Page 9 of Winds of Destiny

Turo

It’s ridiculous to consider keeping someone sober a triumph, but given the Dellians’ stomach for alcohol, I can’t help but think of it as an accomplishment. Keep them drinking but not drunk, keep them entertained enough that they don’t start breaking the palace or its guards but not so entertained that they stick their noses into things that don’t concern them… It’s a fine line to walk, and I’m no true diplomat.

For all the king’s pointed words, I’m not the same as Doric. He was birthed into high society and understood how to handle people of all different stations. I can’t even remember where I was born, and I still feel the emptiness where my memories ought to be, but I know full well I wasn’t born to power.

If my commonness shows, though, Commander Kai, at least, doesn’t let on. He’s the only one of his people to tread carefully throughout the day—probably because he directly represents his prince. He can’t go proxy-marrying Cam with booze on his breath, after all.

I should offer him something steeped in garlic. Cam would get a single whiff of that on his breath and shove him away in a heartbeat. Then I could step in and—

I shove that voice down as deep as I can. I can’t listen to it, not now. Not when it keeps telling me to grab Cam, hop on Lulu, and run the hell out of here.

Tonight’s event is both a wedding celebration and a send-off for Cam. Representatives from every part of the city have been invited for the salute to the prince’s health and the proxy ceremony, rich and poor, young and old. My job is to get the Dellians to the courtyard in one piece; after that, all my attention is for Cam. That the king is allowing me to be Cam’s escort tonight is a gift, one I’m determined not to squander.

We’re the first of the “official” participants to arrive in the palace’s immense courtyard. There are plenty of other people here, but they’re not quite bold enough to step up onto the dais where the marriage will soon take place. Usually, this is where the high priest holds ceremonies of all kinds, and the shrine to Ophiucas here is the largest in the city. There’s a statue of him in the center of the altar that’s particularly awe-inspiring, inlaid with abalone shells and seed pearls. In the light of the setting sun, Zephyth’s god practically glows.

“Huh.” The insolent one from earlier—Rusen, as I’ve since learned—looks at the statue for a moment before shrugging. “Not very intimidating, is he?”

“Sergeant,” Kai says warningly, but Rusen has drunk far more than Kai has and his mouth is running away with him now.

“Well, but sir, look at ’im. Looks like a big worm. A big ol’ water worm. What use is a god like that, eh? Not much compared to Carnuatu, that’s for sure.”

I’m sure their ram god is impressive, but this is Zephyth and he’s speaking sacrilege. He’s speaking it loudly , too, scandalizing every citizen in hearing distance. Rusen is the designated hell-raiser of the group, a useful foil for any commander, but only when the position is occu pied by someone with a sense of timing…which I’m not sure Rusen possesses. While Kai is already moving toward his man with a stern look on his face, this lack of diplomacy and discipline isn’t really his concern. It’s mine.

I step in right behind Rusen. “You just haven’t looked closely enough,” I say easily, placing my hands on his shoulders. “Perhaps a different angle will help.” I sharply kick the back of his left knee as I jerk his torso back, and a second later, the burly sergeant is down on his knees.

“ You son of a —”

I cut off whatever insult he’s about to blurt by pressing the tips of my fingers directly against his airway. His throat spasms, but no sound comes out. Good . I can sense Kai keeping his other men back, which I appreciate. It frees me up to educate this one.

“One more word out of you that isn’t either ‘yes sir’ or ‘congratulations’ and I will choke you unconscious and leave your neck so swollen you can’t speak for another week,” I murmur in Rusen’s ear. “Do you understand?”

He’s not getting any air, and my grip on him is tight enough that he can’t fight free of it, either. He nods frantically.

I hold on a moment longer, then let go. A breath whooshes into Rusen’s lungs, and he begins to cough uncontrollably.

“Goodness, are you all right? You sound parched.” I step back and let him stagger to his feet.

Servants are circulating with glasses of sweet bilberry juice for the crowd—the wine for the salute will come later. “You should drink something.” I give him a little shove in the direction of the nearest one.

Before he can get to her, though, Kai grabs Rusen’s arm and speaks to him in a voice so low I can’t hear what they’re saying. Judging from the expression on Kai’s face, it’s not a friendly chat.

