Page 10 of Crown of the Dunes (The Ballan Desert #2)

“The hero of Kelvadan,” he pressed on, seemingly unconcerned with my discomfort at the notoriety. I had gathered that news of my killing Lord Alasdar had spread. I hadn’t imagined it reaching the point where total strangers would be hailing me as a hero.

“It seems that you have an unfair advantage,” I deflected. “I have no idea who you are. ”

I swallowed, realizing that might sound rude, but the man didn’t seem too concerned with my blunt manner.

“Prince Calix, the ambassador from Viltov.” He offered a small bow. “And this is General Warrick of Doran.” He gestured to the copper-haired man, who didn’t so much as incline is head in greeting.

I blinked stupidly.

“Prince?” I echoed.

He cocked his head. “The title seems a bit superfluous, I’ll admit, given that I’m a seventh son and far enough from the throne that I’m more useful as an ambassador than an heir.

However, I do use it when the occasion calls for it, even though the formality seems rather heavy.

This seemed like an appropriate moment, given how much I’ve heard about you in the past month. ”

My heart warred in my chest at his words. The small, lonely exile inside me puffed out her chest at the fact that the Great City now saw me as their hero. But the title sat awkwardly on my shoulders, and I shifted as I tried to bear the weight.

“You can just call me Keera,” I said.

“And you can call me Calix.” The prince smiled. “Now that introductions are out of the way, why don’t we get out of the middle of this stairway? The archon is waiting on Warrick and me, after all.”

Warrick scowled. “Don’t you think it’s time we start dealing with the queen directly?”

“The queen?” I asked.

When Warrick didn’t answer, instead staring intently at the stairs over my shoulder, Calix chimed in instead.

“My father—the King of Viltov—sent me to negotiate the potential alliance with Kelvadan after Ambassador Lyall returned,” Calix explained. “General Warrick is here from Doran. He arrived around the same time I did.”

“Doran?” My hackles rose .

“I’m here to apologize for the actions of Ambassador Hadeon, who was operating outside of our orders,” Warrick said, although his tone was less than apologetic.

At the mention of Hadeon—at how he had tried to seduce me with kind words only to poison me—the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention. Aderyn’s words came back to me with a new clarity.

There may be more than one war knocking on our door these days.

We couldn’t let the ambassadors from Doran or Viltov know about the queen’s sickness—another weakness they might try to exploit, just as Hadeon had tried to deepen the rift between Kelvadan and the clans.

A war between the city and those who rode the desert might be devastating, but the thought of an invasion from the outside brought bile to my throat.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to help you on that front,” I lied.

The words rolled unnaturally off my tongue.

I preferred a saber to words when it came to weapons, but while I was still recovering, I had little choice in the matter.

“The queen is not in her chambers, and I am just focused on recovering these days.”

Calix’s eyes darted over my scars once more. “I didn’t know you were even venturing out of the infirmary yet.”

At his reminder of my confinement, inspiration struck. I leaned more heavily on my cane.

“I fear I might have ventured too far, actually.” I swayed where I stood for effect, finding my balance less solid than I expected. I threw out my hand and caught myself on the wall again.

“Would you mind helping me back to the infirmary?” I asked ruefully, nodding down the stairs.

“I’d be honored.” Calix responded. “General Warrick, why don’t you head to the Archon of Trade’s chambers while I help Keera here back to the infirmary. I’ll meet you there.”

With a huff, Warrick brushed past Calix and stomped off down the stairs.

Calix offered me his elbow in an elegant manner that would be expected of royals but ruined the effect by snorting derisively. “I don’t know why Doran sent such a rude man as an ambassador. He’s rather blunt. ”

“The last person they sent was not blunt at all, but still wasn’t a good ambassador,” I said before I could stop myself.

“Yes, Lyall told us about that mess. I can’t say I’m surprised, though.

Doran doesn’t like to play fair,” Calix said as I took his offered arm.

“General Warrick has been trying to sidestep the advisors sent to negotiate with us by seeking out the queen on his own. I try to keep track of him, but I keep getting lost in this maze of a palace.”

