The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1)

by C. G. Garcia

  Aidric tilted his head in confusion, not really sure what she was asking. The day seemed as long as any other day to him, but—maybe since she came from another realm, time was different for her.

  “Perhaps in your world the days are shorter,” he suggested. “The first sand-mark of the day begins when the first sun is visible over the horizon. A few sand-marks later, the midday begins when the second sun has risen to its peak. Early evening begins when the first sun has set, and when the second has set, nightfall has come. This whole process between the rising of the first sun to the next rising of the first sun that signals another day is during a forty-nine sand-mark time span. Is it not so in your world?”

  “Do you mean to tell me that one of your days is equal to forty-nine hours?” she asked incredulously.

  “‘Hours’?”

  “I mean sand-marks,” she corrected, then added with uncertainty, “I think.”

  “We were in the throne room for about half a sand-mark to give you some idea of that measurement of time,” he said.

  She pursed her lips in an utterly adorable way. “Since I was so nervous and uncomfortable, my sense of time might have been warped, but I think your sand-marks and my hours are pretty close to the same length.”

  “Is a forty-nine sand-mark day so strange?” Aidric asked

  “Really strange,” Allison said. “One Earth day is roughly equal to twenty-four sand-marks! No wonder this day seems to have gone on forever. To me, you have a full day of daylight! That would mean the night is just about as long as the day.”

  “Yes,” he said, shaking his head in bewilderment. This Earth really is a most peculiar place. “How do your people ever accomplish anything with so little daylight sand-marks a day?”

  “God knows,” she replied dryly. “No wonder I’m so tired. I should be sleeping right now!”

  “Maybe you should nap before we attend tonight’s celebration. We can always continue this conversation at a later time.”

  “A nap does sound great,” Allison said carefully, “but I don’t really think I want to go to your celebration tonight. In fact, the prospect scares me. I don’t know if I can handle being scrutinized by all those strangers so soon after what I endured at my presentation.”

  “I was worried before, but seeing as how something as basic as the length of a day is unknown to you, I now believe it would do you much good to attend,” Aidric said. “Observation is always a better teacher than merely explanation. Plus, you cannot hide from your new people forever. Going to this evening’s festivities will be the first step you must take in your adjustment.”

  “But all those strangers—” she protested weakly.

  “—are my friends and acquaintances,” he finished for her. “What better way to make friends than my introducing you to them? I’ll not force you to go, but I strongly believe you should. Please, milady...”

  For a moment, the rebellion in Allison’s eyes made Aidric believe she would flatly refuse to attend again despite his insistence, but her anxious expression suddenly changed to one of mischief as she said, “All right. I’ll go, but first you must promise to do something for me.”

  “I’ll do anything that you wish of me,” he said, relieved that she had agreed. Then remembering the mischief in her eyes, he quickly amended, “Provided, milady, that it’s legal, of course.”

  Allison made a face. “Please stop calling me ‘milady’!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “All right, Aidric, spill it out. I want to know every single detail!” Selwyn demanded impatiently as he and Aidric lounged in Selwyn’s quarters. Selwyn’s wife was currently out on an assignment in Biros and wouldn’t return until later that evening, so they had the suite all to themselves.

  “About what?” Aidric replied innocently with a tired smile.

  “Oh, for the love of Seni!” Selwyn boomed in frustration. “You know ‘what.’ The Golden Mage—what’s she like? You have spent sand-marks with her alone, so you must have some sense of her true personality.”

  “Her name is Allison, not ‘the Golden Mage,’” Aidric corrected him, rubbing his temples a little in an unsuccessful attempt to ward off the headache he felt rising. “Aidius, she’s just a maiden, Selwyn—a very frightened maiden to be truthful—and none of this Golden Mage business has been easy for her to accept. It makes me want to laugh when I think about how you and everyone else were so afraid of her when I know she’s more frightened of you!”

  “Are you serious?” Selwyn asked in disbelief. “With all the power she has at her call, she fears us?”

