Kerrington nodded emphatically. “An excellent point, Prince Alrec. We wouldn’t want our enemies to think us a bunch of twiddling twats, too weak to defend our borders.”
I swallowed the acid on my tongue. Being called a “twiddling twat” was actually a fairly good put-down coming from a brainless weasel.“If not a twiddling twat such as myself, who would you suggest as emissary?”
Kerrington’s pointed chin thrust forward so he could look down his nose at me. “It would be my honor to serve my kingdom in such a way.”
No no no. Kerrington never showed interest in anything. Why the hell did he have to be interested in this? If Alrec had to choose between the two of us, there’d be no contest.
Alrec’s head tilted as he considered. “I see no point in sending an emissary to speak with a man clearly posturing in our territory.”
“The waters belong to no nation,” I reminded him. Technically, King Tarren could float all of his ships just off our shores and there was nothing we could do about it.
“That may be the old way,littlebrother, but I see this as a clear act of aggression, and it will not be tolerated. I say we send a fleet to the bay and meet them with force.”
The whispers in the chamber turned to murmurs of discontent. The fool wasn’t even king yet and, if their worried looks were any indication, their support already wavered.
I thought back to that day in the city when I should’ve spoken up about the number of guards but hadn’t. Preventing war was more important than whatever punishment my brother was bound to inflict.“Do we know if Iodale’s king is having the same problem?” I asked Devon.
“We haven’t heard.” Lord Devon glanced at the men shaking their heads for confirmation. “I can draft a letter if your highness wishes it.”
Although the question had been directed at me, Alrec was the one to answer. “No, I do not wish it. What happens in Iodale is their own problem. What’s happening in the bay is ours.”
“If this confrontation is to end in war, we will need alliances,” said Lord Devon.
Alrec couldn’t be serious. As the heir to the throne, he should know better than anyone that forming alliances was one of the first steps in warfare. We may have been a large island, but we were still an island. What hope did we have of winning a war against a nation with unlimited access to resources when ours could be cut off with a few well-placed ships?
Not to mention, all of our closest allies were islands as well. And Iodale was his betrothed’s home country. Wouldn’t he want to protect their people as well as our own?
“Fine,” Alrec ground out, splaying his hands atop the missives. “I will allow you to write to the King of Iodale. But we will also send ships with cannons and munitions to the bay. It will appease the lords living close byandshow Tarren we aren’t to be trifled with.”
Lord Devon bowed his head. “As you wish, your highness.”
“Now, let’s get on to the next order of business.” Alrec’s grin left my heart sinking. “My coronation.”
When the discussion around Alrec’s coronation lasted twice as long as the discussion of an impending war, that was all the confirmation I needed that our country was doomed. He’d always been a curse in my life, one-upping me at every turn, but I refused to let him curse this kingdom.
Alrec could plan his ridiculously lavish coronation ceremony. Let him have the cakes and crown and dancers and jesters and choruses of people singing his praises.His distraction would give me a chance to fix the situation in the south.
Eventually, he grew bored of the discussions and dismissed everyone like they were a nuisance. When I stood to join them, he told me to sit back down.I remained standing behind my chair.
“I saidsit!” Alrec roared, banging his fists on the table like a petulant child impatient for dinner.
As much as it killed me to do so, I sank back onto the hard wooden chair.
He leaned forward, pointing a thick finger at my face. “If you ever make me look like a fool in front of my advisors again—”
“Sorry, but you did that all by yourself.”
“Interrupt me once more, and I will have you thrown into the dungeon. Do you hear me, Caiman?”
“But with me dead, who would you blame for all your missteps?” It was dangerous, pushing him when he was in this form, but I was so far beyond caring.
“You dare speak that way to your king?”
“Bedwyr is my king.”
“Not for long. And when I am on the throne, I will make your life hell.”
How would that be any different from the last nineteen years? What could he do to me that hadn’t already been done? He’d thrown me into a fire, broken my limbs and nose, bruised my ribs more times than I cared to count, and yet somehow managed to turn everything around and make it look as though I’d deserved the thrashings.And now he’d stolen the future I’d planned for myself, all because he thought I was too weak. “Why not just send me away and be done with it? Let me serve as emissary and I will be out of your hair for good.”