Kit righted a protective strip of leather over the metal buckles and lowered the flap back into place. A troubled look firmed his features, lips flattening into a thin line before he parted them to speak. “In order to do the good he wanted, he needed to be more than a stable boy—he needed to be in charge,to be the man deciding breeding lines. He did not get there by heralding about breeding gentle horses. He got there by training the dangerous ones better than anyone else. He worked his way up within the system already in place until he got to the top; and only once he had that position firmly in his grip, did he make the changes he wanted. I think that he would do good for Aridia if he were to dismantle the council. But he knows that the good he can do will come after he takes power, and not before, and he will do what he needs to get there.”
Nick considered his words and nodded. “I’ll be careful.”
Kit turned from the saddle to Nick. Blue eyes raked over every inch of his face before he bowed forwards, pressing his forehead to Nick’s. “I am choosing to trust you and your judgement. This feels like a trick to steal you away from me, but if you do not think so, I will believe in you.”
Kit’s skin was warm. Nick turned up his palms, a gentle ask, and Kit’s tail slid against his grip. “Thank you.”
“If my fears are true, and you are used as a bargaining chip and not allowed to return—may I come and find you?” Kit asked softly. “I know that you will end up in your home if that happens, so you will be where you should…” He released a wounded noise. “But I do not wish to be parted.”
Nick shied away from the thought of being suddenly whisked away back home, leaving Kit behind to fight Desre alone. Not happening. No way. He squeezed Kit’s warm tail, the texture so smooth and soft.
“Come find me,” Nick said. “Or I’ll come find you. Not that I know where I am, but I’ll figure it out.”
Kit drew in a deep, steadying breath and stepped back. “It is a promise.”
???
Horses were far wobblier than boats, but Julia—Nick’s horse was a girl—was as calm as Kit promised. She walked side by side with Seche’s horse without any instruction from Nick. It allowed him a chance to study the landscape. They walked along a dirt road marked by wagon wheel tracks, with deciduous-looking trees lining their way, providing shade and relief from the sun. Birds sang and flitted from branch to branch, and they seemed to be the only other life aside from themselves. Through breaks in the trees were long stretches of barren, yellow fields. Any building Nick spotted was run down, abandoned.
“People don’t live here?” he asked.
“There are houses nearer the river. But along this strait, there are few who work the land; it has stopped yielding crops, and people have moved on,” Seche answered. “Councilman Greya used to live in the castle beyond in the winter months, but he has not resided there for many years now.”
Nick glanced at him. “Is this place Aridia?”
“Technically, yes. These lands have belonged to kits for generations.”
“And now it’s the base of operations for you guys.” Nick gestured to Seche’s electric blue cloak. “You know, we’re not exactly going to be inconspicuous with you dressed like that. Can you tell me where Desre is now?”
“Their ship continued upriver,” Seche said. “She will likely be in Aridia by now—and by that, I mean the heart of our home—the main town. Do not fear; if there was anyone nearby to grab you, we would simply wait until they were gone. And as for being inconspicuous…I am not the one who will be accompanying you to the river.” Seche leaned back in his saddle, and both horses stopped.
Nick heard the soft sound of hooves on dry dirt. From the trees appeared General Valor atop a black horse, striding confidently onto the road. The horses nickered out greetings toone another. Unease trickled through Nick. Kit’s doubts were suddenly very immediate, very real. Behind them, the castle had disappeared behind several bends in the road.
“You lied.”
“At worst, I misled,” Seche replied casually.
“The lie was necessary,” Valor said. He was dressed similarly to Seche, but rather than brilliant blue, his cloak was an earthy brown that blended with his surroundings. His tail twitched towards Seche, who nodded and turned his horse. By some unspoken command, Julia didn’t follow him and instead fell in step with Valor’s horse, and they continued on the path. “If Kit were to get me alone, I do not know what would happen. I cannot endanger not only my own life, but our cause, simply because I want to ease his mind, no matter how badly I wish that.”
Nick considered Valor. The trick was annoying, but he also saw that they were deeply afraid of Kit and what he might do. “The plan is still the same? We’re going to the river to flag down the merfolk?”
Valor nodded.
Nick settled himself. General Valor, husband to Desre and leading the rebellion seeking to overthrow her. His nephew, her number one agent. Nick had a thousand questions, and finally a man in front of him who had the answers. “You shouldn’t have let her have him.” What came out wasn’t a question; it was an accusation.
Valor’s expression didn’t change. “I could have cut his throat.”
Nick jolted.
“I tried to keep him from her,” Valor said. “I have tried time and time again. The problem with saving someone from Desre is she simply needs to touch you to get every answer she wants.” There was a heaviness in Valor’s voice. Nick saw pain inhis eyes, even if he kept his expression controlled. “Before now, the only true escape would be to claim his life. And that, I will never be willing to do.”
“Does that mean all of this, your civil war, isn’t about saving your people from starvation, it’s about Kit?”
Valor turned in the saddle, meeting Nick’s eyes. “I need men. I will use our situation to my advantage to get them, but it is not about them and never has been. You care for my nephew?”
“Yes,” Nick admitted.
Valor considered that. Considered him. “If Kit is one thing, it is sensitive to those who wish to make use of him. I believe he would have sensed if you were simply humouring his crush for your own advantage.” They reached a fork, and Valor tracked left, the path narrowing through denser trees and thicker shade.
