To Bind in Blood

Chapter 22

Jurion was called away after an hour, the duties of a Great Lord unable to wait even if he had just returned, but Wrell remained. She pulled up a chair next to the bed, her knees aching, and settled in. It was strange how comfortable she felt in their presence; with the Great Lord it was different, that blood binding yet separating. But even with her reluctance to fully open herself to any of them, there was much warmth between her and Jurion's family.

"What is your opinion of the empress?" Malius asked.

"I am not sure what to make of her, my lord. She has moments where she seems very much human. And moments where she seems to care little about anything."

"And this General Aelider you speak of-he is her closest friend?"

"They seem to have known each other since childhood."

"He would do anything for her?" Eira had taken a seat in a chair on the other side of the bed, her back to the fire.

"I believe so."

"And the other general? Cicero, I think?"

"Cicerus. He is loyal to the empress, though not nearly as much as Aelider."

"And far better-mannered," Eira said. "I barely spoke a word to either of them, but I can tell from just looking at them who is more agreeable."

Malius straightened the corner of his sheet. "How was my son, Wrell? I could not tell when he came."

Wrell looked down at her hands in her lap. There was dirt beneath her nails, and her hands no doubt smelled like horses. "He is coping, Malius. I have never seen him lose his temper, never heard him speak harshly to anyone." She took a breath in, recalling the exhaustion and sadness she had felt pressing in on her their entire journey. "He pretends well. I do not think he has fully grieved."

"And his upcoming marriage?" Eira said softly.

"Conflicted. I believe he will temper the empress's . . . tendencies. He is an honorable man. Good, kind. But I do not think he is completely convinced he is doing the right thing."

#

Aelider had thought Nadeina would hate her time in Quelle, or at the least be indifferent to it-yet so far she seemed to take it all in with an observant, quiet acceptance, perhaps even curiosity. It was not what he expected, knowing his old friend for so long and so well.

Currently Nadeina and the Great Lord's father stood in front of the map that stretched across the west wall of the great estate's library. They'd been in the room for well over an hour now, Malius Calustus explaining Quelle's history while Nadeina showed genuine interest, asking questions and offering comments, responding to the Great Lord's input and being attentive to the Lord Father's responses. Aelider had been led to believe that Malius Calustus was incapacitated by illness-either the man was not as ill as others had described, or he had somehow mustered a miraculous amount of strength to entertain tonight.

It was good for her to be acting like this, he reasoned. For her to seek to know her allies. The history and culture of her future husband. Aelider winced at the thought, still uneasy about the impending marriage and bloodbind. And perhaps bothered by more than that. But he would never admit such a thing.

Malius, leaning heavily on a cane, ran a finger over the line denoting the lower border of Quelle. "There is nothing but mountains and frozen wastelands here. It serves . . . as an effective natural deterrent for any in the south who may set their sights on Quelle. We will not need to . . . to worry about any sort of invasion from the south."

Nadeina placed a hand on the map, her fingertips tracing the borderlands between Quelle and Reman territory. "So Remas remains the only threat."

"And your empire, before our alliance."