A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,17

that time, we have watched and waited for the people of this village to reveal their secrets. All that waiting has yielded little information on who or what dwells in the walled estate. So, I propose we change our tack. I say we go inside. Tomorrow morning.”

A murmur rose at my words and Malto let out a whoop of delight. Thank the Gods I wasn’t the only one who had tired of this tiptoeing about the Plain. I spoke over the rising din, “We do this together and so I want us all to determine the best way to get inside.”

I sat down as the first suggestions were thrown out. Anali held up a hand and everyone fell silent. “If we must go in blind, our plan must account for opposition inside. If King Lei’s family still lives there, they will not appreciate us breaking into their home. Even,” she added, “if you are their kin, Princess.”

The use of my title continued to make my skin itch. Whatever I was—kidnapper, traitor, or rebel—I’d left Princess behind.

“I can climb the wall and open the gate from the inside,” I said quietly. “So that we won’t need to mount an assault on my father’s home. We go in as quietly as possible.”

“No,” Anali protested.

“Why not? I’m the only one who is sure to survive if I go in first.”

“You can be captured and overwhelmed as easily as anyone else.”

“I hardly believe my father’s family will ransom me to my mother. And even then, as long as Isadore is in chains, I can’t be killed. Give me a better reason, one that outweighs my assured survival.”

“Oh, you’d like another reason besides that you are our Princess? The very reason we are here?”

I smothered a groan. Didn’t she see that was why I needed to do this? “We have to put that aside for now. We’re equals in this. You saw what happened when Falun shot my sister. Whoever lives inside the wall, they won’t be able to kill me. If I can use the Entwining to make sure the rest of you are safe, we have to rely on it. Especially when I set our course here.”

“What of a distraction?” Falun asked. “While Eva climbs, we’ll draw the attention of whoever is inside elsewhere?”

“Where, then?” Anali mused, voice gone soft. As if she was actually considering my plan. “How will we distract them when they’re either hiding or don’t want to be seen?”

“We demand entry at the main entrance,” Falun continued. Ever my partner and coconspirator. “If no one is inside, then we have no one to worry about but a few villagers. If King Lei’s family still dwells there, they will answer or they will not. But they’ll certainly wonder who has the nerve to make demands of them. They’ll at least take a look.”

My smile widened as the plan took shape in my mind. “This is how we’ll do it.”

Everyone—Anali and Falun, a grinning Malto and sharp-eyed Kelis, and Aketo, his eyes rimed with worry—leaned forward. Their faces were glossy beneath the moon’s silver light, their expressions just discernible.

Will they trust you? Should they trust you? I thought, words perched on my tongue.

All fell silent as I explained.

Chapter 3

Eva

It took an hour to iron out all the details, after which I went straight to one of the three steaming tents at the south end of the camp.

These were a lucky find in Dahn. Malto had grown up one of thirty grandchildren of Elbir Usam, an elder of the largest and most distinguished of the bloodkin nomad families. With his family, Malto had crossed the Plain as a child and even traversed the Deadened Jungle. A contingent of the Usam family had hosted us in their wagons while we were in Dahn, and we bought the tents from them for much less than they were worth. The bloodkin used the steaming tents whenever they crossed lands like the Plain and Kremir where there was little water to bathe with. Inside, a small copper brazier held warm coals, over which water was poured to create the steam. The inner canvas of each tent was treated with animal fat to make it impervious to moisture, trapping the vapors inside.

I lingered inside for nearly an hour, contemplating what I would say to Aketo. Eventually, though, Kelis tapped on the tent flaps to tell me that it was time for her shift in the night watch. Meaning she would have to escort me to my tent