Griffin shakes his head. “Too risky. It’s a good idea, but it’ll never work. Foot soldiers can’t move fast enough to cover the entire border. There’ll be huge gaps to get through.”
“What if they’re mounted?” Jocasta asks.
“There aren’t enough horses,” Griffin and I say at once.
“I have two horses,” Kaia volunteers. Always eager and full of energy, she shifts forward in her seat. “You can have mine.”
Her spontaneous offer sends a stab of something hot and twisting through my chest. I wouldn’t offer up my horse now, and I certainly wouldn’t have done it at fifteen. Griffin’s youngest sister is a constant surprise to me. Her straight dark hair and gray eyes mirror Egeria’s—although with a touch more blue and a good deal more fierceness in Kaia’s youthful gaze, there’s nothing subdued about her. I’ll bet she battles Dragons in her daydreams.
Next to her, Nerissa takes Kaia’s hand. In turn, Anatole takes Nerissa’s. Husband and wife. Parents and daughter.
Emotion swells inside of me. Is it envy? Sadness? It expands in a rush, and I don’t think it’s either. I’m pretty sure it’s something much more dangerous and frightening than mere self-pity. I think it’s a deep, stomach-hollowing longing accompanied by a terrifying sense of hope. That could be me. Not the daughter. That ship sank on Poseidon’s sea a long time ago. Not the daughter…but the mother.
“I know two isn’t many, but what if everyone around Sinta did the same? We could…rent the animals and then give them back once the danger passed.” Kaia’s face brightens. “I could be in charge of that.”
For reasons I don’t fully understand, my throat is suddenly too thick for breath.
Anatole gives her a patient smile. “That’s a generous offer, glikia mou.”
His sweet. I love how the southern tribes retained the old endearments, things that northerners never seem to say.
Kaia sighs. “But…”
“But people depend on their horses for their livelihoods. It’s almost harvest time. There won’t be a horse, ox, or mule to spare for the next two months. Taking animals now could not only chip away at the goodwill Sintans feel toward us, but also endanger our entire food supply.”
Kaia slumps in her chair. “That’s what the royals did before. They just took everything, and we hated them.”
Jocasta nudges a pair of cheese-stuffed olives around her plate. “So where does that leave us? Building the army and hoping it functions properly before Acantha decides to invade?”
“Yes.” Piers reaches over and steals her olives.
“There is something else.” I glance at Griffin, sure he remembers our conversation about gaining the assistance of creatures. “Something we could try.”
I sense Griffin’s mood souring even before his eyes settle on mine like boulders, and he was already pretty tense. I’m undaunted. Mostly.
I hazard on. “If we have magical creatures patrolling the border, it’ll send a clear message to the other realms, and even to our own people. Strength. Power. Boldness. It’ll be proof of resources they didn’t think we had. It’ll make them wonder what else we have in our arsenal, which, in turn, will make them hesitant to cross us. Creatures move fast, their hearing is acute, they’re huge and intimidating. A herd of Ipotane, for example, could block Sinta behind a nearly impenetrable wall.”
Egeria looks bemused. “But we don’t have any Ipotane.”
“Not yet.” I sip my wine. It’s white and tart.
“It means going to Fisa.” Griffin’s voice is like a gathering storm. “I don’t want you anywhere near there. Near her.”
Mother. Yes, she is a delight. I set down my glass. “You want to conquer Thalyria. That includes Fisa. What do you expect me to do while you’re at it? Ignore my Dragon’s Breath? My ability to turn invisible? To detect lies? To steal magic? Sit on my knowledge of creatures and royals and Oracles? Play with my knives instead of using them? Just wait for you? I might as well go back to the circus,” I say hotly. “At least I’d be entertained.”
I glare at Griffin. Griffin glares back.
“Should I lounge around eating sweets and fanning myself all day?” I ask. “Maybe in my nightgown? If I get bored, I’ll call in some pages to distract me.”
A muscle jerks in Griffin’s jaw. Maybe I went too far.
“You can steal magic?”
“Turn invisible?”
“Detect lies?”
The questions come from around the table. Damn it! I forgot I was keeping all that a secret from everyone except for the members of Beta Team. Besides Griffin and Carver, everyone in the royal family thinks I’m simply a soothsayer, reading people in some mystical way.
In the next second, I realize I don’t care. I trust them. Betraying me would mean betraying Griffin, and his family would never do that. I keep that knowledge close, just like the knowledge that Griffin loves me, no matter what. We both get angry. We both get over it. In the meantime, maybe I can get him to spank me.
I turn invisible to hide a completely inappropriate grin.
Gasps!
I pop back into sight when my face is under control.
“Really useful,” I announce. “In case you were wondering why I showed up so late, I spent half the realm dinner night invisible and detecting lies. I get burned to a crisp on the inside every time I hear a falsehood, and then the truth slams into me like vicious little punches all over my body, especially my head. It was a hoot.”