To Kill a Kingdom(78)
“Your Royal Highness,” I say, returning the greeting. “I’d like to thank you for receiving us into your kingdom. It’s an honor to be welcomed here.”
I turn to the princes, their headdresses matched according to their age and, so, according to their right to the throne. The second eldest, Prince Hiroki, is the polar bear; Tetsu, the wilderness wolf; and the youngest prince, Koji, is the Arctic fox. I formally greet them and they bow in turn.
I wonder which of them is Rycroft’s na?ve little source.
“Of course, it’s not just my brothers who welcome you,” Kazue says, “but our entire family.”
He waves his hand behind him, and a new figure emerges from the soldiers, dressed as gloriously as the royal family. A fifth, standing shorter and with a far less military posture, but a similar sense of indignation. I don’t need the unprecedented addition to pull back the animal skin to know who it is.
Sakura smiles when she sees my face tick, bright blue lips matching the ungodly color of the sky. Her hair is shorter than before, with a fringe cut bluntly to hide the tips of her eyes. A heavy bronze chain sweeps down from her forehead to a white-bone piercing on her left earlobe.
She doesn’t look like a princess; she looks like a queen. A warrior. An adversary.
“Prince Elian,” she says.
“Princess Yukiko.”
She smiles at the use of her real name.
Kye stiffens beside me, his resentment growing. Now that my crew is faced with the very woman who manipulated me into giving up my time on the Saad – my time, and theirs – they can hardly be expected to smile.
Swiftly, I nudge Kye before he has a chance to say anything. Who knows how much Princess Yukiko has told her family about her time in Midas? Did she tell them she was the owner of the illustrious Golden Goose? That she traded as much in my royal secrets as she did liquor, gambling her nights away with the wretches of my kingdom? I doubt it. But even if she has, Kye addressing her informally won’t go amiss. He may have been a diplomat’s son once, but his disinheritance is no secret. Besides, she’s a princess. A potential queen. My potential queen.
I flinch at the thought, hoping that my bargain with Galina is enough to make my bargain with Yukiko void.
I feel the stares of all one hundred of my crew on my back. But as much as they want to say to me, there’s just as much I want to say to the princess. The deal I want to discuss and the counteroffer I’m desperate to present. Nevertheless, now’s not the time. Not with so many prying eyes and pricked ears.
I bow in greeting.
“Look at you, trying to hide your surprise,” Princess Yukiko says. “There’s no reason for it, you know. The hiding or the surprise. Aren’t we old friends? Isn’t this my home? Where else should I be but with such dear friends and family?”
“Of course,” I say tightly. “I’m just surprised by how quickly you made the journey.”
“Not all ships float,” Yukiko says. “Some prefer to fly.”
Her voice is unduly self-assured, and unlike Lira’s there’s nothing I enjoy about her brand of arrogance. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and settle for a curt nod of understanding.
Págese airships are some of the best in the hundred kingdoms. They vary from the bullets – darting balloons with barely enough room for half a dozen passengers – to lavish ships that are opulent enough to be dubbed floating palaces. They have at least eight separate rotors and span up to three floors, depending on the cargo or, more often than not, the social standing of the passengers.
The Págese have always been on good terms with the Efévresic, who birth the world’s greatest inventions. They’re a kingdom at the forefront of nearly every technological triumph, and there’s rarely an invention today that can’t trace its origin back to Efévresi. Págos has been their ally for so long now that it doesn’t even matter if they exist at opposite ends of the world. There’s seldom anything stronger than two kingdoms drawn together by a decades-old marriage alliance. It means that Págos is privy to many of the technological advancements that Efévresi has, and so they’re one of the few kingdoms with the means to confine most of their travel to air rather than sea. For the rest of the hundred kingdoms, airships tend to be unreliable. Malfunctions are not uncommon, and unless the journey spans longer than a month, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
“You’re the princess?” Lira asks.
As much as her contempt for everyone around her usually entertains me, I send Lira a pointed look, warning her not to say anything out of line. But she either doesn’t notice or she doesn’t care. I can guess which one is more likely.
Yukiko nods. “I didn’t realize the prince was recruiting new members for the Saad.”
“Oh, I’m not a recruit,” Lira says. “I’m just here to kill him.” She stares pointedly at the princess. “And anyone else who gets in my way.”
Kye makes a poor attempt to muffle the sound of his laughter with the back of his hand.
I snap my gaze to Lira and clench my teeth. Has the cold gone to her head, or is she so used to our rapport that she thinks it can be the same with every royal? I try to catch her attention, but she’s fixated on Yukiko.
Her eyes are as cold as the wind.
“She’s joking,” I say, pushing Lira behind me. “And probably drunk.”