45

THE STABLE FLOOR SEEMED TO TILT, AND THE COLORS BLED INTO one another, and even the sounds of horses shifting their weight and chewing their breakfasts sounded as loud and clear as Theodor’s voice next to my ear. “You realize what you’ve just said?” I whispered.

“I do.”

I barely breathed the question. “You’d face your father across the battlefield?”

“I’d sooner face my father than butcher my countrymen for demanding justice under their own laws. Yes.”

“And can anyone give me any reason we need a noble on our side?” Kristos asked. The pragmatism was coarse and needle-sharp.

And warranted an answer. “Perhaps not, but if he’s not the face of your efforts, who is?” I asked.

Kristos’s ears grew red. “I think Niko and I can have that covered quite well,” he said. “We did before.”

“You did along with Jack. How much Galatine propaganda have you been reading?” He sputtered, and I continued. “It’s rich stuff. Along with me being an interloping witch, and Theodor being a cuckold weakling, you should be aware that the entire revolution is a hostile Pellian takeover.”

“That’s nonsense!”

“But people believe it,” I retorted quietly. I let that sit for a moment, the ugly reality of people’s malleable fears and prejudices. “If the leadership is just you and Niko, there are Galatines—maybe quite a few—who may reject the movement. The people already consider Theodor the champion of reform. They’ll accept him as a leader quite naturally, I think.”

“I would never,” Theodor said, “presume to take sole control of the leadership. You and Niko are at the heart of this whole endeavor.”

Kristos snorted. “That goes without saying. Concessions like that aren’t yours to give,” he said.

“Fair enough.”

“Then we go back to Galitha as brothers in arms, you and I.”

Throughout the exchange, Sianh had remained silent, watching. “And how will you reach Galitha, without the a’Mavha reaching Sophie first?” he finally said.

“You’re released from your contract now that she’s under my protection,” Kristos answered.

“That’s not what I asked. Unless she is expendable to one or both of you?”

Kristos bristled, fully aware of the insult, but didn’t counter it. Theodor considered the problem. “We can’t sail out of Isildi. We know that the docks are watched. But despite that, we have to reach Galitha soon, to raise the army that will hold the rest of the country. Galitha City may be secure, but it can’t stand alone. We need to move.”

“It may be of use to know that the a’Mavha are not strong outside Isildi,” Sianh added. “Their network is here, their numbers are here. Leave the city, sail from another port—it’s not only less likely they would guess at your movements, but they are less able to counter you.”

“Wait,” I said. “Where is this?” I fished Annette’s note from my pocket, still carefully folded and intact despite having changed clothes so many times. At least, in the rush of the past two days, I hadn’t left my prettily embroidered pocket with my other clothes.

Kristos squinted at the names, but Sianh took one glance and nodded. “It’s just outside Port Triumph, in the grove country. Estates, citrus plantations, sugar fields.” He gave me half a smile. “I’ve told you where, now you can tell us what it is.”

“A villa,” I hedged, knowing Kristos was not likely to trust nobility at the moment. “It belongs to a friend. I would suggest making it our first destination,” I added boldly.

“It makes sense. You’ll be close to Port Triumph and we can likely secure passage there,” Sianh confirmed. “In any case, it’s a wise direction to take out of the city. Countryside, few people to ask questions.”

“Wait,” Kristos said. “You’re talking as though you’re coming with us. You’ve been paid, and your bonus will arrive soon.”

“I have very little guarantee of that,” Sianh countered. “And you clearly have use of my services.”

“We won’t,” Kristos insisted.

“Kristos,” I said softly. “I think… I mean… perhaps we could.”

He turned to me, surprise lifting his brows. “Really?”

“He had you under the knife before you could even get both boots in the room. That seems like a useful skill to have on our side, doesn’t it? Especially if the a’Mavha are still contracted to prevent us from leaving?”

Kristos hesitated. “I didn’t budget for a sellsword,” he finally replied.

“I have the coffers of the Prince of Westland at my disposal,” I said, faintly imperious and actually enjoying the power that a bit of money granted me. Then I blanched, disgusted with myself for falling so easily into the same snare in which the nobles had tangled and knotted the country. I turned to Sianh. “We can negotiate your rate later, I presume?”

“You make quite the effective princess,” he said in reply. “But I have something in mind more substantial than merely escorting you out of the country. I would propose you hire me on a longer-term contract.”

Theodor held up a hand. “What do we have going for us that makes you want to join in? We’re walking into a war.”

“Precisely.” His smile was cordial, as though we were entering into negotiations over a bottle of cherry brandy instead of his role in the Galatine Civil War. “And I’ve on good authority that you are unsure of your… military situation. Yes?”

“Fair enough, we’ve covered that,” Kristos barked.

“And who will fight your war if the professional soldiers are under the thumb of the nobles?” He lifted a single finger. “And make no mistake, they will be. The nobility has the money, I imagine. And soldiers like to be paid. Don’t count on that ceasing to matter. Some will desert, perhaps, a few might mutiny. Still. I pose the question: Who do you expect to fight this war?”

“The common people who stand to lose the most,” Kristos said. “We did it once.”

“You failed once,” Sianh countered, earning a glare from Kristos. “Yes, there were other issues at hand, but can you deny that, as soon as the soldiers in Galitha City responded, the revolt was put down quite quickly? What makes you think a large-scale war would be any different?”

“It has to be!” he shouted at the same time Theodor slammed his hand against the nearest post and cursed.

“It can be,” Sianh interrupted before Kristos or Theodor could launch into a tirade. “If you are correct in the scope of the resistance to the nobles, you have bought some time. Even the force of the Galatine army cannot put down every rebellion in every corner of Galitha at once.”

Kristos nodded. “And to the best of our knowledge, they put much of their focus on Galitha City. And are held at bay.”

“Good. Then you need an army to fight for and hold the rest of the country. Not a rabble of peasants with pitchforks. The Galatine army will know how to fight properly—tactics, musket drill, field formation. You need an army that won’t run at the first sight of a bayonet charge.”

“And where do we find an army?” Theodor asked. “Our alliances with our neighbors are a bit strained at the moment.”

“I can make an army for you,” Sianh said. “From your common people. I can turn them from farmers and dockworkers into an army. I was an officer, fairly high ranking. It’s true, I have been… underemployed in recent years. But I know what you need and how to deliver it.”

“For a price?” I said.

“For a price. All things considered, a low one. Pay equal to your highest-ranking officer, a commission in your army, a pension when it’s over.”

“And a spot on the gallows alongside us if we fail,” Kristos countered.

“Understood,” Sianh replied.

“Why would you risk that?”

“Great gain involves great risk. If I stay here, I have no prospects beyond my employment now. Someday I will grow too old for that, and then what?” The haunted shadow behind his eyes told me what that meant to him—not only financial hardship but uselessness, the promise of life as a spent man, wrung out and discarded. I met Theodor’s eyes and nodded.

Theodor understood my approval and didn’t question it further. “That can all be arranged. And if we prevail,” he said, “a pension won’t be hard to manage. But if we don’t—”

“If we don’t, I have failed you.” Sianh straightened his shoulders. “Do we have a deal? I’ll accompany you back to Galitha, continuing to provide what protection I can along the journey. Once there, I will turn your people into an army.”

“You have a deal,” Theodor said.

Kristos grudgingly offered his hand as well. “Then let’s get going.”