to the other side and climbed down as quickly as he could. At the bottom, he sprinted across the street to the closest building. Once hidden in the shadows, he headed back toward the gate.
Savenek found an excellent alcove that allowed him to remain hidden, yet see everyone who came or went. He stayed there waiting for Allyssa to exit.
After an hour, he started to wonder if he’d been wrong. Maybe Allyssa didn’t plan to sneak out. Or maybe she’d tried to, but the guards stationed in the laundry room had caught her. Savenek let his head rest against the stone wall behind him. He could be in bed sleeping by now instead of standing there like an idiot waiting for his sister who may or may not show up.
He was just about to leave the alcove and return to the castle when he saw someone exit the castle’s gate. The person wore pants and a cape, making it difficult to tell if it was Allyssa. Sliding out of the alcove, he decided to follow the person to see who it was. He or she headed along the street, toward the main section of town. Savenek followed from a safe distance. At a rather bland building, eleven blocks south, three blocks east, the person went over to a ladder attached to the side, climbed up to the window on the second level, and went inside.
If it was Allyssa, he had no idea what she was doing. Standing across the street, he watched the window. After a few minutes, the person exited through the window and climbed down the ladder. Stepping out from the shadows, Savenek approached the person. As the person’s hands clung to the rungs of the ladder, he caught a glimpse of a ring he recognized.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
Allyssa jumped and spun around. “You scared me.”
He folded his arms, waiting for her to answer.
She scanned the street. “Follow me.”
Curious to see what she was up to and why, he followed her. They walked two blocks south and then Allyssa climbed another ladder, waving Savenek up after her. At the top of the building, he stepped onto the flat rooftop. Allyssa went to the center and laid on her back, staring up at the night sky. Savenek stretched out next to her. Instead of asking her one of the hundreds of questions he wanted to, he kept his mouth shut, hoping she would talk on her own. She would probably be more apt to share if he didn’t push her.
After several minutes, she finally spoke. “I went to Grevik’s house.” She then told him about her best friend who Soma had brutally murdered. She explained how the two of them used to sneak out at night to track down criminals and put them in prison. “The only reason I went there tonight was to check on his mother. I wanted to make sure she’s okay. And I wanted to leave her some money.”
While he understood her compulsion to help, it wasn’t safe for her to be traveling through the town all alone. “You should have asked me to come with you—not because you’re not capable of taking care of yourself, but because our neighboring kingdoms want you dead. You owe it to our people to keep yourself safe.”
“I know. And I promised Neco I wouldn’t sneak out anymore.”
“Then why did you?”
“Since I’ve been back, I’ve felt suffocated,” she admitted. “I just needed one night to myself. I’m sorry.”
“I guess you can’t be perfect all the time,” he replied dryly.
She whacked him. “I
’m not perfect.”
“You appear to be.”
“Of course I do. That’s what Emperion wants and needs. I’m simply giving them that.”
Interesting. “What about you?” he asked. “What is it that you want?” He saw the corners of her lips rise in a tiny smile.
“Peace. Love. Family.”
“Do you think peace is possible?”
“Eventually.”
“Have you heard about Telmena’s letter?” If not, she had a right to know. It was about her after all.
“No.” She turned her head to face him. “Mother and Father said they need to speak with me on an important matter tomorrow.”
“Telmena wants Odar to marry you.”
She started laughing. And not a normal laugh, but a laugh with a slightly hysterical quality to it.
Allyssa
Allyssa couldn’t control her laughter. Telmena wanted Odar to marry her. That was just her luck. Telmena had originally opposed the union, fearing it would make Emperion too strong. Now that Telmena’s plans were falling apart with Russek, they wanted Odar to marry Allyssa in order to worm their way into Emperion. It allowed them to take control without the expense of a nasty war. Too bad she no longer wanted to marry Odar.
“Why are you laughing?” Savenek asked. He looked at her as if she was deranged. Maybe she was. This entire situation was ridiculous.
“Your mother wants you to go through with it,” he added. “She mistakenly thinks it’ll prevent a war.”
Allyssa wiped the tears from her face. She hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. “Did you talk to my mother about it?” Why would Rema have discussed it with Savenek before Allyssa?
“Your dad.”
“Father already said I could marry Kerdan.” Which meant her parents were planning something. She was fairly certain that even if her marrying Odar was the only way to prevent a bloody war, Darmik wouldn’t let her. Not after the way Odar had treated her.
“You might want to be prepared for your parents changing their minds.”
She reached over and patted his arm. “Oh dear, sweet Savenek,” she sang, teasing him.
“What?”
“I’m positive my parents don’t intend for me to marry Odar.”
“Then why did Darmik suggest it? Why did Rema say that’s what she wanted?”
“It has to be a ruse.” If she pretended she was going to marry to Odar, it would give them time to come up with a permanent solution to Telmena. The problem was, she didn’t care to pretend anything with Odar. “I wonder if he would even go along with it.” Because if he didn’t, then there was no point entertaining the idea. And whose side was he on? And how would they know if they could trust him or not?
“Wouldn’t Odar do whatever his parents tell him? I mean, they are the king and queen. He doesn’t have much choice.”
She wondered if that was how Savenek felt sometimes—that he didn’t have a choice. She’d have to think about that in more detail later. For now, she needed to consider the situation with Odar. He’d refused to marry Princess Jestina of Telmena. Instead, he’d had his younger brother marry her. Allyssa had a feeling his parents could influence him, but not force him to do anything he didn’t want to do. Which was why it stung knowing he’d severed the marriage contract with her. No matter, it was for the best.
