Page 54 of Winds of Destiny

“For Prince Eleas, of course. Why take him in hand myself—and perhaps be forced to break him too soon—when he’s so determined to come afteryou? He’ll follow us all the way to Inarime, see if he doesn’t.”

What the hell?“But… Inarime doesn’t exist anymore.” It sank into the inland sea a thousand years ago.

“Oh, but it does. It’s hard to get to, but I’ve already done it once.” There’s a light in his eyes—a manic gleam, pure zealotry. “And when we get there?” He laughs again, speckling my face with spit. “We’re going to resurrect Inarime’s all-powerful god and flood the land with magic. Itwantsto come back. You’ve seen signs of it already, haven’t you?”

I have, of course, in the children, but… “How are you going to resurrect Inarime’s god?” I ask.

“By killing our own, of course.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kai

The days that follow the attack at the Gate are fragmented. I struggle to fit them together to get a sense of what happened, why it happened, and how to get Camrael back. But even more difficult than getting answers is making sure Turo doesn’t do anything reckless and focuses on healing first.

It’s easy to see how absolutely galled Turo is by the fact that he can’t ride as swiftly on his ram as he wants to. Despite his high tolerance for pain, anything faster than a walk puts these creatures, godly though they are, into a bouncy pace that almost made him fall off the first time he tried it. One more try was enough to convince him, reluctantly, that we were stuck at a walk for the time being.

“Don’t worry, though,” I try to reassure him as I tie my long hair back. It’s a warm day already, and I hate the feeling of hair sticking to my neck. “The next settlement is a trading post just to the east.”

“Fremont’s Height. I know it,” he says from between gritted teeth as he holds desperately onto the saddlebowto keep himself upright. His tunic is dark with sweat around the collar, but he refuses to take any sort of break. I want to drag him—carefully—over to sit with me so that I can take some of his weight and ease his pain, maybe tie up his own hair for comfort, but I know that would go over about as well as me pointing out that he’s in pain at all. In other words, I’d be lucky not to get stabbed clear through the rib cage.

So I ignore his discomfort and keep talking like nothing is wrong. “Then you know the terrain is rougher, and uphill. Walking is smartest. We should spare the rams for a run once we head after Cam.”

“If we ever discover where he is.”

“We will.” I’m absolutely sure of that much. With Carnuatu’s aid, we’re sure to find him. My god prefers not to interfere in our affairs, but the fact that he came when I called is a rock-solid sign of his favor.

If only that favor had extended to my men.

But it did, I have to remind myself. Death comes to us all, but they died honorably, protecting their princes. After their deaths, Carnuatu himself took them up to the Mausoleum to be interred. No matter what happens next, their souls are at peace. If only all of us are so lucky.

My father certainly won’t be.

…

Over the next few slow, careful days of our trip, the topic of my father comes up. Turo has never met Anarx personally, but his questions are insightful and get me to give up more than I should.

“If your people are matrilineal, why did your father take control after her death? Why not one of her sisters?” he asks, keeping his fingers busy by twisting the ram’s shaggy hair into tiny plaits. If I didn’t think he’d stop if I mentioned it, I’d tell him how cute it was.

“None of my aunts survived the plague that took her, either,” I say. “Or the monarchy could very well have shifted to one of my female cousins. Even now, if my mother had had a daughter, even if she was younger than me, she would be the next in line for the throne. As she only had boys and I’m eldest, I’ll become king.”

“Huridell has only had a few other kings that I know of.”

I nod and take a moment to eye how he’s doing in the saddle this morning. “And all during times of great uncertainty. We seem to be intended for times of war. Whoever my heir ends up being, I hope that her reign is a peaceful one.”

Turo casts a curious look at me. “Howareyou expected to come up with an heir?”

“Technically, I’ve already got one,” I reply. “My younger brother by my mother has been married for two years. His wife is pregnant right now. If they have a girl, she’ll become my heir presumptiveunless I have a child of my own.”

“And do you want one?” Now his curiosity is piercing. “A child of your own?”

Do you intend to fuck around on Camrael?That’s what he’s really asking.

“Before I met my husband, my answer might have been yes,” I say. “If he had no interest in me, I would have reserved the right to seek another spouse. Like I’ve said, it’s—”

“Common in Huridell, I know.”

“My father currently has four wives,” I say drily.And that’s four more wives than I’d ever want.“But now that I know how well we get along together”—which was an understatement if I’d ever uttered one—“I’m more than happy to restrict myself to one spouse, as long as my brother can provide a girl to be my heir.”

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