  “Quite,” he said, “and shouldn’t she be frightened? It’s she who is the stranger in our kingdom. Her life is ours to decide because of that fact, and she damned well knows it.”

  “I hadn’t even considered that,” Selwyn said thoughtfully. “I suppose you are right, but that image of her sure doesn’t correspond with the larger-than-life image the prophecy makes of her. However, her beauty could surely make any man forget that she could very well kill him—or that he were married!”

  Aidric felt heat rise to his cheeks at Selwyn’s words and then shifted uncomfortably when Selwyn narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him, inadvertently causing him to blush more deeply. Aidric silently cursed himself.

  Then Selwyn suddenly laughed gleefully and said, “Bright thrones above! I do believe that Seni has declared you ruler of the Thrones! You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?”

  “Not so loud!” Aidric hissed, annoyed. “You’ll have the whole damned court gossiping with your loquacious tongue!”

  “Ha! So I assumed correctly,” Sel said triumphantly. “Of course it had to be the Golden Mage. No simple, lowly maiden would ever do for His Pickiness, am I correct?”

  “Hush, or I’ll spread throughout the court that you fainted out of fear at the sight of a beautiful maiden!” Aidric warned.

  “I stand rebuked,” Selwyn said in mock horror, “yet, you haven’t denied that what I’ve said is true!”

  Selwyn’s look of triumph suddenly turned to one of dumb surprise as he suddenly found himself landing firmly on his backside on the hard, marble floor as his chair flew out from beneath him.

  Aidric laughed at the bafflement on Selwyn’s face and said mischievously, “Poke fun at me, do you?”

  “Completely unfair!” Selwyn shot back irritably, rubbing his sore bottom. “I don’t have the ability to do the same to you!”

  “Ah, the privileges of fate,” Aidric replied with a chuckle as he stood and offered a hand to his friend, who took it grudgingly and hoisted himself to his feet.

  “One of these days—” Selwyn threatened.

  “Not so fast, my friend,” Aidric said with a grin. “I do believe we are now even. Compensation, you see, for knocking me on my ass this morning.”

  Selwyn smacked his forehead and said, “Ho! I stand rebuked again! Shall we call a truce then, oh Mightiest of Mages?”

  Aidric grimaced at the playful title. “A truce,” he agreed as they took their seats again, Selwyn carefully sitting down in his chair as if he suspected Aidric of pulling it out from under him again, truce or no truce. Aidric decided to be merciful. He didn’t think his friend’s backside would take another fall without consequence.

  Aidric sobered a little, the amusement dying down from his eyes as he stared at his best friend, uncertain if he should confide his feelings to him when he, himself, wasn’t altogether sure about them. He didn’t think what he felt for Allison was as deep as love—something a little beyond affection, maybe—but love? If he was being honest with himself, he knew it would be very easy to fall in love with a gentle and playful soul like Allison.

  The question was, could she ever come to love him as more than her mentor? Was it even possible for her to see him as more than a figure of authority, as just a man, or was he only raising his hopes to only have them come crashing back down on him? He didn’t think he could handle that kind of crushing disappointment after what he had gone
through with his last relationship. Point in fact, he wondered if he could even handle another relationship period!

  “Aidric, what is it?” Selwyn asked, alarm creeping into his tone.

  Aidric sighed. He needed to share his fears with someone before they became a burden too heavy to carry alone, and who better to help him rid himself of some of that burden than his best friend? He carried the weight of too many painful secrets as it was.

  “Sel, I’m at a loss of what to do,” he confessed, letting his agitation show. “I admit that this mysterious maiden has stirred my emotions to the point of distraction, but love?” He laughed tightly. “It’s just too soon to be bandying that word about. I have only known her for less than a day!”

