by Hope Hart
Korzyn noticed, creating a distraction while I collected myself. He’d just lost his father, but he never held it against me, instead choosing to devote his life to protecting me.
We may not be brothers by blood, but we’re brothers by choice.
And someone just attempted to murder him.
“What do we know?” My voice is rough, and I don’t take my eyes off Korzyn’s face as Rachiv steps closer to the bed.
My hand lingers near my sword, and I can feel his surprise as he pauses.
He clears his throat. “He was on his way to the marketplace, Your Majesty. The other human female slipped past her guards and had not returned.”
The arm of the chair I’m sitting in cracks under my hand, and I realize I’m squeezing it.
Sarissa.
“Do you believe she is responsible for this?”
Rachiv sighs. “Korzyn does not trust her, but I find it difficult to believe she could take him unaware like this. His chest wound is high, making it an awkward strike for a female so much smaller.”
I ignore that. After watching the way Vivian can shoot a crossbow, I’m sure I’ve misjudged the human females.
The human females I invited into my home.
“If this is true, she will regret it.”
“Not…her.”
I focus my attention back on Korzyn’s face as his eyes open to slits. “What happened?”
“I was looking for her at the marketplace. A Zinta came out of nowhere and stabbed me.”
“A Zinta?”
He nods. “I didn’t recognize him. I was distracted or he wouldn’t have succeeded.” He looks disgusted with himself, and I attempt to hide my surprise. Never would I have imagined that Korzyn would allow himself to be distracted enough to almost be killed.
He lets out a pained chuckle at whatever he sees on my face. “She came back for me.”
He groans at something the healer does, closing his eyes as she cleans his wound. He takes several deep breaths before his eyes open again.
“Sarissa. She pulled the cava berries from my pocket and put them in my mouth. Then she took my sword and guarded me, warning everyone to stay back. As soon as help arrived, she went after the Zinta.” His eyes turn wild. “She’s alone.”
I turn to where Rachiz is standing with three of my most trusted guards. “Find her.”
He nods, and Korzyn seems to relax slightly as they leave.
I watch Korzyn as his blinks get longer and longer. First, my uncle, and now the warrior who is as close to me as a brother. I clench my teeth so hard that my jaw begins to ache.
Korzyn opens his eyes again, and they’re blurry with pain and exhaustion.
“Don’t do anything hasty,” he warns me. “Stick to the plan.”
I growl at that but nod. Thanks to his spies, we know the traitors are planning to kill me at the ball. We’ve already discovered many of the guards who are working for my enemies. However, attempting to torture one for the information we need was useless. Whoever is in charge is smart enough to keep their identity hidden from those who could be used to betray them.
I sit with Korzyn all night. At one point, Vivian creeps in, handing me a plate of food. I almost refuse it, but the concern on her face makes me sigh and take a few bites.
“How’s he doing?”
I shrug. “The healers say your cousin may have saved his life. If he hadn’t eaten the cava berries when he did, he likely would have lost too much blood while the healers tried to get to him.”
Vivian’s face is pale, and I know she’s worried about Sarissa.
“My guards will find your cousin.”
She glances over her shoulder and then lowers her voice. “But what if they’re the same guards who are allowing these attacks to happen?”
I take a deep breath, barely refraining from pointing out that she and her cousin are in league with those same guards.
We both look up at a knock on the door, and I take her wrist, dragging her behind me. No matter what this beautiful, conniving female does, it seems I’m unable to allow her to be in any danger.
“Your Majesty?”
It’s Rachiz, and Bevix stands by his side, a grin on his face.
They part, and Vivian lets out a choked sob as they reveal Sarissa, her face pale, blood spattered across her dress.
“Oh my God. Are you—ewww!” Vivian gags, and I can’t help but grin as Sarissa raises her hand, her long, delicate fingers wrapped around a Zinta’s head.
Korzyn lets out a low laugh from behind me.
“Vicious female,” he says, but his voice is appreciative.
Sarissa’s face is hard. “He wouldn’t tell me much. Said a guard named Inox passed on the message ordering the hit.”
Bevix turns pale, while Rachiz curses. Behind me, I can practically hear Korzyn grinding his teeth. Inox is one of the few guards who have been with me since my father died.
No one can be trusted.
Vivian
I wander through the town, my shoes clicking on the cobblestones beneath my feet. The breeze smells of fresh flowers and baked bread, and the sun is shining, but my heart feels about as lively as a deflated balloon—and just as cheerful.
I mostly ignore the fact Cauri tied my dress too tight and it’s cutting into my skin. Again.
I deserve all the pain in the world.
It’s been three days since Korzyn was attacked, and he’s already back on his feet. I’m guessing the cava berries were responsible for his quick recovery, but no one has ever told us anything about the berries or where they grow.
Which is probably for the best.
“Vivian!”
I glance over my shoulder, finding Sarissa striding toward me, ignoring the appreciative looks she’s getting from men on both sides of the street. She’s wearing a navy dress, her hair in a casual messy bun and her face determined. She looks like what she is—beautiful and dangerous.
“Hi,” I mutter.
