by Lisa Cassidy
“So cocky,” she muttered, taking his hand as they went inside. They were halfway to the back room before her composure began to return.
Brynn’s thoughts, deliberately left open, led Alyx to a small room at the back. A lamp hung from the ceiling, casting a flickering glow over the proceedings. The man himself sat in the room’s only chair.
“This is all very mysterious and secretive,” Alyx commented dryly as she entered.
“I am a spy.” Brynn sighed, his green eyes brightening as Dashan came through the door behind her. “Hello, Dashan.”
“It’s good to see you again, Brynn.” Dashan settled himself against the wall by the door. “And I approve of the room choice. Lovely waft of urine in the air.”
Alyx looked around the dingy room with distaste and resigned herself not to touch anything. Who knew what she might catch. “I thought conducting secretive meetings in back rooms would actually make it pretty obvious you were a spy?”
“It was the best I could do at short notice. Next time we’ll meet in the palace gardens in full view of your Blue Guard,” Brynn said impatiently. “Now, why are we meeting?”
“Lord-Mage Casovar told us this morning he’s not sending us back to DarkSkull,” she said. “So firstly, I need you to get a message to Romas to let him know.”
“Romas will be livid.” Brynn frowned. “Not that I’m pleased about the idea either. Did he give you a reason?”
Alyx relayed the conversation they’d had with Casovar, her tone betraying her feelings on how he’d spoken to them.
“Apparently Alyx almost lost her temper and pulverized him with her fancy mage powers,” Dashan added once she’d finished.
“Because he ordered me around like I was the servant who cleaned his shoes.” She scowled.
“Well, lucky you’re not, because I’ve seen you try to clean shoes before and it wasn’t pretty.”
“I can clean shoes just fine, Dashan.”
“Sure you can.”
“At least I know how to dress neatly. Have you seen your shirt lately? It looks like your horse ran over it, numerous times.”
“My shirt is fine, thank you very much,” Dashan said indignantly, one hand smoothing the material down his chest.
Brynn raised a hand. “Back to the subject at hand, why isn’t Casovar sending you to the disputed area with the others?”
“He thinks I’m useless.”
Dashan snorted and Alyx glared at him again. No matter how good it felt to kiss him, he was still horribly annoying.
“You haven’t told him what you are?” Brynn considered that. “Probably a good thing if you don’t trust him, but Alyx, enough people know now that he’s going to find out sooner rather than later.”
“I know. I’m surprised he hasn’t already, to be honest.”
Brynn’s eyes narrowed. “I wonder if the fact the council hasn’t told him is connected to why they want me here in Alistriem.”
“This mage of the higher order thing, it really puts Alyx in that much danger?” Dashan was frowning.
“Yes, it does,” Brynn said soberly.
“Why, exactly?”
“The council wants to harness her power for their own ends, but at the same time, they fear that she will become another Shakar. If they ever begin to think she’s heading down that path, they’ll kill her—hence murdering a bunch of innocent potential Taliath to prevent that possibility. On the other hand, something out there is killing powerful mages in increasing numbers. Nobody knows who yet, or why, but Alyx is a prime target because of how powerful she will be one day.”
The words hung in the air, all the more shocking for their bluntness. She’d never heard the threat to her life spelt out so starkly before, and a shiver ran through her. Dashan straightened and reached out to Alyx in one movement, taking her hand and pulling her into his side. He wrapped both arms tightly around her.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “I’m okay.”
“I’m going to protect you,” he swore fiercely. “They have to get through me before they get to you.”
“Tarrick and the twins will protect her too, me included,” Brynn said from his chair. His words were filled with sincerity, but his gaze was on Dashan as he spoke.
“I can protect myself,” Alyx replied, trying to reassure the deep concern she read in Dashan’s eyes. Gently, she pulled away from him, but stayed close, comforted by his warmth at her side.
He wasn’t reassured. “What about these nightmares you’ve been having? We said we’d get help back in Alistriem but it’s been over two weeks and we’ve done nothing.”
She sighed, stepping away and rubbing at her suddenly throbbing temples. “The Mage Guard and all the changes here have distracted us.”
“What nightmares?” Brynn asked.
“Alyx thinks someone is causing them,” Dashan said flatly. “She had one on the way here and it was so bad she woke vomiting and shaking.”
“Whoever it was spoke to me,” Alyx said. “Warned me destruction was coming and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
Brynn glanced between them, face turning bone-white. “Who could be doing that?”
“We don’t know.” She shook her head.
“Okay.” He took a breath. “How can I help?”
“One problem at a time.” Alyx gathered herself. “Anything on the Mage Guard yet?”
“In two days?” He raised an indignant eyebrow. “No. It’s at the top of my list though.”
“Good. We also need to work out whether Casovar can be trusted. Can you find his sources and corroborate his information?”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Dashan shifted, his hand lightly touching her cheek and turning her to look at him. “And you’ll talk to Lord Astor about your nightmares.” He was wearing his stubborn expression, and a glance at Brynn showed similar insistence in his raised eyebrows and pointed look. No help there.
