Page 80 of Suffer No Fools
After Sovereign Oton's one-day whirlwind tour of Aquarion, Hugo and Stan wanted to sleep in. Alone, Tovey met with Vadim in the meeting room beneath the sentinel oak the following morning. He couldn't hide his irritation with the sovereign and the entire situation.
"Did you get a read on them?" he asked Vadim. "Were they honest with us?"
Vadim sighed and planted his bare hands on the tabletop, and Tovey did his best to hide his discomfort at the gesture. Vadim had no reason to drain him, and Coryn could no longer use Vadim to do her bidding, but the sight of Vadim's skin still made him uncomfortable.
"The sovereign is perfectly healthy," Vadim said. "I couldn't hear their thoughts. However, I think they are young and raised during a long peacetime. Besides, why would they lie to Hugo and say they have no interest in marrying him if they did? Whose efforts would that serve?"
"Another kidnapping would cause more chaos, all while we think we can trust the Glamierians."
"Aye, but there's only one pass through the ice along the Glamierian border, a border ripe with Embertide's castoffs. If Coryn thinks she'll find an army there, she's sadly mistaken."
"Unless Glamiere hands one to her."
Vadim shook his head. "Ultimately, Glamiere wants what we want. They want Coryn gone and the stone neutralized so it can't be used against weavers. Sovereign Oton is a lightning weaver. They know a victory for Coryn is a loss for weavers everywhere."
Tovey still didn't trust them, but he didn't have a choice. They had come and gone like the wind, changing the atmosphere in Aquarion from one of dogged preparedness to excitement and gossip. Tovey could spend all day worrying about whether Sovereign Oton had told them the truth, but that would waste valuable time and resources.
"I need to check on Allora." Vadim pushed himself up from his seat. Tovey noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "She's working with Jasmine. Fire enchantments that explode on impact."
Tovey couldn't keep the grin from his face.
"Don't say it."
"What? You're a great father."
"I'm not keeping her very safe."
"She's as safe as can be," Tovey reassured him. "Klaus is there every moment, and Allora wouldn't hurt her."
Vadim ducked his head. "Thank you for believing that. Nola doesn't trust her, but then, Nola doesn't trust anyone."
Tovey stifled his chuckle with his hand. "You don't need me, then." He started toward the door.
"Thank you," Vadim said. From the serious tone, he meant more than his earlier statements. "Hugo is lucky to have you. You've offered him far more than I ever could as his bodyguard. He has your elements and both of your voices of reason. The three of you work well together. I thought you should know."
"Do you regret saying no to Hesse?" Tovey had been thinking more and more about Vadim's relationship with the prince at the academy.
"As if I ever said no to that man," Vadim grumbled.
"Didn't he ask you to be his third?"
"No." Vadim rubbed his hands together and stared at the lines in his palms. "I refused his call to the palace. Delilah told me what he wanted after his death."
"I'm sorry." Tovey hadn't heard that part of the story.
"No reason to apologize. I can't go back and change the past, but I do wonder if Coryn would have gotten this far, if I'd replaced her as his bodyguard."
From what Fanidra had said, Coryn had been working on a necromantic spell, a way to control Hugo. Yvette believed Coryn's obsession started long before Hesse's death. Tovey couldn't imagine losing his precious Hugo to a spell gone wrong, or a necromancy spell gone right.
Tovey still had his doubts about Glamiere, but it helped to hear Vadim's perspective. Still, he wasn't ready to return home. He needed to blow off some steam first. He walked until he found himself alone on the eastern beach.
"Oy," Hannah called from the deck ofStarlight Specter. "You look like you need something to do. Want to help build a storm?"
"Is anyone else aboard?"
"Nah. I'll steer us if you'll blow up a wind. I'm only taking us out past the first shoal so there's no blowback on the island.
The gangplank was put away and the mooring ropes already removed, so Tovey climbed the knotted blanket of rope hung over the side. In no time, he was at his usual position behind the main mast, filling the sail with his wind.
