by Ryder Bailey
Beside her, Myri gently grasped her hand.
The meeting took longer than she expected and it was almost evening by the time Wildas and Coulta came to take the babies to be presented. They both still looked rather stressed.
"Is everything well?" Myri asked.
Wildas nodded. "Everything has been sorted out. It will just take time for everyone to realize the magic isn't a terrible addition to the family."
"They will," Anil stated. "How could they not?"
Wildas smiled. "Exactly. This is will only make us stronger." He looked to Coulta, who still appeared a little worried, and kissed his cheek. "Believe it."
"If only I was still cursed, then I would have no choice," Coulta muttered. When Wildas scowled at him he nodded. "I'll try. That's all I can do."
***
After all that had been dealt with that day, Wildas was not expecting Coulta to lash out at him that night.
"Why did you so easily forgive those people who wanted to gain entry to our rooms last night?" he demanded.
Wildas had noticed Coulta acting even more quiet than usual that night over dinner and while they sat with Anil, Myri, and the babies for a time. He'd assumed it was because of the long day, and hadn't been expecting the anger that Coulta threw at him as soon as they left Anil's room and closed the door.
"What else would I have done?" he asked in response.
Coulta began pacing Wildas's bedchamber, clearly more agitated than Wildas had thought. "Shelton was surprised you didn't force them to swear fealty in front of the crowd of witnesses to ensure it didn't happen again."
Wildas shrugged. "I won't force loyalty."
Coulta stopped and gestured angrily at him. "This is a time when you should have!"
Wildas considered making up some excuse, but he couldn't bring himself to be dishonest to the person he loved most deeply. "I would never force you to witness that."
Judging by Coulta's reaction, this was exactly what he angry about. He threw his hands in the air, then turned and kicked the wardrobe against the wall.
"Because I was forced to obey every order given to me by whoever I was sworn to for most of my life you think me incapable of understanding what's needed?" he demanded, whirling back to Wildas. "You think I can't cope with seeing others swear loyalty to you? People who aren't cursed and who act only out of honor and respect, things I never had the chance to know?"
Wildas took a deep breath. "Perhaps. None of those thoughts ever crossed my mind, I simply thought it wrong to do it."
"So you will risk so much because you think I'm too weak to know the difference between my life and what's needed for the country?"
"You are far from weak."
"Yet you treat me like I am!" Coulta practically yelled. "It's the same with everyone afraid to use the word 'curse' around me. I do not want to be treated as if everything may offend me! You should have made those people swear loyalty to you, and you chose a foolish way of not offending me instead of doing what you needed yo do!"
"I'm sorry!" Wildas finally cut in. "What do you want from me?"
"Stop coddling me! I'm not a child. I can bear whatever needs to be done."
"You will not be able to bear me in a moment," Myri declared from behind them. She was standing in front of Anil's door and glaring at them. "Take it to another room if you're going to keep yelling. We just got the babies to sleep."
Coulta turned and stormed through the door to his own rooms, slamming it behind him.
"Whatever you did to him," Myri commented to Wildas, "you should probably try to fix it."
Wildas sighed and made his way across the room. He knocked first, then carefully opened the door, unsure what to expect.
Coulta was standing silently at the window, arms crossed over his chest, glaring out into the night.
"I'm sorry," Wildas told him again.
Coulta sighed heavily. "I just don't want you to make a decision that will put anyone close to us or the country itself in danger, all because you don't want to risk offending me."
Wildas nodded. "I understand, and I am sorry. I won't let that hinder my decisions again. I can't go back and demand an oath from any of them now, but I won't let your past stop me from requiring it from others in the future."
"And what did you really want to say about them when you learned what they'd done?" Coulta asked softly.
Confused, Wildas thought back to that afternoon and realized what Coulta wanted to hear. "I thought, 'gods curse them'."
"And you never would have said that if not for me asking you to."
"No, I would not have."
"Stop holding back how you feel because you're worried about offending me."
"I will," Wildas promised.
"It's the past I have to live with. Nothing will change that, whether I watch people swear their loyalty to you or not. Whether I hear someone talk about curses or not. Whether anyone mentions assassination around me or not. Nothing will change for me."
"I understand," Wildas assured him. "I won't do that again."
Coulta nodded. "Thank you."
Wildas came closer and touched Coulta's cheek. "I just didn't want to hurt you. I love you."
"And I love you," Coulta replied, putting his arms around Wildas. "I know you want to protect me, but there's no need to go so far. I will always be hurting, regardless of what anyone says or does."
Wildas held him tightly. "If I could do anything to help, I would. Without another thought."
Coulta actually smiled slightly. "Staying with me tonight would help."
"Of course," Wildas replied with his own small smile.
17
Myri was surprised by how quickly the court settled down about the babies. Once the formal announcement was sent out across the country by herald, the court seemed to realize that nothing would change Wildas's mind about the value of Coulta's magic. The new royal children were showered with gifts and visited by family members and other nobles.
