Page 24 of The Truth-Teller's Bargain
“Your Highness,” he greeted with an inclination of his head. “Why don’t you join us?”
Alethea searched for malice in his tone and found none. She glanced over at their table. Dawes was scratching away at some papers with intense focus, while Emi was sipping tea and staring absently into the distance.
She followed the massive man, surprised by the unsettling silence with which he moved despite his size. Alethea sat down next to him, trying not to feel like a mouse seated next to a bull. Bal offered her a half-smile
“You don’t need to be afraid,” he told her, as if reading her thoughts. “Care for some tea?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Balthasar busied himself with the task of boiling the water and steeping the leaves while she sat there, hands folded in her lap. Dawes finished his work with a flourish.
“Finally.” He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, quickly stuffing the papers into a large envelope and tucking them into a leather satchel at his side. He seemed to noticeAlethea for the first time and greeted her with a curt nod. “Welcome. I’m surprised Nakir hasn’t taken you back to the capital yet.” His tone held a trace of annoyance.
Alethea cleared her throat, picking at her nails under the table. “Well, that was the plan.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, but Emi turned her attention from whatever had been occupying her thoughts.
“Let me guess. He’s charmed you into staying?”
Emi offered her an understanding smile, but it seemed too knowing for Alethea’s comfort. She wanted to protest, but her curse would not allow her to defend herself with a lie.
“Terrible idea, if you ask me,” Kerrigan Arranil interrupted with her sudden approach, dropping a mug of ale and a bowl of porridge on the table as she took a seat next to Emi and wrapped an arm around her neck in greeting. Alethea noticed she was covered in soot and sweat, though that didn’t seem to bother Emi at all. The bond between the four was as clear as the beautiful morning sky.
Alethea cleared her throat, leaning forward and crossing her arms on the table. “How did you... How did you all come to be here?”
Kerrigan snorted, rolling her eyes as she dove into her breakfast, talking even as she chewed. “My father was close to the former king and queen, Evanthia and Lazaros Hasan.” The fire mage said their names with purpose and pride. “After the coup, they spent half their time in Rai’Sharr, and the other half with us in Sardes. We were thick as thieves growing up. My father always had great plans for Nakir. He wanted to see the Hasan family restored to the throne of Lenorea more than anything.”
Alethea wondered what it was like for her to speak so freely of a father so recently killed. The thought of her own loss rose unbidden, sharp and unwelcome. She may understand that kind of grief, but who was she to offer Kerrigan any comfort at all?
Emi sipped from her tea with both hands, her smile polite.She seemed muted this morning, dark circles under her eyes as if she’d been up all night. “I’m from Sardes as well. My parents both worked at the keep, and the Great Lord Arranil treated us like family. Ker and Nakir were around my age, so we spent some time together when we were younger. Goran recruited me into the rebellion when I returned home from the Academy.”
“You attended the Crystalline Academy?” Alethea asked carefully. She knew many mages who’d graduated from the Academy went on to do incredible things, while others were left traumatized by the institution’s brutal methods.
The tone of the conversation seemed to shift, and Alethea feared she’d made an error.
Emi swallowed, something in her expression telling Alethea she was far, far removed. “I did.” A beat passed as she stared at her cup of tea. “My sister Elena and I were ten when we discovered we had magic. We were both granted scholarships to the Academy.”
Balthasar stiffened next to her, a movement so small Alethea wondered if she’d imagined it.
“I graduated when I was twenty-one.”
Alethea knew mages could spend several decades studying at the prestigious, rigorous school. Emi’s talents must be considerable for her to have finished so soon. Her own parents had expressly forbidden Alethea from attending. Besides, they’d reasoned, the Crown Prince Aureo Macierre hadn’t attended the Academy, so why should they send their royal daughter away?
“And your sister?” Alethea asked, though a sinking feeling in her gut suggested she shouldn’t.
“She died when we were sixteen.”
Alethea struggled for something to say. “I’m so sorry,” was all she could manage, her palms sweating. She saw Ker slip an arm around Emi. Dawes and Balthasar were silent, the air around them stilted.
“It’s all right,” Emi promised, and Alethea almost believed her. “It was a long time ago. Nakir was the one who saw me through it.”
Something shifted uncomfortably in Alethea’s chest at that—something she had no business feeling, and promptly ignored.
“I wasn’t sure what to do with myself when I graduated, so I came back home and tried to find some... purpose. Eventually, my parents got sick of me hanging around. Turns out lightning isn’t helpful in a garden.” Her joke brought some levity back to the table, and Alethea let go a long breath. “Goran approached me and asked if I’d help him and Kerrigan recruit and train mages. I’ve been here ever since. Five years? Six, maybe?”
Dawes let out a chuckle as he added, “She also moonlights as Nakir’s conscience.”
Balthasar smirked behind his tea.
“Someone has to keep you all in line,” Emi quipped, and Alethea was relieved to see a genuine smile on her lips. “Honestly. I stay behind forone missionand youkidnapaprincess.”
