Now harboring Queen Sidra and other guests from Serhon, Caleth frowned at his conditions. “It would be easier to strip Roskelem of his power than to unravel this chaos.” He finally turned from the window to face his sister.
Her brows furrowed slightly, and a small frown tugged down the corners of her lips. “Cal, that may kill him.”
“And he deserves death.” The king of Athorim grimaced in disgust then shook his head. “Aye, but it shall not be so simple—it never is.” He lifted his golden eyes to Anelm and nodded, knowing without having to ask a question. “You sensed the shift in magic.” When she bowed her head, he observed her with care. “What do you think of it?”
Drawing in a breath, Anelm lifted her gaze to her twin. The world saw him as wise and powerful, and they were partly right. Few could match his strength in body or in magic, and he knew how to use words to soothe any situation and clear emotions from the decisions that had to be made. However, when it came to complex reasons deeper than simple words, he leaned on her, borrowing her knowledge, awareness, and wisdom. With her contribution, he ruled well, and now he asked for more information.
Reflecting on the ripples she had observed in the realm of magic, Anelm came to a conclusion and locked eyes with her brother. “There was a shift in Nirrorm—a shift of power. However, the land is muted, as if draped with a spell.”
Caleth nodded as he had sensed the same thing. “I failed to find Countess Verddra’s signature there as well, or perhaps the spell blocked me.” He folded his arms and looked at his sister for answers, but she shook her head.
“No—not the spell. You are right not to find her there. She is no longer in Nirrorm.”
Caleth stiffened. “Then where is she?”
“Cuskelom.”
He shot her a sharp look. “Why?”
Anelm spread out her hands. “Why else?”
“A strategic maneuver.” With a sigh, Caleth lowered his eyes. He had much to ponder.
“And King Honroth needs an army, and she can provide him with a powerful force.”
Caleth lifted his gaze and shot his sister a puzzled look. “He would agree to the terms of that sorceress?”
Anelm sighed and approached her brother with soft steps. “Caleth.” She waited until he locked eyes with her. “He has no choice. You would have done the same if placed in such a situation, but that does not matter. What matters now is what we will do.” She searched his face then smiled. “And you already have a plan.”
Straightening, Caleth nodded at his sister then motioned toward the door as he headed out. “We must go to the council hall.” Already he felt the strands of magic threading to those important individuals in the palace, and he summoned them to the throne room.
As soon as Caleth and Anelm stepped into the room, the king of Athorim noted the presence of those gathered—Queen Sidra, former Queen Lorentha, Prince Moren, sorcerers Skelton and Adonis, and the thieves Aradin, Dustal, Kedessa, and Pravin. Those of Serhon seemed puzzled as to their sudden urge to stop their activities and come straight to the throne room, but when they noticed who else had gathered, they assumed an announcement was to be made.
“About time!” Skelton jumped up from where he sat on the steps leading down to the throne, and he crossed his arms as he watched Caleth and Anelm descend. “I don’t care too much for the feeling of pure magic bending my will to come here.”
Without slowing his pace, Caleth changed direction and marched up to the blond magic user—his face void of expression. “Then perhaps you should forgo the appearance of being a user of pure magic.” He shifted his eyes to Skelton’s bleach blond hair then back at the younger man’s face in order to make his point, but Skelton chuckled uneasily and reached his hand up to his hair, patting it.
“No thanks. This color suits me.” He smirked up at the king of Athorim, who proceeded to stare him down.
After a moment, Caleth turned sharply and moved past Skelton as he went to join his sister at the bottom of the stairs before the thrones, but he refrained from taking his position on the throne. While all the others gathered round, Caleth shared a look with his sister, exchanged a nod, and then looked back at the others. “Countess Verddra has vacated Nirrorm.”
Everyone exchanged surprised looks, but Moren beamed the brightest. “She’s gone? I can go home now?”
All eyes fell on him, and Lorentha placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Moren, that may not be a good idea. Just because the countess has left, that does not mean it is safe in Nirrorm—especially for any members of the former dynasty.”
