“Yes. It's not going to cause a problem, I promise.”
She looked unconvinced. “Maybe we should've booked passage on an airship—”
“Calm down, love,” I implored. “There aren't any airship ports near House Alcyone. Unless you want to waste two and a half days each way traveling by train, this is the best method.”
Rose glared darkly at the Gate that loomed before us. “That might be preferable.”
“Please, Rose. There's nothing at all to worry about. I know you've never traveled by Gate before, but it's really not dangerous, I promise.”
“Yeah,” Rose breathed. “Okay. Sure. Why not?”
She didn't look convinced in the slightest.
“I've made use of them my whole life,” I said to her in a soothing tone. “The Gates are designed for use by mages. A little pocket like the one I have isn't going to cause dimensional collapse. People travel the Gates tethered to more expansive sub-realities all the time. Every head of every House has a permanent connection to the Imperial Court antechamber, remember?”
Rose's cheeks were stained pink, but she seemed to calm down a little as I reassured her.
“Y-yeah, I know. I'm just… anxious, is all.”
I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed her on the cheek. “You have every right to be anxious, but don't let it get to you. Mother isn't anything like the stereotypical highborn Head of House. You'll love her, I promise.”
She smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced. Apparently magical travel was not something that occurred in Fialla, and as the line began to grow progressively shorter, Rose seemed to be even more anxious.
I reached out and took her hand in mine. “I'm here. I won't let you go.”
Rose nodded without speaking. I noticed her complexion was a little ashen.
When it was our turn to depart, the two of us stepped upon the wide dais that supported the permanent structure containing the Gate itself. It was already active, having been woken by the Celestial Acolyte's magic. The woman gave us a look of faint disinterest as we walked past her. The argent flare of her manashard stood out prominently against a much dimmer sea of red, blue, gold and green stones.
Those Solarians who exhibited affinity for the rarest elemental aspect, light, were inevitably inducted into the priesthood. The Church of the Celestial Prophecy, the Imperial state religion, administrated the Gates. Light mages possessed powers that were uniquely suited to the magic of dimensional manipulation and travel. Maintaining the Empire's expansive portal network was one of the Church's most visible public duties.
The portal itself was a flat plane in the shape of a large circle, bound by a stone and iron ring that was engraved with countless runes and wards. Those inscribed spells were laid down over a period of years, even decades. It was the work of dozens of master astromancers, all pooling their talent and power together to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
As the two of us walked closer to the shimmering surface of the Gate, Rose squeezed her eyes shut. I kept my hand upon hers, twining my fingers between hers, as we took that final step and entered the Gate.
There was an abrupt sensation of weightlessness and timelessness that felt as if it stretched into infinity. Reality warped around us and we dropped through the bridge between two distant points, emerging from the other side the exact moment we entered.
We were no longer in Naara, on the western coast overlooking the great ocean, but in the hinterlands near the Crone's Cane mountain range that marked the Empire's northern border. The scent of salt and sea was gone, replaced with the astringency of pine pitch, loamy soil and the sweet undercurrent of clean, pure air.
I took a deep breath. I was home, if only for a short while.
“You can open your eyes now,” I said, reaching out to brush against Rose's cheek. Her anxious expression relaxed at my touch and she opened her eyes—
“Wow.”
“Beautiful, isn't it?”
“Understatement,” Rose breathed.
The two of us stood upon a small stone platform on a hill overlooking a verdant valley, filled with all manner of green life. Great forests extended outward in all directions, and on the northern border of the basin was what appeared to be a small mountain village. Clusters of buildings, all constructed with the same peculiar style, were arranged around a half-dozen main thoroughfares. A number of greenhouses stood near the dwellings, the glass panes fogged with condensation, suggesting a balmy environment inside.
“A town?” Rose guessed. “Is your family's manor down there?”
“In a sense.” I laughed. “That is House Alcyone. All of the structures there, and the surrounding land and forests, constitute the private 'manor' grounds. The dwellings are inhabited by members of the family and their servants.”
“I was expecting something else, I guess.”
“Like a single manor or keep?”
“Yeah.”
I jerked a thumb at the collection of small buildings. “This place was at one point a small village, a stopover for those merchant caravans crossing the border into Coalition outlands. But that was more than a hundred years ago, before the advent of powered flight and fast sea vessels rendered the old horse-path trade routes obsolete.”
“Did your family buy the land after the old trade route fell into disuse?”
“Yes. The roads to the Coalition outlands were destroyed by Alcyone mages thirty summers ago, blocking this area off from every foreign point of entry. As Solaria is… not on the friendliest of terms with the Coalition now, it was deemed prudent.” I started down the well-worn path that would take us to a secluded home on the outer edge of the manor grounds, where Mother lived and where I had grown up. “Follow me, and watch your footing. The trail can get a little steep.”
Chapter 10
Unity of Purpose
Rose was still rather subdued as we entered the grounds of House Alcyone. The narrow streets were fairly busy at this time of day, and many of the people we passed recognized me, though few bothered to greet me with anything more than an acknowledging nod. I caught sight of a cousin, Ian. He was only a decade or so older than me and was one of the few members of the family who didn't do his best to ignore me completely.
