They instantaneously move from one side of the field to the other, carving through plate-mailed men and horses like they’re armored with paper rather than metal.
Doldimar wasn’t with his army. Instead, a pair of his lieutenants, Teron and Xiki, harried our forces as we retreated. The men looked to me to drive off the two, supposed Ele primeancer that I am, and I could do nothing.
We are doomed. Unless we can find a way to appease Doldimar, everyone in my wretched kingdom will die, and it will be my fault-
“Your Majesty, are you paying attention?”
Lifting my quill from paper, I glanced at the faces expectantly gazing at me.
“You’re discussing the status of our reserves,” I mumbled.
“Since this conflict has morphed into a drawn-out war after the Battle of Eadochas Valley-” I inwardly cringed. They’d already given it a name? “-calling on the reserves seems only proper. Best to prepare for the worst, no?”
Which Minister made this suggestion? Their number had exponentially grown since I’d taken the throne, so much so I could no longer keep track of who controlled what around here.
“Why would there be more fighting?” I asked, deciding to address the entire assembly.
“Doldimar’s forces already harass our border towns. It’s a perfect replica of what happened to Lyzencroft. If we don’t nip it in the bud, Auden will fall.”
I knew this speaker. Nebailie, my brother. The one who’d stood with me in the Valley. Who’d argued against the retreat I’d ordered.
“I plan to treat with Doldimar,” I announced. “We’ll see if we can’t find some room for compromise.”
The room became very quiet, save for nervous shuffling.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but that’s a terrible idea,” Nebailie spoke up. “You’ve heard the stories of Daevetch primeancers. No common ground exists with them.”
“I’m aware of the stories,” I tried to keep my voice calm, “but I’d like to try anyway. Call up the reserves. Do whatever you’d like to prepare for war, but if we can avoid further fighting, I want to take the chance.”
“We should strike them while they’re flush with victory,” Nebailie insisted. “Eadochas taught us how to fight the abominations. Since our return, the troops have drilled more efficient decapitation techniques.”
“What about the primeancers?” I snapped at my brother.
“What about them?” asked Minister… something or other. “You can eliminate them, can you not?”
Herein lay the problem. Nebailie knew and refused to acknowledge it. I knew and attempted to find an alternate solution.
The primeancers were a problem because here, at thirty-one years old and almost two years into my reign, an Ele splinter had yet to appear to me.
“Of course, I can.” I brashly smiled at the minister while my insides clenched at the lie.
“Then, why shouldn’t we do as Nebailie suggests?”
Murmurs of agreement echoed the question, and I realized I could do nothing more in this meeting. I pushed from the table.
“I’ve made my decision,” I declared. “Send a messenger to invite Doldimar to discuss terms, but don’t think your advice has gone unheeded, brother. Prepare your soldiers to attack if these talks go poorly.”
“As you wish, my liege,” Nebailie murmured as he bowed.
Uh-oh. I knew that tone. ‘bailie would be making a visit later.
The others rose as I stalked from the Ministers’ Chamber, Emri in my wake. I fumed during the five-minute walk to father- my office. Once we were safely ensconced within, Emri’s head shimmered and resumed its blonde and blue sheened hair paired with gray eyes.
“He makes a good point, you know,” the Eselan commented once the shape change was complete. “An immediate attack would be advisable. Wipe them out before they can gather for a large assault.”
“Both you and he know why I can’t do that,” I snapped.
“Are you afraid men will die to kill a primeancer you should be able to neutralize or that someone will drag your secret into the light of day?” Emri asked.
Both. I didn’t want soldiers to recklessly spend their lives for my lie, but I was terrified of what would happen if it was discovered. I’d surely lose the throne and my life as well, but I was prepared for that eventuality. What made me balk were the possible consequences for my family. What would an angry mob do to the wife and sons of a false king?
“I’m afraid for the men, of course,” I answered Emri. “I know this move is overly cautious, but I only hope to keep Auden from an unnecessary war.”
“Seems pretty necessary to me,” Emri muttered.
