The Traitor Queen (The Traitor Spy Trilogy #3)(40)

“Ambassador Dannyl,” he said.

“Ashaki Achati,” Dannyl replied. He decided not to sit down, or invite Achati to. He suspected he would slip into being inappropriately friendly if he didn’t remain standing.

Achati hesitated, looked away, then raised his gaze to meet Dannyl’s again.

“You turned down my invitation to dinner,” he observed.

Dannyl nodded. “It would not have been appropriate to accept.”

“In your eyes or in the eyes of the Guild and Allied Lands?”

“Both.”

Achati looked away again, frowning and shifting his weight slowly from one leg to the other. He looked as if he was considering his words carefully.

“I’ve persuaded the king that I should maintain our friendship,” he began.

“So you can keep trying to persuade me to order Lorkin to speak?” Dannyl finished.

“No.” Achati winced. “Well, yes, as far as he is concerned that is the reason, but I have no intention of doing that.”

“What do you intend to do?”

The man’s mouth twitched and his eyes crinkled with amusement. Which made Dannyl miss their former banter.

“Try to rescue what remains of our friendship,” he said. “Even if it means pretending none of this unfortunate business is happening.”

“But it is happening,” Dannyl said. “You would be as incapable of pretending otherwise if … if your cousin or …” A memory of the slave that Achati had cared for slipped into his mind. “Varn … maybe not Varn, since he’s a slave.”

“It would be upsetting if Varn was unjustly treated,” Achati admitted.

“So you admit that Lorkin’s imprisonment is unjust?”

Achati smiled. “No. How would you feel if … if the Elyne Ambassador in Kyralia was protecting a rogue magician?”

“To be a fair comparison, we’d not know if the man was a rogue or not. You don’t know if Lorkin has useful information and we’re not refusing to pass that information on to you, just asking that we have the opportunity to question our own man first. And if there was a rogue, well, the alliance states that all rogues are the Guild’s concern.”

Achati sighed. “Yes, that last is the key difference. Kyralia and Elyne are allies. You trust them. Kyralia and Sachaka are not allies. You ask for more trust than we can give.”

Dannyl nodded. “You’ll have to learn to trust us, if we are to become allies in the future.”

“Then don’t you have to trust us, in return?”

“You’ve got more convincing to do,” Dannyl pointed out. “We have more recent aggressive acts to forgive, before we trust Sachakans.”

Achati sighed. He looked at Dannyl, saying nothing, before finally ending the pause in their conversation with a shake of his head.

“I hoped we could talk as friends, but instead we speak as if we are our nations. I should go.” But he didn’t move away. He chewed his lip. “I can at least assure you that Lorkin is fine. The king won’t dare to harm him. Don’t stop trying to see him, though. Goodbye, for now.”

“Good night.” Dannyl watched the Ashaki walk to the entrance corridor and disappear. He waited until he heard the front door open and close, then moved to the chairs, sat down and let out a long breath.

“I know you won’t like me saying so, but I don’t buy any of that.”

Looking up at the voice, Dannyl frowned as Tayend moved into the room.

“How long were you spying for?”

“Long enough.” Tayend moved to a chair and sat down. “You don’t believe him, do you?”

Dannyl considered. “Which part?”

“That he wants to be your friend only for the sake of being friends.”

“I don’t know.”

“Surely you don’t trust him?”

Dannyl spread his hands. “Trust was never part of it.”

The Elyne’s eyebrows rose. “Well, then. Perhaps I should have asked if you still like him?”

Looking away, Dannyl shrugged. “I haven’t made up my mind. However I decide, it won’t stop me obeying orders or helping Lorkin.”

Tayend nodded. “I know it won’t. I admit I was worried about you, but you are still your old self, underneath.”

Dannyl straightened in protest. “Underneath what?”

The Elyne stood up, waving one hand in Dannyl’s direction. “All … that.”

“I’m reeling at your descriptive clarity,” Dannyl told him.

Tayend opened his mouth to say more, then closed it again and shook his head. “Never mind. I’m going back to my room. I have a trade agreement to negotiate. Are you still copying your notes?”

“Yes. No. I’ve run out of ink again. The slaves mustn’t have refilled the bottle this morning.”

“Actually, they put the last of the House’s supply in my pot last night. I sent one off to buy more this morning but he came back empty-handed.” Tayend’s expression became serious. “It was hard to get any sense out of him. Seems someone took it off him, but he claimed he didn’t know who in that way people do when they’re lying and they want you to know it.”

Dannyl frowned. “Someone took it from him? A thief?”