“On the contrary, milady...” Caleth shifted his gaze from Moren to Lorentha. “This might be the perfect opportunity for his return.”
Moren almost jumped for joy, but Lorentha’s hand on his shoulder restrained him, and he felt the grip tightening as the queen stared at the king of Athorim.
Lorentha shifted her jaw once, then twice. She held King Caleth in high regard and did not want to cast doubt on his decisions or abilities, but she foresaw nothing good coming from this. “Your Majesty, a word—if I may.” Lifting her hand off Moren’s shoulder, she gestured to the side of the room and waited for Caleth and Anelm to join her before whispering to them. “We have no idea the status of the kingdom and how or why Nirrorm truly fell. What if there was a secret rebellion who had aided Countess Verddra from the very beginning? If this is true, and if you take Prince Moren there and they see him, they will surely want to kill him as a way to prevent the former lineage from returning.”
“Yet Moren is not heir,” Anelm reminded her, “Mordora is.”
“And do you wish for her to become queen—given her recent decisions?”
Caleth lifted a calming hand. “Milady, I understand your concern, and I have taken it into account, yet I also am reminded that you have no sense of magic. You do not feel what is to be done, and I assure you Prince Moren shall be safe. I will guard him with my life, and Adonis and Skelton will accompany us as well. We will shroud ourselves in invisibility until we have determined the true nature of Nirrorm. If it is hostile, we shall return here immediately. Otherwise, we will stay to stabilize the situation and reintroduce to them the rightful lineage of their land.”
Lorentha cast a look past Caleth to the boy who was now in a conversation with Skelton. She wished she could find a flaw in Caleth’s strategy, but he knew the proper procedures and precautions. He had ruled Athorim well and kept the peace, offering safe haven to lost souls and helping them unravel their pasts for them to understand, accept, and move on. Yet she had seen him train with his warriors and knew he was as much of a powerful fighter as any warrior on the field. He knew the choices available to him and accepted the consequences when others would rather do nothing at all.
With a sigh, she bowed her head. “Very well, Sire.” She lifted her gaze to him. “And if you find they peacefully accept him as their ruler, I wish to offer my services as his tutor and counselor in the court since the High Court of Nirrorm knew me well.”
Caleth shared a look with Anelm, and once he sensed her approval, he nodded at Lorentha. “I will summon you to Nirrorm once the situation has been determined.” With that, he led her back to the others. His approach gained their attention, and he took advantage of it. “Adonis, Skelton, the two of you will accompany me to Nirrorm.” He lowered his gaze to Moren, who stared up at him hopefully, and Caleth offered him a gentle smile and nodded. “You shall come as well. However!” He lifted a sharp hand to halt any excitement in order to fully explain. “This is a very delicate situation, and I will mask your signature and cloak your presence until we have deemed it is safe for you.” He sank down to the boy’s level to meet his eyes. “Therefore, you must remain quiet, regardless of what you see, or what you hear, or who you see. Do you understand?” When Moren only nodded, Caleth gave him a hard look. “Tell me you understand, Prince Moren.”
Recognizing the king’s tone of voice as the tone his father often used when he was very serious, More
n straightened. “Yes, King Caleth, I understand, and I will do as you say.”
Caleth smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know you will.” He rose to his full height and turned his attention to the thieves and the queen of Serhon. “I will send you back to Serhon where you are to gather what loyal warriors you have and go to Cuskelom. King Honroth needs honorable men and women fighting alongside him who would not stab him in the back.”
Pravin jabbed Dustal in the ribs with his elbow. “Did he just say we thieves are an honorable batch?”
Dustal turned to answer the younger thief but caught the look Kedessa gave both Pravin and himself. He gave her a tight smile then fixed his attention on Caleth and Sidra as they finished discussing the details.
