Falling Kingdoms (14 page)

“Maybe,” she admitted with reluctance.

He nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer. “I’ll escort you back to your chambers now.”

Cleo said good night to the Cassians and followed him, not speaking another word until she reached the door to her room.

“I am sorry,” Theon said. “I know how much you care about your sister. But I can’t go against your father’s wishes.”

“I know. And I do understand.”

He stiffened when Cleo took his hand in hers and brought it up to her lips to kiss it. The look on his face was priceless. She’d completely shocked him.

“Your highness...”

“I like you, Theon. So much. Despite any harsh words thrown between us, I know your heart is true.”

He swallowed hard. “I feel the same way toward you.”

“I know you think I’m a spoiled brat who only wants things her way.”

“I never said that. And I don’t think that. You are a...well, I think you’re kind of incredible. Stubborn isn’t always a bad thing. And your love for your sister is admirable.”

Cleo smiled before it faded. “I don’t want to marry Aron. Ever.”

He looked down at her fingers now laced with his. “I know.”

“What I want isn’t allowed.”

Theon’s gaze moved back up to burn into hers. “The feeling is mutual.”

Oh, how she wished things were simpler. And oh, how she wished she was talking about wanting Theon.

She
did
want him. But she wanted to save her sister’s life even more.

Cleo went up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against Theon’s cheek. “I know you’re just trying to protect me.”

He touched his face, desire darkening his gaze. “There’s nothing else I want more than to keep you safe.”

She smiled up at him. “Nothing at all?”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “You’re making this very difficult for me.”

“Apologies; I’m teasing you.”

“Very well, too.”

“My father said that I act overly dramatic to gain attention.” She bit her bottom lip. Was that really how the king had always viewed her? No wonder when she’d asked for something so important, he’d found it easy to turn her down.

“I don’t see you that way at all.” Theon shook his head. “You’re a girl who views the world in a certain way. You want what you want. And if obstacles are presented to you, you try to find a way around them. Or
through
them.”

She looked up at him with gratitude. Considering what a short time they’d known each other, he saw her as she would like to be seen. She could only hope it was the truth. “Thank you for trying to protect me, even if occasionally it must mean that I can’t have what I want.”

“It’s my honor to protect you. Sleep well.” With a last searching look, Theon turned from her and moved down the hall.

Cleo went into her room, prepared for bed, and went to sleep.

And then, an hour before sunrise, she rose, dressed, and slipped out of her room, past the sleeping maid who was stationed by her door, waiting for her to awaken.

She’d lied to Theon when she said she planned to leave in two days. Emilia didn’t have that kind of time. Cleo had made her decision to go right away, even if it had to be by herself. She had some money with her. She would hire someone else to be her guide. Once she was past the palace walls, she’d plan her next step.

“Morning, princess.”

She froze.

For a split second she was certain it was Theon who’d discovered her ruse. But he didn’t know her quite well enough to know when she was lying.

However, somebody else did.

Nic leaned against the wall around the next corner next to a portrait of Cleo and Emilia’s great-grandfather.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, his arms folded over his chest. His red hair stuck up in every direction as if he’d just rolled out of bed without a care to how he looked. He probably had.

“I—I’m hungry. I’m going to the kitchen.”

“Oh, please. You can’t lie to me, Cleo.”

She straightened, forcing herself not to feel guilty. “All right, fine. I’m leaving. I’m going to Paelsia and I don’t care what anyone says. Are you going to try to stop me?”

Nic studied her for a moment, his expression neutral. “No. But I’ll tell you what I am going to do.”

“What?”

He grinned. “I’m going with you.”

I
t had taken well over a month of trying, but Jonas had finally been granted audience with Chief Basilius.

“Color me impressed,” Brion said under his breath as they were led along the dirt path leading to the chief’s gated, guarded compound. “You need to give me a few lessons from the Jonas Agallon school of charisma.”

“It’s easy.”

“Says you.” Brion glanced at the gorgeous girl who had her arm around Jonas’s waist. The one who’d finally promised the two of them that they could meet the chief. Also known as her father.

Jonas had quickly realized that the only way he would ever get a chance to see the reclusive Paelsian leader was through his family. And Laelia Basilius was more than willing to help Jonas when he’d casually approached her at a tavern. She’d been performing there. The chief’s daughter was a dancer.

And what a dancer she was . . .

“Snakes,” Brion had said to him with surprise as they’d watched her perform to a crowd of over a hundred a week ago. “She’s dancing with
snakes
.”

She was. She really was.

“I never liked snakes before,” Jonas replied. “But I’m starting to see the appeal.”

