Page 46 of Frost Like Night
“Handle them, yes. But convince them to fight for you?” Jesse pursed his lips. “I’m merely offering my presence as support. Nothing more. I won’t say a word.”
Lekan cleared his throat and didn’t exactly whisper, “Having him there isn’t a bad idea.”
Jesse tipped his head. “Thank you, Lekan.”
And that seemed to be all the permission he needed. Jesse walked around them, heading down the road toward their Yakimian meeting.
Ceridwen swung on Lekan when Jesse was out of earshot.“Isn’t a bad idea?”
But Lekan didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “We don’t have time for your stubbornness. Who knows how long Angra will even be in Juli? This plan has to go into actionnow, and we need them on our side, Cerie. You know that.”
“I’m sure they’ll see our logic,” Ceridwen countered as they continued walking, Jesse still a few good paces ahead. “Assassinating Angra will end all this.”
Lekan gave her an exasperated look. “You expect aYakimianto see Season logic? You’re more stubborn than I thought.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He cut his eyes toward Jesse’s back, then raised his brows. When she shrugged in confusion, Lekan snorted. “You were willing to risk winning over the necessary support allbecause you don’t want to have to deal with Jesse yet.”
Her lips parted in an instinctual hiss. But Jesse didn’t so much as turn to look back at them, and only the many people who clogged the area saved her from yelling at Lekan. Refugees moving about their day, scurrying to one of the market tents or carrying buckets for chores.
Ceridwen kept her voice low. “You want to talk about thisnow?”
Lekan angled closer to her. “Would you rather we talk about it while his children are around? Or Kaleo—I know he has opinions on your relationship too, but since this is the first time you and I have been alone since we got back, yes, I figured we should talk about this now. Because like it or not, Cerie, I love you, and I’ve watched you suffer far too long to let this go unaddressed. What exactly have you planned to do about Jesse?”
“Just because I wanted to handle this meeting without him doesn’t mean I’m avoiding him,” she spit. “My stubbornness has never been an issue before. I run this camp—”
“Kaleo runs this camp,” Lekan cut in. “You won’t get out of talking about Jesse this easily.”
Ceridwen quickened her pace before he could dive back into that subject. Now Jesse did glance over his shoulder. She swallowed, then dropped back a beat, sweat breaking out across her spine.
After a moment, Lekan caught up with her, his gaze shooting across the tents around them. They weredrastically different than the ones in the Summerian section of camp—heavier, perfectly defined angles with square frames. The Yakimian area.
“I just want you to be happy,” Lekan whispered.
Ceridwen’s grip on the seal was so tight that her arm all but went numb. “I know.”
Lekan fell silent, waiting, perhaps, for her to open up to him, but what could she say?
I haven’t really spoken with Jesse since the night we arrived.
I want a life with him. But I’ve taken no action toward that, because I’m afraid that his strength isn’t permanent. That this will all get taken away from me again.
I’ve trusted weak men before.
That wasn’t a fair comparison. Simon had never even been aware of how he “betrayed” her—he’d simply lived his life, ruining their kingdom, while she waited in the shadows for him to realize his folly.
But Jesse had realized his.
He looked back at her again, as if her thoughts spiced the air around them. One small smile, and he turned a corner, leading them on.
No—she didn’t have room for such weaknesses. That was part of the reason she had been endlessly glad when Jesse’s children had shown up with their Winterian escorts, a distraction that had taken all his time. She had her own distractions—planning their attack on Angra; Meira’s fate to hope for; and she had spread word for theleaders of the Yakimian soldiers to meet them outside of camp.
She, Lekan, and Jesse emerged from the Yakimian area into the thigh-high golden stalks of the prairie. She almost expected to find it as empty as always—why would the soldiers listen to her?
So when she stopped on the border of the prairie and the handful of Yakimians waiting there turned with looks of hatred, she almost laughed. They had come—but come to murder her, it looked like. If they were surprised to see the deposed Rhythm king, they didn’t show it.
One soldier stepped forward. “We’ve spent the past two days cleaning up a messyoumade. You owe us an explanation.”
