Very unlike what one would expect of a man who’d earned the nickname of the King of Blood.
Amara drew closer to him, pretending to admire the dining table so she could listen in on his conversation with her father.
“These are my sons,” the emperor said, placing a hand on Dastan’s shoulder. “Dastan, my firstborn, undefeated in every battle he’d ever commanded . . .”
“Yes, of course. We speak of this young man’s fine reputation all the way back in Mytica. Congratulations on your recent acquisition of Castoria,” the king said.
Dastan pressed his hand to his heart and bowed. “Thank you. And since you’re aware of my victories I suppose it’s fortunate that we’re meeting on friendly ground, isn’t it, your grace?”
King Gaius smiled. “This couldn’t be more true.”
“And this is Elan,” said the emperor, patting the boy’s back and prompting him to perform the Kraeshian greeting. “I like to think of him as my most trusted vizier, one whose opinion is always invaluable to me. In all his twenty-three years, I don’t believe he’s ever told a single lie. Correct, my peach of a boy?”
“Correct,” Elan agreed. He stood as if sewn to his father’s sleeve, like a child afraid of getting lost.
Elan really was so sweet, so without guile, and Amara had always hoped they’d one day become close. Yet despite his gentle nature, he was still a Kraeshian male, raised not to show an iota of respect or regard to his sister or any other woman.
“Unfortunately, Ashur, my youngest son, isn’t here to greet you. But I’m sure you had plenty of time to become acquainted with him during his stay in your little kingdom.”
Every muscle in Amara’s chest clenched up at the sound of her dead brother’s name. To steady herself and keep from keeling over, she took a sip from her glass of sparkling wine.
“I did indeed,” Gaius said. “Ashur is a charming boy, you must be so proud of him.”
Instead of nodding proudly, as he had when introducing Dastan and Elan, the emperor winced a bit and then pursed his lips. “Ashur reminds me of his mother in so many ways. Always gallivanting around the world, searching for treasures.”
“Is he successful in his quests?”
“Not nearly often enough to justify the time and finances necessary to fund these little excursions.”
With that, the emperor gestured for his guests to take their seats at the table and eat of the feast. Amara watched as Gaius’s two bodyguards filled their plates with piles of food, and when Felix caught her looking, he grinned and winked at her.
She didn’t find his boldness offensive, but rather took it as proof that he hadn’t been to very many formal banquets before.
As the guests tucked into their meal, the emperor drove the conversation, informing Gaius about a new structure currently being built in the Jewel, an auditorium that would play host to poets, singers, and theater troupes.
“My, that sounds wonderful. Culture is so important to the vitality of civilized countries,” the king said.
“I’m surprised you think so,” Amara said, taking the opportunity to speak up. “Especially since artistic endeavors are discouraged in Limeros.”
Gaius lifted his goblet and swirled his cider around thoughtfully. “That is true, princess. Our radiant goddess did not approve of frivolity or flights of whimsy, and if Limerians are anything it’s loyal to our beloved goddess’s laws. However, having lately spent so much time in Auranos, I’ve come to realize that the arts have the ability to elevate the spirits of citizens during difficult times. Art gives them hope. And without hope, what is there to live for?”
“Well said, Gaius,” said the emperor, spearing a chunk of fried squar fish and dipping it into a spicy shanut sauce. “And please excuse my daughter’s boldness; I was not aware she’d be joining us today. But, yes, hope is a beautiful thing—and I love beautiful things!”
The guests talked and ate happily straight through until dessert. When the servants had cleared all the plates away, the emperor leaned back and patted his large belly. “Now, Gaius, my friend. Tell me, why are you here?”
The king raised his brow a tiny fraction of an inch. “I’m here, your eminence, to get to know you better. To understand your intentions. I know you soon plan to conquer Mytica.”
Amara stifled a gasp at the king’s unexpected bluntness and gazed around the room to see the others’ surprised reactions in the moment of echoing silence that followed. While the king’s two guards remained as composed as the sentries they were, she did notice a momentary raise of Felix’s brows.
The emperor acknowledged this with a nod. “I must confess, given its size, Mytica hasn’t been a high priority for me. Your country would make for just a tiny speck of dirt on my map. But yes, Ashur’s great interest in your history and legends drew my attention. Your shores are a mere leap from my Jewel, so the cost and effort to acquire the land would be minimal. And then there are your vineyards, which are reputed to produce the finest wine in the world. I think it would make a nice little addition to my empire.”
“I see. And when were you and your sons planning to visit my lovely speck of dirt?”
The emperor laughed. “Let’s not talk strategy, Gaius. Today we sit around this table as friends, not enemies.”
“As a fellow leader I admire how confident you are that Mytica would be so easily captured.”
The emperor smiled, drained his glass of wine, and signaled to a servant to pour him another. “Dastan? I believe this is your area of expertise.”
“We have great reason to be confident,” Dastan said, taking over for his father. “Your army is currently scattered across all of Mytica, and your coastal defenses are laughable at best. We outnumber you one hundred to one.”
