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Aurelius stared, dumbfounded, turning to see what had caused her reaction.
Princess Zosime was standing behind him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” he said, throwing his own cup down with a shatter of wet clay. The nearby patrons barely even glanced up. “Don’t you have some fucking princess duties? Or are you going to spend your entire life following me?”
She folded her arms with an unexpected smirk. “I appear to have upset you, Your Excellency. And just when the conversation was getting interesting.”
Aurelius caught his anger. There was something different in her stance. She moved with less immediate intimidation. Her goons were nowhere to be seen. And in her voice, there was something unfamiliar.
Playfulness?
“What do you want?” he asked, cautiously.
She shrugged. “I really must ask: what is it about my brother you find so intriguing? Oh, I accept he is attractive. Our family has always been graced with fine features. But a herald coming all this way just to bed a prince? That seems rather unlikely.”
Aurelius sneered. “And who says I want to bed him?”
“Well, I doubt you are interested in his personality.”
A little fizz hit him. That was an insult! A little sign that all was not perfect between the siblings. Just as she had seemed furious at him bringing up Calix’s name in the throne room?
The knotted briar of the last few months opened in front of him, like sunlight through a storm. Was there a possibility, no matter how slim, that all of Zosime’s shows of loyalty were just that: shows?
He gathered himself, oozing friendly energy. “You know, Your Highness, I must agree. Oh, Calix would go very well in Mestibes—all stoic and cerebral. But I have long wondered how such a man could serve as ruler here, in the land of passion?”
“Have you?”
“Well, up here people would be expecting a different kind of heir. One with passion and ferocity. Dedication and commitment. Not all detached and despondent. Not one they talk about having ashen passion behind his back.”
She shrugged slightly. “And of course, some say that there are even deeper scandals than you know of. Ones that go to the very heart of his birthright.”
The fizz grew. “Are there really?”
She gave a casual shrug. “So they say. Rumors can be so misleading, can’t they?”
“Well, given all that, some might consider that Calix’s ascension could pose great risks to your whole lineage. Amongst the public, of course. I am sure you harbor no such doubts.”
“As your mother does of you, I’m sure. The archon of Mestibes does not send her herald for just any reason, after all. And if your mission was to simply improve relations, you would be focused on my parents. So, one must deduce that having my brother bed you somehow serves a grander strategy?”
Aurelius detected his own relaxation and tensed. Was this whole thing a ruse? A roundabout way of determining his intentions?
If so, she was good—only hinting at conflict between her and her brother, while allowing him to do the talking.
He pulled back. He needed to know that the conflict was real before he would tell her anything more. He needed to know that she was prepared to betray him.
“So, the rumors are true about Calix? He is—”
“Inclined the same way as you? Yes, Herald. Well, partly like you, though it is not widely known. Although, even if I were not standing in the way, achieving your goal would be near impossible. From what a little sister hears, he has been chaste since his return from battle.”
“I have bested more challenging foes than him, Princess.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Doubtless. But why climb a mountain when a smooth road leads to the same destination?”
A... pact? Really?
She was right though. Calix was just a means to an end. The goal was the military alliance. The goal was to become the successor to the archon once more!
And although she was not the strategos that Calix was, she seemed just as influential in military circles as he was. Perhaps even more so.
