The tall guardswoman scowled but said nothing, only collected the basket and disappeared down the slope to retrieve water.
“I assume Jor has gone off to bother my students.” It took Nana pointing it out for Lara to realize with a start that the man had abandoned them without her noticing. “It still hasn’t sunk in that they aren’t interested in an old lecher like him.”
“Your girls can take care of themselves,” Aren replied.
“That wasn’t my point, now was it?” Nana pulled the gate to the garden shut, then shuffled in their direction. Her hair was solid silver, and her skin wrinkled, but her eyes were shrewd and discerning as she squinted at her grandson. “Teeth!”
The barked command made Lara jump, but without hesitation, Aren bent over and opened his mouth, allowing his grandmother to inspect his straight white teeth. She grunted with satisfaction and then patted his cheek. “Good boy. Now where’s your sister been? Avoiding me?”
“Ahnna’s teeth are fine, Grandmother.”
“Not her teeth that concern me. Has Harendell asked for her yet?”
“No.”
“Send her anyway. It shows good faith.”
“No.” The word came out of Aren as a growl, which surprised Lara. Surely he didn’t intend to break his contract with the northern kingdom? Not when he’d been willing to fulfill his half without argument?
“Ahnna doesn’t need your coddling, boy. She can take care of herself.”
“That’s between me and her.”
Nana grunted and spit before turning her attention to Lara. “So this is what Silas sent us, is it?”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Lara inclined her head with the same respect she’d have given a Maridrinian matron.
“We’ll see how long that pleasure lasts.” Faster than Lara would’ve believed an old woman could move, Nana reached over and gripped her by the hips, twisted her this way and that, before running her hands up Lara’s sides, laughing when Lara batted them away. “Built for bedding if not breeding.” She leveled a stare at her grandson. “Which I’m certain you’ve noticed, even if you haven’t availed yourself.”
“Grandmother, for the love of god—”
Reaching up, Nana flicked his earlobe hard. “Mind your tongue, boy. Now as I was saying”—she turned back to Lara—“you’ll labor hard, but you’ll deliver. You’ve the willpower.” She ran a quick finger down an old scar on Lara’s arm, one she’d earned in a knife fight against a Valcottan warrior. “And you’ve known pain.”
This woman was too shrewd. Too close. Lara snapped, “I’m not a broodmare.”
“Thank goodness for that. We’ve little time for horses here in Ithicana. What we need is a queen who’ll produce an heir. Unlike your father, my grandson won’t have an entire harem to ensure the royal line continues. Just. You.”
Lara crossed her arms, annoyed though she had no right to be. There was zero chance of her producing anything. She’d been supplied with a year’s worth of contraceptive tonic. There would be no surprises on that front.
“Come with me, I’ll give you something for the seasickness. Boy, you go find something else to keep you busy.”
Lara followed her inside. She expected the interior of the home to be damp and musty like the bridge, but instead it was dry and warm, the polished wooden panels on the walls reflecting the flames in the fireplace. One wall hosted floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with jars packed with plants, powders, colored tonics, and what appeared to be insects of various sorts. There were also several long glass cages, and Lara shivered as she saw coiled forms move within them.
“Don’t like snakes?”
“I have a healthy respect for them.” This earned a cackle of approval.
After rooting around in her shelves, Nana produced a twisted root, which she passed to Lara. “Chew this before and while you’re on the water. It will help keep the nausea at bay.” Lara sniffed it uncertainly, relieved to discover the smell, at least, was not disagreeable.
“I’ve got nothing for overcoming fear, though. That’s your own problem to manage.”
“Given I can’t swim, I feel my fear of water is as healthy as my respect for snakes.”
“Learn.” The curtness of the old woman’s tone conveyed a lack of tolerance for complaint that reminded Lara briefly, painfully, of Master Erik.
With a jerk, Nana opened the curtains covering one of the windows, allowing the sunlight to spill inside, then beckoned Lara closer. “You’ve your father’s eyes. And your grandfather’s.”
Lara shrugged. “The color is some small proof that I’m a true princess of Maridrina.”
“I wasn’t talking about the color.” Quick as the snakes in the cages, Nana caught Lara by the chin, fingers pressing painfully against her jaw. “You’re a sly little thing, just like them. Always searching for an advantage.”
Resisting the urge to pull away, Lara stared back into the woman’s eyes, which were hazel. Like Aren’s. But what she saw within them was very different from what she saw in his. “You speak as though you know my family.”
“I was a spy when I was young. Your grandfather recruited me into his harem. He had the foulest breath of any man I’ve ever met, but I learned to hold my breath and think of Ithicana.”
Lara blinked. This woman had infiltrated the harem as a spy? That it could be done was alarming of itself, but only the loveliest girls were brought into the King’s harem, and Nana was . . .
“Ha, ha!” Nana’s laugh made her jump. “I didn’t always look like the last prune left in the bowl, girl. In my day, I was quite the beauty.” Her fingers tightened. “So don’t think I don’t know firsthand how you use your fair face to achieve your own ends. Or the ends of your country.”
“I am here to nurture the peace between Ithicana and Maridrina,” Lara replied coolly, considering whether she’d have to find a way to see this woman put down. While she was confident in her ability to manipulate Aren and those close to him, Nana was quite another story.
“This kingdom wasn’t built by fools. Your father sent you to make trouble, and if you think we aren’t watching you, you’re wrong.”
Unease flickered in Lara’s chest.
“Aren cares a great deal for honor and he’ll keep his word to you no matter what it costs him.” Nana’s eyes narrowed. “But I don’t give a squirt of piss for honor. What I care about is family, and if I think you are a true threat to my grandson, don’t think for a heartbeat that I won’t arrange for an accident to occur.” The woman’s smile was all straight white teeth. “Ithicana is a dangerous place.”
And I’m a dangerous woman, Lara thought before answering, “He seems more than capable of taking care of himself, but I appreciate your candor.”
“I’m sure.” Nana’s eyes seemed to delve straight into Lara’s soul, and she felt no small amount of relief when the old woman twitched the curtains shut and gestured to the door. “He won’t want to miss the tides. Harendell is running cattle and he hates cows in the bridge.”