“So what are you going to do now?” Tira asks.
I roll over to face her. “I was kind of hoping you’d tell me.”
“Sorry,” she says. “Above my pay grade.”
I squint at her. “I don’t pay you.”
“That’s what I’m talking about. You’d think even a runaway princess could spare some gold for her lady in waiting.”
“Oh, that’s what you are, are you?”
“Yes, for now. Waiting around to figure out when we can get out of here.”
“I’m working on it,” I say. “A week’s more training and I think I’ll be able to surprise Leon with the progress I’ve made. If he tries to stop us leaving again, I’m still prepared to fight him. What happened today doesn’t change that.”
“Doesn’t it?” Her cheeky grin drops as she becomes serious. “I don’t like how close things came today, Ana,” she says. “I know you held your own in the library, but look at you.” She gestures to my injuries. “We might not have wanted to come here, but at least we thought we’d be safe from your aunt. If she can send someone after you all the way out here in Filusia, then we’re definitely going to face worse if we ever make it back home.You might be strong enough to beat Leon with the element of surprise, but what about everyone else?”
“We always knew we’d have to be careful,” I say. “Gullert would still be a good place to lay low.”
“I know, it’s just?—”
“It’s just the attack makes it feel more real,” I say, and she nods. I agree with her. Knowing my aunt is a threat is very different to being confronted with it when I least expect it.
“If I’m honest, I’ve been avoiding thinking about Oclanna,” I say.
“I don’t blame you,” Tira says. “She sounds like a monster.”
“When I think about what she did to my parents, all out of stupid greed for the throne, it makes my blood boil. Literally.”
I hold my hands up, balling them into fists and imagining the roiling heat of my sun beams flowing into them.
“But I also can’t picture confronting her. What would that even look like?” I drop my hands to my sides again. “Imagining myself on the throne is ridiculous.”
“Is it so ridiculous?” Tira says, cocking her head at me.
“Of course it is,” I say with a huff. “You know the Temple would never let a solari rule. It would mean another civil war. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact Oclanna is a heartless murderer I’d say she can have the kingdom. It certainly doesn’t wantme.”
Tira doesn’t immediately answer, but when I look over at her, I can tell there’s something she wants to say.
“What?” I demand.
“I’m just thinking…the Temple, your aunt. Look, I know he’s a dick, but when we have enemies this powerful, maybe having a super-strong fae prince on our side isn’t such a bad thing? I mean, curing his brother would have to offer us some bargaining power, right? Maybe we could bargain our way to a safe future, instead of having to fight him for it.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” I say.
She rolls her eyes at me. “I know you already feel guilty about the idea of walking away from this Fairon guy. It’s not in your nature to let someone suffer out of spite. That kind of petty shit is more my domain.”
She’s right—though not about being petty. Tira talks tough, but she cares as much as me deep down. She’s right that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from feeling guilty if I didn’t even try to help. And as much as I might be angry with Leon, could I really just let Fairon die?
What Tira’s suggesting is making Leon useful to us rather than an obstacle, seeing him as a tool rather than an enemy. I can live with that, because it doesn’t require me forgiving him either way.
“Alright. I’ll try. I’ll stick with this plan of his—at least long enough to see if there’s any way it will work. Then I’ll have the bargaining chip to ask whatever we want of him.”
If Leon’s done all this for his brother, I don’t see him turning down any of our terms—not if it means I’ll cure Fairon. It might sting, having to negotiate for my freedom rather than simplytakingit—but at least I’m still getting to make my own choices. And at least this way, we can ensure that freedom comes with certain protections.
After all, our liberty isn’t worth much if Tira and I are executed the moment we step foot back in Trova.
“I know why we’re really here,” I say to Gallis when we meet outside the training room the next day. I’m still not ready to speak to Leon, so I caught Stratton at breakfast and asked him to escort me to training. He was surprised I didn’t want to rest more after yesterday, but the balm worked wonders on my cuts, and I don’t want to waste any more time.
