Chapter 12 Keris
Keris
They sailed south, the small fleet of Ithicanian vessels moving nimbly through the maze of islands.
Keris gained a new appreciation for how they evaded the vessels of other nations as they slipped through narrow gaps between sheer cliffs, surf smashing against rock with a violent force that reminded him of the route into Devil’s Island.
Saam was suffering on the rough water, his friend hanging over the side while Daria absently patted him on the back.
“I didn’t think you got seasick, Saam,” Keris said, watching Aren in the vessel ahead of him. His brother-in-law had sat almost unmoving the entire journey, eyes downturned and expression grim.
“I don’t.” Saam wiped his mouth on his sleeve, his brown skin now possessed of a decidedly green hue.
“Perhaps you’re pregnant.”
His friend cast him a malevolent glare. “Don’t tempt me to feed you to the sharks.”
Keris smirked. “You sure you don’t want first dibs?”
The Ithicanians who sailed the vessel gaped at him in horror, but his bodyguards, all former Devil’s Island inmates, cast their eyes skyward at the jab. Saam looked him up and down, then said, “Nah. You’d be stringy,” then promptly vomited over the side of the boat again.
Everyone laughed, but none of the tension in the small vessel was dispelled.
A year had not yet passed since the Endless War between Maridrina and Valcotta had been declared over, and now they found themselves on the cusp of another one.
It was as though the world existed in a state of balance between war and peace, and when one nation found the latter, the former rose somewhere else.
Though for Ithicana, it must have seemed especially ceaseless.
“We’re here, Your Highness,” one of the Ithicanians said as they navigated through a narrow gap.
Daria pointed upward and Keris lifted his face, spotting the glint of steel in the heavy foliage covering the cliffs to either side of them. He suspected that for every warrior he saw, there were ten more he did not.
The gap between cliffs opened into a large cove that Keris would never have guessed was here, the water turquoise and the beach formed of white sand.
It was idyllic—although as fins passed beneath him, Keris discarded any thoughts of a swim.
A few of the Ithicanians swatted gently at the sharks with as much concern as Keris might expend shooing away an excited lapdog.
Then the hulls ran up on the sand of the beach.
Casting a wary glance at the water, Keris stepped out. “I’ll walk with Aren,” he said quietly to Saam. “You follow, but give me some space.”
“Her Imperial Majesty said we are not to allow you from our sight.” It was Daria who answered. “I believe her exact words were: Don’t allow him to do anything reckless.” Saam nodded in agreement.
“Zarrah will understand.” Keris didn’t wait for a response, only strode to where Aren stood, looking for all the world as though he’d been punched in the stomach and couldn’t draw breath.
Aren didn’t look up as he asked, “How did you know to come?”
“I didn’t. I met Dax in the bridge and he gave me the news.
I sent him onward to update Sarhina and Zarrah.
” Keris pulled off his coat and slung it over his shoulder, the humid heat gluing his shirt to his back.
“As to why I was in your bridge, I came to see my niece. Congratulations, by the way. I’ve heard she inherited her mother’s looks—and with any luck her intelligence as well. She’ll make a good queen one day.”
Aren stared at the sand and then said, “Queen of what?”
All the Ithicanians within earshot paused what they were doing, their eyes turning to their king until Jor shouted, “Get about your business! Clouds are rising in the west, and I want everything safely stowed before they roll over us.”
Keris considered his next words. When he’d last been in Eranahl, tension between Aren and Ahnna had been high.
Yet he knew that the siblings had once been close.
Now Aren was forced to choose between war and his sister’s life.
Dax had made it clear that Aren believed Ahnna was innocent.
That he believed the king’s assassination was a strategy one of the Harendellian nobles—likely Alexandra—had in play in order to take power, Ahnna nothing but a convenient scapegoat, and Keris had wholeheartedly agreed. But now…Now he was much less certain.
Alexandra’s injuries were catastrophic and life altering, her accusations compelling. With Prince James and many other guards bearing witness to the attack, it was hard to argue for Ahnna’s innocence. “Have your thoughts on the situation changed now that you’ve spoken to the Harendellians?”
“I’m not giving my sister to them to execute.”
That hadn’t been the question Keris had asked, but it was answer enough.
“The situation is dire,” he said quietly, feeling dozens of eyes upon them. “But you are king of Ithicana, and your people are looking to you for leadership. You must bury your emotions and put on a show of strength while we decide our course.”
