Page 145 of The Last Syphon

“There was a play on your life, my Prince.” Lady Niya’s voice was calm and soft. Didn’t hold any hostility like the others. “While I understand that the situation to the south is serious, I fear this takes precedence. We have no idea who attacked you.”

“Or why,” Lord Julius added.

“And that is where we should be focusing our efforts,” Lady Niya finished. “If what is in your reports is true, then it will take over half a century for the cursed land to be a problem. That gives us plenty of time to find a solution.”

“And what of those not so lucky?” he questioned. “There are thousands of souls in the Borderlands. Should they just be left to fend for themselves?”

“Who cares?” Lord Villani snorted.

Callous fucking bastard.

Inara wanted nothing more than to put that bastard in his place. However, she knew to do so would be ineffectual.

“You have begun evacuation proceedings, have you not?” Lady Ophera asked.

This, she could put her input on.

“They will not leave,” Inara said, stepping forward. She was side by side with Prince Walder, presenting a united front with him. “I know my people. They will not leave. They will not trust outsiders.” While she could only speak for Deadhaven, she was sure the other villages within the Borderlands would feel the same. They would not trust royals coming onto their land and telling them to leave their homes. Inara was sure that even if she told them, they might not believe it.

“Then they will die.” Lord Villani shrugged uncaringly. “Matters naught to me.”

“Allow me leave to investigate,” Prince Walder all but demanded. “I will find out the cause and fix whatever is happening to the land.”

A pitying look crossed Lady Ophera’s face—the kind of look one might give a youthen for saying something that was utterly ridiculous. “We have been over this, my Prince. It is far too dangerous for you to go. Everyone you have sent has yet to return.”

“All the more reason for me to go.” Prince Walder’s gaze slowly moved over them, one by one. “What do you think happened to them? Do you think they have simply chosen not to return? That they have decided to make a life for themselves in the Borderlands?” He shook his head with exasperation. “Wake. Up. The danger is real. We are in peril. The longer the land is allowed to spread, the harder it will be to overcome it. I am sure of it.”

“We cannot risk something befalling you,” Lady Ophera said, nose in the air. “We, the High Council, must look out for the best interest of Arelia, and having our Heir go missing would be disastrous. If you wish to send more scouts, be my guest, but the answer is no.”

One by one, the High Council members echoed her words.

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Lord Tevi, for the first time, spoke. “No.”

Inara wished he’d just stayed silent.

Lady Niya hesitated. The older woman struggled with what she was about to say. “I’m sorry, my Prince. No.”

Inara expected Prince Walder to protest. To fight it. Convince them they were making a stupid, pigheaded decision and that he would go regardless.

He did none of those things.

Prince Walder simply spun on the balls of his heels and walked out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“Wait, where are you going?” Inara had to break out into a small jog to keep up with Prince Walder. He marched down the halls with an angry cloud above his head, and everyone got the fuck out of his way, too terrified to suffer his wrath.

Inara wasn’t scared. She was fucking determined. Determined not to let this happen.

She finally managed to catch up with him. She wrapped one hand around his bicep, as much as she could anyway, and dragged him into one of the many rooms within the palace. It was another useless space, in her opinion. Didn’t serve any real purpose or value. It was about the size of her entire home back in Deadhaven, and had expensive couch furnishings and countless oil paintings encased in gold ornate framing. The classic Arelian chandelier dangled from the ceiling, the same one she’d seen in nearly every room here.

Inara had never thought it was possible, but she’d gotten used to the grander. So much that it barely affected her anymore. If anything, she was shocked when she walked into a room and didn’t see a chandelier at this point.