Laelia was a stunningly beautiful girl—a couple years older than he was. And she danced with two snakes, a white and black python that writhed and slid over her shapely body. He felt mesmerized watching her, her hips swaying, her long black hair—to her knees—flowing with the movements of her tanned body.

But he wasn’t really seeing her.

All he could see was a beautiful golden princess with eyes the color of the sea standing over the body of his dead brother and next to his murderer.

Even though Jonas had been diverted from his original plan to sneak into the palace in Auranos to kill both Lord Aron and Princess Cleo, he remained fixated with the memory of her. He hated the royals and everything they stood for with every fiber of his being. But he had to focus. He had no choice. He tried to plaster a smile on his face as he and Brion drew closer to the Paelsian chief’s daughter.

Before, when Jonas and Tomas had gone to taverns and made conversation with pretty girls—performers or otherwise—after a backbreaking day of work in the vineyards that added calluses to both their hands and spirits, Tomas had been the more popular one. Older, maybe a
fraction
better-looking. He was a born flirt. Jonas received plenty of attention to brighten his nights after difficult days, but he couldn’t help but think the girls had preferred his brother.

With Tomas gone, that had definitely changed.

When he’d finally caught Laelia’s eye that first night, her gaze slid over him with appreciation. After the music stopped, she slipped a sheer, gauzy wrap over her curves and waited coyly for his approach.

“Nice snakes,” he said, offering her a wicked grin.

The grin didn’t fail him.

She was his.

Laelia Basilius had no calluses on her hands or sunburnt face like the girls he was used to spending time with. When she laughed, it was from pure amusement and not edged in weariness from a hard day of manual labor. She liked Jonas. A lot. And a week later, she wanted to introduce him to her father.

“Come closer,” the chief beckoned as they came into view. He sat before a large bonfire. Several topless girls danced for him until he waved his hand at them dismissively. They moved off to the other side of the campfire.

Sparks from the fire danced in the air. Stars speckled the black velvet sky. The carcass of a goat sat on top of the fire on a spit, roasting for a late dinner. The smell of scorched flesh hung in the cool night air. Laelia tugged at Jonas’s hand. He kept his expression neutral, but he was found he was intimidated. He’d never met the chief before. He’d never known anyone who had. Basilius had been in seclusion for years. So this was the ultimate honor a Paelsian could have and he felt deeply honored to be here, no matter what steps he’d had to take to make this possible.

One thing that had deeply surprised him within the compound was its opulence. While the rest of Paelsia worked endlessly in the vineyards and struggled to find scraps to eat, it seemed that on the other side of the chief’s compound’s walls there were no difficulties at all. Part of him believed dutifully that the chief should be held to a different standard than a common Paelsian—and he was more than entitled to use part of his steep wine tax to make a private home for himself as leader. The other part felt an uneasy ache form in the pit of his stomach over this revelation.

He sank to his knees next to Brion and they both lowered their heads in deference to their leader.

“Rise.” The chief smiled, the darkly tanned skin at the corners of his gray eyes fanning out in dozens of wrinkles. He wore his hair long and some of it near his face in
texos
, thin braids, which was the traditional hairstyle for men in Paelsia. Jonas had cut his hair when he turned thirteen. Short hair was easier to manage. Brion’s hair was longer but not quite long enough to braid. Since the land had begun to fade, many traditions had started to fade as well.

“Papa,” Laelia purred, running her hand over Jonas’s chest. “Isn’t he pretty? Can I keep him?”

The chief’s lips curved to the side. “Laelia, my beauty. Please give us a chance to talk. I want to get to better know this boy you’re so taken by.”

Her shoulders slumped and she pouted. The chief waved his hand at her in dismissal until she finally retreated to join the other girls at the far side of the fire.

Jonas and Brion exchanged a mutually wary glance.

They were in. Now what?

“Chief, it’s an honor—” Jonas began.

“Are you in love with my daughter?” the chief asked. “Have you come here to ask to be bound to her?”

Someone brought him a plate of food, turkey legs and venison and roasted yams, piled higher than any plate Jonas had ever seen in his life. His family frequently went hungry, and he’d been driven to illegally hunt in another land to keep his loved ones alive, but there was enough food in the chief’s compound to feed his village for months.

A part of him deep down inside turned frosty and brittle at the realization.

Brion jabbed his elbow into Jonas’s arm when he didn’t answer right away.

“Am I in love with your daughter?” Jonas repeated, unsure how to answer this.

“Yes,” Brion hissed under his breath. “Say yes, you idiot.”

