Page 46 of Ties of Dust

“What does he say of the alliance?” Cassius asked tensely. If Siqual was determined to withdraw from it, it would be near impossible to fulfill the terms of Lord Armand’s cursed tether.

“He expresses willingness to continue negotiations,” the king said dismissively. “But I can see no urgency to do so.”

“Father, you must reconsider.” Cassius placed his fist on the polished wooden surface of the desk. “I believe it is of utmost importance to secure this alliance, and that we would be wise to act swiftly.”

“The weaker party to an alliance might scramble to secure it,” King Aelius said coolly. “We have no need to do so.”

“But, Father—”

“I found his mention of your new guard to be strange,” the king interrupted him.

The words effectively stopped Cassius’s protests. “Strange in what way?” he asked uneasily.

“He says he trusts the princess’s bodyguard is being well cared for, as befits a member of the Siqualian royal guard. But then he says that he does not object to the transfer becoming permanent as a gesture of their willingness to continue working toward an alliance.” The king looked up at him. “As though we have need of the services of some scrawny Siqualian girl!”

A trickle of something unpleasant went over Cassius. It took him a moment to realize it was sympathy for Flora. It seemed the Siqualian king was perfectly ready to cast her aside. Perhaps he was not as convinced of the wisdom of a female bodyguard as Flora had made it sound.

The memory of her face as she accused him of speaking of her like an item to be gifted between kings flashed before his eyes.

“It’s a very strange sequence. One moment seeming to threaten retribution if the girl is harmed, the next telling us to keep her.” The king laid the letter flat again. “I begin to think the Siqualian king is a halfwit, which does not endear me to the idea of an alliance with him.”

“He’s not a halfwit, Father,” said Cassius wearily. “I suspect he wants to simultaneously use her position with his royal guard as an opportunity to demand Siqual berespected, and offer her services as a sign of goodwill in place of the apology he should have given regarding the attack on his territory.”

The king considered this. “You’re likely right,” he announced, his tone scornful.

Cassius shifted in his seat. He wasn’t right, he was making excuses he thought his father would believe. Much more likely the veiled threat about treating Flora well had been a reference by the Siqualian king to the fact that she was forcibly taken from the delegation without their consent. But Cassius had no intention of telling his father that. He could only be grateful that the Siqualian king hadn’t said it in as many words. The other king would have assumed that King Aelius knew about the tether, and would therefore have expected King Aelius to recognize the unspoken disapproval of it. It seemed Prince Theodore had taken Cassius’s hint and persuaded his father not to cause a diplomatic incident over the bodyguard’s unfortunate situation.

A situation which, in itself, the Siqualian king clearly didn’t care about. Not if he was ready to give Flora to the Carrackian crown.

Cassius winced. As if she was a gift to be given, just like she’d so furiously claimed.

“Is that all it says?” Cassius asked.

“More or less,” said his father. “Just other irrelevancies, like the princess sending her regards to her old guard.”

“I will inform her of it,” Cassius said.

“You will not.” His father frowned at him. “You are not an errand boy to the Siqualian king, Cassius, and I shouldn’t need to remind you of it.”

Cassius was saved the need to reply by a knock on thedoor. The reprieve was anything but welcome, however, when the new arrival turned out to be Sir Keavling.

“Ah, come in.” The king waved his new favorite in. “Your arrival is timely. We were just discussing the matter of the alliance.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty?” Sir Keavling bowed to both the king and the prince. “Is there new information regarding the attackers?”

“Not yet,” said the king.

“Ah.”

Sir Keavling’s politely furrowed brow perfectly conveyed his confusion at the topic being open in those circumstances. It was masterful, Cassius reflected bitterly.

He angled his body away from the nobleman, deciding to ignore him. “The preparations I mentioned, Father.”

“I told you, Cassius.” The king sounded impatient. “We have no need for haste. It is the Siqualians who stand to lose if the alliance does not proceed.”

Cassius fought his frustration, struggling to think of a way to reach his father.

Again, his response was forestalled by Sir Keavling.

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