A Conspiracy of Kings Read Online Free PDF Page B

held, leave
me incapable of anything beyond gasping for breath.
    We were all accounted for, and there was nowhere to hide
anything the size of a prince on board, so the captain of the
king’s ship waved us on our way, and I added him to the list
of people I hated. Once we left the harbor, however, he and
everyone else on the list faded rapidly from my mind as my
headache, and my empty sour stomach, made every tilt of the boat
and every slosh of the waves a trial. I am not a sailor even in the
best of circumstances, and I concentrated fiercely on not being
sick. The gag in my mouth became more frightening. Gorgias
wouldn’t take it out unless I gave him my word to keep
silent. I continued to refuse. Finally Basrus picked his way over
to me and squatted down, leaning in so close that I could feel the
warmth of his breath on my skin as he spoke very softly into my
ear.
    “My prince,” he said. “Do you see anyone here
to aid you?” He cast a significant look at the slaves and at
his men. The only boats visible on the sea around us were far out
of the range of my voice. “You’re as green as a dead
man, and I’m not being paid to bring a dead man to shore.
You’ll have the gag out and you’ll keep your name to
yourself, or I swear by my god I will slit the throat of every man
on this boat but Gorgias.” He looked into my horrified eyes
and said, “I’ll slit their throats and dump them into
the sea to keep this secret, and I will never give it another
thought. Do you believe me?”
    I did.
    He untied the gag and pulled it free. “Get him some
water,” he said to Gorgias, and returned to the stern.
    I looked at the men who were hostage for my good behavior, and I
stayed quiet. When we neared Hanaktos, Gorgias put the gag back in.
When we reached the dock in the harbor, we were unloaded and
marched to market pens more often used for goats than for men.
     
    Within the hour of our arrival, we were being looked over by
various townspeople, one of whom I recognized as the wife of Baron
Hanaktos. Lady Hanaktia didn’t know me. Neither did her
daughter, who was with her. The swelling in my face felt much
reduced, but no doubt my bruises were still disfiguring. Berrone
and I had danced together just a few months earlier at a reception
my mother arranged in the capital. It had been a failed attempt to
reconcile me with my uncle and my father. I’d been, as usual,
paralyzed. All the young women danced with me for form’s
sake, but Berrone did it out of pity as well, which was enough to
cement the disaster. I was returned to Letnos the following
day.
    Ina tells me that Berrone is more beautiful than any other young
woman in our acquaintance. I suppose my personal affections alter
my perceptions. She is lovely. She is very kind, too, as Ina has
also pointed out, though if you knew Ina, you would know she
wasn’t being kind when she did. Because what Ina was saying,
without saying, is that Berrone is also the stupidest person we
know.
    During our dances at the reception months earlier, Berrone had
told me with delight the ridiculous amount of money she had given a
shopkeeper for a magical device that would keep things from being
lost. Berrone was always losing things, scarves, rings, purses. She
showed me the device, which turned out to be an ordinary piece of
string. She had tied one end of it to a ring and the other to her
finger.
    Still, no matter how silly she was, I was certain she would know
me if she just looked closely enough. She and her mother stood not
too far away, eyeing the merchandise as the slaver’s man,
Gorgias, pointed out and described potential purchases. Sitting on
the packed dirt, with a wide empty space around me, I stared hard
at Berrone. She did look at me, but my stare disconcerted her, and
she glanced away again quickly. When she glanced at me again, I
looked down and tried to look harmless and as appealing as
possible. I modeled myself on my apologetic former friend Hyacinth,
certain she would