Tolomon, ignoring the warning from literally every guard in the dungeon, unlocked Indenuel completely. He moved the chains to the corner and covered them with a blanket before walking to the door and opening it for Inessa, giving a bow. Inessa barely curtseyed back before running into Indenuel’s arms. He hugged her, making sure he thanked Tolomon later for doing this. He didn’t let her go, he simply hugged her.

“I missed you,” Indenuel said.

“I missed you too,” Inessa said. They made no movement to break apart.

“What is this?” Tolomon asked, looking at four baskets by the door.

“Food from Sara,” Inessa said, still hugging Indenuel. “It’s from the party last night. She wanted to make sure you both got some.”

Indenuel saw Tolomon lugging in the four baskets of food. “Quite sure this is half the refreshment table.”

Indenuel laughed. “Give Sara my thanks. She always looks out for me.”

Inessa broke away as she studied his face, touching his cheek. “Are you alright? You look exhausted.”

Indenuel touched her hand with his own. The sight of her here, alive, was enough. The nightmares were there, every night, taunting him, but he never woke up to demons again. It still made his sleep scattered and short.

“I’ll be fine,” Indenuel said. “Dalius said the mark is losing its hold, and the devil always makes it worse before it gets better.”

Inessa nodded, still stroking his cheek. “And I’ll come visit. Every day.”

Indenuel smiled. “Please do.” He kissed her softly, and she kissed him back. He touched her face, his fingers tracing her cheek before getting tangled in her hair. Her lips were so soft. She melted away his worries and concerns.

The kiss started to get deep when Tolomon cleared his throat very loudly. Inessa broke away, hiding her smile in Indenuel’s chest. Tolomon gave a smile of his own, though it was far more forced.

“You’re going to help us eat some of this food, right?” Indenuel asked.

“There is certainly enough here for that. I’ll need to taste your food anyway,” Tolomon said, already a plate in his hands as he tried a bit of everything.

A thought hit him. “Exactly how long are you going to be my bodyguard? I mean, after the treaty is signed? If Santollia wins?”

Tolomon finished tasting Indenuel’s food before handing it over to him. “The years following a war can be dangerous. I will still protect you with my life.”

Indenuel nodded, hoping Tolomon would simply remain his bodyguard for the rest of his life.

“Um,” Inessa said quietly, still facing Indenuel’s chest. “What is the arrangement for… for when we are wed? For… after. Where does Tolomon… are you…” Inessa glanced at Tolomon, heat rising to her cheeks.

“I sleep in the room next to Indenuel unless I feel like his life is threatened. But I assure you, you will have your privacy,” Tolomon said, fixing up a plate and handing one to Inessa, her cheeks still a deep red. “As you are Indenuel’s betrothed, I can offer the same sort of protection as I do him. Indenuel would never forgive me if something bad happened to you.”

“Good,” Indenuel said.

“Am I in danger?” Inessa asked, curious.

“The Kiam already proved that to get to the Warrior, they had to get you. I will protect you with my life, Inessa. If you’d like, I could start checking your food for poisons, too.”

“It’s, um…” Inessa glanced down at her plate as though starting to realize the dangers of being the Warrior’s betrothed.

“Don’t let him worry you,” Indenuel said. “He has this tendency to make it seem like you’re always in danger, but I’ve honestly never felt safer than when I’ve been with him.”

“You might even say my job to worry about whether you are in danger so you don’t have to,” Tolomon said.

Inessa nodded, surrendering her plate. “Alright. Do what you need to keep me safe.”

Tolomon nodded, quickly taking a bite of all the different foods on her plate before handing it back. “It will of course be easier to guard you once we’re out of the dungeon, but I’d also trust Nathaniel with my life. I’ll write to him to make sure you stay safe while you are at High Elder Martin’s home.”

“Thank you, Tolomon,” Inessa said.

***

It was after the Sabbath day, three days after Inessa’s betrothal party when Dalius walked in, smiling as he pushed Cristoval inside. “Pardon, High Elders, your Majesties.”

