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It was a heated few days, with the exchange of letters between the Prince of Vresal and the Kings of Grayhaven and Ataton.
"He must realize that there is not a single time when we will enter his land alone and unguarded," Alik said and threw down the latest scroll. Prince Raulyn, as they came to know him as, suggested Stormholme Castle as their next spot of negotiations and as much as the land called to both Eamon and Avelina, they had seen the danger there as well. The prince demanded that they leave guards and weapons at home and sail only with a skeleton crew.
"He is an arrogant fool," Eamon added.
"He is not stupid though. He pushes these negotiations through for as long as he can in hopes of forestalling your invasion," Margrave said. "What word I have gotten about him and his place in his own court is not one so stable as our own. The people on Storm Isles are but a single spark of rebellion away from all out civil war and his own court makes Grayhaven appear like a delightful fairy tale. The attempts on his life are numerous and he has no one but a select few that he can call his own. Even the soldiers he turned from Stormholme he does not trust."
"What of his father?" Avelina asked as she scribbled out a coded letter to Lissandra, updating her on all the things happening.
"It's unusual to say the least. A large, healthy man but to his last month on this land. Then he began to waste away quite suddenly and one night he went to sleep and never woke. There is no sign of poison but-" Margrave shrugged and his one useful eye went distant. "We all know how suddenly healthy men can take ill and die."
"So you suspect the prince?" Alik asked.
Margrave gave him a strained smile. "Dear cousin, I suspect everyone."
"What will you suggest?" Issat asked when an uncomfortable silence settled over everyone in the war room.
"The old negotiations. Four ships, one large floating platform lashed to all four. We will meet on the platform and speak there," Alik said.
"That is indeed old," Margrave said and he still seemed to be distantly aware of how much these negotiations could cost them. "They ended those when our great grandfather was killed on one."
"I am not our great grandfather and he did not have Eamon," Alik said.
"True enough," Margrave said. He stood abruptly and went to the door. At the last moment he turned back to the council and bowed. "If you have no immediate need for me, I have something to attend to."
"Care to share with the rest of us what that might be?" Eamon asked.
Instead of answering, Margrave gave them all the same smile and left.
With his exit, the others started to take their leave as well, leaving until only Milet and Heaven guarding the doors and Eamon and Alik were alone.
"I wish you would let me go alone," Eamon said softly to Alik's back.
"I wish we didn't have to go at all, yet here we are," Alik said without turning. This was not an argument that he was going to lose.
"The kingdom cannot withstand the loss of both kings-" Eamon started.
"I cannot withstand the loss of you," Alik interrupted. "I was there once and I will not do it again, do you understand me? I cannot go back to that place. I will not. If you go, I go. We are a united front. That was our agreement."
"I know," Eamon murmured and sighed. He glanced to the window and a gathering storm. They would have to pull everyone inside before it hit. He knew that the servants would already be lighting the fires in each room and that in their rooms, they would be placing warm skins of water to keep the blankets from being too cold. The winter nights here had grown on him, strangely enough.
Perhaps it was more than that. Perhaps, after so much time spent here on this land he finally adjusted to life there. The city, though still dirty and crowded, was much more than it used to be. It was lively, filled with characters that welcomed Eamon with open arms. His sister being at his side eased his homesickness as well. The cold nights no longer wore at him. Now he was used to the thick furs and Alik seeking him out for warmth.
"I wish to keep you from harm as much as you wish to keep me from it," Alik went on. "The only problem you have with that is you are so used to rushing into fights. This will not be your fight, not in your arena. This is mine. If anyone should stay away, it should be you, just for the fact that you are far more likely to toss this so-called Prince into the sea."
Eamon sighed. "You know me so well."