Chapter 8

Taryn knew very well what advantages Locrand would bring, but she knew the disadvantages much better. Dealing with a man like Kyros was the worst ruin for anyone and would have marked the end of Elder, she would not have wished it even to her worst enemy. That man was scum, he couldn’t forget the way Kyros treated her when he tried to tell Athelstan to expect a son; the hatred he felt toward his own daughter; the way he treated all those who had no royal blood or who simply were not him. Taryn remembered the words of disgust spit at anyone.

But most of all, she remembered how she had been treated and forced to escape from that Summit before Kyros’ killers got to her and killed her.

“Only the west remains.” Taront pointed to the map. “The Ackards rule Aeris.”

“Elhiàs Ackard has been on the throne for some years and has not yet taken a wife,” Grander said.

“How are the relations between Aeris and Locrand?” Taryn asked Lord Grander.

Taryn knew that their relationship had cracked after the Summit, mostly at the behest of Kyros, but they had tried to maintain the alliance. Athelstan and Elhiàs worshipped each other as brothers and would never close relations between their kingdoms, although their alliance had collapsed.

“King Kyros ended all relations with the kingdom after the incident,” Grander replied.

“From the death of the princess, any bridge of communication between Locrand and Aeris was destroyed by the king.”

“And Elhiàs never had a betrothed?” Taryn insisted.

“Not that we know,” replied Taront. “The young king has not accepted any marriage proposal from anyone.”

“I met Elhiàs a couple of times in the princess’s company. He has a brilliant mind and is an excellent fighter. Every time he and Athelstan practiced, his ass was on the ground.” Taryn put her chin on her left hand, thinking.

She remembered when she was in Althea. She and Aiden had disguised themselves as two servants in order to sneak into the fortress. For Taryn, that was the opportunity to meet someone powerful and convince him to support his northern recovery. At the age of twenty, she believed that the world would be at her feet. What a fool she had been. She had convinced herself that she was truly an adult and that she was able to reach her goal. All she had to do was approach a lord and convince him to help her. But she had wasted time observing the two principles, training, studying, and admiring them. It took very little time to end in the bed of one of them.

“The north and west together would create a huge kingdom.” Grander marked the map.

“But what could the north offer to a kingdom that already has everything?” asked Taryn, more to herself than to the lords around her.

“My informants told me” Taront intervened “that the kingdom in recent years has been prey to various looting by pirates.”

He pointed to the islands around the coast. The coffers of the crown are almost completely empty. “I’m sure the king and the council can’t wait to get their hands on Elder’s mines.”

Taryn stroked her chin with her index finger looking Taront straight in the eye. “Mines that are in my uncle’s hands.”

“The usurper will never come to terms with anyone. The only way for Aeris to get his hands on the mines” Taront continued, pointing to them with his eyes.

“It is helping me to take back the north” Taryn smiled.