"Willum?" Cisco said darkly. I glanced over to see him scowling down at the prince. "Who's he?"
"My sister is glad to see she's finally captured your attention, Lura," Willum called in his boyish voice. He was five years older than me, but he still looked and sounded like a teenager. I secretly had a small crush on him the first time I met him four years earlier. That was immediately before Baruuk forced me to torture information out of him for hours. My crush was shattered within an hour of meeting him.
"Poor Willum," I sighed, as I grasped his body with my mind and pulled him to the top of the wall. When I set him down he lost his balance and fell into Cisco, who caught him deftly.
"This is 'poor Willum?'" Cisco breathed, disbelief in his tone. I shot him a glare that conveyed, "Shut up and let me work."
Baruuk had immediately noticed my crush on Willum, and he and Darius had cackled about it over tea two weeks later. Cisco had never let it go since then
.
"You are a handsome fellow," Cisco said, righting him and slapping him on the shoulder. It was a friendly gesture, but it only served to knock Willum forward again.
Willum glanced askance at Cisco, fearing there was some hidden threat.
"Aren't siblings supposed to protect each other? She knows what I do to negotiators," I said, saving myself from any potential teasing from Cisco.
"Clearly, you don't have siblings," he said, rolling his eyes and looking like he was ready for this to be over already. "At least not royal siblings."
"True," I eked out. In truth, I hardly knew what it was like to have a sibling. Hetya and I were raised apart, only seeing each other to prove she was injured, and to reinforce that my mistake was the reason for the beating. It was a stab to the heart that created dissonance within me.
"Sharlot wants to negotiate at last?" Cisco asked, his arms crossed. As he arched his neck to look down at Willum, a vein pulsed in his forehead. He didn't look ready to murder him, but a willing volunteer if the task was called for. His words transported me back to the present.
"She has terms for surrender," Willum confirmed. His dirty blond hair fell into his face, and dimples appeared in his cheeks as he smiled half-heartedly.
"We've almost won," I said. It was a quick battle. I was sure she had more tricks up her sleeve. My suggestion that we were close to winning was more bait than a true assessment of the situation. "I don't need to hear her terms."
"Have you brought Baruuk with you?" Willum asked. His green eyes glimmered in the light of the sunrise, and golden light drenched his warm skin. My fourteen year old self would be melting at that exact moment if she were there.
Willum was last on the list of enemies I enjoyed pulverizing, and I suspected he knew this and even attempted to use it to his advantage at torturing. But I was no longer fourteen. His boyish charm hadn't prevented me from torturing him back then, and it wouldn't that day, either.
"Come back to camp and find out," I said, infusing my smirk with as much grit as I could when looking into such an adorable face.
"I rather not," he grimaced.
"Then you'll have to give me your terms."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the corner of Cisco's mouth curve upward. "You know Baruuk doesn't go anywhere near a battle anymore," Cisco said, laying his own false charm on thick.
Willum pretended to be surprised, but I don't think anything fazed him anymore. Over the past five years I'd watched life slowly drain from his eyes. He was a shell of the boy he once was, all thanks to Sharlot. She took advantage of his gentle nature to sweet talk his way into making better deals. They had their effect on me several times in the past, though I had figured out my own way of manipulating him.
Stars, I'm too much like Baruuk.
"We're vulnerable here," I said to Sanna and Cisco. "Let's move out!" I called to the rest. I put my arm around Cisco's shoulder and as he held me I carried both his and Willum's bodies over the moat to the ground below.
Cisco and some other soldiers escorted Willum back to camp while I stayed behind to remove my soldiers from the palace wall. When I arrived back at camp, Cisco had Willum under guard in a private tent intended for the purpose of torture.
The ease of the battle and the negotiations were a good sign — it signaled that Sharlot really was here because she had something important to say. As I walked I flashed back to the faces of the soldiers lost in battle.
This battle better have been for a good cause.
If this was some ploy over a minor matter, I would seethe with anger. And that was so often the case. She admitted at times that she only attacked because she wanted to annoy Baruuk and I. She made me want to give her just a taste of the pain I put her brother through on a regular basis.
"Has he talked to you at all?" I asked Cisco.
"Not a word," he said. "He carries his burdens with dignity."
That was what made it all the more painful to do what I was about to do.
Willum was kneeling on the ground, surrounded by soldiers. When he saw me, he looked up peacefully into my eyes, a quiet strength in his I always admired.
"Leave us," I told the soldiers guarding him, and they vacated the tent, making way for Cisco and Sanna to enter.
"What does Sharlot want now?" I asked, not interested in small talk.
"I just wanted to talk," he said, firmly but gentle.
"You wanted to talk?" He couldn't mean this battle was all his idea.
"Yes. It was Sharlot who felt the only way to arrange that was through a siege of your people. I'm still a pacifist to my bones."
"A pacifist?" The word was new to me.
"Someone who refuses to engage in violence, no matter the cost," he clarified.
The fact that this word existed that resonated so deeply with me made my heart race. What a beautiful word.
"Pacifists don't stand up for themselves or others," Cisco grumbled, clearly disapproving of his stance.
I knelt before Willum, and held his chin so he was forced to meet my gaze. He didn't close his eyes or look away, but instead stared me down with quiet defiance. Willum usually responded better to a gentle approach contrasted with sharp pain.
Silence lingered between us as I dared him to look away in a way that had made other grown men cry. When he didn't, I asked, "What do you want, Willum?"
"I want peace." One eyebrow raised in his own challenge, he continued, "Collaboration. Lasting prosperity for our people."