I can barely look at her, the chasm so deep between us that I don’t know how to cross it.
She shifts on her feet. “I need to talk to you.”
I shrug. “I’m listening.”
“Not here.”
I follow her to a small restaurant we’ve eaten in before. The smell of cooking meat is heavy in the air as we walk through the restaurant toward a corner where we won’t be overheard. Two Zintas glare at her, thick eyebrows lowering as she passes by, and she sneers at them, her hand dancing over the hilt of the huge knife now hanging openly on her waist.
After what she did to the last Zinta that pissed her off, it’s a good thing she’s now making it clear she’s armed.
A few Braxian women are seated next to a huge flower arrangement, and they wave to Sarissa, who nods back, a careless grin appearing on her face.
She waits until we’re seated before that fake grin drops.
“I’m going to come right out and say it,” she murmurs, glancing across the restaurant to where our guards have gotten their own table, several of them studying us carefully. “You were right, V, and I was wrong.”
My mouth drops open. “Say that again.”
The corner of her lips twitches before she lowers her voice even further, placing her elbows on the table as she leans close. The service here is notoriously terrible, with no menus to be found. Eventually, the owner will come around and dump a couple of bowls of stew on our table, ordering us to eat quickly so someone else can have our seats.
“At the market when Korzyn was attacked, it all became clear. When I saw him lying there…no matter how much I hate him, I don’t want him dead. We’re in over our heads here. I overcompensated, I know I did. I always do.”
Tears drip down my face at the despair in her voice. Sarissa feels like she has to save everyone because she thinks she failed to save Kelly. I can tell her it wasn’t her fault until I’m blue in the face, but she’ll never believe me. My cousin did everything she could that night—she has the scars to prove
it.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I thought I could betray these people, who’ve never done anything to hurt us. But I can’t. You were right, you know. I’m broken. But I’m not a monster.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. I was upset because I couldn’t face the thought of betraying Arix. You’re right, it’s more than just a fling. For me, anyway.”
Sarissa sighs. “Well, I couldn’t face the thought of telling the other women we don’t have any way to get off Agron.”
My stomach swims, Clara’s words running through my head.
“We all have our stories. None of them are good. That’s why I’m looking forward to getting off this planet. Maybe we’ll be able to find a way to contact Earth. At the very least, we might be able to give our families some hope.”
I push away the image of Clara’s sad face for now. “They’ll understand once we explain what happened. This isn’t the end. We’ll figure out a way to get that ship off Agron. I promise.”
Sarissa nods, but I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
“Do you want me to be the one to tell the others?”
She immediately shakes her head, her pale lips firming. “I can do it.”
I reach out and squeeze her hand, relief hitting me like a drug.
“Okay,” I say. “Now we just have to figure out how to get our hands on that chip without betraying the king.”
Sarissa’s face goes hard. “These assholes thought they could use our desperation? Let’s make them see just how wrong they are.”
Arix
Korzyn is back on his feet, no matter how many times I tell him to rest. “Our enemies wanted to kill me so you’d be vulnerable.”
“Without Sarissa’s quick thinking, they would have succeeded.”
Korzyn’s jaw tightens, and I almost laugh. He hates that he was taken by surprise. And he loathes being in debt to the little human.
Truthfully, I can’t blame him.
Korzyn’s gaze is steady on my face. “You have the chip now. Will you give it to them?”
I remove the tiny silver device from my pocket, holding it up, and we both watch as it gleams in the low light.
“Such a small thing to cause so much deception,” I murmur. “I could snap it in the blink of an eye.”
Korzyn shrugs dismissively. “You and I both understand the lengths a person will go to protect their family. And those human females consider one another to be family.”
“I know.” But the knowledge burns.
Korzyn is studying me, his silver eyes almost glowing, and the hint of a smile plays around his mouth. “But you don’t forgive her for it.”
“The same qualities I admire about her, the ruthlessness, the deception, the commitment to her people…they are also the things that have allowed her to betray me.”
“You would have done the same thing.”
I nod. “I know. And the guilt wouldn’t have eaten at me the way it eats at her. Some days, she can barely look at me. To guarantee my people’s safety, I would do worse and never think twice.”
“And yet.”
I laugh humorlessly. “And yet.”
“You’re in love with her.”
I shake my head, and Korzyn laughs.
“Why else would you allow her to take her deception this far while still sharing your bed?”
“I need our enemies to believe they have turned someone I trust.”
“Tell yourself that as many times as you wish. But you could achieve the same by paying attention to her publicly and ignoring her in private. Unfortunately, you are unable to stay away from her.”
His tone turns cutting, and I narrow my eyes.
“Careful.”
“And there it is.” He waves a hand, and I grind my teeth, but I’ve made it a habit to never lie to myself. Truthfully, Vivian has gotten under my skin.
But she doesn’t have to stay there.
Tonight, I have a formal banquet with Mazark and some of our other allies from Kenritz, a large territory beyond my own kingdom. Thanks to my pact with Rakiz’s tribe across the water and my ongoing alliances with those from this side of the water, I have grown my power to more than even my father could have dreamed.
