The Last Dragon: Book Three

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Princess Elizabeth

Soren and Timor respectfully entered my cabin and bowed more deeply than I’d seen for any princess, my brother the future king, or my father. Was it from respect for me or the position I held in Crestfallen? No, they had all bowed or curtsied to my father in the same way during official engagements—but he was the King of Dire. I pushed my thoughts inside and allowed none of what I felt to show on my face or in my actions. Instead, in a soft voice, I cooed, “Have you come to share your revised treaty?”

Timor said, “We have if this is a good time for you.”

“Sit on the edge of my bed and tell me of the changes.”

They were shocked and confused by my instructions. Not at sharing their changes, but of two men sitting on the bed of a princess again. It implied personal relations, and I liked the confusion and uncertainty it caused. Not that they were confused and shocked, but the intimacy of my bed was another weapon for my arsenal. Neither stood a chance of sharing it, but I was entering a mental battle with the fate of Dire in question. If I could make a pair of men quiver like warm honey in summer simply by invitation to sit on an empty bed, there might come a time when I could use it.

Soren kept his eyes downcast as Timor lifted a piece of inexpensive brown paper and read nine additions to the treaty, all favoring Dire. He’d been prepared for my questions and anticipated I might ask only for the changes, not a full review of everything. Glancing at the paper, it was Timor’s hand that penned it. The younger man might find himself vaulting over Soren for promotion if he continued to perform as he had lately.

“Timor,” I said, “those are all items I’d like to see on the final treaty, except numbers three and four. They are merely trade-bait, items for me to surrender while making sure I get my way on the others. However, I need several more of similar scope and perhaps two that are completely outlandish. In giving up those two, the ones you’ve outlined will seem far more reasonable. Eventually, I’ll give in to all of them, and the remainder will be what we want.”

His head bobbed in agreement as I talked, and Soren’s complexion reddened. They’d obviously argued about what to include, and Timor had wanted to add others as I’d suggested. Soren had objected if I read their body language correctly. I wouldn’t mention it, but I’d remember it. There were times when Soren didn’t seem to be doing as I wished.

Timor said, “Between the three of us, we should have those suggestions before dark if you wish to review them tonight. I heard we will dock in Vin just after dawn, tomorrow. Will you require anything else from us for this port of call?”

“No, not at first, however my plan is to go ashore and meet with whatever officials are available. I would like to gently question them and see if there are concerns that might also come up in Dagger. Perhaps one might mention a shortage of grain, or that good wine is at a premium. If Dire can help resolve a problem in Kondor, we will—for a price.”

Soren snorted in humor as if I’d said something funny, but his eyes were not laughing. He seemed to be performing for me as if he liked what was happening.

I didn’t. He closed his mouth and looked away before my eyes met his. Again, Will had been right. People do not give respect. The recipient earns it. My hand moved in the direction of the latch for the door, and both men bolted as if chased by dark things that come in our dreams at night.

Yes, I had noticed the conspicuous absence of Lady Grace, my personal scribe at the meeting. I also noticed neither man had mentioned her, and that made me wonder why she had not come to my cabin. I suspected Soren had been involved, but instead of waiting, I left my cabin and walked to the next door, which was the cabin used as an office.

I opened it unannounced and found her head down, pen in hand. Timor was already doing the same. Soren was absent. This time, I sat uninvited after gently closing the door. Their surprise at my actions was much the same as a child caught stealing a fresh-baked cookie. They were hiding something.

My smile was intended to calm both. That was before coming right to the point. “Where is Soren?”

“Uh, he had to meet with someone in the passenger lounge,” Timor said after a glance at Lady Grace to make sure she agreed with him telling me.

“I see. Has he spent a lot of time with this person?” That question nearly caused both to panic. It shouldn’t have. I suspected a woman.

Lady Grace said, “I believe it is a new friend.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I smiled. “Are you two already working on what I asked for?”

“We are,” Timor said.