I pretended not to hear him. War may or may not be coming, but this nation wouldn’t run itself while its status was determined. A two-foot-high stack awaited perusal on my desk, another Matvai delegation had come bearing grievances, and the supplicants who’d waited since my departure for Eadochas required my attention.
Oh! I supposed I should see the boys at some point today, otherwise, Illasaya wouldn’t speak to me for days. She already complained I didn’t spend enough time with our children.
First, I’d finish my work.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Seer Drena,
I thought you might like to learn of my current location, although, let’s be honest. You already know it. Since we’re pretending you can’t see the future, however, I’ll tell you anyway.
I’m in Uduli, waiting for the end.
Don’t worry your pretty, little head about Emri. Our son is safely out of the city, doing what he does best: following orders. He tried to persuade me to go with him, the poor dear, but I refused.
You see, I’ve a purpose for remaining in this doomed city with these doomed people. After all the years of me coming home to you, I want to see if you’ll do the same when asked. Whichever way you choose, I’ll happily die knowing whether you ever truly loved me.
The Daevetch bolt streaked over Kheled’s head at such a narrow margin his hair rustled in its wake. Raimie followed the magical attack with a more conventional one, swinging Silverblade at his friend’s vulnerable legs.
Grinning, Kheled leaped over the attack, using white energy to power his jump, but halfway in the air, he attracted the Ele in his feet to that in the ceiling. The room flipped upside down, and he landed on his new floor.
Sticking out his tongue at a frustrated Raimie, he waved at the crowd, sending them into peals of laughter. Rolling his eyes, Raimie violently gestured downward. The ceiling-floor to which Kheled stuck crumbled, and he fell with resin and volcanic glass.
Another attraction between stone and flesh, and he landed in a graceful crouch, rolling to spread the impact on his knees. As he flowed to his feet, the ground broke beneath him, and he stumbled from the deteriorating floor. A destructive path chased him wherever he fled until Kheled needled Ele in the approximate direction from which Raimie attacked.
For a split second, the ground stabilized. Kheled used the brief respite to locate his opponent and anchor his body to the wall behind him. Once he was fixed in place, he attracted his Ele to Raimie’s. His friend flew across the room, straight for Kheled’s brandished saber.
At the last second, Raimie disrupted the attraction, the abrupt loss jarring Kheled. He hadn’t known breaking another’s Ele draw was possible, and the shock of that revelation almost earned him defeat.
Raimie skipped to a stop a breath away from impalement. He smacked Kheled’s saber aside, stepping in for a Daevetch powered punch which Kheled barely ducked in time. The fight devolved into a contest of who would break first: Raimie with his bone-shattering strength or Kheled with his nimble quickness.
The swordplay wouldn’t add to the lesson when compared to their earlier display, but gods, Kheled had missed sparring with his friend. At the very least, their audience must find the fight entertaining. Good natured cheers interspersed the clash of steel on steel.
The fight wasn’t much of a contest f
or Kheled. Since the investiture sixteen months ago, Raimie hadn’t found much time to practice with the blade, and his poor, abused leg had never properly healed after Qena.
Even given that, his friend didn’t go down easily. He gave no openings, despite the minute grimaces which revealed how badly his old injury pained him.
In the end, what vanquished him was his total focus on his opponent. When Raimie sprang forward to take advantage of a perceived opening, Kheled easily avoided the strike. The successful feint gave him time to attract an obsidian shard to Raimie’s right thigh. The debris hit, and Raimie grunted as his leg gave out. Kheled flowed around his friend’s descending body and from behind, jerked Raimie’s head back, smoothly snaking his saber to rest against his friend’s neck.
The room burst into applause, and Kheled released his captive.
“Need to work on your awareness, Raimie. Your lack of it has always been your biggest weakness.”
The King accepted Kheled’s offered hand. “Tell me,” he panted, “will I ever retain enough strength to beat you, or is that a vain hope?”
“You’ve claimed victory in one of our duels,” Kheled reminded him. “Years ago, when you first pulled from Daevetch?”