Once they came to terms of agreement of how they would reach Cuskelom, Sidra stepped away from Caleth and motioned for the small band of thieves to gather round her. Then she locked eyes with the king of Athorim. “We go to Serhon. I fear a battle may be in the near future. I do not trust that my husband has the best interests of Serhon in mind.”
Caleth nodded. “You may go.”
Adonis stepped forward. “I’ll magick them back to Serhon,” he offered because he knew none of the Athorians would make such an offer due to their many rules of magic. Adonis held out his hand to Sidra, who took it, and the other thieves begrudgingly held hands. The sorcerer looked back at Caleth. “I’ll be right back.” He then fixed his eyes on Skelton, warning him not to do anything foolish in his brief absence, and then they all magicked away.
Not a moment later, Adonis returned in like manner and wiped his hands off, smiling at Caleth. “So, shall we be off?”
Caleth acknowledged him with a nod and turned to his sister. “We go to Nirrorm. Anelm,” he waited until she met his gaze, “Athorim is in your keeping.”
She bowed to him. “And I shall keep her well, my lord.”
Placing his hands on Moren’s shoulders, Caleth cast a spell that muted the boy’s presence and signature in the realm of magic, and then he nodded to Adonis and Skelton.
They vanished in a gust of wind.
20
Outside of Heldon’s chambers Erita paced. She had not seen him since Verddra took him out of the dungeon, “Since I caused him to lose his hand.” She bowed her head, feeling the responsibility of what had happened weigh heavily on her shoulders. “That’s all I need—more responsibility.” She shook her head with a half smile, finding the irony in the situation. “Inecha was the princess. She should be queen here, not me. Why did Verddra choose me?”
“I do believe you have worn a path in the floor.” Therth meant it as humor as he approached the nervous Erita, but he felt bad when she actually looked at the floor to see if his words were indeed true. Frowning, he walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop pacing and meet his gaze. “Erita, just go in there. Tell him of the developments here in Nirrorm.”
She began shaking her head before he was finished speaking. “But you don’t understand. I feel terrible for what happened to him. I was the cause of it. If I hadn’t found a crack in Verddra’s spell—if I hadn’t even looked for one—he would still be whole.”
“And he would probably still be locked up in the dungeon or running whatever errands Verddra would demand of him in an effort to spare your life, most likely.” When he saw how she could not calm, Therth gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Erita, did you know that Heldon is probably the most sensitive of all the royal brothers? He was always worried about what others thought of him—what they said of him. He wanted people to like him. He wanted a lot of friends, and that is why he hung out with Theran the most when they were younger. However, there were times when I doubled as Theran, and I didn’t bother to tell Heldon because he was so anxious, and do you know what I learned?” He waited for her to shake her head before he went on, “I learned he stops worrying when he has work to do—when he has something to focus on. As long as he is busy, he has no time or energy to spend wondering what others think of him, so give him something to do.” He lifted his hands off her shoulders and turned to leave.
“Like what?” Her voice stopped him, and he glanced back to see the hopeless expression on her face as she stood in the middle of the corridor with her hands spread out, helpless. “What am I to ask Heldon to do? Without his...hand, what can he do?”
Fury flashed within him, and Therth turned and marched up to her, glowering down at her. “Do not underestimate him, Milady.” Steel laced his voice. “He will do what he must if he has something to do. You are the ruler of Nirrorm now. Think of something.” He then stormed away, still irked that she would think to belittle his cousin.
Erita watched him go—now feeling worse than before—and glanced at the door to Heldon’s chambers. She had faced powerful rulers, mighty sorcerers, skilled killers, and renowned thieves, but none of that compared to her nerves when she had to face a friend she had wronged.
Taking a deep breath, Erita lifted her hand and knocked her knuckles against the wood. “Heldon? It’s me—Erita.” She partly hoped he knew who she was and refused her entrance because then she wouldn’t be to blame; this was her trying, but it would only work if he allowed her.