“Good. Is there any possibility I could get a crude outline from the pair of you, just the basics read this evening so that I will have it in the morning?” I’d already asked for it but wanted to reinforce my demand. I also wished to point out that two were doing the work of three.

They agreed.

I stood up and said, “You’re both doing a wonderful job for me, and I thank you for the hard work. Soren, too, of course. By the way, does his friend live in Dire?”

“Kondor,” Lady Grace corrected.

“I see. Well, I have a few things to do so I’ll let you get back to your work. Is there anything you need from me?” Thankfully, there was not.

I nearly fled the room in search of Will. It was not hard to find him. I went on deck and called his name once. He appeared from behind the stub of the main mast as if by magic, and as if he just happened to be where he could watch over me, as always.

I pointed to the rail. The pretense of not knowing each other was wearing thin, but only to those who were paying attention. We stood beside each other for a few moments. He allowed me to gather my thoughts. Unfounded accusations should be handled delicately.

I said, “One of my scribes is not revising the treaty in the manner I asked for. He is meeting with a new friend in the passenger lounge instead, someone from Kondor.” I stressed the name as if wanting to clear a bad taste from my mouth.

The corners of Will’s lips twitched. Not a full smile, but the beginnings of one. He said, “You impress me in ways never expected. How you ferreted out that he is not dealing with an old friend, but a new business acquaintance, I’d like to know. But, again, I’m impressed, and the situation is going to be dealt with tonight.”

“You knew? Tonight?”

“I didn’t feel it imperative to handle it sooner, and certainly not before speaking to you. We dock in the morning, and it needs to be over before then. Before his new friend can pass on the information he’s bought.”

“But you already knew about it?” I demanded again, so fiercely my foot almost stamped on the deck of the ship. “You’ve investigated my scribe and the friend?”

“Only for a few days. Since the mage’s storm broke.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “They spoke in whispers, but the air at sea sometimes carries voices to those nearby. Sometimes the walls on ships are thin enough to hear through.”

That was all a lie. He’d managed to sneak within hearing range in some manner and listened to their conversation. “What was said?”

“Soren told a lone ‘businessman’ from Kondor everything you discussed in the treaty. In detail. What you stressed, what you were willing to give up, and the rest. Then he accepted a purse filled to overflowing with coins. The businessman will relay that information to the Council of Nine as soon as the ship docks and your efforts to negotiate a fair treaty will fail—if they have their way. Which they will not.”

I felt the heat rise my neck and reach my face. My flush must have been evident all the way from the bow of the Gallant. My fingers curled into fists. “A traitor? Soren? He sold information to harm Dire?”

“Your father will be disappointed to hear of his untimely death at sea.”

My reaction was to charge into the passenger’s lounge and confront Soren. If he’d done what Will said, I’d be willing to throw him over the railing of the ship and watch him swim. Will’s flat statement that he was going to kill Soren chilled the heat I’d felt a moments ago. My lips wanted to tell Will he couldn’t kill Soren. Not Soren. I’d seen him in the halls and workshops of Crestfallen since I was a child. He was a senior scribe and respected enough that my father personally selected him for this voyage. My mind juggled all the contrasting components as I considered the situation in shock. Then any feelings of fondness for the man moved on.

Soren’s actions endangered me, Damon, Kendra, my father, and every citizen of Dire. My anger at his betrayal grew. I turned to tell Will I agreed with his assessment to kill Soren but found he had already departed and wasn’t in sight. His mind was made up.

I don’t know how long I’d been standing at the rail, but Will had moved like an apparition, like the Blue Lady. It seemed his feet barely touched the deck. He could disappear while I looked at him, but it was skill, not magic he used. The next time he was near me, I’d place a hand on his arm to find out if he was real and to hold him near until I was ready to release him. Being enclosed in my cabin, alone, didn’t appeal, so I remained at the rail and watched the endless roll of the sea.

A young man I didn’t know, but who had caught my eye a few times, came up behind me and asked, “May I join you?”

He was from Kondor, his features were much like Damon’s, and I missed my friend, so found myself saying, “Please.”