I stopped myself from looking over my shoulder as he helped me down the first flight of stairs, knowing General Warrick had been one short climb from finding out just how weak Kelvadan was.

Hadeon had wanted to weaken Kelvadan to start a war.

The queen’s illness would give these new ambassadors a head start on making the city vulnerable to attack.

But they couldn’t exploit a weakness they didn’t know about.

Fearful I might accidentally betray something, I grasped at a way to change the subject. “I would think you’d be used to navigating giant palaces, considering you’re a prince.”

I wobbled on a step, and Calix paused for a moment for me to steady myself. He didn’t protest the way my nails dug into his forearm, but I still shrank into myself at the sign of weakness.

Thankfully, he answered my question as if he didn’t notice.

“I haven’t spent much time in the royal palace in Viltov.

It’s too crowded with all my brothers, not to mention their wives and children.

As the youngest, they don’t really need me there all that often, so I prefer to spend my time on a boat. ”

“A boat?” I asked, as I jerked my chin toward the hallway that led to the infirmary.

“Viltov is composed of seven islands as well as the section of coast on the mainland, where the palace is. Somebody needs to travel around and keep the islands in order, and I’m all too happy to get out of the confines of the castle.” He shook his head as if in distaste.

“How far are the islands?” I asked, trying to envision what he described.

“It’s normally just a few days between each of them by boat.”

My eyebrows rose. “There is enough water that it takes days to cross it? ”

I couldn’t imagine that much water existing in the entire world. While the ocean did border the Ballan Desert, very few citizens ever saw it. To cross from the mountains to the sea was treacherous, and only those with the desert’s favor would survive the journey.

Of course, Erix had crossed the desert.

Calix pulled me from that line of thought with a laugh. “I could say the same about your sand. I can’t imagine being able to travel for days without seeing water.”

By now, we were at the door to the infirmary, and I paused to look up at him.

He shrugged. “Maybe our homes aren’t that different. You just have horses, and we have ships.”

That startled a dry laugh out of me. It was the first time I had made such a sound since I was separated from Erix, but it unknotted some of the tension I had been carrying since the moment I woke. “I’ve never even seen a boat.”

He looked up and down the hallway before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, “I’ve never ridden a horse, so we’re even.”

“That’ll have to change if you’re here for much longer.”

He smiled, not the polished smile of a diplomat, but real delight. “I look forward to it.”

With that, he gave me another small bow before turning back the way we had come. I watched him go for a moment before walking back into the infirmary with a sigh. I wished I hadn’t come directly back here to languish more, left with nothing to do but contemplate the enemies closing in on all sides.

The soles of my boots padded softly across the straw-strewn ground of the stable floors. The stone building was quiet except for the whickering of sleepy horses, most of the palace still asleep in the moments before the full light of dawn .

I creeped through the long shadows, thankful that I was now able to slip out of my room at an hour when I could make my way to the stables unnoticed.

When I was in the infirmary, the healers had me under close enough observation that unapproved outings were quickly forestalled.

Now I had the luxury of my own rooms, letting me come and go relatively unimpeded, although they still urged me to stay in the palace.

I eased open the door to the stall where the dappled mare, Cail, I had been riding was housed, finding her dozing happily with her nose tucked over folded forelegs.

I hummed gently, not wanting to rouse the rest of the stable as I woke my mount.

Her ears flicked forward, and she blew out a breath through her nose.

Cail took her time standing up as I entered her stall, clearly not sharing my enthusiasm for getting outside, where I might ride faster than I could under Aderyn’s watchful eye—where the hot wind could scour my face, uninhibited by the high walls of the city.

Despite the mare’s reticence, I patted her nose and murmured encouraging nonsense to her.

She had stood patiently as I attempted to mount her inelegantly time after time as my limbs regained their strength after weeks in bed.

She may not be Daiti, but Cail had a certain gentleness to her that endeared her to me.

I would trust her to teach a child how to ride.

I ushered her out of the stall. We made it to the wide door, dawn light streaming in, and my heart lifted, thinking we had made it out without notice, only for a familiar silhouette to appear in the doorway, hands on his hips, one eyebrow crooked at me in amusement.

My heart stuttered as I recognized the expression as one Erix would wear.