“You killed him.” He said it casually, like we were two drunk classmates bonding on a late-night stroll back to where we were staying.

He knew I had. He’d seen me after my battle against my father. But I humored him anyway. “I did. He had a foster-son. We were friends. My father murdered him too and then threatened to kill me.” All the truth, if a sanitized version of it. Officially, Bayan had returned to the backwater isle he’d come from. Officially, he was still alive. If only it were truly so.

Jovis reached out a hand as if to offer comfort and then, remembering who I was, pulled it back. “Your father was not a good man.”

I hesitated, wondering how much more to say, part of me wishing he’d had the temerity to touch me again. The last time someone had touched me in any way that wasn’t perfunctory was when Bayan had held my hand before we’d faced my father. The rest of the words spilled from my mouth. “He was the only parent I knew. I loved my father, but he didn’t love me. In the end, I wanted to live more than I wanted him to love me.” All the old hurt welled up within me, a wound that never quite scabbed over. I wondered if I would live with that pain for the rest of my life.

“I’m sorry.” He actually looked sorry too, and for some reason that made my heart ache more.

In all the letters I’d received, few had offered condolences on my father’s death. Most had probed for information, wondering what I might change in the Tithing structures, wondering what plans I had for their islands. I wasn’t a person to them. I blinked back tears, embarrassed to be tearing up at all. Was I so desperate for kindness? Was I that pathetic?

If Jovis noticed, it was only out of the corner of his eye. He waited, giving me time to compose myself. “You said you didn’t know me,” he said as we walked. “And granted, the folk song doesn’t tell you much. Is there anything you want to know about me? A question for a question.”

I took in his profile – the lanky limbs, the long nose, the hair curling about his ears. He stood almost a full head taller than me, and even though I knew the power he had, I wasn’t afraid of him. There were so many things I wished to know about him. Was he a spy? Was he planning to kill me or take the crown? What had he seen inside the cavern? No. These questions would all widen the gap between us when I needed to close it. I needed the people of the Empire to trust me. I needed Jovis to trust me.