Chapter 78 Keris
Keris
“I regret to inform you that I must be the bringer of bad news.”
Keris crossed his arms where he stood in William’s study, Zarrah at his side. “Bad news beyond the fact you are keeping us locked up against our wills?”
“Espionage is a crime, my good man,” the king of Harendell said after looking to Alexandra as though for encouragement.
“If the pair of you were anyone other than who you are, I’d have your heads for it.
Instead, all you have to suffer is being treated as honored guests until this nasty business is over. Which, in truth, is why I’m here.”
Unease gathered in Keris’s stomach, and reluctantly, he looked to Zarrah. Her expression was fixed, but he knew she felt the same. “Spit it out, then.”
“We won’t be going to war with Ithicana,” William said, then he grimaced. “Because there is no one to go to war with.”
It felt as though the temperature in the room abruptly plummeted, and Keris struggled to ask, “What do you mean?”
“It seems there was a reason for Ithicana’s silence of late. Plague has swept the nation, and reports say that the casualties are high.” William sighed. “May God have mercy on their souls.”
Zarrah sucked in a sharp breath and pressed a hand to her stomach, but all Keris felt was rage. “You’re lying.”
Alexandra pushed a folded piece of paper across the table, and Keris’s eyes latched onto Sarhina’s seal. With shaking hands, he picked it up, reading and rereading the lines, but his eyes kept catching on certain words. Plague. Quarantine. Fatal.
The page fell from his hand back to the table, and next to him, Zarrah whispered, “This is your fault. You blockaded them and starved them. What did you think would happen?”
William’s lip curled. “Blame Aren, if you must blame someone. Though he’s probably dead.”
The world turned red, and Keris balled up a fist to strike, only to be dragged backward by Cavendish. “You keep giving us more reasons to execute you, Veliant.”
It was just noise in Keris’s ears, because if his family was dead, he’d never forgive himself.
“Weather willing, we’ll send in ships to investigate,” William said. “But if it’s plague, we’ll need to keep our distance until it runs its course.”
“Or you could help them,” Zarrah shouted, leveling a finger at Alexandra. “You claim to be a follower of the faith, but you will be judged for this. The deaths of an entire nation stain your hands red, because this is all the result of your greed. There will be a reckoning.”
Alexandra had to have done this. Had to have somehow sent sickness into Ithicana the same way she sent infected cows into Valcotta. They couldn’t be dead. Lara. Aren. Delia…Keris clenched his teeth, feeling sick on grief and anger and guilt.
William coughed, then took a sip of his drink. “Emotions are high, which is understandable, but practically speaking, something will need to be done about the bridge. Trade must flow, and the fact remains that we cannot allow the bridge to be managed as it has been in the past.”
“You greedy Harendellian prick.” Keris struggled in Cavendish’s grip, but more guards moved to restrain him. “You did this. You fucking killed them.”
“No, he did not.” Lestara’s voice filled the room, and Keris turned in his grip to watch her enter the room, dressed in a gown marred by travel. “But I know who did.”