Page 66 of In the Ravenous Dark
Of course. Spying.I’m asperfectly positionedfor that as I am for what Ivrilos wants.
I close my eyes, letting the sun warm my lids. Am I selfish for wanting to run the other way? Instead of figuring out how people can help me, should I be trying to help them? Should I be offering myself up as a sacrifice to Ivrilos’s grand plan, or volunteering to spy for Skyllea?
“Ideally,” Alldan continues, “I would like for Lydea to come live with me in Skyllea someday soon, to complete our cultural exchange. Do you think she would be willing to do that?”
I blink. Leave Thanopolis, yes. Accompany Alldan to Skyllea to no doubt be used as a political bargaining chip? I’m not so sure.
“Perhaps?” I say. “But she’s one of the most… beloved… people in the polis, so King Tyros might not want to let her go.”
She’svaluable, I mean, if only for her bloodline and keeping Graecus sustained in the afterlife. Not to mention thatImight not want to let her go.
“Ah, see, I’ve gotten the opposite impression. I feel like daughters are neglected here. Look at what happened to Delphia—a child practically of Skyllea, sentenced to the necropolis. It’s a shame.” He sounds truly bitter about that, and I wonder if indeed there’s something between him and the young princess, as Lydea said. He hesitates, a slight breeze ruffling his forest green hair. “But you might be right. If something were to happen to the crown prince, Lydea would become precious indeed.”
If something were to happen…It hits me then, what he’s saying.
If Kineas’s thread were plucked from the royal tapestry, Lydea wouldn’t inherit the crown because of the rules laid down by the first king of Thanopolis proscribing female rulers. But shewouldbecome queen regent, and her son would be in line for the throne. Alldan’s son. And if Lydea were safe in Skyllea, a shift in power could more easily occur. Once the king was removed as well, whether through war or assassination, she and Alldan could bring true change to Thanopolis. Free bloodmages from their guardians, and perhaps reveal the source of the blight. Destroy it.
Skyllea doesn’t only want to keep their enemies close; they want to infiltrate and overthrow them.
But that would require Kineas’s—never mind the king’s—permanentabsence.
“We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?” I ask carefully.
“Skyllea cannot come under any suspicion if we are to maintain our alliance and encourage Lydea’s visit. But of course we cannot be held responsible for accidents… or the actions of others.”
I feel dizzy for a few heartbeats, and my hand returns to themarble balustrade to steady me. They want to assassinate the king and his heir. But does Alldan wantmyhelp? I’m close to Kineas by necessity, and I’ve as good as admitted that we hate each other. But if I help kill Kineas and anyone finds out, I would be handing myself and my mother a death sentence.
I almost laugh in despair. Alldan and Ivrilos do indeed want the same thing, in the end: a change in leadership. But Ivrilos is more focused on the underworld than on Thanopolis, and Alldan wishes Kineas dead, whereas Ivrilos forbade it. Killing the crown prince is far more appealing than marrying him and bearing his children. But either way, I might not survive their quests to destroy the royal family.
I want to survive. I want my mother to survive. I don’t want to be someone’s sacrifice.
“It would be horrible…,” I begin slowly, turning back to the view. “Horrible if any accident were to reflect poorly onme, as well. I couldn’t dishonor my mother like that.”
“Of course,” Alldan says immediately. “And there would be far less risk of that if you and your mother were to accompany Lydea on her visit to Skyllea. If you can help me convince her to come, that is. You said seeing Skyllea was a dream of yours, correct? Perhaps you can share that enthusiasm with her.”
It certainly is my dream, and my mother and I would be safe there from the rippling damage Kineas’s and the king’s deaths would cause.
“What about Japha?” I blurt. “They might want to see Skyllea, as well. I would hate for them to be left behind.”
Alldan nods. “They are more than welcome to visit, and so is Delphia if she can gain leave from the necropolis. In fact, we would highly encourage it as part of our diplomatic mission.” Something in his tone suggests it matters far more to him than that.
Maybe only because Delphia could be used in Lydea’s absence as a potential path of succession to the throne. Japha, too, or even Crisea. But if they’re all absent from Thanopolis, none of Old King Neleus’s grandchildren would pose a threat to Skyllea’s plan for Lydea’s son to wear the crown.
Maybe Alldan doesn’t want my help killing anyone. He probably has people aplenty for that. Maybe he wants my help with something else. His line aboutwooing Lydeamight be closer to the truth than I thought.
But if all this comes at the cost of Lydea’s freedom, then I’m beyond hesitant.
Besides… “The king may not allow me to abandon Kineas, even if I insist it’s temporary,” I say.
“Ah, but you like breaking the rules.” And then, I swear to the goddess, he actuallywinks. It looks about as awkward on him as it would on Ivrilos. “Don’t worry; I won’t reveal your secret.”
He could mean my penchant for disobeying, but I think we both know he means that he’d hide me if I managed to escape to Skyllea. It would probably be easier for the Skyllean delegation if they had me to help Japha and Delphia escape, anyway. They could then focus on extracting Lydea, through open channels or otherwise—if she agrees to go with them. And Alldan thinks I might be able to convince her to do so.
But this would put us all in Skyllea’s debt—and in their clutches. And even if it’smydream to go to Skyllea, I highly doubt it’s Lydea’s or Japha’s. I’m not sure about anything other than the knowledge that runs as deep as my bones: I can’t marry Kineas. Which means I can’t stay here.
But I also can’t trade Lydea’s freedom for mine.
I look out over the polis again. I have to find my mother. And in the meantime, I can teach Lydea and Japha the sigils to shield themselves from their own guardians, though I’m not sure what they’lluse as a source of death magic. Maybe someone in the necropolis—even poor Delphia or Crisea—can help them. Even if I could block all their guardians by myself, there’s no telling if I’ll be able to sustain that for as long as we’d need to escape. Ideally, they could do it themselves, and we need to find a more permanent way to break the bond. Once we’ve figured that out, and I’ve reunited with my mother, we can all flee, fight whom we must, and cross the blight. King Tyros will send people after us, no doubt, especially if the veil alerts him to our passage like my father warned it would. But if we can move quickly enough, especially if we have horses, we can stay ahead.
