very still and quiet. ‘A stabilising force?’ he said at last. ‘That ain’t what I’d call her.’
Razi sighed. ‘Alberon also plans supplying the Midland Reformists with two of Lorcan’s war machines, in order to help them force an end to Tamarand’s inquisitions. In effect, he is plotting the usurpation of both of our father’s strongest neighbours.’
Christopher huffed dryly. ‘Does he plan on invading the Moroccos, too?’ he whispered. ‘Just for the sport of it?’
‘This is not funny,’ hissed Razi. ‘Alberon is bent on restructuring the kingdoms of Northern Europe. He will bring the entire delicate house of cards falling down around our ears.’
‘Well then,’ sighed Christopher, ‘we can all reshuffle, and start a new game.’
Razi tutted, frustration evident in his quiet voice. ‘This is no joke, Christopher.’
Christopher rose to his elbow and looked at Razi across Wynter’s back. ‘Good job I ain’t laughing, then, ain’t it? Marguerite is a bloody-handed bitch, Razi, but she ain’t no worse than her father. Alberon is simply trading one tyrant for another – what of it? And if he helps end a decade-long series of inquisitions in the Midlands, I say power to his hand.’
Christopher glanced at the sleeping Merron, then leaned across Wynter to whisper quietly down at Razi: ‘You know what?’ he whispered. ‘Leave him to it and let’s you, me and Iseult take ourselves home to the Moroccos. This is all just the same old song with a different set of notes, Razi. That’s all it will ever be. All your hard work, all the things you and Lorcan sacrificed, none of it has made one whit of difference in the end. You ain’t ever going to change anything here, Razi; it ain’t ever going to end! Ain’t you tired of it? Don’t you want some life? Don’t you want some joy?’ He glanced down at Wynter, then back to Razi, who remained silently motionless in the shadows. ‘Don’t you want something better than this, Razi?’ he asked softly. ‘Let’s go find something better than this.’
‘I cannot,’ said Razi.
Christopher growled and hung his head in aggravation.
Wynter ran her hand up his bare arm and he looked down at her, his pale face floating above hers in the dark. She resisted the urge to push his hair from his forehead in case he felt she was making a child of him. ‘This is a delicate situation, love,’ she whispered. ‘There are bridges burned between the King and his heir that only Razi can remake. Alberon has devised a wonderful plan to strengthen this kingdom, and Razi is his only means of persuading the King to listen. Without Razi’s influence—’
‘Wonderful plan?’ said Razi. He huffed under his breath. ‘My father’s kingdom is a miracle, Wynter. He has maintained its stability all this time, not by brute force but by diplomacy and by care. The tyrants that surround us may continue to shred and tear at their own people, and their policies may be vile beyond conscience, but my father has maintained the most cordial of relationships with them all. They make use of his port road; they benefit from the safe shipping lanes that he has established via his relationship with the Sultan. And while they may sneer at his ridiculous laws and at his scandalous humanism, they leave us be – because Father has ensured that they all profit by his continued presence on the throne and because he has never once posed a military threat to them.’ Razi shook his head. ‘Alberon will toss all that aside,’ he said. ‘He will give it all up, in the futile belief that violence will end violence.’
Razi paused. Wynter and Christopher waited in silence for him to continue. Wynter wished that she could see his face more clearly; she could get nothing from his soft, calm voice. ‘My father’s kingdom is a miracle,’ he whispered again. ‘I have no intention of aiding my brother in its destruction.’
Wynter lifted herself to her elbow, shocked at the implication of her friend’s words. ‘Razi,’ she whispered, ‘you cannot mean to betray him?’
‘Betray him? Good God, Wynter. What would make you use such a word against me?’
‘Without your support, Alberon is dead, Razi. He is dead. You can’t be unaware of this!’
‘What Alberon proposes will destroy our father, Wyn. It will destroy everything! I cannot let this happen. But I will not betray him. How can you even . . . ? How can you even begun to have . . . ?’ Razi moaned in sudden desperate