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I swallowed. “What about lives, Lady?”
She sat back down. “Go on.”
“The Drakra’s tradition is to keep prisoners of war as bondservants, yes?” She nodded, and I continued. “Tsar Borislav is willing to grant you the prisoners from this war to work the land he offers. He would keep any high-ranking officials andcommanders, but the majority could return with you, according to your tradition. You may keep them for eight years, as you did in the past, at the end of which time they may return home.”
“Or stay, if they so choose?” Xhela asked. “It’s not unheard of for them to become one of us, to marry and settle among our people. My father was a bondservant who stayed here by choice. My husband, also, was a bondservant, though he served only a short time before he was freed by the treaty.”
“I didn’t realize you were married, Xhela.” If her father and husband had both survived their service and agreed to marry their captors, perhaps it wasn’t as cruel a fate as I’d thought.
Her expression softened slightly. “I followed him west after the war ended. He passed into the other realm, and our daughter is grown now, so I returned to my people.”
“If your prisoners choose to remain after their service, the tsar will have no objection,” I said. “As long as the decision is theirs alone.”
The priestess considered me for a moment. “We will need time to discuss the issue.” She stood and left the room without another word. Xhela followed behind her.
They were stalling, trying not to appear too eager, but I had seen the desperation in Yixa’s eyes. They would return in a few minutes, ready to agree to all the terms offered. They needed the people too desperately to refuse.
All we had to do was live with ourselves.
Chapter twenty-eight
A Compromising Position
Mila
Isank into my bed with a sigh. It was late. I’d been working for hours past sunset, not unusual for the past few weeks. I kept myself busy to the point of exhaustion. Anything to forestall the thoughts and memories that haunted me as soon as I climbed into bed. I laid down and prayed for a dreamless sleep.
An urgent knock sounded at the door, and my eyes flew open. Who could be looking for me at this hour? Had I been discovered? Heart pounding, I wrapped a dressing gown around myself as I went to the door.
“Alexey!”
Not soldiers come to arrest me, thank Otets. Just Alexey. My heart slowed as I stared up at him.
He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him. “I’m sorry to wake you,” he said, looking anywhere but at my face.
“You didn’t. Come in.” I lit a candle. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly.
I turned to look at him, raising a brow. “You came to my quarters in the middle of the night to tell me nothing’s wrong. Did you need something?”
“No.” He blinked twice. “Yes. No.”
This was so unlike him. Alexey was usually well-spoken, sure of himself. “You’re acting odd. Are you feeling alright?”
He shook his head as if to clear it. “I’m fine. I wanted to see you before I leave.”
I frowned, sinking into the chair next to the fire. “Where are you going?”
“We received word from one of our spies, a captain in Borislav’s army.” He took the chair across from me. “The Grand Duke was taking the army to Sevken, but he’s sending a smaller host ahead to take it, hoping we’ll be distracted by the bulk of his army. Tsar Miroslav is sending Lord Kazimir to cut them off before they get there.”
“Ah.” I looked into the fire, watching the flames dance with the shadows. He’d given me a wealth of information in such a few short sentences. One of Borislav’s captains was a traitor. Was the traitor responsible for Han’s death, the reason Miroslav had been able to get to him?
And Lord Kazimir was going to ambush the tsar’s army before they could take Sevken. I needed to learn more.
“Will you be safe? Can you—can you tell me where you’ll be? Will you be able to write?” My fear wasn’t entirely faked. I’d come to care for him, and he was leaving for battle in the morning. I didn’t want him to win the battle, but I didn’t want him to be hurt, either.
Alexey reached out to take my hand in both of his. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to write, but I don’t want you to worry. I’ll be fine.”
