Page 61 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Are we going to talk about it?"
He dug his hand into the bag at his side. When his fingers touched only lint at the bottom of the bag, he ground his teeth together and stalked forward. One by one, he ripped the sharp steel from the bark. The jagged edges scraped the pads of his fingers.
"You will not ignore me, Gray," Ellie demanded.
"I am not ignoring you. I am simply not answering you," Graeson said, plucking another star free from the trunk. As he returned each one to the bag, the metaltinkedtogether.
"That is the definition of ignoring someone."
"Go bother someone else, Ellie."
"Why are you being so sour? Is it about the plan?"
Their plan, while not ideal, was fine.IfDomitius followed the rules. According to the agreement they had made, both parties promised not to bring an army. Graeson, however, didn’t trust Domitius within an inch of his life. The king was not foolish; he would bring soldiers with him, hidden or not. When Graeson raised this issue, Ellie waved his concern away, claiming Graeson could handle the army if it came to that.
Graeson might have experienced less than favorable odds before, but he was not happy about taking that risk. There was too much at stake. If he had thought ahead and asked Sylvia forsome of their explosives, then maybe they could have evened the odds.
Kalisandre, on the other hand, wanted bloodshed to be a last resort. She planned to hand herself over to Domitius once Lysanthia was with Graeson. Then, she would manipulate the king and whomever he brought with him.
Graeson trusted Kalisandre would be strong enough to do her part. If on the off chance she failed, they would be there, weapons ready.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was all they had. If it meant stopping this war, saving his mother, and freeing Kalisandre from the guilt she carried, then he would do whatever he could to ensure they were successful.
"No," he said, pulling the last star from the tree. He returned to the line he had drawn in the dirt with his boot a few dozen yards away from his target. "Kalisandre is strong enough. She always has been."
"Then what—" Ellie cut herself off and groaned. "If I had known that I was going to be in the middle of a couple’s quarrel, then I would have stayed with Medenia and Ophelia."
"There is no couple’s quarrel."
"Oh, really? Then what do you wish to call it? A couple’s spat?" Ellie asked. "Can’t you two make up and kiss already—or whatever it is that couples do?"
Graeson snorted. "I do not think she would appreciate that."
"Why not?"
"First, we are not a couple," Graeson clarified. "Second, before you snuck off in the middle of the night, she made it very clear she did not wish to be one ever."
"Aren’t you two soul bonds?"
Graeson grabbed a star and spun it between his fingers. He rubbed the flat part of the star with his thumb. "Yes."
"Then does that not make you a couple?"
He tilted his head back. "No."
Ellie waved her hand flippantly. "Then apologize for whatever you did and profess your love to her."
Graeson eyed the tree. He took several steps back, then aimed. The jagged point drove straight into the bark and wobbled. It landed right in the center of the carvings.
"I already did."
"And what? She ignored you?" Ellie asked.
He cleared his throat. "She bandaged me up and then refused to talk about it."
Ellie grew silent, and for a second, Graeson thought she had left. But when he looked over his shoulder, she was still standing there, mouth agape.
A breeze swept through the forest, rustling the leaves. Somewhere nearby, a critter sprinted behind the brush, twigs snapping in its wake.
