Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)(27)

Her face went pale. “When did he speak to you?”

“After our argument. He followed me to a tavern, hoping to squeeze information out of a drunk palace guard busy feeling sorry for himself. I told him nothing. Not that I knew very much then.”

Cleo looked stricken. “What else did he say?”

“He believes great magic exists in Mytica and that King Gaius is also after it. And he thinks your ring is a key factor in all of it.”

Nic hadn’t had a drop to drink since that night. He’d stayed sober, vigilant, waiting for the prince to approach him again with more questions.

But he hadn’t. Even at the banquet after Princess Amara had arrived, Nic had been stationed by the doors, and Ashur hadn’t even glanced in his direction once.

She twisted her hands in her lap. “What do we do, Nic?”

“This might sound crazy, but I think he could be an ally,” Nic said softly. “The Kraeshains are powerful. With their father’s vast army at their backs, much more powerful than King Gaius. An alliance might help you win your throne back.”

“What would make you believe they might align with us?”

“A gut feeling.”

She searched his face. “What else did he say to you to give you such an impression?”

What else did he say? Nothing. It was more about what else he did.

He wanted to tell her everything, but he still hesitated. Some recent details of his life were difficult for him to put into words.

“Nic . . .” Cleo squeezed his hand. “What is it? You look so distressed.”

“Distressed? No. No, everything’s fine. Well, as fine as it can be.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He thought back to later that night, when Ashur had followed him out of the tavern and onto the streets.

“It’s just . . . something else happened that night that I’m not sure how to interpret. Then again,” he chewed his bottom lip, “I was really drunk that night.”

“Tell me. It obviously troubles you, whatever it is.”

That was a rather grand understatement. “He did something.”

“Did what?”

The princess trusted him with her deepest and darkest truths. He knew he had to give that trust in return, even about this. “He . . . kissed me.”

Cleo blinked. “He what?”

The words came faster now. “At first I was certain I’d misinterpreted it, maybe imagined the whole thing. But it happened, Cleo.”

She stared at him, bewildered. “You’re saying that Prince Ashur Cortas, the most infamous and sought-after bachelor in all of the Kraeshian Empire, kissed you.”

“I know!” He shot up from the bench and began pacing back and forth, raking his hands through his messy red hair. “I know!”

She considered this. “I suppose that explains why he hasn’t taken a wife yet. He prefers—”

“What?” Nic spun around to face her and then lowered his voice so as not to draw the guards’ attention. “Seventeen-year-old palace guards who shovel the shit of the king’s dogs?” He grimaced. “Pardon my language. No—no, he must have been trying to mess with my head, have me tell him secrets. Maybe he thinks I like boys instead of girls. Maybe he was trying to manipulate me. Kraeshians are very sneaky, you know!”

“Calm yourself.” Cleo stood up and took Nic’s hands in hers to make him stop moving. “I see that this bothers you. But it shouldn’t. It’s fine.”

“Fine? How is this fine?” He’d lost sleep over it, trying to figure out how and why it had happened and why he hadn’t done a single thing to stop it.

“The prince approached you, Nic . . . you in particular out of everyone in the palace.”

“Because he knows I’m your friend.”

“Perhaps that wasn’t the only reason.” She twirled a long lock of her pale golden hair around her fingers. “You have a connection with the prince now. You need to find out if Prince Ashur and Princess Amara could possibly be our allies, as you suspect. I can’t afford to turn my back on any possibility at this point.”

His heart thudded loudly in his ears. “I don’t know.”

“Nic, please. You have to be brave. For me. For Mira. For everyone we’ve lost. I empathize with your misgivings, but this is more important than a kiss. You need to go to Prince Ashur and find out if he can help us.”

Damn. He couldn’t refuse Cleo this request, not if it might mean all the difference in the world in getting her throne back.

“I don’t know when I can get away from the palace to pay a visit to the Cortas’s villa,” Nic said. “My leash is nearly as tight as the king’s hounds’. And, to be honest, Cleo, I’m not totally convinced we would be wise to align with them so soon.”

“You’ll have to be subtle.” Cleo’s expression was haunted with worry. “But Ashur approached you personally. He won’t consider it strange if you speak with him in private again. Our futures are on the line, Nic. The future of Auranos and all of its citizens is at stake.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Yes, it is.” She looked up at him, her eyes filling with hope. “So will you do this for me? For us?”