“Lily, you've returned,” Ian said with a thin, albeit genuine, smile. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Cousin, though I am only visiting during the winter break.” I returned his smile with one of my own, nearly as thin. Ian may have been relatively friendly with me, at least with respect to the rest of the House, but he was still an arrogant ass. “We'll be staying with Mother for the week.”
“Who is this with you?”
“Rose Merope,” Rose greeted him. Her right hand came out but halted in mid-motion as she remembered herself and sketched a respectful bow instead. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Alcyone.”
“I'm hardly a Lord of the House, I'm afraid. Ian will do nicely.” Ian's eyebrows rose slightly as he regarded her. “You're Fiallan, if I'm not mistaken?”
Rose didn't try to hide her annoyance. “I am.”
“And polite, too.” Ian laughed out loud, as if his own sarcasm was truly so amusing. “Don't mind the stares you get. The Alcyones are paler than snow and hardly any have set foot outside the Empire's borders.”
“You clearly aren't, though,” Rose observed in a dry tone.
“Ah, there's the Fiallan fire in you. You're right, of course. My mother's ancestors hailed from the Far East. She married into House Alcyone shortly before I was born.” Ian ran a hand through his short-cropped black hair favored Rose with a rakish grin. “I've been told that I inherited all the best traits of the Easterners, made all the better when mingled with Solarian blood.”
“Indeed?” Rose inquired, her tone tinged with sarcasm of her own, sarcasm that my cousin completely missed. I had to strain my willpower to prevent a chuckle escaping my lips.
“Ian's rather popular with the court ladies,” I added.
Ian's grin widened at the mock praise. He had never been especially clever.
“Tell Aunt Juno I said hello.”
“Of course, Cousin.”
Rose and I shared a look as Ian ambled off, likely in search of some other attractive young lady to pester. When Ian was well out of earshot, the two of us broke into a fit of laughter that lasted nearly half a minute.
“Is he for real?” Rose asked, her voice incredulous.
“It's not an act. He's never been strong of magic, and most of the family's elders views him as little more than a dandy, but he's good with numbers, and better at charming people into doing business with House Alcyone.” I took a deep breath to recover from my mirth and gestured for Rose to follow me up a wide path that led to a smallish house on a hill. “We're almost to my house.”
“It's that building up on the hill?”
“Yes. It doesn't meet with your expectations?”
“Not really, no.” Rose's expression was pensive. “Your mom's the head of your family, right? Why does she live in this tiny little cottage on the edge of the manor grounds?”
“Head in name only,” I said under my breath, but declined to explain further. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about out in the open. Rose didn't press the issue, and the two of us walked up to the front door leading into my home.
I placed my hand against the door and felt the magic of the wards flow forward. A gentle probe slipped into my conscious mind, forming a brief link between my magic and the wards. Less than a second later, the door vanished entirely, as if it had never been.
“So that's why it didn't have hinges, or a door knob,” Rose murmured. “Like the secure rooms in the Academy.”
“I'm assuming Fiallans don't use house wards.”
“You assume correctly,” Rose answered. “There's so much magic here it's almost… stifling, compared to back home.”
“It's that uncommon?”
She shrugged. “The Fiallan mage tradition is more… pragmatic. More subtle, less flashy. Why use magic when a machine will do the job just as well? Without draining the land of aether?” Rose paused for a moment and tucked a loose lock of white hair behind one ear.
“That's not something Solaria's ever worried about,” I admitted.
“I'm aware.”
There was something in Rose's voice that I couldn't quite place. It wasn't disapproval exactly, but it was close. I beckoned for Rose to follow. “Come on. Mother's likely in the garden behind the house. We should announce ourselves.”
The atrium gave way to a wide parlor containing comfortable furnishings and a small cabinet filled with various types of liquor. An enchanted hearth was situated in the center of the room, and it pulsed waves of soothing warmth throughout the house. I smiled as the little prominence of fire mana flared and grew a touch brighter as Rose passed by.
I stopped beside the door leading out to the veranda—this one was just an ordinary door set on oiled steel hinges—and pushed it open. Warm, humid air, filled with sweet floral scents, rushed into my nostrils as I took a step out onto the stone path.
Lady Juno Alcyone stood in front of a tall rosebush, her back to me. She seemed to be lost in thought, focused entirely on the task of pruning her beloved flowers. As I came closer, my mother snipped away at a few small bits of the plant before turning around.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Lily!”
A glad cry escaped her lips and she dashed toward me, her pruning tool clattering to the stones beneath her feet. She rushed forward and embraced me, lifting me off the ground in her strong arms as she clutched tightly.
“I missed you so much!” Mother gushed, after nearly squeezing the life from me. “Without the music of your voice filling the house, I've felt very lonely.”
I sniffled and wiped at the moisture gathering in my eyes. “I missed you, too, Mama.”
My mother set me down and turned to regard Rose. “And you must be Rose. Lily's told me so much about you. I can't tell you how glad I am to know that my daughter has such a wonderful friend.”
