The Bound (Ascension #2)(70)

“You’ve been pregnant for more than a month,” Daufina said. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“I…I sent Edric to your chambers. He’s seen you, hasn’t he? Been with you?” Daufina asked.

Kaliana nodded. “He was too late, Daufina. I begged him before that. Begged him. Like a whore,” she cried. “And he would not see me. Refused to see me. He loved her so much that he couldn’t even look at me. His own wife!”

“So, you did something about it,” Daufina said, realizing the horror of what she was witnessing.

“I had to. I thought…”

“You did not think.”

“Daufina,” Kaliana said. Her eyes begged, pleaded, with her. “Help me.”

Daufina shook her head. She couldn’t do this. It was treason. What Kaliana had done was treason. Helping her would be worse.

“Who was it? Who did this?” Daufina asked.

Kaliana shook her head. “You can’t know.”

“I won’t help you unless you tell me.”

“No!” Kaliana cried. “Is it not shame enough that I am pregnant? With my luck…the baby will miscarry anyway, and this will all be for naught. But I cannot tell you.”

Daufina pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. How could this possibly be happening?

“You will tell Edric now. Whether or not the baby survives the pregnancy. If you hide from him, it will look suspicious. You have to glow with the knowledge that you hold the future King of Byern in your womb. Do you understand me?”

Kaliana nodded.

“No one else will know, and if the time comes and the baby chooses to be born after all, then we will say it is premature. I am betraying my King and my country for this. So, you must do everything I say from now on. Everything.”

“I will,” Kaliana said, clutching Daufina’s hands.

“He might not even suspect if it is premature since you have never carried a baby to term. But you must act the part and never give away to anyone that the baby could be anyone else’s.”

“How will I face him?”

Daufina shook her head and stood. She reached down and helped Kaliana to her feet. “Like a queen.”





The island was bigger than Cyrene had envisioned.

Eleysia’s capital city was built on an island due west of the Sea of Firth through which they had just sailed. It was isolated from the rest of the world by an outcropping of volcanic islands around it and enormously dangerous rocks on all other banks. Only Eleysian sea vessels could navigate the waters, and their sailors were the most adept in the entire world.

Now that Cyrene was getting a good look at the surroundings, she understood why.

“That’s part of the reason we leave at night,” Dean said, coming up beside her.

“Why?”

“If we can navigate these waters at night, then less foreign vessels will be able to learn the passageways through the rocks. Plus, the Creator blesses us with safe passages each year. That’s why the city is traditionally named the Bride of the Sea.”

Cyrene let her gaze drift back to the island. “I like that. The Bride of the Sea.”

Their vessel slid through the water and around the gaping rock formations in the dim light of the setting sun. They glided so smooth and precise that Cyrene was certain they would have been able to turn the ship on a pence.

“How do foreign merchants get into port?” Cyrene asked in confusion. “They could end up tossed on the rocks with one wrong turn.”

“Ah. Well, foreigners may only enter into First Harbor.” He sheepishly looked at her. “Your party will be one of the few delegations not to have to do that. We’re entering through the Fifth, the royal docks. But, usually, foreigners always enter and exit through the same pathway.”

Cyrene nodded, marveling at the complex structure to their economic system. She would think it would deter merchants from traveling these waters, but she knew Eleysia was the wealthiest country in Emporia. Their dyes were the richest in the world, and it was a huge import into Aurum for their weaving. Not to mention the fact that Eleysia excelled in glassblowing and weaponry. They specialized in pearls of all colors from the darkest black to the softest creamy white. Vineyards were nurtured on and off the islands, and Eleysian wine was a rare delicacy.

Just as the sun winked out from the sky, their ship docked in the harbor. No one in her party had anything, except the clothes on their backs and whatever they’d had with them on the night of the party in Aurum. Everything they had been traveling with had been packed up and placed on a trade ship bound for Eleysia in the days leading up to the ball. Cyrene wasn’t sure if the ship would come into port with all of their belongings or not. Ahlvie and Orden had agreed to stake out First Harbor where the merchant was most likely to show.

In the meantime, they had to find lodging on the scarce money they had between them. It would be enough for a few nights in an inn in the less reputable part of the city, but Ahlvie had sworn, he could significantly increase the sum if given a hand at dice.

Cyrene rolled her eyes at the remembered eagerness in his eyes.

“What?” Dean asked.

“Nothing. I was thinking about something else.”

“I see. Are you sure your other friends won’t come with you to the palace?”