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Aurelius leaned, his eyes narrowing. “Prince Calix is gay!”
15
AURELIUS
The archon glared. The only sound in the office was Aurelius’s own agitated breaths.
“Yes,” she said at last. “As far as I know, and as much as Urosina could uncover, Prince Calix is gay. Or at the very least, he is willing to entertain the advances of men as well as women.”
Aurelius was incandescent with anger. “That is why you selected me? You abandoned me for this very thing. And now, you want to use it! Is this all I am to you? A convenience when you want me, and an inconvenience when you don’t? Why shouldn’t I walk out that door right now and let you send Beni in my place. Hmm!? See how well he does with whatever your sad little plan is?”
“Go ahead, my child. But you’ll leave here without ever knowing the truth.”
That gave him pause.
A secret? Well, I don’t need you for that, Mother. Whatever it is, I can uncover it all on my own.
“Only Urosina and I know, Aurelius,” she said, seemingly reading his mind. “Though you may take your chance with her corpse, if you’d prefer.”
His fingernails dug up the beeswax polish of her desktop. He hated ceding her this power, but his curiosity was too piqued to walk away. He finally had half of an answer—she’d made him herald to seduce the prince. And now he wanted the other half.
He needed to know why.
He slumped into the hard chair opposite her desk, his arms crossed indignantly.
“I am afraid you must leave us,” said the archon, peering over his shoulder.
Aurelius turned. Teigra was milling by the door.
“Of course, Your Majesty! Sorry! I’ll just let myself—”
“She stays,” said Aurelius.
“No, Herald. She leaves.”
Before another staring contest broke out, Teigra decided for them. “Lovely to see you again, Your Majesty.”
The archon said nothing as Teigra disappeared behind the near-slammed door.
Then they were alone.
The leader of Mestibes leaned back, weighing her son. Her hair was tied up and back in a braid, the lamp flickering gold across her smattering of gray and the sharpness of her eyes. “You know of the Battle of Sama, Herald?”
Aurelius rolled his eyes. Though his formal education had ceased in disgrace by that point, even he couldn’t avoid news of a war. “Some squabble a few years back between the other four polities. Rinath stole some irrelevant rock from Ardora. Calix did some fighting things. Now his name is taught in schools as some kind of hero.”
His mother sighed. “An island in the Antimos Gulf, just a few hundred yards from the Rinathi coast. It was handed to Ardora as battle spoils twenty-two years ago, after the Third and upon signing of the Compact of the Grove.”
“The agreement you personally arranged? The one that completely gave up our military?”
She didn’t so much as flinch at the accusation. “Your Grandfather had already reached that agreement with the senate before I took power. And the other polities were not rushing to disagree. It was a small price to pay for peace across the country.”
You would say that, wouldn’t you?
Outwardly, he said, “Fine. Sama. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Five years ago, Xiber Feron, the former commander of Rinath’s northernmost stronghold, Fort Roldas, invaded the island. Though her forces were comparatively small, the effect was enormous. The Compact had been breached for the first time, and it was the duty of all the other polities to come to Ardora’s aid. Ondocis answered the call with their ships. Even Vaticily sent a clutch of poison archers. But we, the initiators and supposed protectors of the Compact, did nothing.”
“And who would we have sent? Some glassblowers? Some particularly ferocious stonemasons?”