Martin was reading a book, waiting for them to come to the meeting. He smiled in return, closing the book and putting it to one side. He didn’t begrudge them always being late. After all, it would be difficult getting both him and Cristoval ready for the meeting as well as stopping by the Cathedral to pick up the book of meeting notes.

They said a prayer over the meeting.

“Thank you for taking some time to meet with me,” King Ramiro said as he took out a note. “We got an update from the Grand Empress.” He set the note down, looking troubled. “She miscalculated the speed of her carriage and the determination of her men to get her here. She’ll be here in a week and a half.”

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“Pardon, what?” Navir asked.

Dalius stopped writing to rub the bridge of his nose. “Indenuel will not be ready.”

“He wasn’t going to be ready in a month, either,” Martin said.

“It’ll be fine,” Navir said, his mind doing some calculations. “We just also teach him about diplomacy and… and negotiations while Dalius is healing him too.”

Dalius had one hand on his forehead while hastily writing with the other.

“How did we not notice where she was before?” Navir asked.

“She had her guards block them. She revealed herself in note right before her guards dropped the protection. It might have gotten too hard for them to block her.”

“She did this on purpose,” Fadrique said.

“Most certainly,” King Ramiro said.

Fadrique muttered something, and it sounded like, “Conniving killer of the Gods.” Martin glared at him.

“We have less time than we thought to prepare Indenuel for something he wasn’t going to have much time to accomplish in the first place,” Martin said.

“Martin should tell him. He has the best relationship with Indenuel,” Fadrique said.

Martin shook his head. “That’s not saying much.”

“If you need, he is in my dungeon under my care, I can tell the boy about the Empress’ earlier arrival,” King Ramiro said.

“That would be wonderful,” Navir said. “Dalius, how long do you cleanse him for?”

Dalius quickly finished writing the notes. “I go in there the morning and afternoon, as well as whenever he wakes up from nightmares.”

“How often would you say he has these?” Navir asked.

“Every night,” Dalius said with no hesitation. Martin winced.

“And how is the mark?” Navir asked.

“Darker, rather than lighter. But it is more noticeably red,” Dalius said.

Navir nodded, troubled. “Martin, despite what you think, you still do have the best relationship with him. I want you to teach him everything you know about diplomacy and negotiations.”

“Keep him chained up while you talk to him this time,” Fadrique said.

Martin refused to react to that.

***

Indenuel had his eyes closed, trying to keep his tears at bay as Dalius pulled at the corruption. A week and a half. Somehow a month sounded daunting enough, but this was far too soon. He wouldn’t be ready, and it was practically upon him.

Dalius continued to pull the threads of corruption. It still felt as though his skin was being ripped off in the process. He wanted to think that was what caused his tears.

The door opened and Indenuel cracked an eye open. His heart gave a leap, thinking Inessa had come early, but it was Martin, instead. Indenuel closed his eyes again. Of course they wouldn’t have Inessa come in. Tolomon always unchained him so they could share a meal together. Also, Inessa was never allowed to enter when Dalius was cleansing him. It wouldn’t be appropriate.

Indenuel sensed Martin placing a chair on the other side of his table and sitting down. He opened his eyes again, glaring.

“I assume you heard?” Martin asked as Dalius continued to pull the corruption out of Indenuel’s body.

“I heard.”

“The High Elders asked that I teach you some basics in negotiation and diplomacy so you can be prepared to meet with the Grand Empress of Kiam,” Martin said.

Dalius pulled particularly hard, and Indenuel closed his eyes, bracing himself as the corruption tore out of his chest. “Great,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Your mark is looking better. Well done,” Martin said.

“Thanks.”

There was a silence between them all. Indenuel was not looking forward to this.

