The Fates Divide (Carve the Mark #2)(73)

“I don’t know if Isae—oh, I mean Chancellor Benesit—” I pause, letting myself blush. A nice show for the Othyrians. “I don’t know if Chancellor Benesit told you, Councilwoman Harth, but I was in school to be a chemist before I was Her Highness’s adviser. I am reasonably good at preparing iceflowers for medicine.”

“Are you,” Harth says, sounding bored. “How fascinating.”

“My research was in the area of breaking down iceflowers to their basic compounds,” I say, layering a heavy, rich fabric over Harth in particular. She appears to need more of my currentgift. “Which I am certain would be useful to Othyr, since it relies on us so heavily for its most potent ingredients.”

“Yes,” Isae says. “I assume you have still been unsuccessful in cultivating iceflowers here on Othyr?”

“We have, in fact,” Harth says. “It seems they will only grow on your planet. It’s very strange.”

“Ah, well, Thuvhe is an odd little place, always changing,” I say. “We are so flattered that you have taken an interest in us.”

Isae glances at me sidelong, like she’s not sure what I’m angling at. I let my comment dangle, awkward, between Harth and me.

“Of course,” Harth says. “We only wish to offer our support.”

“What do you mean when you say ‘support’?” Ast asks, and for once, I’m glad he’s here. He can ask the questions my currentgift won’t let me ask.

“Sorry,” he says, propping his elbows up on the edge of the table. “I’m no good with manners, or whatever—when I want to know something, I just ask it.”

“An admirable quality, Ast,” Harth says. It’s probably a dig at me, and it stings. “Our intention was actually to ask Chancellor Benesit what Thuvhe needs in this struggle against Shotet. We have a great deal of resources at our disposal.”

Ast looks at Isae, and shrugs.

“Weapons,” he says.

“Ast.” Isae says his name like a warning. “We haven’t agreed that’s necessary yet.”

“I mean, go ahead and dither all you want, Isae,” he says. “But eventually we’re gonna need to fight back. Pitha gave us one anticurrent blast, and we could use another one, to start. Better ships, too, probably, since Thuvhe’s are out of date and slow . . . and can’t even carry the damn weapon.”

Harth laughs. Chezel and Sharva join in.

“Well,” Chezel says. “Those requests don’t sound too difficult to grant, do they, Councilwoman?”

“No,” she replies with a smile. “We will be happy to give you what you need, provided Chancellor Benesit agrees.”

“While I’d prefer it if my advisers would handle things with more delicacy,” Isae says, sharp, “Thuvhe does need to protect itself. It would be helpful to have another long-distance weapon to use against Shotet, to keep from having to fight a war on land or in the sky—as a last resort, you understand. Their combat skills are quite advanced, as we all know. And none of our ships are equipped to make use of such a weapon.”

“Then it is settled,” Chezel says, picking up his glass.

My throat feels tight. I strain against it, fighting to make a sound, any sound. Finally, the only thing I can think to do is to knock my fist against the table. I squeeze Isae’s hand, tightly, hard enough to crack her knuckles.

“Wait a moment,” Isae says. “Cisi’s currentgift unfortunately prevents her from speaking freely in some situations, and she clearly has something to say.”

“Thank you,” I manage. “I am—curious about something.”

“What’s that, dear?” Harth says. I don’t like her tone. It makes me feel about an izit tall.

“My father told me not to trust any deal where one person gains more than the other,” I say. I raise my eyebrow. I can’t quite ask the question, but I feel like I’ve gotten close enough.

“That is a good point,” Isae says quietly. “What will Othyr expect in return for its generosity?”

“Is the defeat of a galaxy-wide pest not enough of a reward?” Harth says.

I shake my head.

“There’s no precedent for this level of cooperation between us,” Isae says. “We maintain a neutral relationship because we depend on each other for the good of both Othyrians and Thuvhesits, but—”

“But we often find ourselves on different sides of particular issues, yes,” Harth says.

“Most notably,” Sharva says, speaking for the first time. His voice is a rumble, but thin, no richness to it. “Most notably, in the decision to release the fates of the favored lines to the public.”

“Yes,” Isae says tersely. “A decision that affected my planet disproportionately, as we are possessed of not one, but three favored families.”

“Nonetheless, Othyr stands behind its decision,” Sharva says. “And wishes to press for even greater oversight of the oracles moving forward.”

Ast sits back. His face is unreadable. But he doesn’t seem uncomfortable, to me. I guess I always just assumed he didn’t like me because of my currentgift, but maybe it’s my oracle mother, too. Maybe he’s on Othyr’s side in this whole thing.