  “But you know that doesn’t matter,” Selwyn said pointedly, all the teasing gone from his voice. “You know that some people have fallen in love from the first moment they laid eyes upon one another. Aren’t Raya and I proof of that? Is it so difficult for you to believe that the same has happened to you? I suspected that you were at least attracted to her from the vicious way you were ready to defend her honor at the slightest provocation, as though she was a lifelong friend rather than a dangerous stranger. The king probably has his own suspicions as well, from the strange looks he was giving you from time to time. Despite what you believe, I wasn’t cowering in fear the whole time we were in your bedroom!”

  Aidric smiled despite himself. “My own feelings are not the only thing that has me troubled,” he confessed. “It’s hers that are what really matter here. What if all she ever sees me as is a friend and mentor? Aidius, she is to be my apprentice after all! I should respect that relationship between us more than my thoughts are allowing me to!”

  “Horseturds,” Selwyn snapped impatiently. “You and your bloody ethics! You know as well as I that no one would think the less of you for bedding your student. Aidius, you know Patrym practically has a harem in his bed every night, most of them his bardic students, and no one thinks the less of him for it.” He smiled wryly at Aidric. “No one, that is, except for you. Aidius, Aidric, as virtuous as you’ve become lately, sometimes I think you should just give up magecraft and take vows. I heard the Order of the Providence is looking to recruit more virtuous souls. With your Foresight, you most certainly could—”

  “Sel, can you be serious for at least a couple of depths?” Aidric growled in annoyance. “I’m in a very serious bind here!”

  “Sorry.” Sel actually sounding a little guilty. “I’ll behave, I promise.”

  Ha! I’ll believe it the day Roderick takes vows!

  “And of all the people you could have chosen as an example, it had to be Patrym,” Aidric added in disgust. “That self-centered spawn-of-a-demon has the morals of a pig—no, I’m being unfair to the pigs—and you are comparing him to me! Now I feel worse!”

  There was no love lost between Aidric and Patrym; it was no secret. Aidric had never liked the arrogant young bard, and he tolerated him only because for what the distasteful man lacked in personality, he more than made up for it in music. Patrym had a voice that seemed to have originated in the Thrones, and few could match his skill with various instruments. Only two men could claim to be his better. As far as Aidric was concerned, the only time Patrym was actually tolerable was when he was performing.

  Then, there was also the matter of The Song—

  “All right, so Patrym was a bad choice,” Selwyn agreed, “but my point is still there.”

  “No one must forget that she is not a normal maiden,” Aidric said darkly, “least of all me, although it’s damned easy for me to do just that. Her training is very important to the welfare of Lamia, and I cannot allow my personal feelings to interfere with her schooling. I mean, say I do pursue her and she turns down my advances? You know I would never be comfortable in her presence again, nor she in mine. That could be disastrous for us all. Do I dare take the risk? Especially after what occurred with my last liaison…”

  “Of course you do,” Selwyn replied firmly without hesitation. “Aidric, no man alive can compare to your chivalry, nor, Seni help me, do I dare say to your looks. I don’t believe any of that would escape her notice. From what I observed in court today, she already trusts you, which is already a big plus in your favor. Her whole demeanor made it perfectly clear when she was near you.”

  Aidric frowned. “But—”

  “No ‘buts,’” Selwyn cut in. “You’ve never had a problem catching a woman’s eye before, and before you say it, the ‘time’ thing will not be an obstacle for either of you. You most certainly will be spending a fair amount of time together for the next year or so. That fact, alone, should make your chances better than usual. I also hardly think that she will be another Alina.”

  Aidric winced inwardly at the mention of Alina, but he held his peace. He was in no mood to get into yet another “discussion” about her with Sel.

  “Come now, Aidric, live a little. It’s high time you emerge from the protection of the shield you have cast about you and take a chance. After all, is life not anything but chance?”

  “I wish I shared your confidence,” Aidric said wistfully.

  “And why shouldn’t you?” Selwyn demanded. “Damn it, Aidric, you wouldn’t have the position you hold now if you weren’t majorly confident. You face armies numbering in the thousands almost every day, spitting in Death’s face, and yet you can’t face one woman!”