Though Myri was spending much of her time with Anil and the twins, she still made regular visits to the castle healers to get herbs for Anil and to help out when needed. And, of course, to keep the healer in charge updated.
"Is she finally letting the nurses help with the care?" Sara asked one day.
Myri nodded. "She lets the babies go to the nursery at night. During the day she has them brought back to her room, but she lets the nurses stay if they don't want time to rest themselves. As soon as she's feeling well enough, she'll be able to visit the nursery herself."
"It's good that you're being cautious with her," Sara commented. "Having twins the first time surely would be exhausting."
"I don't want her having complications or getting ill when she's tired and seeing the babies," Myri agreed as she finished gathering the herbs she needed. "Especially if I'm never able to help bear children with her."
Sara gripped her arm firmly. "Try now."
Myri nodded, recalling her mother's words. "I'm just not hoping for much."
***
Nine days after the birth of the twins, Anil was deemed recovered enough to attend most of the Durasyan Day celebrations. She was nervous about leaving the babies all afternoon with the nurses, but she was glad to be able to be a part of castle life again.
The only part of the day she didn't participate in was the parade through the city. Myri had decided it would be too cold for her, despite the fact that it was growing warmer by the day, and Anil had agreed. She'd spent the morning with the twins in the nursery instead, and tried not to worry about anything happening to the rest of her family.
But everything went smoothly and her spouses returned to prepare for the afternoon feast. Coulta came to the nursery to retrieve her when they returned, and she reluctantly rose from her seat to place Kylar back in his cradle. When she saw Coulta watching her, she paused and brought the prince over to him.
"Do you want to hold him for a moment?" she asked.
He hesitated, then nodded. "Could I?"
She smiled and carefully handed Kylar over to him, making certain Coulta was holding him properly. Kylar squirmed and whimpered, then smiled and continued to sleep. Anil looked up at Coulta's face with a smile, and saw that he was gazing down at Kylar with a thoughtful expression.
She knew he was having a difficult time accepting that he had played a part in the creation of the twins, so she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you are their father too," she told him quietly.
Coulta nodded. "I hope all the children have this magic."
"That would probably be ideal," she agreed.
After a moment he carefully handed Kylar back to her. "We should go prepare for the feast."
The feast wasn't quite as large as the one for the new year celebration only the month before, and Anil wondered if it meant that the winter stores were being rationed. When she asked Wildas, he assured her that all was well.
"We still have plenty," he explained, "but the tradition is to feast more sparingly on Durasyan's Day because it is so late in the winter. After the feast, when there is dancing and games, there are many sweets instead. Most are types of dried fruits, but some are small cakes and other treats. The sweets are said to make people happier and more loving."
"I'm not so certain about making people more loving," Myri commented. "Happier, however, I generally agree with."
As they ate there were several performances conducted by groups of dancers, tumblers, and acrobats. Anil was amazed by the diversity among the performances. They seemed to be of various ages and to have various talents, but all were a great pleasure to watch. They all moved as if they had been born with more grace and elegance than the typical person, not as if they had surely spent every moment of their lives learning to move so beautifully. They moved through the glittering light cast over the Hall by magic, casting shimmering colored reflections on the stone floor and the guests watching in awe.
"Why aren't there this many performers at other celebrations?" she asked Wildas between performances.
"It's the nature of the celebration," he explained quietly. "Durasyan is the god of love, so we celebrate the love we have for everyone in our lives, whatever form that may take. The people who join these groups do it with the hope that it will find them someone to love and be loved by. They may be orphans given up by crowded orphanages in cities, children of poor peasants with little hope for a better future, or just people who feel like their current lives hold no hope for them. They perform here and for other events the group leaders can arrange. Some are looking for spouses, some for adoptive parents, and some for better professions such as the theaters in all major cities. Most will remain in the group until they can no longer perform to the leaders' requirements if they don't find a way out."
Anil watched as the next group of performers took their places. This group included one that could be no older than five years. "How many find what they are looking for?"
Wildas shook his head. "I don't know. I like to think most of them do, but I don't know."
The performance was beautiful, a slow, graceful group dance to the music of three minstrels. Anil found herself fighting against tears throughout it. She hoped every member of the group found the love they needed most.
During the next break Coulta was the first to speak. "Why do we celebrate this day?"
Wildas finished his drink and explained, "According to myth, Durasyan is the reason why we as mortals feel love. He saw that the first mortals were mating and living as animals and he wanted something different for us. So he went before his parents, the great gods Luttsuv and Epofsuk and asked that mortals be able to care about each other. The gods decided to honor his request, but they also created the feeling of hate as a direct balance to love. But we honor Durasyan today for giving us the ability to love, and we celebrate our love for our lovers, spouses, parents, children, and everyone else we care about. It wasn't well celebrated until Caolan chose it as a way to show that his love for all three of his spouses was real and blessed by the gods. We also celebrate it in the winter when most spirits are low to bring more joy into our lives."
