I believe it to be, upward of a thousand gold pieces.”
“And all for a handful of silver.” Leaning forward, Killian said, “That’s not charity, Helene. That’s extortion.”
The girl’s cheeks reddened, and she snatched her ring back from the jeweler, shoving it on her finger. “She offered it to me. If I hadn’t bought it, no one would’ve.”
“You swindled her. You should’ve given her the coin and let her keep her damned ring. You took advantage of her desperation to decorate your finger.”
“I can’t be giving away coin to every girl who begs it of me.”
“Why not?”
“Enough!” Malahi climbed to her feet. “You two are like a pair of barn cats. I can’t even have you in the same room together!”
Killian ignored her and said to Helene, “Sell it to me and give away the coin. Or keep the gold, if that’s what your conscience tells you to do.”
“I’ll do no such thing.”
“Five hundred.”
“No.”
“A thousand.”
“You are intolerable, Lord Calorian,” Helene replied, but Killian didn’t miss the glint of greed in her eye.
“Fifteen hundred.”
“Your wealth doesn’t impress me.”
“Two thousand.” His brother Seldrid, who managed the family’s finances, was going to kill him for this.
Everyone in the room was staring at them, courtiers, jewelers, and guardswomen alike. Helene’s jaw worked back and forth, warring between her desire for the gold and her pride. Finally, she smirked. “For the opportunity of swindling you, Lord Calorian, how can I say no?”
Bending over the table, Killian took up a sheet of Malahi’s stationery, scribbled the details, and then signed it before pushing it over to Malahi to witness. Then he handed it to Helene. “The bankers in Serlania will make the transfer. Should help ease the sting of your father cutting your allowance.”
She threw the ring at him and stormed out of the room. Killian shoved it in his pocket, not sure what sort of madness had possessed him, only that any amount of coin was worth getting it off that harridan’s finger.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but clearly you need to step away,” Malahi muttered. “Come with me.”
Abandoning the sitting room, he followed Malahi out into the corridor to find one of the guardswomen approaching. “A letter came for you with the supply caravan, my lady.”
Taking it, Malahi motioned for Killian to follow her down the hall to her bedroom, where she latched the door behind them and opened the sealed letter. Her eyes scanned the contents; then she grimaced and handed it over.
Dearest Daughter,
It has come to our attention that the cursed creatures plaguing Mudaire’s skies have taken to attacking ships within its harbors—a clear attempt to disrupt supplies intended for our armies. In response, I have ordered all vessels bearing goods destined for the front to make port in Abenharrow, where they will be met with an armed escort. As to your request that we seek aid from Gamdesh, I forbid you to do so. It makes us look weak at a time we can least afford it, and do not think for a moment that the Sultan won’t take advantage while our backs are turned.
Keep your faith,
Father
Abenharrow was a fortress a day’s sail south of Mudaire. If ship captains could sell their freight there for gold with no risk of deimos attack, they’d have no incentive to sail north to the capital. “Nothing will be coming into the city now,” Killian muttered. “This is dire.”
“We’ve been at peace with Gamdesh for over a century.” Malahi took the letter back. “They are our allies. It’s madness not to ask the Sultan for aid.”
It was and it wasn’t. Mudamora’s navy had been decimated during the last war with the giants of Eoten Isle, along with subsequent civil war that had followed on the heels of the assassination of King Derrick Falorn. Only a handful of ships had been built in the intervening years, and the King had already conscripted their crews, leaving the vessels to languish in Serlania. Asking Gamdesh for aid would signal to rival kingdoms and privateers alike that Mudamora’s shores were undefended and ripe for the picking. “There are always risks to admitting weakness.”
“I’m going to do it anyway.” Turning to her desk, she sat down and picked up a pen. “By the time my father realizes what I’ve done, it will be too late for him to punish me for it.”
Killian snaked the pen from her hand. “I’ve a better idea. Let me write to Kaira.”
Princess Kaira was the general of Gamdesh’s armies and the Sultan’s favored daughter.