  “Don’t you dare laugh at me!” Aidric barked angrily, glaring over at Selwyn with such fierceness that Selwyn shrank back into his chair, looking cowed.

  “Aidric, I didn’t mean—” Selwyn stammered, his face growing pale.

  “Oh, Aidius, Selwyn, I didn’t mean to—” Aidric babbled, stricken, as he laid his head into his hands. “I’m sorry—I—oh, damn it! Do you see what this is doing to me? I feel as if my insides have been torn out!”

  “Aidric,” Selwyn said carefully, making him lift his head, “don’t torture yourself over this. It accomplishes nothing but causing you pain. If you feel this strongly about her, then just rid your mind of all your ‘what ifs’ and court her, or talk this over with the king if you are still unsure of what to do. He’s a lot better at easing your mind than anyone. Just forget about all that other teacher/student nonsense, and for once think of yourself!” He smiled weakly at Aidric. “After all, I don’t believe the courting of one maiden will be the downfall of the kingdom. If that were the case, then we would’ve been in trouble long ago!”

  Aidric chuckled at the absurdity of that thought, his spirits beginning to rise a bit. Sel’s right, he thought reluctantly. I have been neglecting my own needs for far too long. It’s time I did something for myself for a change. I only hope that I’m not about to repeat the worst mistake of my life.

  He offered Sel a smile. “You are right as always, my friend. It’s no wonder Raya married you. You probably pestered her until she grew weary of it and said yes!”

  He ducked as Selwyn threw an apple at him and retorted, “That shows what you know you pompous, arrogant, poor excuse of a mage!”

  Aidric grinned as he ducked to avoid the second apple Selwyn shot his way.

  ***

  “So, what’s your opinion of her?” Diryan asked his wife with a tired sigh as he sank into an overstuffed chair in the sitting room of their suite.

  “She’s a sweet child. There’s no doubt of that, but she’s also a bit strange,” the queen replied with a half-smile as she placed a hand lovingly onto his shoulder. “I suppose the strangeness is to be expected. She is, after all, not of our world. However, others may not be so quick to see it as I do. I’m afraid that one’s preconceptions are far too often exercised over one’s reason—especially in this court.”

  “Too true,” Diryan replied gravely. “I had a rather unpleasant conversation earlier—to be truthful, an argument—with Galen regarding the girl. That’s why I asked your opinion of her—to see if any of Galen’s arguments had any sense to them, however farfetched they may
have seemed at the time. Frankly, although I defended her, I’m not entirely certain how I feel towards her or what to even think about this whole mess. There are so many unanswered questions about her mysterious arrival. It’s gotten to the point where I’m at the brink of pulling out all my hair over the matter!”

  “Then why don’t you ask the child, herself, these questions?” Ileanna asked gently.

  “I have,” he said with a snort of frustration, “and she is as puzzled over them as I.” Diryan began to rub his temples, feeling another headache coming on. I don’t need this—

  “Perhaps you should consider a Seer of the Providence to ease your mind,” Ileanna suggested. “After all, it was one from their order that Foresaw the coming of this so-called Golden Mage.”

  Diryan laughed dryly and said, “What good would come of it? They would only speak their endless riddles and say that Seni’s will must not be questioned, just accepted. Be damned with all that nonsense! I need answers, not riddles! What I really want to know is why now? Why did the Golden Mage appear today and not at some future time? What is the significance? I’m sure there is one since there always is. With a silent war going on, why did Seni—if indeed it was Seni who sent her and not some demon from Ter-ob—burden me with yet another grievance? If what the prophecy speaks of is true, then she could very well cause our downfall, and Lamia would be in the hands of a man who cares nothing for anyone but himself.

  “When the people get wind of her presence, Roderick no doubt will hear of her existence. That, I could not possibly prevent, and that’s what has me so worried. Armed with this new information, wouldn’t he double his efforts to breach the Shield? If Roderick was to have her under his control, he would no doubt be unstoppable, but that’s not the only thing that makes me uneasy.”