Yet I feel hollow, dissatisfaction plaguing me with every step. I won’t be seated near our guests for this banquet, and I find myself mourning the fact I won’t get to see the expression on Vivian’s face each time she tastes something new.
Focus on your kingdom. Soon she will leave Agron.
And I will be left here. Alone.
Chapter Fourteen
Vivian
“Do we have to go to this thing?” I mutter as Cauri arranges my hair into an updo that seems to need a thousand different tiny pins.
“Of course.” She sniffs. “As the king’s guests, it’s your duty to attend.”
I sigh. After my conversation with Sarissa, I have a feeling she’s not going to make it tonight. Now that she knows Hesa—her maid—is working with Arix’s enemies, she has banned her from her rooms after declaring she can get ready alone, much to Cauri’s horror.
I’ve watched Cauri carefully since we learned Hesa was to be our contact to get messages to Varge. Cauri hasn’t done anything to make me think she could be a traitor, and the way she adores the king makes it unlikely she’s dirty.
But I’m being careful anyway.
Cauri leans down and opens a drawer, pulling out a long, glimmering necklace. The jewels perfectly match my eyes, and I gasp as she fastens it around my neck, handing me matching earrings to fasten myself.
“The king asked you to wear these,” she says.
I run one finger over the cool stones at my ears, my heart pitter-pattering at the thought.
I turn my head at a knock on the door, ignoring Cauri’s scowl.
“Come in.”
Sarissa pokes her head in the door. Like me, she’s dressed only in a robe. Unlike me, her hair is out and falling down her shoulders, her face still completely free of any cosmetics.
“You’re not getting ready?”
“I’m not going.”
Cauri looks like she might have an aneurysm at this news, and I sigh.
“Can you give us a moment? Please?”
She sends Sarissa a dark look, muttering about selfish human females as she stalks out the door.
“What’s going on?” I murmur, and Sarissa sits on the edge of my bed.
“I have a migraine.”
“You don’t get migraines.”
“I know, but that’s my cover story. I’ve been thinking about this situation, and I don’t trust Varge. Unless he’s an idiot, he won’t be pinning all his hopes and dreams on us betraying Arix. I’m sure he and his merry band of traitors will have a backup plan. And if they do, they don’t need us, which means we have targets on our backs.”
My mouth goes dry, but I agree with her reasoning. “So what are we going to do?”
“You need to talk to Arix tonight and tell him everything. I’m going to find Korzyn before dinner and do the same. Then I’m going to start putting our plan into motion.”
My stomach turns to lead.
Maybe Arix will understand. Maybe he won’t want to kick me out of his kingdom for conspiring against him.
I almost snort. Arix is as likely to bend as a steel beam, and just as likely to forgive.
I return my attention to Sarissa. “Are we going to have enough time?”
“We have to. I have enough contacts to get my messages out. But you need to be careful. Arix might lose his shit when you tell him everything.”
My hands shake at the thought, but I bury them under my robe. “I’ll be okay. Promise me you’ll be careful too.”
“I promise.”
“Ahem.” Cauri knocks on the door, and Sarissa sends me a look but pads out of my room, nodding at Cauri. Cauri frowns after her, and I sigh.
It’s never good news for my scalp when Cauri is in a bad mood.
Arix
I place my crown on my head, staring into the mirror. My father was my age when he died, and I look almost identical to him.
Except for my eyes. I have my mother’s eyes.
Although I never saw my mother’s eyes look as cold as mine. Hers were always lit with joy or glowing with love. Two things I know little about.
My crown is one I don’t wear often. The red jewels contrast sharply with the black metal. The jewels were mined by one of my ancestors, and the crown’s daintier twin sits alone in the vault that holds my mother’s jewelry.
I glance across the room at where Korzyn is sitting next to the window, sharpening his sword. If I didn’t see him lying in the healers’ quarters, I would never know he is weaker than usual. His eyes are sharp, his face almost feral, as he stares into the distance.
“Your sources say we should expect an attack at the ball,” I murmur, reaching for my own sword. It may be ceremonial, the handle covered in jewels, but I keep the blade sharp.
“Yes,” Korzyn says. He glances over his shoulder at me, his jaw tightening. “But we would be smart to be wary each day leading up to the ball. Mazark has long wanted your territory for himself, and I find it difficult to believe his visit is coincidentally coinciding with your enemies’ plans.”
I nod, but my jaw hurts from grinding my teeth. “Do you ever wish we were normal males?”
Korzyn’s gaze searches my face. “Normal?”
“Such as those Braxians from across the water.”
“The barbarians? You believe they’re normal?”
I give him a look, and he laughs, but his face quickly clears. “I don’t know what I’d do with all my time if I weren’t constantly fighting to stop you from being murdered, my friend.”
“Well.” I smirk. “Let’s hope we get a chance to find out. Perhaps you can take up a hobby.”
Korzyn raises his eyebrow, but he gets to his feet, striding toward the door. “I’m not the kind of male who does well with too much free time.”
I snort. That is probably the truth. He would likely shift all that unrelenting focus to a female, and that wouldn’t be healthy for anyone.
