Page 30 of Secrets Among the Tides
I smirked. At least I wasn’t the only one who thought it was atrocious. “What’s your favorite food, your Highness?” I asked him.
The Prince appeared surprised by my question. Had Princess Odele never bothered to ask him, to get to know him? Or had she already asked him that and I’d blown it? I waited nervously for his reply.
“There is this food in Draconi called Nii-chin. It is a ball of seaweed, stuffed with shrimp and Wasagri peppers. The commoners eat it and my sister snuck out one day and brought a whole bundle back. I’d never tasted anything so delicious.” His smile was sweet as he recalled this pleasant memory.
I smiled right with him. “How many sisters do you have?” I asked impulsively and regretted it immediately. Odele would have probably already known that. I should already know that.
Luckily, he didn’t startle or freeze at my question. His smile grew wider. “I have about ninety-eight sisters.”
I choked. “Ninety-eight?” I was sure my eyes widened to an impossible fraction.
“Half sisters, really,” he explained. “My father, as I’m sure you’re aware, has many concubines.”
Concubines. Right. His father was the Emperor and from what I’d studied, he was allowed to do what he wanted and rule as he wished. All of his children, even if they weren’t born of the empress, were considered royalty. How different the two cultures seemed.
“I am his only son,” he went on, his voice getting tighter. “And when he deemed it time for me to marry, he arranged it with the richest, most desperate available bride he could find.” He winced and looked at me. “Sorry,” he muttered.
I smiled a little sadly at him. Thalassar was desperate for troops. I knew Draconi was rich in warriors. It was even rumored that their Kings, PrincesandPrincesses rode out to war on mighty dragons. I could see why the alliance would be beneficial to Thalassar. But why wouldhiskingdom need the alliance?
I didn’t ask.
“What’syourfavorite food?” he asked after a moment.
The smells of Tides’ Tavern stews suddenly assaulted my memories and my stomach growled. I pushed away my embarrassment with a laugh. “Stuffed pond slugs and leeches,” I replied. Just thinking about it was making me crave. I looked distastefully down at my bowl.
“That sounds…like an odd sort of food…”
I laughed at his hesitancy. “It sounds gross, but I promise it’s veryriptide.”
“Prince Kai, if I may interrupt…” We looked up from our conversation to find Iol’s foreign diplomat looking at us. There was a smile on his face, but it didn’t seem genuine. It reminded me a lot of a barracuda. With his icy eyes and pale, blond hair, there was something strangely sinister about him. “How are things in your kingdom? What with the raids and poverty wrenched streets…” He picked up his goblet and took a sip, watching Prince Kai closely over the rim of it.
Prince Kai tensed, his hand wrapping around the base of his own goblet as if to keep himself steady. The tension was palpable as I stared between the two. And suddenly I remembered. Raids. Poverty. My heart sank.
That’s why Kai desperately needed this alliance. His kingdom was being nearly overrun with two-leggers. The vile creatures were hunting through his waters, leaving parts of his kingdom—villages and the like—in an impoverished state.
Their alliance was meant to fortify the kingdoms. It was meant to be a show of force. Would Kappur really attack Thalassar is they had the aid of thousands of warriors and dragons? And it was said that Thalassar had a secret magic that could protect them from two-legger invasions.
It was why we’d remained so safe from them for years, even being so close to them in Lagoona.
And if I was guessing correctly, the kingdom of Iol despised Draconi.
“We are doing all we can to fortify our kingdom against the two-legger raids,” Kai said tightly.
The diplomat put his goblet down and chuckled cruelly. “I’m sure the Emperor is fortifying your kingdom…straight from the sheets of his concubines’ beds.”
There was enough venom and judgment packed into his voice that Prince Kai stiffened. I looked at his hand and was sure he’d crush the goblet beneath his tight grip.
It seemed the whole table had gone silent as they watched the exchange. Even the Queen and King had paused mid sentence to see what retort Prince Kai would come up with. My mind raced in circles as I tried keeping up with names, faces, stations and politics. I vaguely remembered that Iol didn’t approve of Draconi’s violent way of ruling.
I picked up my own goblet and brought it to my lips. “Tell me, Mister Shallows, how is your Prime Minister faring?” He turned his startled gaze to me. I bet he hadn’t counted on me to speak.
“Faring, Princess?”
I nodded, took a slow sip, swallowed and smiled. “It cannot be easy, having to tax the mer grievous amounts of coin to feed them, when in reality he is said to keep it for himself before he’s run out of office. Such a shame, to let his poor subjectsstarvein the streets without medical aid or governmental assistance…” He sputtered and I held my goblet up in a mockery of a toast before taking another sip then setting it down.
I had no idea if what I’d said was true. But at Tides’ Tavern, Josiah had been filled with enough government conspiracies from all around to last me a lifetime. Anything to get his attention off of Prince Kai.
The shocked gasps that rang around at my words were followed by tense laughter coming from diplomat Shallows himself. “My, but what an imagination you have, your Majesty.”