“Ah, yes. Not my proudest moment,” Raimie murmured, eyes unfocusing. They quickly snapped to Kheled, accompanied by an impish grin. “What I hear you telling me is if I want to beat you, I need the element of surprise.”
“What you hear me saying, oh great King of Auden, is I need to address my students.”
“And I need to perform this same display with Nessaira and her Daevetch pupils,” Raimie returned, making a face. “I’ll see you this evening, yes?”
“Our dinner’s tonight?” How had the days so quickly passed?
“Yes, Khel, it’s tonight,” Raimie said with a smile. “Should I send a guard to fetch you?”
“No, no, I’ll be there.”
“Good. Until tonight.”
Raimie parted the sea of onlookers with his very presence, the movement unconscious from all involved. He swiftly strode for the training room’s door, fingers distractedly twitching. That restlessness was the sole indication of how badly he must want to shade meld to the Daevetch spire, to skip the trip and save time. Doing so, however, would abandon today’s bodyguard, Pointer, to the Ele students’ care. Avoiding a lecture from Oswin concerning his disregard for safety must have been more attractive than salvaging fifteen minutes from his unexpected chore.
Kheled was grateful that his friend, the King of Auden, had squeezed these impromptu demonstrations into his rare day of leisure. When he’d woken this morning and leaped from bed, his body quite literally vibrating with energy, Kheled had sent word to Raimie, requesting his assistance. Days where he was fully himself were becoming few and far between. Best to take advantage of them when he could.
Pointer gratefully peeled from the corner into which he’d wedged, following Raimie as a wraith-like shadow. The spy was known to retain a healthy dose of wariness toward primeancers. Lingering in a room with so many of them must have greatly unnerved him. He and the King disappeared down the stairwell.
Kheled ran his eyes over said primeancers. They’d taken to chatting amongst themselves while teacher was distracted.
Such a diverse group! Most were youths but a few laid claim to old age, although Kheled couldn’t help but think of them as children. They came from all walks of life. A smattering of farmers, two brash Matvai, some children from wealthy merchant families. Even a Zrelnach Eselan, to Kheled’s surprise, and of course, Miranon, their resident Qenan scientist. All told, Ring had located fourteen of them on her four-month long journey.
Kheled hoped that, over time, more would gather. The number he already taught was more than sufficient, thank you very much! But this school rapidly transformed into a safe space for all primeancers, somewhere they weren’t hunted and murdered for something over which they’d little control. He wouldn’t want any to miss the opportunity, even if the chance for safety came at a price.
When Raimie had first informed him of the condition exacted for the primeancy school, Kheled hadn't been pleased. Actually, if he was honest, his reaction had more resembled a screaming, one-sided speech than anything else. When he could get a word in edgewise, Raimie had explained why the insult had been necessary, and Kheled had understood. By themselves, Raimie and Kheled couldn't feed, house, and otherwise provide for an unknown number of people. The Ministers held the purse strings, and therefore, the two friends must bow to their desires and accept an unwelcome uniform and insignia pair.
At least Raimie had managed to render the supposedly distinguishing uniform as commonplace as possible. Nearly identical to the army's dress, it was almost bearable. Almost. The discrimination made Kheled’s blood boil to this day, but at the time, he’d reluctantly accepted the restriction placed on his future students. Upon his concession, however, he'd decidedly informed Raimie if his friend ever tried to put him in a uniform, of any type, Kheled would make his life a living hell.
Upon noticing teacher scrutinizing them, one of the boys hushed the others. The descent into silence progressed far too quickly for Kheled. These people shouldn’t hold such respect for him.
“What did we learn today?” he asked to fill the quiet.
“That you and the King are badasses,” a young farmhand breathlessly replied.
“Language, Irya!” an older merchant reprimanded.
“No, it’s all right. You should never fear to use strong language when a situation calls for it. Such language is a tool like any other,” Kheled smiled. “In this circumstance, however, perhaps your word choice wasn’t wise. With time and training all of you can learn to manipulate Ele as I did in that fight and become ‘badasses’ yourself. What else did we learn?”
