sixteenth birthday.”
Tia looked directly at Dirk. “So all you did was buy us some time. Dhevyn will still have a Senetian regent. The next heir to Dhevyn will still be the Lion of Senet’s grandchild.”
“What do you mean, Tia?” Lexie asked curiously. “How did Dirk buy us time?”
“Dirk arranged for Alenor and Rainan to get out of Avacas before Antonov could force the wedding to happen two years ago,” Reithan explained with a warning glare at Tia.
To this day, nobody in Mil but the three of them knew that it was Dirk who had killed Johan. Tia had promised to keep it a secret for Mellie’s sake, only to watch Dirk ingratiate himself into her village, her life, into the very heart of her family, where they all thought he was merely the son of a man they had worshipped as a hero. Nobody but Tia and Reithan knew that he was a cold-blooded killer.
I should tell them. I should tell everyone in the Baenlands that
it was Dirk Provin who drove a knife into Johan’s throat ...
“Your resourcefulness never ceases to amaze me, Dirk,” Lexie said with a warm smile in Dirk’s direction.
Oh please ... I think I’m going to be sick ...
“Tia does have a point, though, my lady,” Dirk replied, surprising her with his support. “All I did was buy a little time.”
“What does Alexin say? Is there any way to prevent the wedding taking place?”
“His father has invited the queen to Grannon Rock for the Landfall Festival,” Reithan told her. “We’re hoping to make contact with Rainan while she’s in Nova.”
“But what can we do? I fear the wheels of fate will trundle right over us in this, with little care about what we might try to do to prevent them.”
“Maybe we should kidnap Alenor,” Tia suggested. “She can’t marry Kirshov Latanya if she’s not there.”
“You’d just bring Antonov’s wrath down on the whole of Dhevyn,” Dirk warned. “I wouldn’t lay a finger on Alenor, if I were you. Not unless you want to wake up one morning to find the
Calliope
sailing through the delta with a dozen warships in her wake.”
“And how would Antonov know how to get through the delta, Dirk? Are
you
going to tell him?”
Lexie frowned at her. “Tia, he just meant that we shouldn’t take any action that is likely to drive Antonov to anger.”
“Perish the thought that we might do
anything
to irritate his good friend, the Lion of Senet,” she snapped, annoyed that he was right, even more that it was Dirk who had pointed out the flaw in her plan.
“That was uncalled for, Tia,” Lexie scolded. “I don’t know why you’re being so hard on Dirk. What has he ever done to you?”
Reithan glared at her, silently warning her not to answer Lexie’s seemingly innocent question. She glanced up at Dirk. He was looking straight at her, too, his expression resigned, as if he expected her to expose him.
Tia forced a smile and shrugged. “I’m sorry, Lexie. I guess I’m just a bit touchy at the moment. Neris has that effect on me. And you’re right. We’re not in a position to challenge Senet so openly.”
“And you’re never going to be,” Dirk counseled. “Unless you can get Neris to tell you what he knows.”
Tia thought it interesting that even after all this time, Dirk still said “you,” not “we.” It was one of the reasons she didn’t trust him.
“Have you had any luck?” Lexie asked.
Dirk shook his head. “Neris is insane, but he’s as cunning as an outhouse rat. He never says anything he doesn’t mean to. And he’s not a fool. He knows what I’m after.”
“You sit up there talking with him for hours at a time. Hasn’t he told you
anything
useful?” Tia was not convinced that Dirk spoke the truth.
Maybe he already knows. Maybe that’s why
he wanted to go on this trip with Reithan. Maybe he found a way to
get the information to the High Priestess. Maybe ...
“The only thing he’s ever said was something along the lines of the ‘secret lies within the Eye of
Tia looked directly at Dirk. “So all you did was buy us some time. Dhevyn will still have a Senetian regent. The next heir to Dhevyn will still be the Lion of Senet’s grandchild.”
“What do you mean, Tia?” Lexie asked curiously. “How did Dirk buy us time?”
“Dirk arranged for Alenor and Rainan to get out of Avacas before Antonov could force the wedding to happen two years ago,” Reithan explained with a warning glare at Tia.
To this day, nobody in Mil but the three of them knew that it was Dirk who had killed Johan. Tia had promised to keep it a secret for Mellie’s sake, only to watch Dirk ingratiate himself into her village, her life, into the very heart of her family, where they all thought he was merely the son of a man they had worshipped as a hero. Nobody but Tia and Reithan knew that he was a cold-blooded killer.
I should tell them. I should tell everyone in the Baenlands that
it was Dirk Provin who drove a knife into Johan’s throat ...
“Your resourcefulness never ceases to amaze me, Dirk,” Lexie said with a warm smile in Dirk’s direction.
Oh please ... I think I’m going to be sick ...
“Tia does have a point, though, my lady,” Dirk replied, surprising her with his support. “All I did was buy a little time.”
“What does Alexin say? Is there any way to prevent the wedding taking place?”
“His father has invited the queen to Grannon Rock for the Landfall Festival,” Reithan told her. “We’re hoping to make contact with Rainan while she’s in Nova.”
“But what can we do? I fear the wheels of fate will trundle right over us in this, with little care about what we might try to do to prevent them.”
“Maybe we should kidnap Alenor,” Tia suggested. “She can’t marry Kirshov Latanya if she’s not there.”
“You’d just bring Antonov’s wrath down on the whole of Dhevyn,” Dirk warned. “I wouldn’t lay a finger on Alenor, if I were you. Not unless you want to wake up one morning to find the
Calliope
sailing through the delta with a dozen warships in her wake.”
“And how would Antonov know how to get through the delta, Dirk? Are
you
going to tell him?”
Lexie frowned at her. “Tia, he just meant that we shouldn’t take any action that is likely to drive Antonov to anger.”
“Perish the thought that we might do
anything
to irritate his good friend, the Lion of Senet,” she snapped, annoyed that he was right, even more that it was Dirk who had pointed out the flaw in her plan.
“That was uncalled for, Tia,” Lexie scolded. “I don’t know why you’re being so hard on Dirk. What has he ever done to you?”
Reithan glared at her, silently warning her not to answer Lexie’s seemingly innocent question. She glanced up at Dirk. He was looking straight at her, too, his expression resigned, as if he expected her to expose him.
Tia forced a smile and shrugged. “I’m sorry, Lexie. I guess I’m just a bit touchy at the moment. Neris has that effect on me. And you’re right. We’re not in a position to challenge Senet so openly.”
“And you’re never going to be,” Dirk counseled. “Unless you can get Neris to tell you what he knows.”
Tia thought it interesting that even after all this time, Dirk still said “you,” not “we.” It was one of the reasons she didn’t trust him.
“Have you had any luck?” Lexie asked.
Dirk shook his head. “Neris is insane, but he’s as cunning as an outhouse rat. He never says anything he doesn’t mean to. And he’s not a fool. He knows what I’m after.”
“You sit up there talking with him for hours at a time. Hasn’t he told you
anything
useful?” Tia was not convinced that Dirk spoke the truth.
Maybe he already knows. Maybe that’s why
he wanted to go on this trip with Reithan. Maybe he found a way to
get the information to the High Priestess. Maybe ...
“The only thing he’s ever said was something along the lines of the ‘secret lies within the Eye of
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