Page 21 of The Truth-Teller's Bargain
He left her there, alone with her spiraling thoughts.
Alethea sat there in the darkness listening to the faint sounds of the encampment around her as tears fell from her eyes. The world outside her tent seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for the dawn to break and the world to awaken. With a heavy heart, she drew the covers up to her chin, cocooning herself in their comforting warmth.
In the solitude of the early morning, she allowed herself to drift into a different realm—a realm of hopeful possibility. She let herself dream of a future where Nakir Hasan won his battle against her mother. In this fantasy world, she would be free, her destiny forever changed.
Could he win? Could he really defeat her mother? And if she helped him... surely he would reward her. Perhaps with her help, Nakir Hasan had a shot at victory. Maybe he was desperate enough to work with her—someone who should be his enemy, but whose powers could be the tipping point in a war.
Her mother had always made it clear that without her, the Onasis line was over. That if her powers fell into the hands of their enemies, they would be finished.
If she could find a way to survive the oncoming war, she could leave Lenorea and go anywhere she wanted, free from her mother’s grasp. Free from being forced to use her gifts to line thepockets of the already exceptionally wealthy. Free from the responsibility of ever being queen.
Nakir didn’t scare her. There was little he could do to her that her mother hadn’t done already.
If he won the throne back... it couldfreeher, and not just in some far-off fantasy.
Alethea lay awake for hours in the fading darkness, braiding and unbraiding her hair, all the while crafting a dangerous plan that was just as likely to get her killed as it was to save her. But it was far better than remaining a princess in a gilded cage.
“The Crystalline Academy stands as the Realm’s highest honor and its cruelest tutor. Those who endure its halls emerge transformed; many never emerge at all.”
—A PRIMER ON IMPERIAL INSTITUTIONS
CHAPTER FIVE
Hunter’s Moon, Day 19.
Alethea tried not to stare at Nakir over their shared breakfast, but her efforts were in vain. He relaxed across the table from her as they took a private meal in his tent, his white tunic open to reveal a chiseled chest and a cut abdomen. She could see several scars crossing over his pectorals and his abs, and her face warmed as she tried not to stare or linger curiously on the silver pendant around his neck. She hadn’t noticed it before—he must have worn it under his clothing. He’d come in with an offer of breakfast after completing some training exercises before she’d even woken up. She’d accepted, politely eating the eggs and porridge he’d procured.
“We should discuss what to do with you,” Nakir said, bringing her attention back to his mouth. No, his eyes.
Damn.
“Yes. Can you just...” Alethea cleared her throat, face flushing. “Close your shirt or something?”
She shouldn’t have even said it. The smug look on his face as he buttoned the tunic told her he would not soon forget this. She rolled her eyes, ignoring her mother’s voice reprimanding her for such a childish response. It was even harder to ignore the way his fingers deftly worked the buttons.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Was he mocking her? Alethea narrowed her eyes, but he didn’t wipe the amused smirk.
“About that,” she mused, picking over her breakfast. “I want to make a bargain with you.”
“You have my attention.”
Yes, she did, and that fact terrified her.
Alethea took a deep breath and leaned forward, clasping her fingers together in front of her. “I... want to help you.”
Nakir paused, meeting her gaze fully. “And why would you want to do that?”
“I can’t go back.”
He was silent for a moment as he regarded her, trying to determine the truth of her statement. He didn’t know that she couldn’t lie, but that wasn’t something she was ready to share. An Oracle’s curse was their weakness, and she didn’t know if she could trust him yet—not with that.
“Interesting,” he mused, one hand rubbing his chin. “What do you want in exchange?”
“Freedom,” Alethea confessed. “I want to be free of it all. Free of my mother, of the expectations of rulership, of having to marry for political gain. If you succeed in your rebellion, you could spare me from whatever fate you have in mind for my mother. You could give me freedom.”
He watched her carefully, his gaze sharp and penetrating, reminiscent of a hawk fixating on its prey. The intensity in his eyes was unnerving, his scrutiny unyielding.