“N-nice to meet you,” Rose mumbled, her cheeks flushed faintly.
“Would you two like something to drink or eat? Let us retire to the kitchen.”
I didn't bother trying to argue with her. Rose glanced at me again, another odd look on her face, and I knew what she was thinking. Why hadn't my mother simply instructed a servant to prepare a meal and bring it out to us in the garden?
My mother continued to chatter brightly, flinging question after innocuous question about my life at the Academy, what I'd learned and how my studies were going. I twitched my fingers to signal Rose to wait, and dutifully replied to Mother's small talk with as much feigned enthusiasm as I could muster.
The three of us walked through the parlor and down a short corridor leading to the house's modest kitchen. It was large enough for two to work in comfortably, but certainly did not resemble what one might expect to find in the head of a highborn family's home. I gestured for Rose to enter ahead of me, and then shut the door behind us.
“It's safe to talk in here,” Mother said. “I've placed a strong ward over the kitchen that blocks most types of seeking spells.” Her voice subtly changed; no longer did she sound bright and cheerful, affecting a happiness that she didn't really feel. I could hear the exhaustion, the depression, in her words, and it tugged at my heart.
Rose stared at both of us blankly.
“What in the Yawning Hells is going on?”
I glanced at Rose and then back at Mother. “Do you—”
“I'll handle it,” the Alcyone matriarch interrupted. She opened a bottle sitting on the countertop nearby and poured a rather indecent amount of wine into a fluted glass. I didn't flinch, but Rose was clearly shocked to see my mother down half of the potent ruby-colored libation in one gulp. “How much has Lily told you about House Alcyone's troubles?”
“Not a whole lot, but I'm guessing you're about to fill me in on the rest,” Rose observed.
“An accurate assessment.” My mother drained the remainder of her glass before pouring a fresh one. “Would you like some wine?”
“I don't suppose you have any beer?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she replied. My mother walked over to the large refrigerator and opened it, drawing out a dark bottle. It was printed with Avindran characters, but I found that I couldn't make any sense of the words themselves. Apparently Rose could, however, and her eyes lit up eagerly at the sight.
“Is that—”
“Kasi Fiallan bitter red ale,” my mother confirmed. She handed the bottle to Rose, who eagerly popped the cap against the edge of the stone countertop. A sharp smell, redolent of hops, rose from the open container, and Rose took a healthy swig.
“I feel a little less off-balance now. Thanks.”
My mother handed me a glass of the same ruby wine she was drinking, and I accepted without comment. Unlike her, though, I chose to sip at the strong drink slowly. Alcohol tended to get to me rather quickly, thanks to my small stature and light weight.
“The other lords and ladies are attempting to oust me as the head of House Alcyone,” my mother said without preamble. “They hold me responsible for the scandal that brought about Alcyone's fall from the Imperial Court's favor, and I'm sure you can guess why.”
“Lily,” Rose acknowledged in a grim tone.
“And her other parent, yes.”
“She told me that… that the rumors were you were taken without consent.” I could feel Rose's gaze on me, the look charged with worry and dread. “But then people found out that it was a lie, that you freely and willingly fell in love with one of the fey. And, um, that it got worse after Lily was born.”
Mother clucked her tongue in mild irritation. “Yes, Lord Cyrus was convinced that none of them could possibly believe that a highborn Solarian would ever fall in love, much less share passion, with one of the miinari. All sorts of ridiculous theories were tossed around—that I had been c
harmed by the fairy's dark magicks, that I'd been violently ravished against my will.”
“Sounds like bullshit to me,” Rose observed.
“Entirely.” My mother's tone soured and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. “The lords and ladies of Alcyone did their best to spread these rumors far and wide among our peers, to 'minimize the damage done to our House's reputation.' They were trying to buy time, to force me to terminate the pregnancy, but I refused. The truth came out shortly thereafter. House Alcyone have been working feverishly to replace me as Head of House.”
“What happened to your—um, other parent?”
Mother glanced at me, and then back at Rose.
“She was…” My mother trailed off, her expression becoming wistful. I knew she was looking back upon bittersweet memories. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, and moved closer to her, taking her free hand in my own.
“Thank you, Lily. The memories are… difficult to reflect upon.”
No one spoke for a long moment. This was all news to me, as well, for Mother had never told me much at all about my fey parent. I knew why this was so, for I was a child, too young to understand how the circumstances of my conception could be so dangerous. I was older now, but what was more surprising was how much Mother seemed to trust Rose, whom she barely knew. I suspected that it had to do with the fact that, other than her, I had no allies within House Alcyone, and if Mother were to lose her position…
A part of me suspected this had been her intent in sending me to the Academy, to get me away from the lords and ladies of Alcyone, to a place outside the sphere of the nobility, where I could make friends and find allies.
“So what happened to Lily's other mom, then?” Rose asked again.
My mother poured another glass of wine. This time she drained the entire vessel at once before she answered.
“My love, Eiri, was murdered.”
I stared at her incredulously.
“Why didn't you ever tell me this?”
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