The Ruby Prince: Book Two of Imirillia (The Books of Imirillia 2) by Beth Brower Page B

Basaal said slowly. “But, until a few days ago, Queen Eleanor could hardly look at me.” Basaal realized he was dry, so he stood, removed his robe, and grabbed his trousers, pulling them on.
    “And this upsets you?” Telford asked.
    Basaal shrugged indifferently and pulled his shirt over his head, tucking it into his breeches.
    “Thayne believes,” Telford continued, “that Eleanor’s estimation of you will only continue to rise.”
    “Why, on all the seven stars, would he think that?” Basaal asked. “The man trusted me as much as he would any snake.” Basaal sat and pulled on his boots, waiting for a response. Before the courtier could reply, a sound echoed on the outside wall of the bathhouse.
    “It’s really a pity we’ve not more time to talk,” Telford said. “I am afraid our privacy is about to end.”
    Before Basaal could answer, Telford submerged himself in the water. Basaal stood, leaving his wet robe on the bench. As he was leaving, two men entered, eyeing Basaal. He could hear Thayne’s brother greet them warmly. It took several minutes for Basaal to realize he had never received his mother’s letter.
    ***
    In the moments before the company set out from Marion City, Basaal took advantage of the last privacy he and Eleanor would have. He told her of his conversation with the old courtier, Telford.
    Although Eleanor listened with care, she remained quiet.
    “Is this a man I should not have spoken to?” Basaal asked after waiting for several minutes. “I spoke to him because he’d obviously been in contact with Aedon.”
    “You can trust Telford,” Eleanor confirmed, her expression weighing what she had heard. She looked at Basaal as if she were reminding herself that he was right, that her only option now was to escape from Zarbadast. “I only wish I’d a chance to send a letter through to Aemogen, to Edythe,” she said.
    Basaal drummed his finger along the arm of the sofa, looking sideways towards Eleanor.
    “Did Staven return this morning for your answer?” he asked.
    “If my answer to Staven was yes,” she began, “would you agree to stay in Marion City long enough to receive Shaamil’s response?”
    “No,” Basaal said, answering honestly. “It would take too long, and I already know that, at this stage, he would refuse the annexation.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Nearly,” he said.
    Eleanor frowned. “I will tell you that I have considered the proposal in its entirety.”
    Basaal did not speak, but his throat felt pinched.
    “It could be the best alternative for the people of Aemogen.”
    He held his breath.
    “But, I did not think you would cooperate,” she said. “And, I do not trust that Aemogen would be better in the hands of Staven than in yours.” Eleanor paused before adding, “If you can keep your head long enough to finish the conquest.”
    “So you told him no?” Basaal asked.
    “I told him to go to the devil.”
    Basaal began to smile but pulled against the rising corners of his mouth. He wanted to tell Eleanor how glad he was that she would not have Staven, but her expression was not inviting, and so he remained silent.

Chapter Four
     
    “Politics are always a caution,” she had told Edythe months ago. “One power twists a knife, and their neighbors fall to their knees.” The words now ran through Eleanor’s mind as she resigned herself to the journey into Imirillia.
    As the company of seventy soldiers galloped through the northern fields, Eleanor glanced back only once, towards the blond buildings and arches of Marion City. Her responsibility now was to stay alive and return to Aemogen, so she turned her attention to the unknown, to the North.
    The Vestan were ever present reminders of Eleanor’s internal trepidation, but Basaal had given instructions that Annan would be her personal guard. Knowing she spoke Imirillian passably, he began to tell her about the journey ahead.
    “A larger company, composed of infantry, cavalry, and supplies, can