Page 65 of Rise of the Vicious Princess

“Me.”

Nalani’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

Charis kept her spine straight. “I asked myself what Alaric really wants. It isn’t just Ebbington. If that was all he wanted, he wouldn’t have ordered the destruction of a simple farm village so far south of the land he wants to use.”

“Unless he was just trying to cause us such heavy losses that we’d give in to his demands,” Nalani said.

“There are plenty of villages full of innocent people farther north than Irridusk. He took an enormous risk to skirt our army and go deep into the heart of Calera.” Charis braced her feet against the carriage floor as the wheels jostled over a rough patch of cobblestone. “Either he did it to have a direct line to a tiny, mostly abandoned fishing town on the coast, or he wanted a direct path to Arborlay.”

Holland swore, his hand reaching for his sword hilt. “So he conquers Irridusk while our attention is focused on the northern border, and then he has a place to garrison his troops to stage an invasion.”

“Except he didn’t garrison troops,” Nalani said. “He burned everything to the ground.”

“There was nothing there but homes, a temple, a few stores, and a small schoolhouse,” Charis said. “Perfect structures for a cozy farming town, but nothing he could use to garrison troops. If he wanted to use it as a staging ground, his army would have brought tents. Maybe put up some makeshift buildings.”

“But . . .” Nalani frowned again. “They were gone by the time our soldiers arrived, so what was the point?”

Charis rubbed her forehead as the first twinge of a headache bloomed. “I think it was to show us that he could. That he can cut into the heart of our kingdom and strike down innocents. That he can get closer and closer to the capital. We’ve sustained heavy losses in the past few years. And we don’t have enough resources or people to fight two warfronts. Either we’d pull back and defend the path to the capital, or we’d stay north and keep Montevallo from Ebbington.”

“And now we have the attacks at sea to contend with as well,” Holland said. “If he invaded and truly broke through our army in the north, we’d have nowhere to go and no one to help us.”

“Which is why I had to ask myself what he truly wants. It can’t just be the port access. Tal helped me figure it out.” She stretched her hand out as though to encompass all of the capital. “Alaric wants revenge for what Montevallo views as a tremendous insult to their honor. He wants to show his people that his victory was bold and brilliant.”

“We can’t give him a bold, brilliant victory, Charis.” Nalani sounded shocked.

“No, but we can make him believe we did.”

All three of them looked at her as the carriage rumbled to a stop in front of the large warehouse the queen had turned into a refugee shelter for those displaced by the fighting in the north.

“How will you do that?” Nalani asked.

Charis raised her chin. “By offering to marry one of his sons.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Nalani said with quiet sympathy, “Oh, Charis.”

A shiver of longing moved through Charis, and she suppressed it. “Montevallo won’t be at war with us if one of their princes is king.”

“That’s actually brilliant,” Holland said.

“No need to sound surprised.” Charis clenched her folded hands so hard they hurt. It was so casual. They could have been discussing a battle plan for the north or an assignment for Brannigan instead of the destruction of her secret dreams.

“And if he steps out of line”—Holland patted his sword sheath—“I’ll kill him. Unless you want that honor?” He looked at Tal.

“I would very much like that honor,” Tal said in a voice Charis barely recognized.

“You can’t kill him,” Charis said firmly. “If Alaric agrees to this, then the peace treaty will only be valid while the prince remains alive.”

Holland’s lips curved upward. “Maim, then.”

Charis made herself smile back. “Fine, Holland. If he steps out of line, you get to maim him.”

“But this means you have to spend the rest of your life with the enemy.” Nalani’s dark eyes found Charis’s and held. “It means you never get to rest. You never get a break. Even in your private chambers, your quiet moments, you have to always be on guard.”

“I can manage it.”

“I know you can.” Nalani reached across the carriage to take Charis’s hand in hers. “But I want better for you. I want a man like your father. Someone who would let you be who you need to be and love you for it without asking for anything in return that you hadn’t already offered to give.”

Charis’s throat tightened, and an ache blossomed in her heart. She wanted that, too. More than she cared to admit. But a princess didn’t get to want something for her own heart when the heart of her people needed protecting. Giving Nalani’s hand a quick squeeze, Charis said, “Maybe he won’t be so bad.”

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