“What do you think we should do about Telmena?” she asked. If Telmena was so determined to destroy Emperion, they wouldn’t stop until they accomplished it. Even if Telmena didn’t wage war against Emperion, they could hire an assassin to kill off Rema, Darmik, Allyssa, and Savenek. There were so many options.
“I think we should kill the Telmena royal family,” Savenek said. “Then we should take control of the kingdom.” He sounded so confident in his assessment.
“I’m not sure we could govern the people. If they rebel, our army would have to step in to neutralize them. I don’t know if we can be spread so thin.” She didn’t know if she could send Emperions to their deaths. Because Emperions would die. Making these tough decisions weighed her down.
“Good point. Is there someone we can place in power that the people would want?”
“I don’t know offhand.” It was late, and she was too tired to think straight.
“I’ll look into it to see if I can come up with some possibilities. In the meantime, what do you want to do about Odar?”
“If pretending to marry him buys us time, I’ll go along with it.”
“What if your parents want you to actually marry him?”
“They won’t.” Her voice cracked, although she’d been trying to hide her feelings from Savenek. Feelings she didn’t care to discuss. Especially with a brother who she couldn’t decide how she felt about.
She gazed up at the stars, shoving Odar out of her mind. She’d said goodbye to him in Russek. While she’d known there would be a possibility she’d have to deal with him in the future, she hadn’t thought it would be so soon.
“You were engaged to him,” Savenek said.
“Yes.”
“But Fren severed the contract?” His voice revealed nothing but interest.
She sighed. “Yes.”
“You don’t talk much.”
She chuckled. “And you talk far too much.” She thought about probing him about Mayra just to prove how annoying it was to have to talk about that sort of thing. Instead, she decided to be honest. “He broke my heart.”
“Odar?”
“Yes.” She didn’t know how much Savenek knew about the situation, and she didn’t feel like going into details. How could she explain the prince had switched places with his squire? That she’d fallen in love with the squire who was really the prince? That once she realized he was the prince and he’d been deceitful on more than one occasion, she no longer loved him? That her heart now belonged to another man?
“Then pretending to be engaged to him is going to be rough.”
His words caught her by surprise. “Yes.” How did he understand so easily? If it had been Madelin, she would have questioned Allyssa relentlessly about what had happened and why she felt that way.
“If you don’t want to go through with the farce, we can come up with something else.”
“I know.” She hated when he acted like he knew more than she did. She knew they could do something else, but this was the most logical thing to do. It was what was best for Emperion. In her mind, there was no question about it.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, realizing belatedly he couldn’t see her since they were on their backs.
“You probably won’t have to see him or anything,” Savenek said. “Just a few letters of correspondence should be all.”
She nodded, this time trying to convince herself that everything would be fine.
“So,” Savenek said, a hint of mischievousness to his voice. “Are we going to sit around here doing nothing? Or are we going to find a criminal to imprison?”
“You’d do that with me?” She’d known better than to ask Marek to accompany her. But her brother, well, he trained with the Brotherhood. He’d make an excellent companion.
Chuckling, Savenek jumped to his feet. “As long as you can keep up.” He started climbing down the ladder without waiting for her to respond.
He could be so cocky sometimes. She got to her feet, eager to join him.
On the street, Allyssa took the lead and headed toward one of her favorite taverns, The Crow’s Cave.
“You armed?” Savenek mumbled.
“Always.” She had two knives strapped to her thighs and two daggers on her forearms. She suspected her brother had even more weapons on his body. Occupational hazard.
When they came to the black door with a crow carved on it, Allyssa went inside.
“You sure know how to pick them,” Savenek said under his breath.
Stifling a laugh, Allyssa made her way to the bar. The place was packed, and she could barely maneuver between the people. The walls were black,
the ceiling black, the tables black. Barrels of ale hung on the wall behind the bar. At the other end of the room, there was a stage where people would sing, act out a play, or even dance. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed coming here—and one of the reasons Grevik had hated it.
At the bar, Savenek ordered two drinks, tossing a coin at the bartender. Allyssa brought her cup to her mouth, turning to watch the room. A man teetered up the steps to the stage where he began to bellow a song completely out of tune. People threw food at him until he got off the stage.
She scanned the room, searching for anything unusual or out of place. There were two men who were dressed like everyone else, but something felt off. She watched them, trying to figure out what it was about them that bothered her.
“Those guys over there, third table from the left, two back, are from Telmena,” Savenek said as he turned his head toward her and scratched the side of his neck.
Allyssa didn’t know what someone from Telmena was supposed to look like, so she’d have to take his word for it. She counted the tables until she came to the one he’d pointed out. It was the same one she’d been watching.
Another person climbed onto the stage. This time, the man stomped his foot while chanting a song. It was rather catchy, and the crowd allowed him to finish. As everyone was applauding the man, the two people from Telmena stood and moved toward the exit.
Allyssa set her cup down, then started heading to the door. She didn’t bother to make sure Savenek was following her; she knew he’d be close behind. When they exited the building, she spotted the men moving toward an inn a block away.
“We can’t arrest them if they haven’t done anything wrong,” she whispered.
Shrugging, Savenek picked up the pace. He went between the men, wrapping his arms around each one’s neck and leading them down the closest alley as if they were the best of friends.
After making sure no one was following them, Allyssa darted between the buildings. Savenek had each man pinned to the wall. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“We were just getting a drink at the pub,” the one on the right answered. His speech was clear and articulate. He sounded like an Emperion to Allyssa.
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