Sarene sighed, closing her eyes. “Oh, Father, you could never see it. To you I was a delight—your beautiful, intelligent daughter. No one would dare tell you what they really thought of me.”
“What are you talking about?” he demanded, now speaking with the voice of a king.
“Father,” Sarene said, “I am twenty-five years old, and I am blunt, conniving, and ofttimes offensive. You must have noticed that no man ever sought my hand.”
Her father didn’t respond for a moment. “I thought about it,” he finally admitted.
“I was the king’s spinster daughter, a shrew no one wanted to touch,” Sarene said, trying—and failing—to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “Men laughed at me behind my back. No one would dare approach me with romantic intentions, for it was well known that whoever did would be mocked by his peers.”
“I just thought you were independent—that you didn’t consider any of them worthy of your time.”
Sarene laughed wryly. “You love me, Father—no parent wants to admit that his daughter is unattractive. The truth of the matter is, no man wants an intelligent wife.”
“That isn’t true,” her father objected immediately. “Your mother is brilliant.”
“You are an exception, Father, which is why you can’t see it. A strong woman is not an asset in this world—not even in Teod, which I always claim is so much more advanced than the continent. It really isn’t all that different, Father. They say they give their women more freedom, but there’s still the impression that the freedom was theirs to ‘give’ in the first place.
“In Teod I an unmarried daughter. Here in Arelon, I am a widowed wife. That is an enormous distinction. As much as I love Teod, I would have to live with the constant knowledge that no one wants me. Here, at least, I can try to convince myself that someone was willing to have me—even if it was for political reasons.”
“We can find you someone else.”
“I don’t think so, Father,” Sarene said with a shake of her head, sitting back in her chair. “Now that Teorn has children, no husband of mine would end up on the throne—which is the only reason anyone in Teod would consider marrying me. No one under Derethi control will consider marriage with a Teo. That only leaves Arelon, where my betrothal contract forbids me from marrying again. No, there is no one for me now, Father. The best I can do is make use of my situation here. At least I can command a measure of respect in Arelon without having to worry about how my actions will affect my future marriageability.”
“I see,” her father said. She could hear the displeasure in his voice.
“Father, do I need to remind you not to worry about me?” she asked. “We have much larger problems to deal with.”
“I can’t help worrying about you, Leky Stick. You’re my only daughter.”
Sarene shook her head, determined to change the topic before she started crying. Suddenly very ashamed for destroying his idyllic vision of her, Sarene searched for anything she could say that would divert the conversation. “Uncle Kiin is here in Kae.”
That did it. She heard an intake of breath from the other side of the Seon bond. “Do not mention his name to me, ’Ene.”
“But—”
“No.”
Sarene sighed. “All right, then, tell me about Fjorden instead. What do you think Wyrn is planning?”
“This time I really have no idea,” Eventeo said, allowing himself to be diverted. “It must be something massive. Borders are closing to Teoish merchants north and south, and our ambassadors are beginning to disappear. I am very close to calling them home.”
“And your spies?”
“Are vanishing almost as quickly,” her father said. “I haven’t been able to get anyone into the Velding in over a month, and Domi only knows what Wyrn and the gyorns are scheming in there. Sending spies to Fjorden these days is almost the same as sending them to die.”
“But you do it anyway,” Sarene said quietly, understanding the source of the pain in her father’s voice.
“I have to. What we find could end up saving thousands, though that doesn’t make it any easier. I just wish I could get someone into Dakhor.”
“The monastery?”
“Yes,” Eventeo said. “We know what the other monasteries do—Rathbore trains assassins, Fjeldor spies, and most of the others simple warriors. Dakhor, however, worries me. I’ve heard some horrible stories about that monastery—and I can’t fathom why anyone, even the Derethi, would do such things.”
“Does it look like Fjorden’s massing for war?”
“I can’t tell—it doesn’t appear so, but who knows. Wyrn could send a multination army in our direction at almost a moment’s notice. One small consolation is I don’t think he knows we understand that fact. Unfortunately, the knowledge does put me in a difficult position.”
“What do you mean?”
Her father’s voice was hesitant. “If Wyrn declares holy war on us, then it will mean the end of Teod. We can’t stand against the united might of the Eastern countries, ’Ene. I will not sit back and watch my people be slaughtered.”
“You would consider surrendering?” Sarene asked with outrage.
“A king’s duty is to protect his people. When faced with the choice of conversion or letting my people be destroyed, I think I would have to choose conversion.”
“You would be as spineless as the Jindoeese,” Sarene said.
“The Jindoeese are a wise people, Sarene,” her father said, his voice growing firm. “They did what they needed to survive.”
“But that would mean giving up!”
“It would mean doing what we have to do,” her father said. “I won’t do anything yet. As long as there are two nations left, we have hope. However, if Arelon falls, I will be forced to surrender. We cannot fight the entire world, ’Ene, no more than one grain of sand can fight an entire ocean.”
“But …” Sarene’s voice trailed off. She could see her father’s predicament. Fighting Fjorden on the battlefield would be an exercise in complete futility. Convert or die—both options were sickening, but conversion was obviously the more logical choice. However, a quiet voice inside her argued that it was worth dying, if death would prove that truth was more powerful than physical strength.
She had to make sure her father was never given that choice. If she could stop Hrathen, then she might be able to stop Wyrn. For a time, at least.
“I’m definitely staying, Father,” she declared.
“I know, ’Ene. It will be dangerous.”
“I understand. However, if Arelon does fall, then I would probably rather be dead than watch what happens in Teod.”
“Be careful, and keep an eye on that gyorn. Oh, by the way—if you find out why Wyrn is sinking Iadon’s ships, tell me.”
“What?” Sarene asked with shock.
“You didn’t know?”
“Know what?” Sarene demanded.
“King Iadon has lost nearly his entire merchant fleet. The official reports claim that the sinkings are the work of pirates, some remnant of Dreok Crushthroat’s navy. However, my sources link the sinkings with Fjorden.”
&nbs
p; “So that’s what it was!” Sarene said.
“What?”
“Four days ago I was at a party,” Sarene explained. “A servant delivered a message to the king, and whatever it was unsettled the king a great deal.”
“That would be about the right time frame,” her father said. “I found out two days ago myself.”
“Why would Wyrn sink innocent merchant vessels?” Sarene wondered. “Unless … Idos Domi! If the king loses his income, then he would be in danger of losing his throne!”
“Is all that nonsense about rank being tied to money true?”
“Insanely true,” Sarene said. “Iadon takes away a family’s title if they can’t maintain their income. If he lost his own source of wealth, it would destroy the foundation of his rule. Hrathen could replace him with someone else—a man more willing to accept Shu-Dereth—without even bothering to start a revolution.”
“It sounds feasible. Iadon asked for such a situation by concocting such an unstable basis for rule.”
“It’s probably Telrii,” Sarene said. “That’s why he spent so much money on that ball—the duke wants to show that he is financially sound. I would be very surprised if there wasn’t a mountain of Fjordell gold behind his expenditures.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Stop him,” Sarene said. “Even though it hurts. I really don’t like Iadon, Father.”
“Unfortunately, it looks like Hrathen has chosen our allies for us.”
Sarene nodded. “He has placed me with Elantris and Iadon—not a very enviable position.”
“We all do the best with what Domi has given us.”
“You sound like a priest.”
“I have found reason to become very religious lately.”