The minstrels started playing, but no performers came forward. Wildas smiled and declared, "Now it's time for us to dance."
Anil allowed him to take her hand as they rose and stepped down to the main floor of the Hall, followed by Coulta and Myri.
***
Coulta was thankful Wildas had been giving him a few dancing lessons, but he still felt uncomfortable and uncoordinated during the dances he was expected to share with each of his spouses. It was nothing like sparring, as often as Wildas had tried to tell him that, and he felt his poor skills would be yet another reason for the court to dislike him.
Thankfully, however, the dances included members of the court who had been drinking enough wine to make their movements even less graceful than Coulta's. The first dance, for which he was partnered with Myri, was fairly slow and easy to keep up with. The second, which he shared with Anil, was slightly faster. The third was so fast he practically fell into Wildas at the end of it.
Wildas caught him and chuckled. "I'd say you all learned pretty well. Next year you'll be perfect."
"I'm not sure about that," Coulta replied. "We don't join the dances at other celebrations, why this one?"
"It's seen as bad luck for our marriage otherwise," Wildas answered. "We don't want to anger Durasyan. There is no reason why we couldn't do the other dances, my parents just never did and I suppose I chose to follow their example without considering otherwise."
"One a year is perfectly fine with me," Coulta declared. "Though I think Myri and Anil enjoyed it," he added, looking to where both queens were laughing with Fae.
Then his eye was caught by movement along the wall, behind the row of Guardsmen. Rohan emerged from the shadows and went straight to Shelton, who was talking to Yvona at the table spread with candies and desserts.
Wildas noticed Coulta's gaze and turned to look. When he saw his brother he muttered, "What now?"
Rohan looked right at Wildas when he spoke to Shelton, who then handed his pastry to Yvona and followed Rohan back into the shadows along the wall. Yvona shook her head and took a bite of the pastry before she caught sight of them watching her. She shook her head once more and made a waving motion with her hand by her hip.
"I think Rohan said it wasn't anything urgent, just that someone with information needed to speak with him," Wildas told Coulta quietly.
"A small lie for your benefit?"
"That's what it feels like. Yvona seems to think we shouldn't worry. How can I not?"
Coulta moved to the next table, the one arranged with goblets of spiked wine. He picked up one and brought it back to Wildas. "This might help."
That made Wildas smile and he took the drink. "Thank you."
Despite the drinks, Wildas was still clearly distracted as the night went on and Shelton didn't return. They didn't leave the Hall until after half the guests had left, most in pairs or groups, and there had still been no sign of Shelton or Rohan. Coulta had a feeling much more distraction was going to be needed.
***
"What happened?" Shelton demanded as he followed Rohan to the stables. It was snowing, but he barely noticed the cold.
"Someone clearly tried to set the storehouses on fire," Rohan answered. "The spells on the buildings prevented them from catching, but we're afraid the spells might need boosting now, and we need to find whoever tried something like this."
Their horses were ready for them when they entered the stable, as were two other Guardsmen. Someone handed Shelton a cloak and he took it with a word of thanks. As much as he preferred to ride in breeches and not his robe – especially his ceremonial one – he swung into the saddle with only minor difficulty and pulled the cloak on. They trotted along the packed snow of the roads until they reached the storehouses where the city's supply of food was kept for the winter. Several more members of the Royal Guard were there, along with some of the City Guard.
The buildings were intact, but char marks in several spots along the walls and in front of the doors, as well as the melted snow in those places, suggested that someone truly had intended to burn the place down. Shelton made a thorough search of the perimeter but could find no traces of magic other than what was left of the spell against fire. He strengthened that, but was surprised that the fire hadn't been necromancy. Such an act seemed fitting only for someone working for Dyrai.
"Who noticed this?" he asked Rohan.
"One of the City Guard. She saw the final flames going out and reported it immediately to the watch captain, who thought it best to alert the Royal Guard and you."
Shelton nodded. "No one saw a person here?"
Rohan shook his head. "My men report finding no witnesses."
"I wonder where they'll go now that they failed here," Shelton muttered. "They'll have to try something else."
Just as he finished speaking, a large owl swopped down nearby and transformed into a young woman in a brown dress that almost seem to ripple like feathers. Several of the guards startled backwards while others grabbed their swords. Rohan lifted a hand to halt them.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion," the Shifter woman said with a slight bow. "I stopped when I saw how many warriors were in your group. I need to tell you what I saw."
Shelton stepped forward. "What did you see?"
"I was only out flying. I like flying at night, because of the owl spirit. I saw a fire a short way up the river. A big fire."
"The mills," Shelton breathed.
He wasn't sure how he got on his horse, but he was aware of Rohan riding after him, yelling, "It will be midnight by the time we get there! We won't be able to save them!"
He knew Rohan was right, but he kept riding anyway.
***
"If you're going to toss yourself around like a dying fish all night get out of bed."
Wildas stared at Myri for a moment before finding any words. "You can't make me leave my own bed. Go to your own if you're not comfortable."
