Chapter Fifteen
Valeris
I hated fighting the Haskelle.
They dueled with the only tactic they knew—brute force.
The crown prince of Ingon at least portrayed an art to his fencing, but this Haskelle was out for blood.
Winning wasn’t an issue. I could easily beat him, but I wanted to keep all my limbs during the process.
Pure rage encompassed his face, but beneath hovered a layer of nervousness.
He knew he had to win to secure Haskelle’s alliances, but he didn’t know how.
I danced around him, darting this way and that, keeping his feet moving and his brain occupied.
The crowd expected a show. I gave them one.
I let us play it out, watching the warrior’s frustration increase as I wore him down, preventing him from gaining any upper hand in the fight.
My adrenaline fed off the crowd’s energy, my strikes growing bolder, my execution more polished.
In one swift move I unarmed him, sword tip pressed against his chest. His face reddened, but he stepped back and bowed with honor to show respect where it was due.
The crowd cheered, chanting my name, and a wide grin spread across my face as I hopped over the fence and sheathed my sword, climbing the dais to receive my prize. A medal, nothing of considerable value, but winning made myself and my kingdom far more impressive to everyone in the room.
I trotted down the steps of the dais, startled when a woman all but threw herself at me.
“Oh, darling, you did wonderful!”
She grasped my shoulders, lifting up on her tiptoes to peck a kiss on my cheek.
I stiffened, my mind and skin recoiling at the unwelcome touch.
She must have sensed my reaction because she pulled back.
Analleia.
I saw Howland moving, nearly upon us. My fingers flashed at my side, sending a silent signal. He couldn’t interfere. Not here. I could have her arrested for that contact, but the scene it would cause would disrupt everything I had just accomplished.
She knew that.
My jaw clenched, the heat of the crowd’s gaze boring into us, solidifying this moment in their minds to gossip about later. Whispers rose around the room like the hushed murmuring of spirits.
I cocked my head to the side, spitting words out between the gritted teeth of a forced smile. “I thought you only worked alone?”
Her eyebrow arched. “I can be persuaded to change my mind.”
The crowd pressed closer, desperate for a chance to overhear any morsel of our conversation.
I pursed my lips to contain my irritation. “Perhaps we should go somewhere quieter?”
My hand slipped around her back, pushing her forward to accompany me.
She fought against the pressure for half a second, but I propelled her forward, not giving her a choice.
I scooted in closer, drawing eyes as I curled my hand around her waist. I sensed her discomfort and felt a twinge of guilt, but I shoved it away.
She started this. I would have never paid her any heed if she hadn’t waltzed into my deal with Lord Eyreling.
I maneuvered us through the attentive crowd and up to the second balcony where we were in full view of the ballroom below but far enough away that unwanted ears couldn’t overhear. I sensed Howland nearby, hiding in the shadows.
Analleia tried to step away, but I boxed her between the railing and the pillar, placing a hand above her head and leaning in.
She glared up at me, unable to move or regain control of this situation with all the eyes watching from below.
Since I held the high ground, I had the advantage, and I didn’t make a scene.
I imagined both of us wanted to avoid that.
I smirked at her dilemma.
“So have you been?” I asked. “Persuaded to change your mind?”
Mischief sparkled in her bright blue eyes. “I’ve reconsidered your offer.”
“Have you now? I’m afraid that offer has already expired.”
“Within a day?”
Her innocent act didn’t fool either of us.
I moved closer, inches from her face. I knew it would drive the gossips nuts downstairs, and she couldn’t back up.
“Winning a duel is all it takes for me to earn your attention?”
“It definitely wasn’t your charm.”
I leaned in to whisper and my lips brushed the shell of her ear. “Who says I used my charm?”
I eased back as a shiver ran through her, goose bumps pebbling in its wake. She swallowed, and I could tell it was taking everything within her not to push me away—most likely over the railing.
She lifted her chin. “I thought we might strike a partnership. I would benefit from your influence, and based on your failed alliance with Haskelle I would say you could use my cunning.”
“That was a sabotaged alliance, not a failed one, and I wouldn’t call that cunning. It sounds more like you realized I was a viable opportunity.”
“Are you willing to risk the rest of your alliances on that?”
My throat bobbed, all too aware of our proximity, of her eyes flicking between mine. There was no denying her trickery and brashness intrigued me, but I wouldn’t grovel to her after she’d thrown me away like a used toy she no longer wanted to play with.