“Fine, yes, I’ll talk to Astor,” she relented. “Now, we’d best go before one or more of us catches something disgusting.”
Brynn’s mouth quirked. “I’ll get a message to you when I find a better place to meet. Take care of yourself.”
Chapter 12
It was still dark outside when Alyx headed down for breakfast the next morning, and she was surprised to see her father already up. He was distractedly chewing on a piece of toast while studying the papers in front of him.
“Isn’t it too early to be awake and working already?” she asked.
“Sleep was elusive, so I decided to get an early start.” Her father frowned. “What’s your excuse? Safia tells me Tarrick was up and out with a bag before I woke.”
She poured milk into a cup of steaming tea and stirred it. “Did you know Casovar isn’t planning to send us back to DarkSkull? He wants to finish our training himself.”
Garan put down the paper he was reading and eyed her speculatively. “I didn’t.”
“He’s sending Tarrick and the twins north to the border this morning, to help out in the disputed area. I didn’t have to get up quite as early, but I’m going down see them off.”
The look of unease on her father’s face deepened. “Why isn’t he sending you?”
“We haven’t told him what I am—he thinks I only have a little magic, and am therefore useless,” she said carefully, studying her father’s face for his reaction. Either she was about to get a stern telling off, or...
“That’s sensible, I suppose.” He sighed, rubbing at his eyes.
“I knew it!” she said in triumph. “You don’t trust him either. Otherwise you’d be reprimanding me severely right now for lying to Rionn’s lord-mage.”
His face tightened. “Maybe I’m just glad my daughter isn’t being sent away into danger. No matter what you are, you’re a long way from completing your training. I certainly wouldn’t be sending a handful of half-trained mages barely out of childhood to fight on Rionn’s behalf.”
Her hand tightened on her teacup, but s
he fought hard to keep her voice even when she spoke. “When are you going to start believing that I’m not the spoiled, sheltered girl who left here two years ago? If there’s a problem with Casovar, I deserve to know.”
“And I’ve asked you to trust me!” The sharp words reverberated through the room. Garan’s hands were curled, white-knuckled, on the table top—and all at once it was like they were back to her first night home, when he’d been full of an anger she didn’t understand. It hurt that he wouldn’t confide in her, wouldn’t understand what she’d been trying to tell him ever since she got back. But getting angry with him wouldn’t help him understand that, and it wouldn’t help whatever it was he was going through.
So she let the words echo around them without responding, drained the last of her tea and pushed back her chair. Garan’s eyes were fixed on the table before him, his look distant.
She walked to the door in silence, pausing at the threshold. “Maybe you might try trusting me, Papa.”
It was a beautiful, cool morning and Alyx decided to walk and take the shortcut from the palace down to the docks rather than riding all the way through the city. The gardens of her home were silent and empty, a light mist hugging the ground and giving the world a hazy beauty. Dashan waited for her at the gate leading into the palace grounds, and the sight of him dispelled the mood of sadness and frustration that her encounter with her father had caused.
“What brings you here?” She arched an eyebrow, unable to help the smile that spread over her face.
“Tarrick asked me last night if I would mind escorting you down to the docks given he would be up and out earlier than you.”
“Did he really think I was going to get attacked somewhere between here and the docks?” she said in mild irritation.
“He hates that he has to leave you here unprotected. But I am more than happy to take on those duties while he is gone.” Smiling, Dashan leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him and losing herself in the joy of it all. When they finally parted, her breathing had quickened and his eyes were dark and full of the same happiness she felt. “Morning.”
“Morning.” She laughed.
After a moment, he took her hand and they started walking. It seemed as if they were the only two people in the world as they walked hand in hand through the misty gardens. Neither of them said much, content to be in each other’s company.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
“Always.”
“I realised last night that I haven’t asked how you feel about not going back to DarkSkull.” She hesitated, searching his face. “It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
He squeezed her hand. “Yes, but mostly because that’s where you would be.”
“It’s not only that. You were useful there. I know you loved being able to train the militia. You disappeared for a week after we got back because you were so upset at the idea of staying here and being confined to the Blue Guard.”
“We both know there were other reasons I went away,” he murmured.
She leaned into him, the echo of that pain flashing through her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise, mage-girl.” He smiled again. “And you know, it’s not all bad. Commander Helson from Weeping Stead wrote a glowing letter to Commander Hawkwerst about our conduct in Tregaya. He mentioned me specifically. They’re going to promote me to captain.”
She stopped walking and regarded him with delighted surprise. “Dash, that’s wonderful! Congratulations. Why didn’t you mention it?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to jinx it.”
“It’s not really what you want though, is it? You feel trapped in the Blue Guard.”
“I’ve been thinking on that too.” He started walking again and she fell in beside him. “If I keep my head down and work hard, there’s a good chance I could reach commander level in a few years. Especially if I start behaving better towards my father.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like the Dashan I know.”
