My fists curl. "I have brought Lords Vann and Lothar to discuss your decision." I gesture to the spots on either side of me while they sit. Four more hunters and two stone benders are piling in behind me, clad in armor as well. The space is too full. Sweat trickles down my back under my armor.
The prince leans into his seat. "Even though we anticipated this, I must admit—I’m a little disappointed I can’t see Enduvida with my own eyes," he says lazily.
I also lean back into my seat while Lothar laces his fingers together on the table.
“Why have you come to our home?” Lothar asks.
The Second Prince takes a deep breath. "We have come to discuss a truce."
Warning bells go off in my mind. "A truce?" I repeat suspiciously. My hunters shift uneasily behind me.
"Yes.” The giant gestures for one of his warriors. “After many meetings with my father, King Erdaraj," the Prince says smoothly, emphasizing his father's name again while clasping his fingers, "he has decided that he's not interested in a genocide of your people. I don't know how many of you rats are crammed in that mountain, but it can't be enough to fight off the entirety of our armies."
Insult after insult. "You assume many things," I say, sitting across from him at the table.
He shrugs. "It is in our best interests."
I look him in the eye and think,What about peace is good for your interests?Deciding my words are too bold, I take a deep breath through my nose and say, “Forgive me for not understanding why you would cast off my offense.”
The warrior hands the Second Prince a note. Rholker glances over it, and my fingers twitch.
"As I've already said, my father believes in peace between our two peoples, particularly so that we can conserve our trading route. However, we will require a time of penalty as retribution for the two giant citizens that you disposed of during their last visit."
I grit my teeth. My suspicions about the wealth of their kingdom depending on our trades are all but confirmed. It always comes back to diamonds. "Interesting words. Does your father realize that they were the ones to cause the altercation in the first place after I had rightfully won a bet? It was only self-defense on our part."
He sneers. "That is not what the First Prince says… But, my father agrees with you.”
"I see," I say, trying to keep my voice level. "What penalty are you proposing?"
"My father has waxed poetic about your people. His terms come in twos. Two diamonds, and," he pauses, placing the note on the table, "the death of two of your own. If you agree, we can negotiate a peace treaty that will go into effect between our peoples for the next five years," Rholker says, his tone bored.
He's not half as idiotic as he looks, but he can’t hide the flickers of anger peeking back at me.
I lean forward, the weight of responsibility heavy on my shoulders. It is an impossible position to weigh the lives of two of my people against the future of my people.
"I would like to see the letter you carry," I say.
Prince Rholker scoffs and then pushes the paper lazily across the table. One of my hunters retrieves it and hands it to me.
My eyes scan the words, angry. Hoping for a loophole where there is none. The language is crass, but it confirms what the Second Prince says.
"And if we refuse?" I ask, my voice low.
Rholker's eyes dip to the table. "We hope that won’t happen.”
“But if it does,” I repeat.
“Then war will be declared. And this time, we will make sure you don't have a chance to blow us up first."
I wonder if he knows how far my father was willing to go if his volcano had not worked. One of my hunters shifts behind me, and I take a sharp breath. "I will give you four diamonds, but no deaths."
He raises an eyebrow, clearly interested. However, he still says, "Two diamonds, two deaths."
“Second Prince, you can’t be serious,” Lothar says.
I grit my teeth. "Two diamonds for the king, one death, and an extra diamond for you."
The Prince leans back in his chair, a sly smile curling at the corner of his lips. “Make it two diamonds for me, and it's a deal. Oh, and I will require the head of the dead cave rat. I'd like it stuffed. It will make a nice gift for my father's wall."