Crown of Blood

15.2.|| Peace Treaties

The ride to Zunin was a furious affair. Aided by the magic flowing in their veins, Trix, Jazz and Cage had no issue roughing it up and going as fast and as far as the horses could bear. The rest of their escort were hardened soldiers who did not complain when the nobles didn't.

With mere hours to rest in which they changed horses, had something to eat and slept a little, by the end of the second day, Zunin came into view. Cage set them another break.

"How long do you think it will take us to get there?" Trix asked, hopping off his horse. He winced when he hit the ground.

Cage did his best to keep his smile in. As much as Trix put on a brave front, it was clear that he was a man of the sea and riding so much had numbed his bones, not to mention his ass. He'd only complained once and Jazz had managed an entire hour of various jokes on the matter so he'd never mentioned it again.

"I'd say another half day," Jazz answered, climbing off his horse as well.

As a noble of Talia he was much better at riding than Trix was and the long journey didn't seem to bother him. Cage also suspected the thought of seeing Jinx again was giving him a spur of energy.

"We should rest then."

"Shouldn't we try to rest in Zunin?" Trix asked.

"I agree with Cage," Jazz said. "The border villages aren't safe anymore. Zunin is supposed to be a mixed village, but we could as well be running straight at a bunch of angry Endirians. Killing them off would not be a great way to start peace talks."

"Dumb Endirians," Trix mumbled.

"We should set up camp and rest," Cage said to everyone. "We'll leave at daybreak tomorrow."

Everyone followed orders immediately and Cage settled down, opening a map and laying it before him. With the possibility to prepare for the night using magic, Trix and Jazz joined him on the ground.

"General Harkiss is stationed here," Cage said, pointing to a spot on the map about half-way to Zunin. "If anything happens, he should be able to get to us fast enough."

"Shouldn't he be there with you?" Jazz asked. "I know Kat will be bringing her own general along."

"I want to be less belligerent," Cage mumbled.

Something coiled in his stomach and he wondered if it was jealousy. He'd never been jealous before. Why would he be jealous now anyway when he couldn't even feel anything for Kat anymore?

"Do you have any propositions for her?" Trix asked.

"Apart from opening fair trade between the countries? Not really. We don't owe Endir anything. They invaded us."

"You might not want to mention that to her," Trix said.

"I think she'll come with requests of her own," Jazz said.

Cage glanced at him. Even if he'd phrased it as a guess, Cage wondered if Jazz had looked into the future and knew that Kat would and exactly what she wanted. But he knew better than to ask.

"Do you think we'll be able to avoid war?" Trix whispered

Cage didn't answer for a long time, his gaze lost on the map. He was sure the answer was no. The visions of what followed still haunted him. They increased in cadence and intensity the closer they came to Kat. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Jazz said.

"So it's a no," Trix muttered to himself and headed off to settle in.