King Gaius nodded cordially. “You’re right, of course. With those statistics on your side, Kraeshia would easily conquer Mytica.”
“Good, then!” the emperor said. “We’re all aware of the situation between our two lands, and it seems we’ve no more business to discuss.” He stood up from the table and placed his hands on his hips. “Now, if you’re here to surrender your country in person, you will save much gold and the lives of many of your people.”
The king frowned. “Surrender? I think you may have misunderstood me. I did not come here to serve Mytica to you on a golden platter.”
“Then explain it to us again,” Dastan said. “What, exactly, did you come here for?”
“I came to issue you a warning. A friendly one, for now. And also to make you an offer.”
The emperor’s jovial expression faded, though he looked no less pompous than usual. Amara bit her bottom lip, fascinated by what might happen next.
Her father sat back down at the table. “A warning, you say.”
“Yes.”
“You, the king of a land as tiny as Mytica, have a warning for me, a leader who has conquered a hundred kingdoms?”
Gaius smiled calmly and allowed a moment of silence to pass before going on. “I have to assume that Prince Ashur shared some of his favorite Mytican legends with you, didn’t he? Before he left for his visit?”
Elan nodded, clearly eager to contribute. “There were two legends he loved. The one of the magic of the elements trapped in rocks. And the one about immortal hawks that travel to other worlds. Rocks and hawks.”
“That’s correct, Elan,” said King Gaius, nodding with smug satisfaction. “You’re speaking of the Kindred and the Watchers—two of the most important figures in two of our most fascinating legends about the unlimited magic that can be found in my kingdom.”
“Are you trying to tell us that these legends are true?” Dastan said smoothly.
“Not trying. Stating as fact.”
“If that’s so,” the emperor spat, “then all you’re doing is giving me reassurance—the reassurance Ashur has been unable to deliver—that Mytica is worth my trouble.”
King Gaius went on, undeterred. “There’s a prophecy tied to the legends, your emin
ence. It foretells of a mortal girl able to wield the elementia of a sorceress and light the way to the Kindred, the lost elemental crystals.” He paused, taking a slow look around the table of wealthy Kraeshians. “My daughter, Lucia, is this sorceress.”
Gaius’s revelation was met with stark silence, broken only when the emperor let out a sharp laugh. “Your daughter is the prophesied sorceress? How terribly convenient for you.”
“She’s my daughter, but not by blood. I found her when she was an infant, and took her from her true parents with the aid of witches and blood magic. I waited sixteen years for her to come into her powers, but it was well worth the wait. It was her magic that allowed me overthrow the Auranian king and conquer his land in less than two days. And it’s her magic that led me to the Kindred.”
“Oh my, you Myticans do enjoy sharing such interesting fables! But words are but words, and only proof is proof. I doubt there’s anyone—in your kingdom or mine—who has seen any real evidence that this princess is a sorceress.”
“Actually, I have,” Amara said. Every single pair of eyes at the table shot to her, and she smiled. “I befriended Lucia when I was in Mytica, and I personally witnessed her magic. I promised to keep her secret, but this seems to me a situation that requires me to go back on my word. Everything the king says about his daughter is true.”
The room had settled down to an awe-filled silence, one that not even the emperor himself could have manufactured.
“You knew this?” he said, slamming his fist down on the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction that this information had stunned him. “You didn’t ask.”
The king nodded. “Princess Amara, perhaps you’re also aware that, thanks to my daughter, I now possess all four crystals of the Kindred.”
Amara had to take a sip of her wine to stop herself from replying with a laugh. “All four?” she said once she was composed. “That is rather incredible.”
And a rather huge lie, she thought. After all, she had the water Kindred, not this deceptive king, and the other three orbs could be anywhere.
“Yes, your eminence,” the king addressed the emperor again. “I have found all four Kindred. To unlock even one would make me a god.”
The emperor regarded him with an expression of waning patience. “How humble of you, then, to travel here by ship instead of flying through the air.”
“This is absurd, father,” Dastan interjected. “These children’s tales are a waste of your valuable time.”
“Perhaps. But Amara claims that what the king says is true. My daughter may not approve of the life I’ve laid out for her in my empire, but she’s never lied to me.”
Amara allowed herself an internal grin. For such a cunning and powerful man, her father really was quite stupid when it came to women.
The emperor studied Gaius. “Prove your claim.”
“Very well.” King Gaius stood up, reached into his coat, and drew out a small milky-white sphere. Dancing inside of it was a pale, wispy shadow.
Amara gasped. “The air Kindred.”
The king shot her a sharp look.
“Am I right? Ashur gave me books to read about the legends,” Amara said, trying now to inject some uncertainty into her voice. “The air Kindred is said to be an orb of moonstone. Is that really it?”
“It is.”
The emperor stood, strode briskly over to Gaius, and peered at the orb. “How interesting.”
“I’ve come here to warn you,” Gaius announced, pulling the orb closer to him and away from the emperor, “that if you attempt to conquer Mytica, my daughter will fight back with the power of a sorceress who can capsize entire fleets of ships. Who can freeze the Silver Sea with a single thought. Who can incinerate your soldiers into piles of ash and dust. Who, with the swipe of her little finger, can steal the breath of any enemy who dares cross her path. No army, no matter how large, can compete with the strength of her elementia.”
