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Talasyn’s spoon clattered against her soup bowl. At the opposite end of the table, Alaric appeared to choke on a sip of wine, hastily putting down his glass and dabbing at the errant wetness on his chin with a napkin.

“They were in the library,” Elagbi replied with a pleasant smile. “I spent many hours there as a boy myself. Quite the compendium of knowledge. I would venture to say that it is asacredspace, with many old and fragile manuscripts.”

Jie blinked, appearing confused at the pointed emphasis of Elagbi’s little speech, but Sevraim came to her rescue. “Yes, the staff here at Iantas have done an excellent job of maintaining the library. I have been unable to find any reading material in Sailor’s Common thus far, but it is a lovely place.”

“Emperor Alaric seems to think so as well, from what I’ve seen,” said Elagbi.

Talasyn contemplated using the aforementioned spoon to dig a hole in the floor and burrow down into it, never to emerge again. Before she could try, however, Sevraim asked, “What were you reading today, Your Grace?”

At first, Talasyn couldn’t for the life of her remember what book she’d been holding before Alaric walked in and started kissing her breasts, but the cover finally flashed through her mind’s eye. “Sonnets. I hadn’t encountered much by way of poetry during my time on the Continent. It’s … interesting.”

Jie looked at Alaric in an effort to include him in what, from her end, was merely social chitchat. “And as for His Majesty?” She was just doing her job, of course, there was no way the poor girl could have known, and so she understandably shrank back when Alaric’s features rearranged themselves into a defensive scowl.

“Whatever Emperor Alaric was helping himself to, he undoubtedly found it edifying,” Elagbi declared. “I should very much like to discuss it with him over a bottle of rum when we’re done with our meal.”

Talasyn momentarily evaporated from her body. She knew that Alaric couldn’t refuse such a benign-sounding invitation from his father-in-law, not in front of Jie and Sevraim.

“Yes, let’s,” Alaric muttered, sounding about as enthusiastic as he would have been if Elagbi had invited him to walk barefoot over hot coals.

Although that wasnormallythe way Alaric sounded in response to anything, so neither Jie nor Sevraim found it amiss. The conversation shifted to other matters.

But the reprieve was temporary. Once the last of the plates had been cleared, Elagbi made a show of smacking his forehead.

“Silly me, I have just remembered that I needed to speak with you, too, my dear,” he told Talasyn. “It won’t take but a moment.”

Talasyn nearly mouthedSave meat Alaric as she and her father proceeded to the salon. The only thing that stopped her was the certainty that such a plea would be futile. Alaric couldn’t even save himself.

“Talasyn,” Elagbi said once they were in private. Studying her with concerned dark eyes, he visibly deflated, his brow wrinkling while he pondered how best to approach the issue.

Talasyn said nothing. She knew that what she’d been doing was wrong—she needed no sermons onthataccount—but it was also impossible to process this feeling of having disappointed her father.

“This entire situation has been … difficult,” Elagbi finally confessed. They were standing by the windows that overlooked the beach, and he fiddled with the intricate carvings on their panes as he spoke. “Not just the alliance with Kesath, but everything else in general. For nineteen long years, you were a child in my memory. Tiny and precocious and energetic and so quick to throw tantrums. Did you know that you didn’t like being hugged?”

“What?” Talasyn was so startled that she let out a disbelieving laugh. “I didn’t?”

“Youhatedit. You kicked me and Hanan away whenever we tried to cuddle you.”

“I wouldn’t have,” she said, her voice oddly thick, “if I’dknown what was going to happen.”I would have held every touch, every moment, to my heart.

He reached out to pat her cheek. She had a vague recollection of someone else doing this, someone with slender fingers and eyes like hers. “What matters is that you’re here now. And that’s the thing, you see. You came back into my life full grown, so strong and confident and self-assured. I remember when you demanded that the Zahiya-lachis listen to you on theW’taida. A twenty-year-old in soot-stained, ragged attire, confronting the Dragon Queen of the Nenavar Dominion—I was so proud of you then, and that pride only increased as the months passed and you met every new challenge head-on. You are very brave, my daughter, and yet also very hardened by the life you led before we met again. That’s why I have no desire to begrudge you whatever happiness is within your reach, but …”

Elagbi paused, still staring at her. Whatever he saw on her face brought a grim, steely look to his own, falling over his countenance like a shadow.

“This cannot go on, Talasyn,” said the prince. “You know that as well as I do. It’s an undesirable development in an already precarious situation. I must counsel you, not only as your father but also as a man who loves his country, to nip this in the bud before it affects your judgment. Your resolve. The war is coming and you will need to choose.”

“I’m not going to give up the Sardovians’ location, if that’s what you mean,” Talasyn retorted, not without some ire—but whether at Elagbi or at herself, she wasn’t sure. “It’s physical attraction, and that’s all. It might be the close proximity, or whatever it is, but I can assure you that there are no real feelings involved.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Elagbi said faintly. “That’s what every man wants to hear from his beloved only daughter—”

She pursed her lips. “What I’mtryingto tell you, Amya,is that it won’t change anything. The end remains the same.” Why did it hollow her out to say that, even though it was what she believed, what she knew to be right? “I will still do what needs to be done when the time comes.”

“Ah.” All trace of sarcasm left his tone. “Nowthatis something that the Zahiya-lachis would want to hear. I can’t figure out if that’s good or bad.” He regarded her in somber silence for a while, then shook his head. “For now, I can only hope that you’ll tread carefully, and that you won’t forget that I’m always on your side.”

In spite of her father’s sweet promise, the mention of Urduja sent Talasyn into a miniature but full-fledged spiral. “Please don’t—”

But Elagbi, already miles ahead of her, was making a locking gesture in front of his mouth. “I shan’t breathe a word. Frankly, I doubt that your grandmother’s heart could take it. Now send the Night Emperor in, Lachis’ka. We missed out on a lot of things, and that includes my opportunity to put the fear of the ancestors in your suitors.”

“He’s already my husband,” Talasyn pointed out. “Besides, he’s not the kind of man who scares easy.”