“Our?” Aren lifted his head, hazel eyes bloodshot and tired as they bored into Keris’s.
“We’re family,” Keris answered. “And allies. Valcotta is with you, and Maridrina will be as well. Ithicana does not stand alone in this.”
Emotion flickered through Aren’s gaze, and he gave a tight nod. “I’m glad you’re here. Is Zarrah—”
“She’s in Pyrinat. For her to leave right now was not wise, but she sends her well wishes along with several chests full of presents.
I’m not entirely sure where my baggage was delivered, but Delia is now the proud owner of quite a collection of child-sized weapons.
I suggested the girl might turn out bookish, given she’s my niece, but Zarrah only looked at me like I was the purest form of stupid. ”
The corner of Aren’s mouth turned up. “Zarrah is well, though? You’re both well?”
“Yes, we are very well.” A partial truth, but Keris had no intention of dumping his woes on Aren in these circumstances.
His friend’s eyes narrowed. “I do have spies, you know. What is it now—six attempts on your life?”
Keris crossed his arms. “People have been trying to kill me since I was a child, so that’s nothing of note.
” Which was true, but there was no denying that not everyone had wanted an end to the Endless War, and having a Maridrinian—and a Veliant, no less—married to the empress did not sit well with them.
“You and Lara are two peas in a pod in your assessment of personal risk.” Aren shook his head. “Stay as long as you like.”
This had been meant to be a social visit. Short and filled with food and family and laughter, because God help him, Keris had sworn he’d never put armor back on again.
“It never ends, does it?” Aren said softly. “The fight?”
Keris looked at the sky, a cloud bank rising and appearing for all the world like a beast looming over Ithicana. “No,” he replied. “It never fucking ends.”
“Keris?”
They both turned as Lara emerged from the dense jungle, several guards walking at her heels with weapons in hand. His sister wore the drab clothing that the Ithicanians favored, and if not for her blond braid, she’d have blended in with the Ithicanians entirely.
Keris stepped back to give Lara space as she wrapped her arms around Aren’s neck, knowing that she’d have been sick with nerves over this meeting.
His sister always wanted to be in the thick of things, and while necessity demanded one of them remain in safety in case the worst happened, he suspected doing so had sat poorly with her.
He dug the toe of his boot into the sand while they exchanged muted words, lifting his head only when Lara turned to him.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she said, then to his surprise, her blue eyes welled. Lara flung her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. “Everything has gone to shit.”
“I know.” He patted her on the back, and when Lara straightened, all signs of emotion were gone.
“My plan for today was to drink Aren’s expensive wine and admire your progeny, not come up with creative insults for Lestara while standing on a barren and rainy rock in the middle of the Tempest Seas.
I truly regret not burying that woman alive while I had the chance. ”
“Lestara was there?” There was surprise in Lara’s voice, and Aren responded quietly, “It didn’t go as we hoped.”
“Did they say anything about Taryn?” a female voice demanded.
Bronwyn marched toward them, and Keris frowned at the uncharacteristic anger in his half sister’s gaze.
Valcotta had spies aplenty in Harendell, so he’d known that Bronwyn was with Ahnna, as was Aren’s cousin Taryn.
Dax had updated him about Bronwyn’s unceremonious return to Northwatch and Taryn’s imprisonment, but that didn’t quite account for Bronwyn’s anger.
His half sister slid to a stop in the sand, arms crossed as she glared up at Aren. “Well?”
“They confirmed they have her,” Aren said. “They’ll—”
Keris rested a hand on his friend’s forearm, silencing him. “Let’s not have this conversation on the beach.”
Aren seemed to finally register how many of his people were in earshot, and he gave a tight nod.
Bronwyn’s hands balled into fists, and her “Fine” came out between her teeth.
Their group started up the narrow path into the jungle. Lara and Aren walked ahead, their elbows pressed together as they exchanged quiet words. Keris focused his attention on Bronwyn. “Other than the obvious, what has your knickers in such a twist?”
“Fuck you, Keris.” Bronwyn kicked a stick, sending it soaring into the bushes. A red snake shot out of the same bushes. Keris tensed, but it slithered in the opposite direction.
“Taryn is my friend,” his half sister muttered. “She’s entirely innocent, but the Harendellians imprisoned her because of what Ahnna did.”