Good. For all that Kai has been an excellent guest so far, disciplining his own soldier in front of him was a risk. He might just have easily turned his ire on me, and then we’d have a real problem.

“I think Ophiucas looks magnificent,” one of the other Dellians comments. He’s probably the youngest of them, still four inches taller than me, with darker hair than the rest of them and a scar across the bridge of his nose. Name, name…

It comes to me. “Thank you for your kind words, Jeric.”

“I mean them.” The younger man smiles at me. “Your god is quite impressive. You know, I never saw the sea before coming here to Zephyth, not up close. What a marvel it is! Do you ever wonder how far it goes? Whether there are other lands out there, waiting to be visited?”

Every damn day lately. “I have, but—”

Just then, the royal family enters the courtyard. My breath evaporates as I lay eyes on Cam looking incredibly handsome in his wedding clothes.

Everything is made of seasilk, the fibers stretched and softened until they can take the delicate, chalky dyes that color all our cloth. His floor-length overcoat is a blend of pale green and blue, soft yellow and pink, woven together and sewn with pearls in a hundred different shades. The fabric beneath it is darker and might be considered plain if not for the tiny specks of silver that permeate the material. He looks like twilight incarnate, and Gilraen has worked magic with his hair, twisting and braiding it up into an elaborate headdress. I could look at him like this forever.

Cam glances around, clearly looking for me. As soon as our eyes meet, his regal expression is replaced with a quicksilver smile. Turo , I see him mouth, and I make my way to him, leaving the Dellians to control themselves.

I bow as soon as I’m at the appropriate distance. Cam hates it, but I have to when his father and sister are with him. “Your majesty.” I greet the king first, and he acknowledges me with the faintest nod before making his way over to Kai, his awed subjects parting for him like water sliding off the sand.

Gilraen is next, arm-in-arm with her husband Loran. “Your highnesses,” I say with another bow.

“Lord Turo.” Gilraen inclines her head graciously, a small smile on her lips. “I understand we have you to thank for the fact that the palace is still standing.”

“It’s an art I’ve been practicing for years,” I tell her, and Cam makes a “pfft” noise and lightly smacks my arm.

“I’ll leave you to your art, then,” Gilraen says, and she and her husband move past us onto the dais, where undoubtedly she’ll do an excellent job of smoothing things over if I’ve offended the Dellians.

I don’t care if I have. I can’t even look at them right now. The only person I have eyes for is Cam.

We hover side by side in the doorway, surrounded by folks who aren’t quite bold enough to interrupt our moment. Usually I wouldn’t mind—Cam loves interacting with his people—but he’s so tense right now I wonder that he hasn’t snapped in half.

“I don’t want to be here.” He says it so softly I can barely hear his words just a foot away from him.

“I know.”

“It’s not just the Dellians themselves.”

That surprises me. I move a bit closer, tightening the aura of untouchability that exists around us. “What else is it?”

“I’m afraid of what they mean,” he whispers. “I’m afraid of what comes next. I don’t feel ready.”

His hands are shaking. It’s all I can do not to pick them up and hold them steady. I can’t touch Cam the way I want to right now, but I move in close enough for our shoulders to press together. Cam sighs and relaxes ever so slightly. “I’m here,” I tell him softly. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“But you can’t.” He looks toward the dais, where Kai and his family are waiting for him. “Not from this.”

Gods, my heart is breaking. He’s right; I can’t protect him from this. I hate that I can’t. Anger rises inside of me, anger with nowhere to go and no way to be expressed. There’s nothing I can do for him except support him through this and watch as it breaks both our hearts.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Cam nudges me with his shoulder. He’s smiling now, putting on a brave face. “Or you’ll make me cry, and then my father will lose what little remains of his temper. Come on.” He straightens up and pulls away from me—just a few inches, but it feels like a bottomless chasm. “Let’s go play nice and get this over with.”

He moves away, and I follow, staying as close as I dare. My hand has moved to the hilt of my blade, resting there like a touchstone. If the only things I can protect Cam from tonight are threats to his life, then I’ll do that to the best of my ability.

I’m already too late to protect him from threats to his heart.