She's got the devil's eyes
Though it had never been her intention to find the fine line between diplomacy and war, somehow she had at a very young age. Since then, she had walked that line as though it were a broadway and not a tightrope. Of course, her abilities had lent her a fair amount of stability when it came down to it, but eventually it had grown even narrower.
Fortunately Heartfire hadn’t the morals to prevent her from falling onto whichever side she deemed best. Nevermind the fact that she had been pushed ever so slightly. Of course, they had failed to recognize the skill that had kept her there so long, to their detriment. Castile might scream betrayal, but he’s the one who had proven the first betrayer.
“Peace and conquering only go hand-in-hand if your opponent is weaker than you are,” Heartfire replies idly. Her observation had not been made to illicit a response, but rather to provide insight. That was, after all, Castile’s greatest mistake. His erroneous belief that everyone must think like him. It was the only explanation why he, and Lepis, believed peace could be brought about by the might of one’s army. And their belief that Nerine was weak had inspired their latest transgressions. Castile had accused her of needing the support of his allies to defeat him. What he’d failed to consider was how she had won them to her side in the first place. Men like him believed only in the might of the strongest army, but Heartfire knew just how strong words placed in the correct ears could be. She didn’t need an army when she could open his own allies eyes to the truth.
“A pity, perhaps,” she agrees mildly, “but, as it happens, Castile no longer has support from them.” There is a faint gleam in her eye as she considers Ilma for a moment. It goes without saying they hadn’t withdrawn their support without help.
She grows thoughtful when Ilma asks if there is anything she would like to offer. After a moment she says, “You can offer them friendliness, of course.” A faint smile touches her lips briefly then. “And information, if they have the means and will to ask for it.”
and they'll cut you like a weapon