12. TWELVE
TWELVE
Darius
Dark storm clouds suck the light from the room, even with the extra candles I lit. I squint at the next paper on my desk, rubbing the fatigue from my eyes. The outgoing pile finally mirrors the incoming stack: twin mountains of papers that signal the halfway point.
I reread the requests from Coryntha. Our largest trading port has a thief problem, with more than one storehouse broken into. Not a substantial loss, considering the influx of product they move every day, but enough to get on the merchants’ nerves.
Merchants I need to be happy.
I sign the approval for additional security and a special investigator. Either someone is in on the thefts, or they are too incompetent to catch the criminal. Either way, the problem should be resolved quickly.
I slip the paper into the outgoing pile as a firm knock sounds against the door.
“A maid from the princess is here,” the guard says.
“Enter.”
A petite woman with a long braid carries in a tray and letter. I nod to the table in front of the couch. Wordlessly, she sets it down and makes her way back out the door with a quick bow. She doesn't wait to be dismissed or ask if I need anything. No shaking like a leaf either.
I file her appearance away and wonder if she’s the Jaime that Mina requested. If so, I can see the appeal. Fear is useful, but I’ve grown tired of meekness after a taste of a certain mouthy princess’s attitude.
Curiosity spurs a much-needed break. I stretch my muscles, cracking my neck and back, as I make my way to the chaise. My bones ache worse than the time my father’s other sons locked me in a large trunk for half a day.
Even with a custom-made taller desk, leaning over for hours on end takes a toll. My body is built for battle, not administrative work.
The silver tray holds a carafe with a single cup and a crisp white envelope, sealed with wax arranged as a flower. I trace the ridges of the design and check for tampering before I tear into the letter.
Emperor Darius Lucian Gilchrist of Veloria,
Thank you for the dossiers. I will put them to good use along with my own knowledge.
Please do not worry about me. I am more than capable of handling anything thrown my way and find arrows a terribly dramatic way to stay your hand.
I reread the last line, laughing to myself. I assumed her arrow at the commander’s feet earlier was out of fear and self-defense, but she did it to spare him from my sword. The whole encounter lasted mere seconds, yet she read my intent perfectly. The others had no idea the bloodshed Carol escaped.
A woman. Sharper than one of my commanders and a room full of soldiers, quick enough to assess my impulse and act against it.
A strange warmth invades my chest. Not quite pride, but close. I chose my bride well.
I accept your dinner invitation and will prepare a sample of what the training regime will look like. I would like to have the new soldiers ready by the time we return to Kalisham.
I have sent along the drink we shared earlier. I was told it gives energy. We have much to plan, so I hope it serves you well as you catch up on work.
Until tomorrow.
~Princess Mina Nasrin Ardeshir of Kalisham
Impatient princess. A perfect and polite response, but the command for me to get my affairs in order so that we can focus on her campaign is clear.
I pour a cup and ensure the silver remains the same before drinking. My stomach protests immediately, grumbling at the full cart of food that was wheeled in some hours ago. It’s probably still edible.
I force down a cold puff pastry filled with vegetables, trying to pretend it's roasted fish over a fire. I’m more comfortable with camp food and hunting than such delicate dishes, delicious as they are.
I polish off the plate, renewed energy ready to push me through the last half of paperwork. I could’ve made Staefan stay to assist me, but Tayla prepared a special dinner, and I didn’t have the heart to disappoint her by keeping him late.
Nor do I want her wrath. I already stole him away last night after promising him the night off. She can be scarier than her husband if deprived of him for too long.
I settle back into my chair the moment the windows behind me ease open. Wind licks at the candles, and I enjoy the brief breath of rainy air. Not bothering to turn around, I point to the dessert tray I left untouched. “Help yourself to whatever you want.”
Alexi grabs the closest treat, downing the whole piece of cake in two bites. He pounds his chest as he washes it down with a glass of water.
“You could breathe between bites, you know. Savor the food.”