But that would be a lie. Jonas couldn’t lie about matters of the heart. He’d tried before and failed miserably. There was a great difference between lust and love.

“I think Laelia is a beautiful girl,” he said instead. “I’ve been very lucky she gives me any attention.”

The chief studied him. “She doesn’t bring many boys here to meet me. You’re only the second.”

“What happened to the first one?” Brion asked.

“He didn’t survive,” the chief said.

Brion’s face fell.

The chief laughed loudly. “I jest. He’s fine. My daughter grew weary of his attentions; that was all. I’m sure he still lives. Somewhere.”

Or maybe Laelia fed him to her snakes,
Jonas thought morbidly.

But none of this was why they were here. He wanted to get to the point immediately.

“Chief Basilius, I’m very honored to meet you tonight,” Jonas said. “Because I need to talk to you about something very important.”

“Oh?” He raised a bushy eyebrow. “And you choose my celebration feast to do so?”

“What are you celebrating?”

“A union with an ally. A partnership that will help create a much more prosperous Paelsia in the future.”

This wasn’t expected at all, but was an excellent thing to hear. Jonas’s discomfort at witnessing the expanse of the chief’s comfort eased a little. “I’m glad to hear it. Because that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Basilius nodded, his eyes glinting with curiosity. “Please, say what you came here to say.”

“My brother was killed recently by an Auranian lord. His name was Tomas Agallon.” Jonas’s throat tightened. “It was a sign to me that things have to change. That Paelsia’s current difficulties are not acceptable. I believe Auranos is an evil land filled with devious people. Years ago they tricked us into planting only grapes, so that today they can pay us a pittance for our wine while charging the moon for their crops. Yet they have so many resources, all of which are closed off to us. If we even tread a foot past the border, we risk our very lives. It’s not acceptable.” He took a breath and let it out slowly, gathering his courage. “I’m here to propose an uprising against them, to take what’s theirs and make it ours. It’s time we stopped waiting for things to change on their own.”

The chief studied him for a long, silent moment. “I completely agree with you.”

Jonas blinked. “You do?”

“And I’m very sorry for what happened to your brother. It was a tragedy to lose one of our own in such a senseless way. I had no idea that you were related to the murdered boy until now, and I’m so glad you have come here tonight. And you’re right. Auranos must pay for its ignorance and narcissism—for what happened to your brother and for its citizens’ complete disregard for my land and my people.”

Jonas couldn’t believe this was so easy. “You agree that we should rise up against them.”

“Much more than that, Jonas. There will be war.”

Jonas felt cold all of a sudden. “War?”

“Yes.” The chief leaned closer, studying Jonas’s face, Brion’s face. “You two are valuable to me. You see what others do not. I want you to help me in what is to come.”

“You sound like this isn’t a crazy idea we’re suggesting,” Brion said with confusion. “Wait. Your celebration feast...this is something you’re already planning, isn’t it? Even without us saying anything?”

The chief nodded. “I have joined with the king of Limeros in a mutual goal to take Auranos for ourselves. Both Paelsia and Limeros will prosper greatly when Auranos falls.”

Jonas stared at the chief in stunned silence. This went far beyond anything he ever could have dreamed possible.

“What happened in the market the day your brother was murdered triggered all of this,” the chief continued. “Your family’s sacrifice—the loss of your brother—was a tragedy. But it is one that will result in true change.”

“You’re really going to try to conquer Auranos,” Jonas said with shock.

“Not try. Succeed. And I want you to join up with my forces. I have scouts going throughout Paelsia right now, gathering eligible men to join with the trained and ready Limeros army. King Gaius is a very smart man.
Very
smart. King Corvin, however, is clueless. No war in a hundred years. Peace for all that time. He has grown fat and lazy. Victory will inevitably be ours. And the people of Paelsia will look forward to a brighter future.”

This was truly too good to be true. Jonas had to be dreaming.

“I need you to be ready to fight at my side to ensure a better future for your fellow Paelsians. Both of you.”

Jonas and Brion looked at each other.

“Of course,” Jonas said firmly. “Anything you need, Chief Basilius. Anything at all.”

The chief considered both of them for a moment. “In the meantime, I want you to travel to the villages. Keep an eye open for anything unusual. If King Corvin gets word of our plans, he might send his own spies here to gather more information.”

Jonas nodded. “Yes, Chief.”

The chief nodded and smiled. “Now, please enjoy yourselves. Take part in my feast and celebrations. And Jonas, try to remember one thing that’s more important than anything else...beyond war, beyond even death itself.”

“Yes, sir?”

The chief’s smile held. “Be careful with my daughter. She doesn’t take disappointment very well.”