I could feel Cisco's burning gaze on me. "You know Baruuk better than that. State your terms so I can refuse, break you, and send you on your way." I took a gentler tone. "Your suffering doesn't have to be prolonged if you accept here and now that Baruuk doesn't want any of that."
With dogged determination, Willum persisted. "I want to provide Baruuk the scholars needed to develop ice crystal technology further." When all I did was quirk an eyebrow, he continued, "In exchange, we receive a small portion of the ice crystals for our kingdom to help our people, and as long as we work together, there will be no needless bloodshed."
I narrowed my eyes. Everything he offered seemed reasonable and fair. We could use all the help we could get with ice crystal technology development since Baruuk hadn't prioritized education in his decades-long reign. But I couldn't let him know my own thoughts on the matter — I never could. I was Baruuk's direct representative. If he got wind that I made a deal which didn't suit his selfish interests, Hetty was punished. But if I was going to liberate Hetty and I and start my own regime, this collaboration would be something I'd love to pursue.
But I hated Sharlot. If Willum was king of Vydon, I would agree in an instant.
I knew how I needed to go about this, but it would be extremely painful for Willum and for me. Already it was clear these negotiations would be one of the most painful of my life.
"Baruuk will not consent to collaborate," Cisco said, kneeling beside me, looking intently into Willum's eyes. "But Espazota might." I shot him a glare he didn't notice because he was so focused on Willum. He offered Willum his hand. "Crown Prince Cisco-Zabriel Barbarosa of Espazota."
Willum hesitated, but eventually took Cisco's giant hand in his own more slender hand. "Willum, Fourth Prince of Vydon. Pleased to meet you." With a shrug he said, "Maybe I'm negotiating with the wrong person." He gave me a pointed look that suggested I leave them to collude in private.
"An alliance between Vydon and Espazota would pose a great threat to Calidonica and its alliance with Espazota." With Cisco my tone wasn't so gentle. "If you have any desire for a future alliance with Calidonica, you will not collaborate with Queen Sharlot."
Cisco turned to me but didn't take his eyes off of Willum. "I know you and Sharlot have history." Finally he looked at me.
"Sharlot is a sadistic ego-maniac who views people as expendable pawns to use in her petulant games. An alliance with Vydon will not go well. Nevermind the question of where and how you would get these crystals!" Calidonica was the only kingdom where ice crystals were harvested.
Cisco tilted his head to the side, contemplating. He didn't seem convinced.
"I will break both of you," I growled. Neither Cisco nor I would look away from the other. I tried to communicate everything I was thinking in the harsh look on my face. Cisco's was just as intense.
Cisco had heard me rant about Sharlot's conceit and narrow-mindedness many times. He didn't have as much experience dealing with her personally as I had, but she was evil through and through. Not only would it be a terrible idea, a bitter betrayal, but I would be terrified for Cisco's and Espazota's safety. I couldn't decide which aspect would be worse.
No, I knew which would be worse. Cisco's safety meant more to me than was comfortable.
"I don't see how this couldn't benefit all three of us," Cisco said, his glare rivaling mine.
"It could be the first step toward lasting peace," Willum interjected.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up." I believed that with my heart and soul. True collaboration was rare in Novalya. And the first alliance in Novalya in generations was fracturing in my hands, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Not unless I was queen.
Cisco rested a hand on my shoulder, more tenderly than was appropriate during an interrogation. I prayed neither Willum nor Sanna could tell I slept in his arms two nights earlier and it was the best sleep of my life.
It was terrifying realizing there was someone else a king or queen could use against me. I knew at that moment that I would do horrific things to protect Cisco, just like I would Hetty. It hit me like a roundhouse kick. It took my breath away.
There was someone else Baruuk or even Sharlot could use against me. For my current victim, it was the worst revelation for me to have.
"Maybe in the next generation," Cisco said, his glare falling away, becoming almost as boyish as Willum was.
I stood, glaring down at Willum, arms crossed and shoulders square. "A one year truce. We can see how things go from there." Willum's face lit up, and I hated to watch it fall again. "Unlimited access to the Great River for Calidonica and Espazota. Drinking water and farming water, safe travel for civilians and military. A promise of no alliance with Espazota for another year."
"In exchange for how many ice crystals?" Willum asked.
My next words shattered his lofty dream in one sentence. "One horseless carriage, which I will send you back to Sharlot in."
"You ask too much!" he protested. It was the first look of excitement I'd seen on him. "Think of the innovation — tools for transport, farming, water filtration, plumbing, heat. You would say no to all of that?"
"Our people's first experience with ice crystals was a massive explosion," I said. "The potential for creating seismic weapons is great. I would never entrust Sharlot with the means to attack our people while our borders are open."
"Now you know how I feel," Cisco muttered. I shot him a glare that silenced him.
"I will give you two options, Willum." His eyes widened, alight with hope and possibility. "I break a handful of bones in your body. For every term you agree to, I'll heal one bone."
Willum swallowed. "And option two?"
"I break one of your bones every hour until you surrender or die."
Willum looked to Cisco for support, but Cisco didn't offer him any hope of assistance. "You're really going to make me choose? If I die it'll be an all-out war!"
"I don't think it'll come down to that," I said.
Willum gave me the fiercest look I'd ever seen on him. It was clear that his personal stakes in this deal were high. It made my stomach turn, believing he was right, but having to hurt him anyway to protect my people as well as Cisco's.
Willum's grin was part grimace. "Try me."