I dipped my head, lips close enough to brush hers, close enough to feel and hear her intake of breath. I paused, drawing out the moment before meeting her gaze and whispering, “A lowly noble from a useless kingdom can offer nothing that would tempt a prince of Paravellia.”
Indignation flared in her eyes, but I kept my triumph hidden. I stepped back to leave her flustered, but she followed me, tilting her head.
“You might want to consider what I have to offer first,” she said.
I angled away from her. “You mean like how you considered my offer for all of two seconds?”
“I can help you,” she pushed, closing the distance between us again.
“What could someone like you possibly help me with?” I scoffed.
She stared up at me, serious. “I can help you solve your brother’s murder.”
I had spent years honing my mask of indifference, to give no reaction, but her unexpected words left my jaw slackened as I stood there speechless.
I forced out an unconvincing laugh, trying to dispel her revelation. “My brothers are alive and well.”
She lifted her chin. “We can both stop playing games now. I know your brother Rivero was assassinated at his home in broad daylight, that your family has tried to keep the murder in house, silenced the villagers, and—”
“Quiet,” I hushed, forcing her back a step as I glanced over my shoulder like the air would betray us and carry her words to the crowd below. “How?” I snapped. “Are you working for my father?”
A short wave of confusion splashed across her face before she replaced it. “I can promise you I’m not working for your father, but if you can help me, then I can help you.”
“What do you need help with?” I growled.
She shrugged. “Influence. You can provide connections I would never make on my own.”
If I refused her offer and she spread rumors Rivero had been murdered, it could destroy every drop of Paravellia’s bargaining power.
I wanted to beat my siblings for the crown, but that wasn’t why it mattered.
If Paravellia suffered, its people suffered as well.
Loss of trade deals and bargaining power would have a devastating impact on the economy and our people’s ability to make a living without struggling to put food on the table from one day to the next.
“If you want to make an alliance,” I said. “You’ll have to prove your worth.”
“How?”
I smiled inside but kept my expression deadpan and lethal. “Fix my alliance you screwed up with Lord Eyreling. Get me everything I originally asked for. I’m sure you already know what it entailed.”
She pursed her lips as if considering. “Anything else?”
“One more thing.” I leaned in close enough to feel her breath graze across my cheek, to watch uncertainty flash across her face. “Don’t ever touch me like that again.”
I moved back, clearing a path for her to leave. She stepped around me, throwing me a suspicious glance before striding down the stairs to the first floor. I stared after her, watching her fade into the crowd.
Uncle Wylan approached from the opposite end of the balcony, no doubt having ascended the other staircase to watch us from a distance. I pushed away from the banister and the intrusive eyes of the crowd to meet him against the far wall.
“Reconsidered your offer, did she?” he asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” I said. “But we’ll see if she pulls through with her end of the bargain.”
He crossed his arms. “There was an incident earlier involving her and the ambassador of Calderon on the archery fields.”
“You mean the ambassador I failed to secure a treaty with earlier today?” I growled.
“I’ve been having her watched like you asked. She approached him deliberately, but if anyone knows Ambassador Fletcher and saw what the girl was wearing, they would know it didn’t go well.”
“So?”
“So she must have done something to offend him because he grabbed her by the hair.”
My eyebrows shot up and fury churned within me as I shoved away from the wall.
“Please tell me he was apprehended and immediately removed from the ball and all future events of Paravellia. I don’t care what regulations he follows in his own country, that blatantly goes against our respectful line of etiquette here. ”
“Yes, the ambassador has been taken care of. Another gentleman stepped in and the guards removed him, but that wasn’t the intriguing part.”
My uncle paused for effect, and I could have strangled him.
“The guards said when he grabbed her, she transformed.”
“Transformed how?”
“It was like she wasn’t even there, like her mind had gone somewhere else. Doesn’t feel in character for her if she has as much fire as you claim.”
I nodded, sorting through the new information. She couldn’t have previously known the ambassador, because if she had she would have known better than to approach him herself. But why had she wanted to approach him in the first place?
“Continue to monitor the situation,” I said, heading for the stairs.
“Valeris.”
I turned at my name, finding caution hanging in his expression.
“Be careful.”
“Always, Uncle.”
“She’s pretty.”
I clenched my jaw, catching his double meaning and recognizing the look in his eyes.
“Pretty vile,” I grumbled.