The silence filled the room. The shocked faces of my party matched my own.
How did Sin know?! Who told her?
Was it the guards? Was it Caf? Could it be the Crown Prince?
I didn't know, but the one thing I did know was that I couldn't tell the King about Sin. Not here. Not now. Even if the King believed me, the information would be leaked. Sin would change her plans, and worst of all, she would know I betrayed her.
I shuddered at the thought.
What would she do if that happened? Would come after me or one of my friends?
Isla broke the silence.
"Dahlgesh?! Why there?"
The King took a deep breath, preparing himself for a long conversation.
"For the past year, we've been in negotiations with the Dahlgeshi to end the war."
Castille's one working eye bulged.
"How?!"
The Crown Prince answered her.
"A marriage between me and the princess of Dahlgesh."
Isla snorted.
"You can't be serious?!"
Alex shrugged.
"I'm told she's quite beautiful… by Dahlgeshi standards."
"So, she'll have a mustache instead of a beard."
"Enough. Both of you," Caf said, cutting off the siblings.
Castille's face paled more than usual. Her one eye was glossy with unshed tears.
"Ending the war... Is it really possible?"
The King gave Castille a hopeful smile.
"There have been many attempts, but we've never been this close. Imagine it: our two countries at peace."
It was difficult to visualize. Luskaine had been at war with Dahlgesh since before I was born.
What would peace look like after a hundred years of bloodshed?
If Alex and the Princess's marriage was successful, their children would unite two nations that hated each other.
I chuckled to myself. They would be half-elves.
"Why do you need us?" I asked.
The King grimaced.
"The Southern nobles are opposed to peace with Dahlgesh. They have tried to sabotage our negotiations at every turn. Initially, Alex and their Princess were supposed to meet at the border to finalize the arrangements, but increased skirmishes have made it impossible."
"So, either the Princess comes to the capital, or I go to Geshla," Alex said.
Isla stepped forward.
"You can't do that! You're the Crown Prince. What if they take you hostage or worse..."
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"We agree, Sister. That's why we want to send you in my place."
Isla jerked her head back in surprise.
"You want me to seduce a princess?!"
"We want you to represent the royal family," the King said.
He made a sweeping gesture with his right hand.
"And I want you all to protect her."
Isla's jaw dropped.
Representing the royal family was Luskaine's highest honour, but for Isla it meant something more. She was a bastard, an outsider without privileges or responsibility. This duty would legitimize her in the eyes of the public and the nobility.
"I… I don't know what to say."
The King smiled.
"Say yes."
Castille crossed her arms.
"There's something I don't get. You're the King. Why not make the Southerners fall in line?"
The King snorted.
"A happy notion, but impossible."
Alex nodded.
"The Sumners are a challenge."
"How?" Castille asked. "They're a powerful Southern house, but they're still nobles."
I scoffed.
"They're a little more than that. The Sumners are the direct descendants of the elven emperors. They were high-ranking slaves who administered the Empire while its rulers sank into hedonism. It was their coup of the Imperial capital that ended elven rule."
The King raised an eyebrow.
"You know your history. Then you also know that they ruled the only city-state my grandfather never conquered. They joined Luskaine voluntarily, and that is part of the problem."
Alex raised two fingers.
"Autonomy and gold. That's what this is all about. The Sumners traded their independence for our support against the Dahlgeshi. As allies, we came to an agreement. The Crown would equip a standing army and pay its wages. The Sumners would provide housing, fortifications and supplies. At the time, it seemed fair, but the Sumners figured out how to profit from the soldiers we send to fight. These days, our armies spend their wages in gambling halls and brothels. After years of service, half of our soldiers end up in crippling debt."
He shrugged.
"Why save money if you're going to die tomorrow?"
Castille nodded.
"Aye, it's a common mindset."
Alex flashed a pained smile.
"The war with Dahlgesh is our greatest expense and the Sumners' greatest source of income. Every year, that expense grows, and we have less money for our public institutions. The beastkin go hungry on their reservations and become raiders. Our orphanages become underfunded, mismanaged, and shut down."
I grimaced at that example.
The Crown Prince continued.
"The worst part is all that money circulates in the South and never reaches the Northern communities that need it the most."
"That's horrible," Isla whispered.
I nodded, hanging off the Prince's every word. Alex was more than a handsome fop. He was intelligent, compassionate and charismatic. Everything you wanted in a leader.
He smirked, curling one finger into his fist and leaving his index finger pointing up.
"And then there's the gold. The elves of the Old Empire kept a massive stockpile in their Imperial capital. It was the first thing the Sumners secured in their coup."
The King shifted his chair.
"That is their trump card. If they release that stockpile, they will devalue all the gold in Luskaine and destroy our economy."
Castille huffed.
"This is why I hate politics."
Dugan nodded in agreement.
The King smiled.
"So do I most days."
I frowned.
"If the Sumners have all this leverage, what chance is there of making this marriage pact work?"
The King's eyes twinkled.
"Who says we don't have our own leverage?"
He glanced at Caf, who gave him a sharp nod.
"Our secret weapon should be arriving soon. Until then… Alexander?"
"I have it."
The Crown Prince fished a hand into his green jacket, pulling out a large, rolled-up scroll tied with a red ribbon. He stood up and passed it to Isla, who shivered as she touched it.
Enchanted.
The King continued.
"This is a contract that every major noble house in Dahlgesh has signed. It ensures the safety of my envoy and her guards in their country."
Isla slipped off the ribbon, unfurled the scroll and started reading the High Elvish script.
"And you trust them?" I asked.
"The Dahlgeshi are a strange people, but they are honest. I am confident you will be safe from their nobility, but there are forces beyond their control that do not want to see our countries united."
His sad, blue eyes fixed on us one at a time.
"So, will you undertake this mission?"
Isla rolled up the scroll, retying the ribbon and tucking it into her weapons belt.
"I will, Father."
Castille looked to Dugan, who gave her a quick nod.
"Aye, we will."
The King turned to me. Everyone did. Castille, Dugan, Isla, Thor, even the royal guards.
I was doing exactly as Sin wanted, but with Inquisitors descending on the capital and my friends—no, my family going to a dangerous foreign land, how could I say no?
"I'll do it."
The King grinned.
"Excellent. You leave tomorrow morning."
My jaw dropped. I was too shocked to speak.
Isla whipped her head back to her father.
"Why so soon?!"
The King's smile wavered, and his loud, clear voice fell to a grave whisper.
"Because they know… The nobles... The commoners… They know about you, Isla."
Colour drained from her face as King continued speaking.
"And if we don't act now, our family will be destroyed."
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