Page 32 of To Save a Kingdom

He shook his head. “What? No, of course not. I haven’t accepted.”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh? Whyever not?”

Glancing up and down the hall to make sure they were still alone, he grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her toward him as he dropped his voice. “You know why. I love Aliya.”

“But…the sun elf throne! You’ll never receive a better offer, and if you reject her, she’ll make all our lives miserable.”

Elessan swallowed. He hadn’t thought about that but yes, Tsara was not above taking her ire out on Aliya and their fragile alliance if Elessan dared to turn the elven princess down. Not to mention she’d just threatened to expel his mother from their lands.

Valek.

“I need someone to talk to, to help me figure out what to do.” His shoulders slumped. “But I suppose I already know what you think my decision should be.”

Her expression softened. “Of course I’m here for you, my son. Tell me what’s churning in that brilliant mind of yours, and we can come up with a solution together.” She glanced at the wall for a moment before turning her focus back to him. “Regardless of what I think, you must do what’s right for you.”

He leaned back, the relief draining some of the tension from his muscles. The two of them could work this out.

Chapter 13

Aliya

The sun had long since set when Zadé approached. Aliya stepped out from behind the mound of horse feed. She wiped any residual tear tracks from her cheeks. After seeing Tsara and Elessan kissing in the hall earlier that day, she hadn’t been able to focus on anything, much less face him and invite him to accompany them. She’d stayed in her room until Shadow had arrived to exchange places with her. Then, with nothing else to distract herself, Aliya had gone to the stables to wait for Zadé.

Three hours early.

It had been a mistake. Sitting alone with nothing but the image of Elessan’s lips locked with Tsara’s shredded her insides into a pulpy, blubbery mess.

Zadé’s forehead puckered. “Princess? What’s wrong? Ya been cryin’?”

Aliya sniffled, shaking her head, then paused. What was the point in lying? Zadé already knew she had been. Maybe the other woman could help talk her off the proverbial cliff.

She took a deep breath as they ducked inside the barn and headed to the two saddled horses. “I was looking for El this afternoon, to let him know we were leaving, and to see if he wanted to come with us.”

Zadé raised an eyebrow as she studied Aliya, absentmindedly tucking her supplies into the various saddle bags. “Uh, huh. And?”

Aliya swallowed. “Princess Tsara had her tongue so far down his throat I couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.”

“What?” Zadé’s cry echoed off the walls.

“Shhh!” Aliya hissed, a single finger pressed to her lips. “Quiet, or you’ll have the whole castle coming for our heads!”

Zadé stared at her, frozen, her jaw loose. “Elsan and Tsara?” She wrinkled her nose in the same way Shadow had the one time Aliya accidentally served her sour milk. “That doesn’t make sense. Yeh sure yeh saw whatcha think yeh did?”

Aliya pushed her palms into her eyes, as if applying pressure would change what she’d seen. “Trust me, it’s seared into my brain.”

“Hmmm.” Zadé’s mouth pursed into a thin line. “Yeh know whatcha should’a done, Princess?”

Aliya turned away, shoving her extra set of clothes into her saddlebag with more force than necessary. “What?”

“Taken’ my punching lessons ta heart ‘n punched Tsara in the face fer stealin’ yer man!”

Biting back a harsh laugh, Aliya sighed. She wished, but that was too far out of character, despite the gratification it would’ve brought. “Tempting, but I can’t afford to pick a fight with my highest-ranking elven ally. Not this early in the game.” And if her recognizing that instead of immediately acting on her emotional response wasn’t a sign of her maturing into the crown, what was? The bread and cheese she’d filched from the kitchen followed her clothing in the saddlebag. She ground her teeth until the tendons in her jaw popped. “And honestly, she can have him.” If he was so casual about who he was with, she was lucky she’d found out now, before she was in too deep.

She winced, resting her forehead against the cool leather of the saddle. Who was she kidding? She’d fallen for Elessan well before they’d even kissed for the first time. Pressing the palm of her hand into her sternum, she squeezed her eyes shut. Like a naive fool, she’d opened her heart and let him in, and now she was paying the price for trusting the wrong people.

“Hey, Princess.” The comforting weight of Zadé’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Elsan’s a standup guy. I’m sure there’s an ‘xplanation.” She gave Aliya a gentle squeeze. “Elsan’s one o’ the good ones, and the sun elf royals aren’t easy ta say no to when they want somethin’.”

Aliya lifted her head to meet the other woman’s eyes.