An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Twenty-One

Kassia's voice woke me up, but it wasn't until hands roughly pulled me to my feet that I realized she had been talking about me. It took my mind a moment to catch up with what was going on—the knights in the cell around me, a Deoran guard holding my arm, Kassia at the cell door surrounded by other guards.

"I can walk on my own," I muttered, slipping my arm from the guard's grasp. I quickly looked at Acen, hoping to assure him that I would be all right, before stalking over to the door to stand in front of Kassia. "What is it?"

"You're lucky my men don't speak Teltish, Finn, or they would take offence to how you just spoke to me." Kassia smiled and reached out to pay my cheek condescendingly. "You should watch the tone, though. No need to sound so aggressive, we're just going to talk." She said something to her guards before turning to walk away. The guards eyed me but seemed to relax when I started to follow her.

She was dressed differently than the last time I'd seen her, dark pants and a fancy red tunic. She wasn't wearing jewellery, her hair was tied back simply. She almost looked like she had back in Zianna. I wondered if the dress and jewellery had just been for show, to look nice for Kalvahi, maybe. Or to shock Tannix.

She led me to a small, plain room. It was square with a high ceiling, and only one window near the top. Two torches sat in brackets on the walls, lighting up a bulky wooden table and two chairs. I flinched when the door slammed behind me, and spun around to see that the guards hadn't joined us. It was just me and Kassia. I turned back around. The guards leaving meant they weren't worried about me attacking her. It also meant she might be willing to talk more openly.

She gestured at one of the chairs. I sat down and crossed my arms. She settled down across from me and clasped her hands together on the tabletop.

"I know what you're doing."

I doubted she knew about me sneaking around. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me. You might have Kalvahi fooled, but I know you better than that. I know what you're trying to do with him. You think you can charm him the way you charmed Lord West Draulin. It isn't going to work. Kalvahi will see that soon enough."

"I'm not trying to charm anyone." I knew she wouldn't believe me, but it was worth a try. "I'm trying to save myself. You just said you know me. If I can see an easy way to keep myself safe, then I'll go for it. I don't care if that means switching sides and joining Prince Kalvahi. I was almost killed because I stopped you from killing the last King Zianna. I don't owe Zianna anything."

"Maybe not Zianna."

She was just as good at this as I was. I wasn't surprised. "You saw how the Telts treated me. You rubbed salve on my back after they whipped me. How could you think I would help the people who did that to me?"

"I saw the way Tandrix treated you."

I winced involuntarily at hearing her use his name. She didn't deserve to use his name after what she had done to him. "One good Telt doesn't make up for the rest of them."

"You think he's going to change things." Kassia leaned back in her chair and elegantly crossed one leg over the other. "You think his brother is going to change things. And that's why you want to help them."

I forced myself to meet her gaze. Her pretty eyes, with a hint of golden orange mixed in with the brown. There had been a time, before I understood my feelings for Tannix, when I almost thought I liked her. Not anymore.

"You know waging war on Zianna is not for the good of the people," I said. "Prince Kalvahi talked about restoring the kingdom to what it once was, and having three great kingdoms again. But it won't happen. Zianna will become part of Deorun and then what? Will you move on Navire as well? King Deorun doesn't want to help my people; he wants to help himself. Tannix and King Tandrin aren't like other Telts. I care about my people, and I trust Tannix and his brother to treat them better than your king will."