Page 26 of Betraying Korth

“But we’re making strides with our relationship. I believe that by the time he is asked to enter the dispute, he will be ready to defend me.”

“Good.” Thad nodded his approval. “Make sure to hold his attention well. Use your assets to your best advantage; even if the prince isn’t affectionate, he still has eyes.”

Several guffaws rippled around the cluster of men, though Curdy ground his teeth together and didn’t join in.

“If he’s still stand-offish you can always get him alone for a bit. If there are enough rumors, he’ll be forced to marry you even quicker!” Thad winked at me.

An unusual defensiveness for Korth rose up within me. “I don’t need rumors; Korth will marry me without any of that.”

“But can you get him to agree to send aid by the time the letters come? Time is of the essence. It really doesn’t matter if he marries you or not as long as they send reinforcements.”

“I can do it,” I stated, even louder than before. “We don’t want him to marry me because of rumors and be unwilling to send aid because he resents the manner in which we were married. Remember the end goal.”

“Yeah, it isn’t like she’s planning to live happily ever after here,” Curdy growled.

“Can you imagine?” Thad hooted. “As if anyone could ever be happy married to a stick in the mud like that prince.” He hitched a prudish, stuffy expression onto his face and adopted a nasally, high-pitched voice. “According to the mandated rules…”

The other men laughed, Curdy hardest of all, and my stomach soured. Korth wasn’t like that and didn’t deserve to be slandered that way, even if he was a royal. Sure, he obeyed the rules, but it wasn’t a bad thing to be an honorable man. At least he, unlike Raquel, tried to formulate rules that laid the groundwork for a productive, thriving society.

While the other men continued to fling diatribe at Korth’s straight-laced nature, Curdy sidled up next to me with pursed lips and crossed arms.

“You and that prince have been looking pretty cozy lately.”

“We’re engaged. I’m supposed to cozy up to him, just like you’re supposed to be watching Odette,” I snipped. Then I raised my voice. “Not to break up this old women’s gossiping session, but I do need to get back before my guards notice I’m gone. Can we hear the rest of the reports?”

The knots in my stomach loosened a fractional amount as the men murmured agreement and stopped slandering Korth, turning instead to Edric, who had volunteered to help with Haven Harbor’s docks and was giving an update on the status of the ships, supplies, and military training he’d been observing.

“Are you going to be that cozy with me when we get back?” Curdy remained at my side, whispering to me instead of listening to the reports.

I suppressed a sigh of frustration. “Curdy,” I said, as kindly as I could. “I’ve told you I’m not interested in you that way.”

He instantly switched tactics. “Wow, really can’t take a joke, can you? Are you becoming as stuffy and boring as that prince you’re always throwing yourself at?”

I shot him a withering look. “Jealousy isn’t becoming.”

Curdy snatched my arm. “I joined this rebellion for you, Dahlia, and you’re being just as dismissive to all of us as Odette and her father were to us before we left Ebora.”

Edric had stopped speaking halfway through Curdy’s sentence, and his words echoed around the grove.

“Get your hands off her,” Thad growled at Curdy. “And don’t accuse her when she’s more at risk than anyone else. She’s fulfilling her duties, and you ought to mind your place.”

After a tight squeeze to my upper arm, Curdy released me, a very ugly expression on his face. I matched his glare with one of my own, much more at ease now that I had some of the rebellion backing me up. Curdy had no reason to be jealous; he and I never had anything between us beyond his idle flirting. Everyone here knew I was supposed to marry Korth for the good of the rebellion. Without me, we would have no chance of getting reinforcements and overthrowing Raquel.

“What’s her update, then?” Curdy spat. “What has she done other than fling herself at a prince too stupid to know or care who he’s even marrying?”

“That’s enough!” I hissed amid similarly disgruntled noises from my fellow rebels. “I won’t be spoken to like that and”—I broke off the diatribe I longed to fling at Curdy for insulting Korth—“and I’ve gained the prince’s trust. We’ll have him signing the orders to send reinforcements within the week as soon as the first letter arrives.”

Murmurs and nods of approval met my words. “That should be any day now,” one of them murmured.

“Many of Haven Harbor’s soldiers are already familiar with your faces now and believe you to be sent directly from the crown,” I told them. “Once we get word of Ebora’sperilouscondition, if you go back toaid the kingand justhappento be the ones who meet the reinforcements when Haven Harbor sends them along, our story won’t be questioned and the attack can begin immediately.” Wicked grins spread through the crowd, teeth gleaming in the candlelight. “Everything is going as well as we could have hoped. Odette isn’t causing any trouble, isshe?” I continued, turning to address Curdy to show him that he was still an integral part of the rebellion.

He shrugged indifferently. “Just complaints about the smell and living conditions.”

“Any word from Captain Renshaw about the soldiers he picked up?” I turned to Simon, who had also stationed himself at the docks.

Simon nodded. “He picked them up and sent word that they’re working on his crew. He told them that if they don’t like his crew, he will sell them to his brother. Another…privateer.”

“That’s a very polite way of saying pirate,” I laughed.

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