“The King’s terrifying,” someone else quipped, although genuine fear infected her voice.
“Because of the dark energy he wields? Raimie is more skilled with Ele than he is with Daevetch,” Kheled informed them, “and he’s your ally. You’ve no need to fear him.”
Quiet murmurs followed his proclamation, but most of the students appeared comforted if not entirely mollified.
“What else?”
“Ele is in everything, and we can manipulate it,” Miranon murmured before ducking her head.
Poor girl. Her friendship with a Daevetch primeancer hadn’t earned her a warm reception in the school. The Ele students ostracized her to an extreme, as could be observed from the mocking glances currently directed her way. Kheled couldn’t blame their scorn. After all, Miranon’s statement was common knowledge for everyone, not just primeancers. Why would she think it necessary to reiterate?
“Very good, Miranon!” Kheled praised. “I’m pleased at least one of you figured it out.”
“Figured wut out?” asked the Matvai boy.
“Manipulating Ele in his body and obsidian is how Kheled stood on the ceiling and flung rubble at the King,” Miranon whispered, her arms tight around her.
“That’s… brilliant, Miranun! Smaert and pretty! Whu’d have thought?” the Matvai exclaimed.
“I learned Ele isn’t nearly as useless in combat as you’ve made it seem in the last few weeks, Kheled,” said the Zrelnach. What was her name? Jeme? “You’ve emphasized every way Daevetch can be used to destroy us. It’s heartening to know we’ve our own methods of attack.”
“My intention wasn’t to discourage, Jeme, but rather to warn you of what you face. Daevetch wielders aren’t to be trifled with,” Kheled told her.
The Zrelnach didn’t react to her name, so he must have correctly guessed it, and by the sober expressions on the other’s faces, he could tell the lesson had finally penetrated.
“Now that you understand the danger, the time has come for your training to commence in truth,” Kheled continued. “Over the next month, I’ll work with each of you, one on one, to develop your skills. While I’m doing so, the rest will meet with Nessaira’s students on a l
imited basis.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yu just tuld us Daevetch primeancers are daengerous enemies!” the older, Matvai woman exclaimed. “Why pit us against them when haeve nu skills?”
“I never said they were your enemy,” Kheled called over their confused and hurt protests. “I only said they were dangerous, and they are! They’re also human and Esela. For the most part, what attracted a Daevetch splinter to them wasn’t a conscious decision on their part, much the same as you and your splinters. Take Miranon’s friend, Tejesper. He attracted a splinter of aspect Destruction because he enjoyed developing explosives which could assist with his village’s mining efforts. His actions were in no way harmful to society, but Destruction came to him all the same. Daevetch primeancers aren’t evil,” the words stuck in his throat, “and we Ele wielders must learn to work with them if we’re to defend the kingdom.”
“But…” an elderly farmer uncertainly protested.
“I encourage questioning the rules in this school,” Kheled said, “but when I tell you what next comes in your training, I expect you to do it. I’m the most experienced, knowledgeable Ele primeancer in Auden,” the world “and I want you to succeed. I’ll not ask you to do something unless your development as primeancers requires it. Do we understand one another?”
Half-hearted, “Yes, masters” came back to him. It would have to be enough.
“Excellent! Now, if you Restore this room quickly enough, we can sneak into Raimie’s demonstration with Nessaira before it’s over. Should be fun to watch the King wield Ele, no?”
The students exploded from their corner, some already wrapping their hands in white light. Jeme, the Zrelnach, separated from her fellows to approach him.
“You make a much better teacher than you did a student,” she murmured as she came to parade rest beside him.
Kheled peered at her with hooded eyes. “Did we know one another in Allanovian?”
A short giggling fit stole her ability to respond. “You know, I had a running bet with myself concerning whether you’d remember me,” she said when she could. “You always were the most aloof trainee in our class.”
A King's Caution (The Eternal War Book 2) Page 55
