Prince's Gambit (Captive Prince, #2)

by C.S. Pacat

Laurent said, ‘He had a choice.’ ‘No,’ said Damen. ‘You only made him think he did.’

If I were Jokaste and a kingmaker, I’d have chosen Kastor over you too.’ ‘I suppose you are going to enjoy telling me why,’ said Damen. He felt his hands curl into fists, heard the bitterness in his throat. ‘Because a kingmaker would always choose the weaker man. The weaker the man, the easier he is to control.’

Laurent said, ‘I have recently learned that sometimes it is better to simply smash a hole in the wall.’

Laurent and Halvik were engaged in talk. Their back-and-forth had the rhythm of a bargain being hammered out. Halvik’s flinty stare was returned by Laurent’s impassive blue gaze. It was like watching one stone negotiate with another.

Laurent said, ‘To get what you want, you have to know exactly how much you are willing to give up.’

Damen now knew the precise number of arrows Laurent needed to have trained on him in order to shut him up. It was six.

Laurent answered him back in Vaskian, but—for once in his life—Laurent got only two words out before the man simply did what most people wanted to do when speaking with Laurent: he hit him.

‘My size,’ said Laurent, ‘is the usual. I am not made in miniature. It’s a problem of scale, standing next to you.’

‘I wish it could have been different between us, I wish I could have behaved to you with more honour. I want you to know that you will have a friend across the border, whatever happens tomorrow, whatever happens to both of us.’