Page 7 of Winds of Destiny

“You can’t do that!” Cam exclaims, but his father isn’t paying any attention to him.

“Will you accept this charge from the man who saved your life?” the king presses, and oh, he is truly cruel. He could order me to take this position and I would do it because he is my king, but no. He’saskingme to, to prove my love for my mentor. To prove that I am worthy of the favor I was shown after I was pulled out of the ruins of my childhood home.

“Stop it,” Cam hisses, incensed now, but I’m already nodding.

“I will.”

“Turo,no!” Cam grabs my arm and pulls me away from his father, his own rage coming to the forefront as he stares the king down. “You can’t take him from me now! Not when you’ve already bargained my life away to a whole new city and a man I’ve never even met before. I won’t let you!”

“A prince’s word against his king?” King Perael asks coolly. “My dear boy, you squandered any say by using his loyalty to disobeyme. It’s past time for the two of you to be separated. Turo will take over Doric’s position, ensure that you and the Dellians make it to the border of their land, and then he’ll return here while you accompany Prince Eleas’s honor guard to your new home.”

“Youcan’t—”

A knock on the door stills the argument. A moment later one of the king’s personal servants bows his head in. “The Dellians are waiting, your majesty.”

“Good,” King Perael says. “Show them in.” He turns away from his son and heads over to his throne. He sits, and in an instant becomes opulent and untouchable once more. “Gilraen, you and Camrael shall greet them with me. I want to see nothing but welcome on your faces when they enter the room.

“And you.” He looks at me and grimaces. “Go and clean yourself up.”

“Don’t treat him like just another servant,” Cam says.

“Don’t treat him likemorethan a servant,” the king shoots back. “No matter how you may have deluded yourself over the years, the two of you are not the same.”

“That’s true, I suppose.” Cam laughs caustically. “If only I had been born aservant, I might be of real use to our city, like Turo has been, rather than locked in a tower and allowed my little amusements while you planned a wedding behind my back!”

For a moment, the king looks regretful. “The burdens of being a prince are heavy,” he says. “But never doubt that for all this may feel like a punishment, the only thing that weighs heavier in my mind than the welfare of this entire city is that of you and your sister. I love you with my whole heart.”

The air is fraught with emotion, Cam clearly wanting to believe his father. “But if the price for peace and your continued comfort is this marriage, then that is a price I am willing to pay.”

“And taking Turo from me?” Cam whispers, the brief hope in his face dying. “What part of the price is that?”

“The price of being unwise with your heart, my son,” his father says, equally softly, before standing and holding out his arms. “Welcome, friends! Welcome to Zephyth. A thousand apologies for the nature of your arrival.”

I almost startle as I realize that the Dellians have entered the room without me being aware of it. Either they’re far sneakier than they look, or I’m far less alert than I should be. They’re almost as filthy as I am, but I doubt the king will chidethemfor it.

Gilraen has already stepped up next to Cam, smiling toward the Dellians as she takes her brother’s hand. Cam, however, is still looking at me. I can’t meet his gaze. I don’t belong here. My hands itch worse than ever—I need to leave, now.

I bow to the king, then turn and leave the throne room. I don’t even glance toward the Dellians, tempting though it is. I don’t want to know what they might read in my face right now.

Once I’m safe in the hallway and the door is closed, I take a moment to close my eyes and just breathe. I need to regain my center, my sense of control. I need to calm down and focus. I need—

A roar of laughter erupts from the throne room, easily audible even through the door. Their leader is as noisy as he is striking. Any other time, I would be standing beside Cam as he checks the man out and tells me how “climbable” he is. But our time is over.

I clench my hands and stride away down the hall, shedding flecks of blood with every step.

Chapter Five

Kai

What the hells have I just walked into?

This isn’t exactly the alliance I’d envisioned after Lord Doric came to Huridell to negotiate on Prince Camrael’s behalf. I hadn’t pictured someone demure and politically savvy—as I’d heard Crown Princess Gilraen described—but I hadn’t pictured the firebrand who was the prince, either.

He was quiet enough throughout our initial greetings with his father, his mind clearly on the warrior who had just left the throne room, but once we’re taken to the feasting hall?

He changes entirely. It’s like watching a lamb grow into a ram in five seconds.

“So tell me, Commander Kai,” Prince Camrael begins as he heaps his plate full of the dish that lies between us, a colorful salad that smells like brine. “Why is it again that Prince Eleas himself didn’t accompany you to Zephyth?”

---