“One of the first rules of diplomacy and negotiation is to not get angry. This is especially true with you being marked. I doubt I need to tell you this, but if you accidentally murder the Grand Empress of Kiam, Santollia will never recover,” Martin said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Indenuel said, glaring at the ceiling. Dalius pulled at a corruption that clung to his skin. He was certain that if this was a physical wound, it would have torn his skin right off. Indenuel grunted as it released.

“We are pretty certain her God-given gift is speaking to the dead, but either way, it is imperative you do not let any corruption be felt.”

“Tell me, Martin, what is the fine line between negotiation and manipulation? Diplomacy and hypocrisy?” He didn’t plan on getting angry but talking while he was getting cleansed was a dangerous combination. “Reveal all the tricks you High Elders use to gain world power.”

Martin watched Indenuel carefully before glancing in Dalius’ direction. The other High Elder barely met Martin’s gaze before focusing again on Indenuel’s mark. “Alright, then. Let me teach you by showing an example here.” Martin got closer to the table. “You and I need to negotiate. I have a firm goal in mind. I need your forgiveness.” Indenuel snorted, looking the other way. “What is your goal in this conversation?” Martin asked. Indenuel said nothing. He didn’t want to do this. “You must have a goal in mind when you sit down with another person, or the conversation will go in circles.”

“I want you to leave this dungeon as quickly as possible,” Indenuel said, again through gritted teeth as Dalius pulled.

Martin sighed. “Alright. Now, the obvious answer to both these goals is for you to forgive me so I leave, but nothing is ever going to be that simple. This isn’t simple arithmetic where one plus one always equals two. Negotiation and diplomacy are a dance. Give and take. Almost like a relationship. A lot of hurt and pain has come between us we must sort through before we come to a conclusion.”

“Yeah,” was all Indenuel said, hiding the hurt behind the monosyllabic word.

Martin’s smile almost looked like a twitch. “So, on top of not getting angry, you must also be prepared to keep your pride at bay. You must admit the hurt you caused. You must always be gracious and be the first to do so.” Martin opened his palms, facing them forward. “I am sorry, Indenuel. Truly I am. I am imperfect, and I have never been more aware of that than when I was called as High Elder. Being in such a position of power while knowing exactly what my flaws have been has almost caused me to lose my faith. More than any doctrine I have learned.”

Indenuel frowned, studying Martin. There was sincerity, but he couldn’t trust Martin’s sincerity anymore. “And how exactly is one to believe such an apology. Considering, with the example of the Empress, I will be apologizing for murdering almost two thousand people with the mark of the devil. I’m certain you don’t want me to mention that little detail to her.”

“Do you feel bad for murdering them?” Martin asked.

Indenuel kept Martin’s gaze for a moment before looking away. “Of course I do. If there was another way, I would have chosen it.” He grunted as Dalius pulled out another huge chunk of corruption. Martin and Dalius exchanged glances. Indenuel stared at the corruption the size of a cooking pot that Dalius smothered with his shield of peace. His mark was an entire shade lighter, though still darker than it should.

“I just…” Indenuel started to say. “I don’t know how I could possibly say that to her without also implying that I’m marked. It still feels like manipulation. Lying.”

Martin still looked surprised at the amount of corruption Dalius managed to get out, but he focused again on Indenuel. “It’s down to trust. Possibly the hardest part of negotiation. You and the Empress must decide what you can trust about the other person, and what you cannot. In the end it comes down to your character. You must present yourself as a person who can be believed. Which means you need to do more things that are trustworthy than not.” Martin stood. “And the final lesson of the day. Negotiations can take days. End it when you are on a high note, so feelings are better between the two of you.”

Martin bowed, then left the dungeon. Indenuel frowned, watching him leave. It was the strangest feeling. Martin explained to him exactly how to negotiate. A way that Indenuel still couldn’t help was pure manipulation, and yet it was working. He didn’t feel nearly as angry with Martin as before. He respected Indenuel’s wishes and left as quickly as possible. Even though Indenuel had not forgiven him.

He had to admit Martin was really good at diplomacy and negotiation, which caused him to grunt again as Dalius eased another huge chunk of corruption out of him.