For a long moment she heard nothing in the room—no movement, no words telling her to come in or go away. Then she heard something at the door as if scratching, and she became alarmed
She stepped back from the door—hands raised and ready to blast through the wood. “Heldon, are you in there? Please, answer me.” She waited for some kind of signal indicating he was indeed inside and that he was well. “Heldon?” Her voice quaked with fear. Had she failed him yet again?
Finally, the door cracked open and then opened wider, revealing Heldon, who cradled his right arm at his abdomen and pulled the door open with his left hand. He gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry—was trying to open the door. It’s difficult one-handed.” He lifted the stump of his right hand then stepped back, motioning for her to enter.
Relieved that he was well, though she still felt terrible for his condition, Erita lowered her hands, extinguished the magic she had summoned, and followed Heldon into his chambers. With a quick glance around, she noted with satisfaction the warm colors of the room, the burning fire in the hearth, the fresh tray of refreshments on a table with a pitcher of wine and several goblets. The room was fit for a royal guest, and she was grateful that Verddra gave him such chambers after his ordeal in the dungeon.
The dungeon—how she hated that place and all thoughts of it.
“You seem...tired.” Heldon’s observation yanked Erita out of her thoughts, and she looked at him, puzzled at first, but then she realized what he had said and remembered he knew nothing of the recent developments in Nirrorm.
She offered him small smile with a dry chuckle. “That is an understatement.”
He nodded then went to the table of refreshments only to stop and stare. After a moment, he turned back to Erita. “I would pour you a cup of wine, but unfortunately...I have yet to master pouring anything left-handed.”
This only added to her grief, but she masked it with a smile. “Don’t worry about it.” Grateful for the chance to serve herself—a sharp contrast to the last several days when the servants saw to her every need—Erita went to the table and reached for the pitcher of wine to pour both of them a drink. Only when she lifted the pitcher, her hands shook, but she managed to pour the drinks without a spill. Pleased with herself, she grabbed both cups and turned to hand Heldon one.
Heldon reached out to take a cup from her hand but grabbed it in such a way that he held her hand as well and refused to let go. When she looked up at him, startled, he only stared down at her then stepped closer. “I don’t blame you, Erita, for what happened.” He glimpsed down at his hand then back at her face. “I know you were only trying to help. You only wanted me to escape, but some things cannot be predicted.” He finally released her hand and took the cup from her then offered her a s
mall smile. “Don’t blame yourself.”
His words lifted a great weight from her shoulders. The wall she had erected to hold herself together began to crumble. “But if I hadn’t been so foolish and so insistent, you would still have your hand!” Erita cried as she followed him to the sitting area of the room.
He lowered himself into a chair, looked up at her calmly, then sighed and shook his head. “Perhaps, but I would probably still be in the dungeon or perhaps on some errand for Verddra, ensuring your well-being.”
Erita bowed her head as she came to sit in the chair across from Heldon. Although she was glad he did not blame her, it would take time before she could forgive herself, but that would have to come at another time. For now, she lifted her gaze to him. “Verddra is gone.” Heldon straightened when he heard this, but Erita nodded and went on. “She left me in charge of Nirrorm as its…ruler.” She wasn’t sure if she was queen or regent as no official title had been given to her. Instead, she continued to explain, “Verddra has blocked all magic users from leaving Nirrorm.”
“Why—why would she do that?”
“Because, Held...” She waited for him to meet her eyes. “She went to Cuskelom.”
Heldon’s eyes widened, and he set his drink on a small table near his chair then cradled his right arm close to himself. “We must warn Honroth.”
Erita lifted her hand to ease his concerns. “He knows. I managed to break through Verddra’s spell briefly and told Inecha about what transpired here. He knows Verddra held us captive, so he knows not to trust her.”
“But that doesn’t mean she won’t kill him regardless.”
“You’re right, but there’s nothing—”
The howl of a gust of wind tore through the halls, and Erita and Heldon straightened in their seats and met each others’ eyes. They knew that sound.
The Chronicles of Lorrek Box Set Page 59
