Page 49 of The Poison of the Earth
Kai’s eyes latch onto mine and I shift uncomfortably. Both at his seemingly-knowing look and my now-wet panties.
“Guivre is worried about Alder’s behavior. They never supported him, but he’s been acting so...”
“Unmoored from reality?” I suggest, helpfully. “A victim of massive head trauma?”
Kai snorts out a distinctive laugh.
I continue, “He’s always been that way, but it is getting worse.”
Korben looks at me but Lilac quickly supplies to him, “She’s his sister.”
“Oh shit,” Korben swears. “Wait. Lo, you’re fucking the King’ssister? That shit is justbeautiful, friend. I love it.” He giggles.
Korben shakes his head and continues, “I was going for inconsistent. But, yea, they’re worried. I think the Narisa Clan would be open to aligning.”
Lonan nods. “Balthazar wants me to meet there. I won’t do it when the sea is iced.”
I blink at that, trying to figure out the reason but I clear my throat. “I may... uh... have an in with the royal clan there.”
They all turn to me. I shrug. “I can write her, see what she thinks.”
Lonan’s face says we’re going to talk about this in more detail later, but he just nods.
Lilac pushes her empty bowl forwards, and grabs her juice. “We need Larkstead.Needthem,” she empathizes.
Lonan nods slowly. “I’ll send a message.”
“Wait,” Kai says, sounding frantic, “Who’s marrying one of them?”
Silence.
“Who?” He asks again, louder.
Lilac and Korben start chuckling.
“Shit, no, not me!” He protests.
Lonan stands, holding out his hand for me. I take it and we head out of the room as Kai continues to argue.
I’M IN MY ROOMS, WHICHLonan dutifully searched for me before he let me enter, sitting at my desk that looks out a window. The view of the forest beyond the town is lovely and the leaves are almost at their color peak.
I tap my fountain pen against the paper in front of me, trying to find the words.
There’s a knock at the door.
“Enter,” I call, as I, thankfully, cap my pen and turn. It’s Kai.
“Time to train.” He smirks, “I brought you these.”
I look at the bundle in his arms and raise an eyebrow. “Rags?”
He shakes his head, obviously over me and my attitude.Good, maybe he’ll change his mind on training me.
“Some spare clothes from the guard. It’s an older uniform, but clean. I couldn’t find anything else that would fit you.”
When I sit, silent, he trudges over and drops them in my lap.
“Get changed, I’ll be back in five minutes.”