“I figured... ” He cleared his throat, and this time it was him who stopped walking, his eyes firmly fixed on his boots. “A commander in the Blue Guard might be a more acceptable consort for... well... the daughter of a lord.”
Alyx stared at him in shock, her mouth falling open before she realised it. “Dash, I—”
“I’m not trying to put pressure on you or assume anything,” he said hurriedly. “I don’t have any expectations, I promise.”
She swallowed, her vision suddenly blurry from the tears in her eyes. He huffed out a surprised laugh when she threw her arms fiercely around his neck. “At least you’re not yelling at me and running away,” he murmured.
“Far from it,” she said softly, holding on tightly a long moment. “But no matter what happens with us, I want you to be happy. I don’t want you living a life you don’t want just for me.”
“I will take that under advisement. It’s a long time in the future anyway.” He took her hand again as they began walking. “Nothing we have to worry about now.”
It was a long way off. She couldn’t practically think about marriage until her mage training was done, even though a marriage to Cayr had been her single goal since the age of twelve or so. But this wasn’t a young girl’s innocent fantasy. Marriage to Dashan. The thought was both too big to wrap her head around and tantalising at the same time. Then a laugh burst unexpectedly from her chest. Dashan lifted his eyebrows at her and she grinned.
“We’d never stop fighting, Dash.”
He laughed aloud and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “The poor servants.”
Neither of them mentioned the less amusing reality of a future together, that the daughter of Lord Egalion marrying a Bluecoat of any level was unlikely to ever be acceptable in the eyes of the court.
Soon they reached the narrow path down to the city worn away by the three children that they’d been with Cayr. The docks were busy; most of the fishing boats were coming in from the sea and unloading their morning catch. Dawn was breaking, and a pink glow cast a hazy light over the area.
They made their way to the army dock out to the west of the warehouses, and as they approached where they would meet the others, Dashan let go of her hand.
“Sorry,” she said. Their relationship was still so new she wanted to wait a little longer before telling her friends. Not that she could imagine not wanting to be with him anytime in the near future—and that in itself was a scary thought.
“It’s fine.” He shrugged, appearing genuinely unconcerned.
Tarrick and the twins were waiting with their horses on the open jetty, each carrying a single large bag. Behind them, a long row of soldiers was slowly making its way across the gangplank and onto a moored ship. Alyx caught sight of a few red cloaks, indicating some of the Mage Guard were also travelling.
“Alyx, you came!” Dawn waved at her approach.
“Of course I did.” Alyx hugged her.
“Dash! I need your input on something.” Tarrick called out eagerly as he spotted Dashan.
“He can’t decide whether to take his mage knife and a dagger, or just his mage knife.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “I think I should go and pay attention or Dash will have him taking a whole arsenal.”
Finn approached Alyx as Dawn left.
“Looking forward to your trip?” Alyx asked him. “Circumstances aside, you must be thrilled to be travelling somewhere you’ve never been.”
“It should be interesting.” The gleam in his eyes belied his casual shrug.
“I’ll miss you all,” she said. “Make sure you use that genius brain of yours to keep them safe.”
“I will,” he said, before clearing his throat awkwardly. “Look, Alyx, I’m sorry I keep poking at you about Dashan. You were right, some things are private and it’s not my business. Accept my apology?”
“I could have been nicer about it,” she apologised. “And it’s not that I want to h
ide anything from you. Do you understand? I have a few things I need to work out, and it will take time.”
He couldn’t help himself, and a smirk crossed his face. “So if anyone asks, Lady Alyx Egalion is unattached and free to court whomever she pleases?”
“Exactly,” she said firmly.
He sobered. “I’m truly sorry things didn’t work out with Cayr. I sense that it’s been your decision, but even so, it can’t have been easy.”
His sincerity demolished her defensiveness. “Thank you, Finn.” She hesitated. “About yesterday—are you all right? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you so worked up about something that didn’t involve Galien.”
She regretted her question as soon as she saw the shadows return to his green eyes, but his tone was mild. “Sometimes I see things so clearly, more clearly than anybody else seems to. I try and explain, but you all resist so firmly to doing anything even remotely wrong, even Tarrick. I don’t think it’s sustainable, and I’m truly afraid of any of you getting hurt because of it.”
“I can’t speak for the others, but I resist because I refuse to be trapped into a certain way of things.” Alyx shrugged. “I realise that’s part of my arrogance, but sometimes I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“Maybe,” he mused.
“I’ll keep listening to you, though.” She reached out to squeeze his arm. “Promise.”
The shadows in his eyes vanished and a small smile crept over his face. Casovar appeared then, striding along the dock towards them, and all conversations died.
Alyx and Dashan stood back while the lord-mage gave Tarrick and the twins their final orders. They would be sailing north along the coast to the town of Gosper. From there, they would ride out to the border, escorted by a unit of Mage Guard the entire trip.
Alyx hugged them all as they stepped on board, even Tarrick, much to his embarrassment.
“We’ll only be gone for two weeks,” he snapped as he extricated himself from her hug.
“You’ll miss me.” She chuckled.
