Page 14 of The Truth-Teller's Bargain
“Oh, she’s unbound? Thank the gods. Wouldn’t want anyone to think we werekidnappers.”
“Emilia, if you’d let me explain?—”
“Don’tEmiliame.”
“Emi,” he corrected himself instantly.
Their familiarity struck Alethea as startlingly candid. Theymustbe lovers if she was allowed to speak to him in such a way. No one had ever spoken to her mother like this. At least, no one but her father.
The woman sighed, though her expression stayed narrowed. Alethea still did not take Nakir’s offered hand, too afraid of making the altercation worse.
His brow furrowed. “You’ll need to dismount so they can take my horse to be fed and groomed.”
She glanced between the feuding couple a few more times before taking his hand and allowing him to help her off the horse. Her knees wobbled and her thighs screamed from the day-long ride, but at least she didn’t collapse.
Nakir released her quickly and turned back to the small, angry woman. “Now, as you were saying?”
Alethea’s mouth fell open at the fact he was openly inviting Emi to speak her mind in front of countless soldiers, several stopping and eyeing them all curiously. Queen Zenobia would never allow such candor, especially in front of her subjects—nor would she accept the way the soldiers so obviously gawked and eavesdropped.
Balthasar was right. She wasn’t in her mother’s court anymore.
Emi glanced around for a moment, possibly thinking the same thoughts as Alethea. “Let’s go inside,” she finally stated. “The rest of you,”—she turned to the brave souls who had stopped by to watch—“I’m sure you have better things to do.”
They didn’t need to be told twice, clearing out quickly enough to demonstrate they either respected her or feared her. Likely both. She huffed as the crowd dispersed and pushed her way into the tent. Dawes’s brows shot up to the sky, and Nakir shook his head, rolling his shoulders back as he followed her.
“This will be fun,” Dawes murmured, gesturing for Alethea to follow.
The interior was larger than she expected. On the far end was a large bedroll on a wooden cot and a small, collapsible table that held a few personal effects, and on the other side was a large wooden desk covered in maps and various reports. There was no down-feathered bed, no lush carpets, nothing to symbolize grand ambitions or a need for finery.
Emi leaned over the desk and stared at the papers absently,barely containing her seething rage. The air crackled with static tension. Alethea hovered behind Nakir, inching closer to Dawes, as if she could use their larger bodies to shield her from this woman’s wrath. As terrifying as the two men were, she would much rather face them than her.
“Where were we?” Nakir asked, earning him a strangled, incredulous noise from Dawes.
Emi lifted her chin up at Nakir, defiance, anger, and disappointment flashing in her eyes. Several long seconds passed before she answered him as she seemed to debate what exactly to say.
“I know you’re grieving. We all are. Yes, losing Goran changes... well, everything. And above that, I know what he was to you. But you’re not the only person he was like a father to.”
Alethea studied the ground at her feet, suddenly very aware that she had no business being in this room.
Emi wasn’t done. “But don’t you see, you taking your rightful place as the leader of this rebellion was always how he planned it? All this sacrifice, it was foryou, Nakir. Foryouto lead us to a better future.” Emi gestured with an open hand to Alethea, who flinched as if she were the one being reprimanded. “Isthisreally who we want to be? Look at me right now and tell me this wasn’t your plan all along. Tell me you didn’t go to Hyelea forthis.”
“I didn’t go to Hyelea for this,” Nakir promised, holding both hands out in front of him and stepping forward. “We were meeting... with our contact when we heard someone near our camp. I went to investigate, and that’s when I found her. She knew who I was, so I made a snap decision. I couldn’t have her going back to the capital and telling them how close we were—not with so much at risk.”
“You could have justlefther there.”
Alethea thought about what would have happened if Nakir had let her take that fall, and her stomach turned. There was no telling how long she would have lasted in those woods withouther horse, or if she would have even made it back to the castle on her own. She waited for him to defend his actions further, to tell the daring tale of how he’d saved her life to redeem himself, but it didn’t come. Like he wasn’t interested in playing the part of the hero.
Nakir let go a long breath. “I hear you. I hear that this isn’t who you want us to be.”
“No,” Emi corrected sharply, stepping forward. “This isn’t who we are. This isn’t whoyouare.”
“I know,” he promised. “You’re right. I made a judgment call in the moment, and I will deal with it. Do you trust me?”
Emi deliberated before her shoulders dropped and she gave him a weary look, placing an understanding, familiar touch on his arm. “Of course I trust you. Just... be careful.”
She sighed as she shoved past Nakir and finally spoke to Alethea directly, her tone cool, if a bit clipped. “Good evening, Your Highness. I’m Emilia Sideris, but you can call me Emi. If these men, or anyone in this camp, step onetoeout of line, trust that I will fry their brains before they can even blink.” She held her hands open, and Alethea heard the rumblings of a sudden storm, though she knew the sky had been cloudless a moment ago.
Lightning danced between Emi’s fingertips, and a chill ran down Alethea’s spine at the sheer power this woman commanded. A dark mage indeed.
