Chapter 9 #3
“Merciful Triad, Aunty, if my letters have been intercepted by the Viridians again, or Batea hasn’t brought the beasts’ heads to the Colonnades…
” Then his enemies knew he was about to destroy his greatest military assets because his wife asked it of him.
They would smell weakness and make it their mission to exploit it.
Aurora and Aureum would be in even greater danger than they were already.
And that was only if the beasts were delivered as corpses for his wife’s perusal.
If they weren’t, he could kiss peace goodbye.
Aurora would believe him a despicable betrayer and become susceptible to Orithyia and Flora’s influence once more—if she didn’t just try to kill him herself.
“One problem at a time, my little lion. If you haven’t been receiving letters, it could be because Batea is busy carrying out your orders and your courtiers have already been given word of your return.”
“Then why have none of them asked how my wife is to be received in Altanus? I wouldn’t expect Batea to ask, but Polydorus never leaves a single stone unturned, and I’ve not heard from him or General Canthus about the state of Aureum since before I left Boreas.”
Myrina frowned.
“That is quite suspicious. Then for now, we must act as though none of your letters have arrived in Altanus. Even so, they would have received word of your marriage and your journey home by now, along with news of the Viridian soldiers, so it’s possible we may be met at the border by an Aurean army.
That can be cleared up just by showing your face. As for the beasts…”
“Aurora will be incensed,” Theron groaned.
“Then speak to her. Tell her what you’ve told me.”
“Anything I say will sound like a lie to her.”
And could he blame her? In her place, he would see his excuses as merely attempts to forestall some inevitable betrayal.
“You can’t know that until you try. And if you don’t try, then you will have to work thrice as hard to win her trust back—if she even allows it.”
He felt sick. Theron had only just gotten her back. He couldn’t lose her trust again.
“I…I need to speak with her.”
“Courage, my little lion.”
“Yes. Thank you, Aunty…” He left her tent in a daze.
How was he to tell Aurora without her reacting badly to the news? Was there any hope if even the truth would be taken as a betrayal?
“Your Highness, please pardon my interruption.”
Aurora sighed as she gestured for Leukos to join her at the table.
Offered him food, he refused. She shrugged and began eating.
After all, her husband had told her she would need her strength.
Giddy with excitement and still riding the high of learning that Theron enjoyed her sadistic streak in bed, it felt like nothing in Trisia could sour her mood, even being interrupted by Lord Leukos.
As Aurora considered the ways in which she might subtly torment her husband for the rest of the day, Leukos began speaking.
“We’ve not had a chance to reconvene for some time, Your Highness, but we need to discuss the future before we reach Aureum.” His urgent tone caught her off guard.
“Oh?”
“I will start by saying congratulations. You’ve well and truly wrapped him around your finger. And apologies for the indelicate question, but is there any chance you’re pregnant?”
Aurora nearly choked on her food. She grabbed her glass of wine and drank it down, coughing until she could breathe properly. Well, it seemed there was something that could sour her mood.
“No, of course not,” Aurora replied.
“None at all?” he asked, a hint of hope in his tone.
“None.”
“A pity. I’m even more apologetic about interrupting the two of you then.”
“Why is that a pity?” Dread nipped at her heels.
“Because it would have made for excellent leverage. Be that as it may, we must discuss what to do about the two possibilities once we reach Aureum. The first, that he has been true to his word and has slain the beasts, and the second, that he has not,” Leukos explained calmly, pushing a few errant strands of dark hair from his face.
What little food she’d eaten turned to rocks in her stomach. How could he speak of such things in such a casual way?
“Of course the beasts will have been slain. He swore it.”
The look he gave her was pitying at best.
“Your Highness, while His Majesty has proven himself to be a man of outstanding courage, it would be imprudent to believe anything about his intentions until the truth is incontrovertible.”
The wine soured on her tongue. The tent, once bright and cheery with the sunlight filtering through the material and small braziers burning away the remaining dimness, suddenly seemed to become a hot prison, the smoke cloying at her lungs.
