Frost Bound (Entangled with Trickery #1)

Basil

Chapter Three

Basil

Three months later

The king and queen of Astera were going to kill him.

Basil nodded to the guards outside the throne room and smoothed his hands down the pink silk of his doublet, wiping the sweat off his palms. The letter in his pocket practically burned a hole in his chest as the guards opened the ornately carved doors. His heart thundered as he briskly walked toward the two towering amber thrones at the end of the massive room. Each of his steps echoed off the vaulted green marble ceiling.

Death. Death. Death.

That’s what his monarchs would order as soon as he offered them the treaty the Loriians had sent.

He stopped at the bottom of the steps and knelt, bowing deeply to his sovereigns. The courtier kept his eyes trained on the bottom step, grimacing as a bead of sweat fell from his brow onto the pristine floor.

“Rise,” King Randa commanded, his tone equal parts bored and irritated.

Basil rose and swallowed hard, pasting a practiced smile on his face. One that had kept him alive for many years. One had to learn how to trick, lie, and persuade in the court of Astera.

“I have news from Loriia, your majesties.” He pulled the letter from his breast pocket and cursed how his hand trembled from nerves.

Queen Allium rolled her hazel eyes and held her hand out for the correspondence, the numerous gems decorating her fingers twinkling in the light. “We don’t have all day, Basil. Give it to me.”

He scrambled up the steps and placed the sealed parchment in her hand before quickly backing down the stairs, well out of reach when the king’s inevitable rage consumed him.

The queen read the missive silently, her brow becoming ever more furrowed, her pale fingers crinkling the paper. “This must be a joke,” she hissed, glaring at Basil over the top of the letter like it was his fault.

“Don’t keep me in suspense, my love. Just what do those frost giants propose?” The king waved a hand toward his wife. “Read it to me.” He leaned onto his throne and slung a leg over the armrest, the portrait of negligent power.

“I’m not your secretary,” Queen Allium sniped, glaring at her husband.

“You are my queen, and you will do as I ask,” King Randa retorted with a smirk, brushing a lock of auburn hair from his cheek.

She glared at him, her fingers tightening on the letter. Basil began to sweat even more. The last thing he needed was for them to get into a fight and then turn it on him.

“I will read it for you,” he offered, proud that his voice didn’t shake.

The queen narrowed her eyes at Basil, tossing her silky black hair over her shoulder. “No need. I can handle a simpleton’s task.”

A dig at him, but at least it had dampened the brewing argument between the king and queen.

For now .

“The Loriians propose a truce.” The king snorted but the queen kept reading. “They want to put the past bloodshed behind us and move toward a more prosperous future.”

“And how does the new Frost King suggest we do that?” King Randa asked, playing with one of his gold bangles. “Our kingdoms have been at war for centuries.”

Basil inhaled slowly and clasped his hands behind his back to keep from trembling.

“Marriage.”

The king dropped his foot to the floor and straightened in his throne. “What did you say?”

Queen Allium held out the missive to him, which he snatched from her fingers. He quickly scanned the letter, his hands beginning to shake.

“Those monsters want our daughter?” he growled, brown eyes sparking, “They dare suggest such a thing after they killed my own mother? How dare they!” He tore the treaty in half and tossed it into the air.

Basil tried not to cower as the king scooted forward in his seat and stabbed a finger at him. “Who do they think they are to ask such a thing? Presuming that we’d ever give up our flesh and blood to those blue devils.”

“I believe the new king is earnest,” Basil managed to get out. “He wishes for peace. As the last of his father’s line, if he fails, his kingdom will fall into civil unrest.” He licked his lips. “Did you see what he offered as a gift of good faith?”

“We don’t need their gems and metals,” Randa growled. “If I want them, I’ll take them by force. Retrieve the mines they stole from Astera five hundred years ago. It’s insulting that they’d offer such a thing.”

Queen Allium placed a hand over her husband’s and ignored the wrathful glare he turned on her. “The harvest has not been strong for four years. How will you feed an army to invade?”

“Mercenaries.”

“That’s a good idea, my love.” She petted the king’s sleeve as if soothing a wild animal. “But how will we pay them with no gold?”

Basil watched the queen. She held the real power. While the king wielded brute strength, she ruled with cunning and mercilessness. It was the queen one really had to look out for, or you’d find a knife in your back as soon as you turned around.

“Then what do you propose? Give our only daughter to those monsters?” the king yelled, his anger reverberating throughout the room.

“I would never do such a thing.”

Basil kept his expression neutral. The queen hated her daughter. If the rumor was true, she’d tried to kill the child when she was just a baby because of her birthmarks. The court had never seen the girl in person. She’d been cloistered in a tower away from all prying eyes for her whole life.

“But there are always other options.” She smiled, and it sent a chill down Basil’s spine. She leaned her elbow on the armrest, and placed her chin in her palm, bright red nails tapping against her cheek. “I think it’s time we speak to the Giver.”

Basil blanched but recovered quickly. The Giver was a known murderer, peddler of drugs, and trafficker of people.

And the king’s bastard son. One the queen had never invited to set foot into the palace.

She smiled at Basil, but it held a cold and ruthless edge. “Please extend our invitation to our … son. We have plans to make.”

Taking that for the dismissal it was, Basil backed away from their thrones, hands held out almost in supplication.

As he reached the doors, the king spoke. “As you well know, Basil, keep silent. If any whispers or rumors reach our ears of our discussion, it will be your head.”

Basil bowed. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

He stepped from the throne room, his back soaked in sweat. The doors clanged shut but his anxiety didn’t lessen. He needed to visit the Giver and pray that whatever the king and queen were up to wouldn’t get him killed or throw their kingdom into another war.