The emperor’s lips were thin, his gaze fierce. “And your offer?”
“I am offering you a share in my treasure. This,” he said, indicating the orb, “will be yours. Once I reveal the secret to unlocking the power within this crystal, it will give you the gift of air magic. In return, you will agree to embrace Mytica, not as a conquest but as a partner, and you will share your empire with me equally.”
So this was why the king had come to Kraeshia. Amara was both stunned and impressed by his audacity.
The tension now hanging in the air was nearly as visible as smoke.
“Half of my empire in exchange for a polished rock?” Despite his sarcasm, there was a glimmer of worry in the emperor’s expression that made Amara believe he no longer found any of this funny.
“That’s right,” Gaius said, calmly gazing at the crystal.
This banquet was far more exciting than Amara had anticipated. Even though she knew the king had lied and bluffed his way into this situation, he did possess at least one Kindred. And Lucia was the prophesied sorceress.
Her father would be wise to take the king very seriously.
“You say you know how to unlock the magic within the Kindred,” Amara said. “Can you share with us how you came to know this secret?”
Gaius gripped the orb of moonstone and studied Amara for a moment. “I know this secret because my mother told it to me. She was a witch, one with vast knowledge of the immortals’ world. She knew that one day I would be the one to find and possess the Kindred, so of course she told me what to do once I claimed my destiny.”
Amara considered his words. “Your story is sweet, but it makes me wonder why so many accused witches in Limeros have been executed on your order over the years if your own mother was one herself. I’m sure there’s a fascinating explanation there that has nothing to do with the laws of your goddess.”
When he met her gaze this time, his eyes were black and cold and bottomless. “You have no idea, princess.”
The emperor stepped forward, halting the conversation between Amara and the king. “What’s to stop me from taking that crystal and killing you right now, Gaius?” Felix and Milo rose to their feet, and the emperor flicked his hand dismissively at them. “Unless you’re a couple of sorcerers, you can’t protect your king from me.”
“You could kill me and take this Kindred,” the king acknowledged. “But it will be useless to you if you don’t know how to unlock its magic.”
The emperor scoffed. “I could torture the secret out of you in minutes.”
The king didn’t flinch. In fact, his gaze grew hard and steely. “You would do so at your own peril. Besides, such a secret would do you no good at all, here in Kraeshia. And should you arrive in Mytica without me, my daughter will be waiting to destroy every last one of you.” He pocketed the orb. “I’ve had my say and I’ve made you my offer. Surely you’ll want to take some time to think about it. This meeting is over.” He nodded at his guards.
Felix offered Amara a slight shrug and another small grin as he accompanied the king out of the room.
“Father?” Dastan said quietly when all had fallen silent in the hall.
“It seems I have a great deal to think about,” the emperor replied.
Yes, Amara thought. You certainly do.
• • •
Later that evening, Amara wandered the hallways, feeling too energetic to retire to her chambers for the night. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way the king had taken full command of that meeting. She’d wondered why he’d been so foolish to come here, thinking it was a mistake for anyone to try to confront her father.
She’d forgotten King Gaius’s reputation.
He was ruthless, power hungry, and now claimed his mother had been a witch.
Fascinating.
Her reverie was broken when she bumped into Felix.
“Stop,” she said.
“Stopping,” he replied, then gestured at the doorway beside him. “Luckily, this is my room anyway.”<
br />
“I know you didn’t grow up in a palace, but you should at least know that it’s not very smart or polite to wink at a princess, especially during a formal event,” she said.
“Well, I’ve never been accused of being smart or polite before.”
She regarded him for a silent moment. He was tall, and she liked the broadness of his shoulders. And despite the fact that he kept tugging at his collar, she also liked the way he filled out his fine tailored clothing.
“Your nose is crooked,” she said.
He touched it, then frowned. “It’s been broken a few times. Frankly, I’m lucky to still have a nose.”
“It’s quite ugly.”
“Um . . .”
“I like it.”
“Thanks?” He cleared his throat. “Is there something I can do for you, princess?”
“Actually, yes.”
“And what’s that?”
“You can take me to your bed.”
Felix blinked. “I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”
“You heard me just fine. After a day of being ignored while two powerful, ruthless men discuss politics and magic, I’m in need of a little attention.” She slid her hands up his chest and to the nape of his neck, then pulled him closer and kissed him.
He didn’t resist.
She smiled against his lips. “One night. That’s all I want from you.”
He pushed open the door to his room with his elbow and gave her a wicked grin. “It would be my pleasure, princess.”
CHAPTER 16
CLEO
LIMEROS
Let me try to understand this,” Nic said to Cleo. He was with her in her chambers while Nerissa helped her with her hair. “Jonas Agallon storms into the palace grounds, holds a sword to the prince’s throat, at which time Magnus learns you’ve been lying about working with Jonas for months, and, instead of killing you both, he’s decided to give you your kingdom back?”