No, Theron had sworn. He’d promised her that he would do this for her. She’d trusted him and she’d sensed he understood the gravity of that trust. He wouldn’t betray her like that. But Leukos didn’t know him as she did. It was only natural for him to doubt where she had faith. Aurora sighed.
“Then what do you propose if we find the beasts have been slain, as Theron has promised?” she asked, defiant.
“I will lead the Viridian nobles and soldiers in the search for Drakon alongside the Aurean forces. But before we do, I would ask that you demand as compensation for those who survive that they will be granted lands in the Dragon’s Flank.
” Leukos nodded, his hands calmly folded, expression betraying nothing.
Her brow furrowed.
“I…I can’t guarantee that he will allow it. He hopes that I will send the lot of you back to Boreas once he presents the heads.”
That was what he’d demanded when she asked him to deliver the heads in return for her forgiveness. He would be incensed if she didn’t even consider it. Her palms began to sweat.
“Then do as you’ve been doing and convince him to allow us to stay. Tell him whatever he needs to hear—that it will keep Flora mollified while Drakon is dealt with, that it will help keep the peace between realms if we remain at your side, or something of your own devising.”
So she was supposed to lie to him. In what world would he believe she cared about mollifying Flora? Or that her mind was filled with politics?
“I will…think of something.”
Leukos didn’t comment on her waffling, simply continued as if she’d fully agreed.
“If, however, he has not kept his word, you must be very careful in your next move. We don’t know if his refusal to kill the beasts will be because he has lost control of the Aurean court and his cousin, or if he has merely been keeping up a polite facade so that he can slay us once we enter his kingdom.
In the case of the former, you have more leverage.
Refuse to allow him to return to his capital until the beasts are dead.
Threaten him with your anger and your tears.
You are his weakness. The further we are from Viridis, the harder it will be to control him by force, so control him with his heart while we still have the advantage of numbers,” Leukos said, as if contemplating such things was to be expected.
“If, however, we arrive in Aureum and find ourselves beset by Aurean soldiers, then it is critical you escape back into Viridis. I possess the wild magic of illusion and will cloak you in it to help you escape. If you are killed, it will mean war in the middle of a cycle of chaos. If you’re taken prisoner by hostile Aureans, your life will be used as a bargaining chip with Viridis, and I’m sorry to say, but Her Majesty Queen Flora is likely to sacrifice you in that case.
On this last leg of our journey, might I suggest you ride your own loper, in case of the worst? ” He raised a brow.
“I…”
Her mind spun. Aurora gripped her dress with clammy hands, her gaze unfocused.
She’d not considered that he would harm her since before the raid.
That she was forced to do so now made her feel as though all the progress she’d made in her relationship, all the trust she thought she’d built, had blown away on the breeze.
“I will do as you suggest,” she said hollowly.
She’d been a fool once. Aurora knew what he was capable of—seduction and affection all while withholding the truth, of lying.
As much as she hoped he had changed during the course of their journey, only a fool would fully trust him before he’d proven himself entirely.
This talk with Leukos was what she needed to think rationally—practically.
If she died, not only would Drakon destroy Trisia, Aurora’s own actions might ensure an even deadlier cycle of calamity as war broke out with her as the cause. She needed to be smart about this, no matter that the possibilities submerged her heart in frost.
“Whatever happens, we will protect you, Your Highness. Remember that,” Leukos said, reaching across the table in a small gesture of comfort.
“I will. Thank you, Lord Leukos.” She stared at his rough hand amongst the small feast laid out, unable to think of it as anything but an intruder.
They may protect her body, but who would protect her heart? Who would protect the fragile seed of true love she’d been nurturing with Theron?
“I will take my leave then, Princess. Unless there’s something you wish to discuss?”
It wasn’t every day a woman thought about her potential death and what that would mean.
Aurora supposed she did it far more than the average Trisian, but never because she wished to.
She wondered if anything she could say to this man, who lived and breathed court politics, would make it past his narrow view of the world.
But if she didn’t try, she would never forgive herself.