Page 20 of Poisoned Kingdom
The mage looked up, giving me a myopic stare before propping himself up on his fist. ‘I could ask the same.’ He yawned. ‘Were you dreaming of her again?’
‘No. Yes. I don’t want to talk about it,’ I said, realising that lying to a truthseeker made no sense. ‘You’d better answer my question, or I’ll revoke your access to my private quarters.’
‘I will as soon as you explain this.’ He pulled out my new tax proposal. ‘Rey,’—he sighed—‘you can’t lower taxes for the merchants. It will affect the income of the southern province and our trade with the orcish tribes. The council will never accept it.’
I pulled the vellum from his hands. ‘And what will they do? They already call me a tyrant.’ I huffed a humourless laugh. ‘It was easy for them to love their king when I led our men to victory in the Second Necromancer’s War, when they didn’t expect me to return alive—but implement tax reforms and suddenly I’m worse than the Lich King,’ I said, turning my face away from the compassion I saw in Riordan’s eyes.
What I hadn’t told him was that every time I faced the disgruntled nobles on the Royal Council, every time I heard them complain about the laws I passed, muttering all the while about my berserker-tainted bloodline, I thought that maybe I should have died as a hero rather than survive to become the villain.
‘Stop worrying and shift your arse from my chair,’ I said instead, looking at the smudged ink. ‘And the next time you decide to take a nap, please refrain from slobbering all over the tax records.’
Riordan rolled his eyes and walked over to the drinks cabinet, reaching for the wine.
‘The war’s over, Rey. You don’t have to rush; change is good, but you need to ease the nobles into it, not push them so quickly. I know your ideas will benefit Dagome, but these people are accustomed to doing as they please, not being led—and they’re certainly not an army that follows orders. You’d have less trouble if you let them talk themselves into agreeing instead of employing heavy-handed military tactics to deal with the issues.’
He was right, but not only had the war ended, but our old alliances were falling apart. I knew the only way to protect my kingdom now was to make Dagome unassailable to any enemy.
‘I don’t have time for the soft approach, Ri. Not now. The spasms are occurring more frequently, and after the last one, Ciesko told me there’s nothing more he can do. If my days are numbered, Imustensure that Dagome is strong enough to survive after my death.’
‘We’ll find her before that, Rey. She’ll have the antidote,’ my friend answered quietly. He picked up another document from the pile, and a portrait—a miniature of a woman with curly brown hair—fell onto my desk. He raised it to the light. ‘A new distraction?’’
‘No, just another cornerstone of the nobility offering me his daughter,’ I said, taking it, and the letter, from his hands and putting them in a drawer. ‘One of the burdens I bear,’ I grumbled, knowing I had no right to complain about the heavy weight of the crown.
Proposals had flooded in when the other nobles learned that Duke Tivala had taken the initiative. Now, every one of them hoped their daughter would be the next queen of Dagome. It felt like an auction, and I was the stallion they wanted to breed their future winners from.
‘Rey, you’ll have to take a wife eventually. Does it matter which you pick if it’s just to be a transaction?’ Riordan asked, and my jaw instinctively clenched.
‘The problem is that I don’t want it to be a “transaction.” I’m not so naïve to believe she’ll love me, but I want the woman I take to my bed to at least like me. And if she bears my child, I want someone strong enough to be a good regent. Is that too much to ask?’ My words sounded harsh, even to my ears, and I felt a tinge of guilt when his eyebrows drew closer. Still, I’d had enough of this subject.
I grabbed the scout reports, hoping to distract him. ‘We need to focus on this.’ I gave him several files, ignoring his raised eyebrows.
‘You want me to read them right now?’
‘No. I want you to take them and read them in yourownoffice. It’s the middle of the night, so maybe you should go home before the servants start thinking you’re my lover?’
The bastard’s laughter annoyed me almost as much as his eye roll. ‘Forgive me, Your Majesty, for working tirelessly to find the woman of your dreams. And no offence, but I prefer my partners to be soft and feminine.’ He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Though I’m sure I could find you a dark fae if you want to follow your brother’s example and divide your affection.’
‘I see you’ve grown brazen. You must be ready to accept the position of royal mage, then. The paperwork is still in my drawer—all you have to do is sign it. In fact, I’m sure it’ll make your grandfather quite happy,’ I said with a lazy smile, knowing he dreaded taking on his official duties.
‘I’m not ready . . .’
‘Yes, you are. Besides, aren’t you already behaving like it’s official? Walking into my private quarters like they were your stables, advising me to take a male lover . . .’ I quipped,feigning displeasure, but we both knew I welcomed his visits and boldness that made being the king feel less . . . lonely.
‘You know, thinking about it, I suddenly feel a powerful urge to return home,’ Riordan said with a smirk. ‘Don’t stay up too long—you’ll need a clear head if you want to pass this decree tomorrow.’
He left, and I took the opportunity to read through more paperwork once I was alone. The latest intelligence from my spies revealed nothing new. Mlot was still sending shipments somewhere south. I didn’t know who was helping him, but the route he used couldn’t be more dangerous, passing through the swamplands on our border, where even my most skilled trackers lost the trail.
Piran’s Swamp sprawled between the Care’etavos Empire, the Kingdom of Lumivitae, and the Dukedom of Tivalaran—a festering no-man’s-land crawling with creatures too ancient and deadly to name. Entire patrols vanished there before they even sensed danger.
What frustrated me most was not knowing which of those realms the srebrec was destined for. The dark fae of Care’etavos and the light fae of Lumivitae both relied heavily on magic, making them less likely to want large quantities of the ore—yet their extensive knowledge of its uses meant they surely understood its potential. And then there was Tivalaran and its ever-irritating duke, a constant political thorn in my side.
The uncertainty gnawed at me, but unless the trade route passed through Dagome, I couldn’t use force to intercept the shipments without giving my neighbours reason to start a war. Tivalaran was the only place I could enter. Well, Icouldhave if the old duke hadn’t refused me. An old law passed by some idiot years ago had granted the dukedom vassal status rather than integrating it fully into Dagome, effectively tying my hands.Ineed a reason, one the duke can’t refuse,I thought, pulling out the contract he’d sent.
Marrying Tivala’s only living child would end the vassal state conundrum, giving me full control over the fertile region, with its easy access to the sea and trade with the rest of Tir ha Mor. It was a perfect political choice—except I felt nothing but disdain for the woman who allowed herself to become a pawn in the political games between her father and the Crown.
I strode over to the window and forced it open. My breath misted the air, but the wind from the river and the night’s chill calmed my senses, bringing with it the longing I’d spent too long trying to hide.
‘Orm, you bloody bastard, if you only knew how I envy you,’ I muttered, closing my eye as I recalled a memory from five years ago. It had been late autumn when Annika, my brother’s mate, had stood in Dagome’s throne room and challenged the world for her Anchors. It was at that moment that I realised the brother I’d pitied had found something I craved—a woman with integrity and courage. She’d stood by her men to the bitter end, even facing down a goddess to save their lives.