He reached out to take my hand in formal greeting. “Frisian. An old name meaning ‘beautiful sunrise.’ I’ve never forgiven my mother for choosing it.”

“I am . . . Elizabeth.”

“Princess Elizabeth of Dire, so I’m told. I’ve never spoken to royalty.”

“You seem to be doing well at it, today.”

“I have heard you wish to know more about my homeland and am offering my help.”

Was Frisian the businessman who paid my clerk to betray me? A knot formed in my stomach. “Your occupation?”

“I’m a trader.”

He said, trader, not a traitor, as I’d thought I heard at first. Still, a trader is a businessman. There were not that many passengers from Kondor who were businessmen on the ship. I glanced around and found Will innocently passing by. He shook his head before I could ask the question.

I couldn’t help myself. “Do you know anyone on the Council of Nine?”

He clenched his teeth so hard the muscles of his cheeks flexed. “No.”

“Are you a supporter of the council?”

He answered stiffly, a political answer. “I am in favor of what is best for the people of Kondor.”

“Would you join me for dinner, Frisian? I do have a lot of questions.”

His smile sparkled in the late afternoon light. We went to the tiny dining room and selected our meals from the meager, cold offerings. A hot meal had become a distant memory. The salted crackers, a selection of three kinds of cheese, and smoked slivers of meat were more than enough when washed down with white wine and good conversation.

I found Frisian understandably reluctant to talk about anything negative concerning the present government of Kondor, but inferences were easy to draw. He favored the rule of the king when he’d earned most of a fortune. For the last few years, he’d been hoarding his profits in Dire, planning to remain there on one of his trips. It all had to be arraigned in secret because he wanted to sail there with two sisters, their husbands, and a nephew. He tried once, but a family member hadn’t understood the wrath of the Council of Nine, and he’d barely escaped with his life.

The story had come out in blips and pieces. He hadn’t said much of it directly but hinted. I thought more of him for not speaking out of turn, even if he was talking to a princess. I did learn that the Council of Nine was often called the Council of None because they were never all seen together. The feeling of the citizens was unfavorable, but those few who spoke against the new rulers were often discovered dead, their homes burned.

He believed at least three of the council were women. It was unusual to find women rulers unless born to it. I hesitated to ask if they were sorceresses, but believe I knew the answer beforehand so withheld asking.

Frisian was an interesting speaker and versed in a variety of subjects. He traded pearls, garnets, opals, and quality iron needles that were strong and sharp. In short, he said he traded, bought, or sold almost anything he could sell for a profit in another land—if he could put it in his pocket instead of packing it in crates or transporting it in caravans.

“Don’t you ever buy something and find you cannot sell it in the next port?”

“Of course,” he exclaimed with a smile I found hard to ignore. “But the port after that might buy it. Ladies, wealthy ones in any land, cannot resist pretty baubles of a kind their friends don’t have and can’t get.”

The time slipped away until well after dark. Finally, Frisian escorted me to my cabin. As I entered, a single candle glowed from a scone mounted on the wall, one I had not left lighted. I latched the door and noticed a small cloth bag in the center of my bed. I picked it up and felt the weight and heard the jingle of coins. The smile I had worn with Frisian slipped away as I realized the bag was filled with coins paid to Soren for betraying me—and Soren no longer belonged to this world. His new friend had ended his life today, also. I had no doubt.

The coin purse was Will’s way of letting me know that while I dined with my new friend, my traitor had died. Probably fell overboard, but not necessarily so. Their deaths may have been staged as a robbery gone bad, or something else.

I spilled the coins on my bed, not because I wanted them, but I wanted to see how much my life, my father’s life, and my kingdom was worth.

I looked at those coins for a long time. There was also a sheet of folded paper. I opened it, knowing what it contained. There was a neatly printed list in Soren’s hand of my demands to be added to the treaty. All of them, but the few new ones, I’d added this afternoon that he hadn’t known about. I looked to be certain. The penmanship was Soren’s. There was no doubt.