He coughs, glaring as if I suggested he take his own life. “I’ll eat at whatever pace I see fit.”
I wave in agreement, well used to Alexi’s stubbornness. “How’s your assignment going?”
A half-eaten tart stops short of his mouth. “She’s strange.”
I let out a laugh. “Yes, I was hoping for something I didn’t know.”
“She cries. Last night and just now before she fell asleep,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. Crying women are not something he is accustomed to, at least not this kind. Begging for one’s life is different.
“Nightmares,” I say more to myself. I still have them, though the frequency has diminished over the years. Mother still haunts me awake or asleep. I have no doubt Mina’s family is the same. Her wounds are still fresh, the ghosts clearer.
She cried in front of me earlier as well. Tears are another unnecessary show of weakness. If she’s going to be a successful queen, she’ll need to be more careful.
“I think she misses home,” Alexi continues. “She met with the designers earlier and refused to order dresses in Veloria’s fashion. She commissioned two separate designers to make clothing from Kalisham.”
As a child, I used to call this fortress the ice palace. It always felt cold and sterile with all its white, silver, and blue. I destroyed most of the clutter from my father’s rule and haven’t bothered with decorating since war was more important.
Mina is fire personified, warm and passionate. The palace doesn’t suit her one bit.
I jot down an order, adding it to my outgoing pile. “I’ll have designers sent tomorrow. For however long she’s here, Mina is free to decorate as she sees fit. Starting with her room.”
Alexi openly stares, holding his tongue for once.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he concedes, grinning from ear to ear as he shoves a tart in his mouth. “I’ve just never seen you so caring toward a woman before. I think she’ll enjoy your gesture a lot.”
“It’s not a kind gesture. A queen’s job is to see to the state of the palace. Decor falls under her purview.” Until she can deliver Kalisham, she has other uses as my queen.
“Makes perfect sense.”
I throw the letter opener on my desk, as sharp as any dagger. He catches it with ease and uses it to spear another tart before popping it in his mouth.
“Anything else to report?”
He fills me in on her maid’s fact-finding mission, and the partial pride from earlier blooms fully. I wanted to see how she would handle such limited information. I left the dossiers bare as a test, which she passed with flying colors.
Her plan for the dressmaker is another stroke of intellect I should learn to expect. Pitting a no-name designer against the best in Veloria for the rights to her gown will yield entertaining results.
Alexi finishes his report and nearly the entire tray of desserts. It’s a wonder he stays so thin with the amount of food he inhales on the regular. I grab the back of his shirt as he makes his way to the window. “Did you finish the meal I sent earlier?”
His eye roll is deafening. “Just because I don’t eat meat doesn’t mean you have to fuss over my diet.”
“Too damn bad.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
Alexi may be the most skilled assassin I’ve ever met, but he’s still a teenager under my care. With no family left alive, we take care of one another. Staefan and Tayla keep a room for him as well. Should the nosy little thief ever want to rest, he has a place at either residence.
He straightens his shirt and grumbles something under his breath as he disappears out the window.
I try to focus back on my papers, but my thoughts drift to Mina.
When she challenged me in the kitchen, radiating rage, a part of me enjoyed it.
Anyone else, and I would’ve been tempted to draw my sword.
The bloodlust that usually calls to me was nowhere to be found, though.
Instead, a different kind of lust took root in its place.
Mina’s charm is a danger I failed to calculate.
I don’t let others influence me. I’ve seen what damage that leads to. Attachment is a weakness I only allow for Alexi and Staefan, who earned the honor through hell and back.
Never for a woman. No matter how amusing and intelligent she is.
Ours is to be a marriage of convenience. Of borrowed strength. A simple contract for trade and status.
I’ll make sure we’re on the same page tomorrow night.
The notion sours my mood considerably, and the urge to release some of this tension grows unbearable.
Fuck paperwork for now. I push the princess from my thoughts and head for the training grounds. My restlessness won’t go away without a proper outlet. The men who sided with Commander Carol are a good place to start. A few rounds of sparring should get my head back on straight.