“The attacking ship bore a Carnelian flag.” He pinned his gaze on his fiancée, a red mist descending over his vision. “Neither of you are to leave the palace until this situation is resolved.”
“Have there been other attacks?” Stella asked.
“Not that we know of.” Nik swung his gaze to his sister. “You still don’t leave.”
She nodded. He stalked to the door, so angry, furious with himself for being duped, he could barely see.
Sofía intercepted him at the door, her hand on his arm. “You don’t have all the facts. It would be easy to jump to conclusions in this situation.”
“Like Idas is a snake? That he broke his word?”
She blinked as he shouted the words at her. “Nik—”
He picked her up and moved her aside. She followed him into the hallway. “Do not let Idas drag you into a war you know is wrong. Listen to your instincts, now of all times.”
He kept walking. Listen to his instincts? His instincts had been right all along.
* * *
The siege over the Akathinian warship taken in the Strait of Evandor lasted for forty-eight hours. Forty-eight nail-biting hours in which Sofía, Stella and Queen Amara paced the floors of the palace salon while Nik and a team of negotiators attended meetings in Geneva to free the ship and its crew, currently being forcibly held in Carnelian waters.
King Gregorios was ordered to bed when his blood pressure skyrocketed, something Sofía was inordinately grateful for. The elder king’s vitriolic diatribe against Idas was only making a difficult scenario much, much worse.
Abram briefed them as he could. Nik was in the midst of a storm, with his Council divided on whether to provide a military response to retrieve the ship. Some felt enough was enough, Idas needed to be confronted. Nik was on the side of diplomacy, aware Akathinia’s military was still heavily outmatched by its aggressors. He had refused to send negotiators to Geneva, insisting, instead, on being there himself and was doing his best to manage both sides of the equation.
The situation was not made easier by the reaction of the Akathinian people. Such an act of provocation on the heels of the crown prince’s death could not be tolerated was the majority opinion. Get our men back.
Deep into the third day of the crisis, Abram appeared in the salon to say it was done. Sofía’s heart pounded as he announced the negotiations had been successful and the ship had been returned to Akathinian hands, but that five men had been killed in the taking of the ship.
When Nik walked into the palace hours later, dark circles ringing his eyes, Sofía, who had not slept for three days except for a couple of hours here and there, got to her feet, along with Stella and Queen Amara.
“Why did the Carnelians take the ship?” Queen Amara asked. “Why did Idas break his promise?”
Nik rubbed a hand across his brow. “They accused the ship of provocation toward one of its own. Clearly a fabrication, as our vessel was in neutral waters at the time, doing routine exercises.”
His mother’s gaze softened. “You must eat, Nikandros. Get some rest.”
“I need to brief Father first.” He flicked a glance at Sofía. “Go and eat. Don’t wait for me.”
She did, but the anxiety seizing her insides hardly inspired an appetite. Nik didn’t join her in their rooms until well after eleven as she sat trying to read a book, but failing miserably.
“Did you eat?” she asked.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Nik, you have to eat. Let me—”
“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “I’m fine.”
He started undoing the buttons of his shirt, cursed as his fingers fumbled over them, then pulled the material apart with a hard yank, buttons scattering and rolling across the floor. Her stomach knotted. She put the book down, got to her feet and crossed to him. Ignoring her, he yanked his belt buckle open, freed the button on his trousers and shoved them down his hips.
“Nik.” She moved closer as he stepped out of them. “Stop for a second. Breathe.”
He looked down at her, eyes blazing. “If I do, I will explode.”
“It’s not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this. You had every reason to believe Idas would keep his word.”
“Did I?” He hurled the words at her. “Because in hindsight I feel like a fool. In hindsight he played me masterfully. He never intended on keeping that peace treaty.”
She swallowed hard. “How did he think he would get away with that explanation? Surely it was clear the ship was in neutral waters.”
“It’s his claim a commander on the scene who considered the ship a threat made the call.”