Draggah Read Free

shown any more interest in Brutas than she had in him, and she had even insulted Brutas earlier.  “ What do you want to know? ”
    “ I don ’ t care about Brutas, ” she said.  “ I want to know about Tiberius.  He ’ s the interesting one.  I think that ’ s who you were worrying about when I found you in the banquet room.  He ’ s the cause of your brooding. ”
    “ Tiberius is no longer my brother, ” Leonosis said.  “ He threw his life away.  He ’ s banished and I don ’ t bother thinking about him at all. ”
    The Princess laughed.
    “ Men are all the same.  You think I don ’ t see through your lies, but you ’ re wrong.  I know you, Leonosis.  You ’ re like me, a lot like me.  We get bored easily.  Managing a city is too small for you, but managing nine cities would quickly bore you as well. ”
    “ I ’ m sure I don ’ t know what you mean, ” Leonosis said.
    “ I ’ m sure you do, ” she almost purred.  “ You know my brother is ill.  You have been trying to garner my attention all week.  I doubt I ’ m that beautiful. ”
    “ You are beautiful. ”
    “ Of course I am, I ’ m the Princess of Valana, but let ’ s be honest, Lord Leonosis.  You are surrounded by beautiful women.  I ’ m not an innocent child, so let ’ s not pretend that you don ’ t bed every woman who catches your attention. ”
    She smiled; there was no judgment in the look on her face.  In fact, if Leonosis was right, he saw a look of approval.
    “ No, ” she continued, “ let’s talk about the brother that is troubling you. ”
    “ Tiberius doesn ’ t trouble me, ” he said.  “ But I find his motivation for throwing his life away to be curious. ”
    “ It ’ s not that hard to understand, ” she said.  “ People like Tiberius are really rather simple.  They believe that their actions matter.  They ’ re loyal, trustworthy, and in many ways naive.  He went with Rafe because he was being loyal. ”
    “ No, ” Tiberius said.  “ There must be something else.  Normally I would agree with you completely, but not this time.  Ti had a reason, a good reason, not to feel loyal to Rafe.  There has to be something else I ’ m missing. ”
    “ Why worry about it? ” she asked.  “ Do you really think he ’ ll survive? ”
    “ Of course not, ” Leonosis said.  “ He ’ s the last person I would expect to survive any kind of harsh circumstances.  He isn ’ t ruthless enough. ”
    “ So why let it bother you? ” she asked.
    “ Because, ” he said shaking his head and beginning to pace, “ I don ’ t like it when I can ’ t understand a person. ”
    “ Do you understand most people? ”
    “ Yes, of course I do.  People are motivated by money, love, greed, power.  Despite what we ’ re taught in the temple on holy days, everyone has a reason for what they do.  I just can ’ t put my finger on Tiberius ’ reasoning. ”
    “ Perhaps he ’ s a fool? ”
    “ No, he isn ’ t a fool.  It was almost as if he wanted to be banished. ”
    “ What do you mean? ”  Princess Ariel asked, genuinely intrigued.
    “ First of all, he didn ’ t fight it.  Why would anyone not object to being banished?  It ’ s insane, but Tiberius didn ’ t say one word in his own defense.  And then, there ’ s the matter of the horses. ”
    “ What horses? ”
    “ Someone managed to get four horses out of the city.  A girl I ’ ve never seen before met Tiberius and Rafe with supplies and horses after they were banished. ”
    “ Interesting, ” Princess Ariel said.
    “ Or disturbing, ” Leonosis said.  “ There ’ s got to be a reason for it, but I can ’ t put my finger on it. ”
    “ You think he ’ s planning to oppose you, ” she said.
    “ It ’ s possible.  He ’ s smarter than he lets on and his friend is not just an able-bodied soldier.  He ’ s popular—all across the city people know who Rafe Grentzson is.  Half of the war band would follow him