“Actually, my King?” Cyric broke in, his tone anything but reverent. He stepped up beside me, so that our shoulders were touching. “Lox has already put the princess under my care. You won’t have to bother with her arrangements. She will stay with me.”
Molec’s gaze lifted in surprise. Then his eyes went dark, even angry, until the queen drew his attention with a hand to his arm. “You will remember, Molec, that Lieutenant Dracla is one of our most honored war heroes, the man responsible for the discovery of Karatel’s betrayal, and a Shaundakulian himself.”
While the King frowned unhappily, I looked to Cyric with confusion.
Because he stood just beside me, I could only see his profile and it revealed no expression. The man responsible for the discovery of Karatel’s betrayal? What did that mean? It was the Akadians who had betrayed Karatel, never the other way around.
Molec drew my attention with a scathing tone. “Lox is bold to allot a princess as tribute without my consent.”
Cyric didn’t say a word. The music of the hall now sounded only awkward. Molec considered me for a long moment, his demeanor growing all the more annoyed and anxious. Finally he waved a hand. “Don’t expect that you will be allowed to take her outside the city walls.”
“Of course not, the battlefield is no place for a princess,” Cyric said.
Molec mumbled agreement.
“And I expect her in the dining hall when it’s open to the court.”
Cyric bowed understanding, then he took my hand. It was a sinister method he used, first touching my wrist lightly, then sliding his fingers downwards and tightening his grip. The hall responded with murmurs. I felt my chest rising, but hardly knew how to react. Molec appeared more irritated than ever.
“If you’ll permit, the princess has travelled far and must be tired,” Cyric said. “I’ll take her to retire.”
My cheeks got hot. I thought to worm my hand away from Cyric, instead I simply addressed the king. “You said that you would like to speak of my father and our alliance. I am not too tired to discuss this with you.”
Molec blinked lazily, his eyes falling on Cyric’s hand, then the spoils collected behind us. “The Lieutenant is right. You should rest. I’ll call for you when I’d like to speak of Shaundakul.”
I pulled away. “But—”
“Think for a moment, princess,” Cyric said, not a whisper, but only loud enough that I would hear. “Molec doesn’t want to talk about your country. As soon as he realized you belonged to me, he lost interest in you.”
“I do not belong to you,” I hissed, despite myself; I’d meant to ignore him.
“Alright, take your chances then. I’ve seen enough ladies pass through his favor to realize that they survive in well enough health. Their reputations don’t fare as well, but this probably doesn’t concern you.”
My throat locked up and I thought of Amalia. Amalia, who had come to the court of Akadia a Cirali Warrior, had been lured by Molec, had born his children—despite Molec’s queen—and had finally, inevitably been cast aside. This King, who let his son be murdered in his own city and then allowed the man responsible to go free. Whether Cyric knew of all of this or not, I did not know, and on the matter of trusting Cyric’s advice, I did not, but I recognized that this king would not help me. At least not tonight, when his gaze was so greedily upon his newest spoils.
I did not envy the queen. I did not envy the captives. I dropped my head and let Cyric take my hand once more. He said goodbyes to the court on my behalf, then led me outside.
CYRIC:
As soon as we were clear of the palace walls, I released Ellia’s hand. The fresh air did wonders for me. I called for the nearest guard, stationed outside one of the barracks. I could see him thanks to the torches all around us. I hadn’t realized until I’d gotten back into the city how much I’d missed the lights, always being able to see. Karatel’s capitol wasn’t nearly so bright, and while I was away in the eastern kingdoms, I had to rely on my hearing completely most nights.
“Yes Lieutenant,” the guard said, bowing. He was a soldier I’d trained, capable enough. He averted wide eyes from Ellia, obviously having heard of her identity. As if the crown wasn’t glaring enough.
“Escort the princess to my quarters,” I instructed. “Have something sent for her to eat. Then leave her be.”
The soldier’s features registered surprise, but I didn’t wait around for him to consent.
I started walking, past the pair, until Ellia called out to me.
“Cyric, wait,” she fumbled, her voice full of distress.
I thought it was the first time she’d said my name. I thought that was a stupid thing to notice. I glanced back. I could see her eyes as brightly as the torches, brighter than her crown.
She spared a nervous look at the soldier. “Where are you going?” she asked.
What an idiot. Why was she asking me this—and like that? I addressed the soldier. “You have my permission to use whatever measures you need if she resists.”
With that I turned from the two.
#
Molec would begin production on Lox’s new weapon, he’d made that clear enough in the throne-room. Not that he’d really had much of a choice. The council had been greatly pleased by the news that the dreaded chimera could now be defeated without wyverns, not to mention pulled in by the spoils.
Though I was glad to be able to assist Lox in his newest endeavor, I felt indifference to it. I still didn’t know how the weapons worked. I didn’t need to know, I was strong enough on my own in battle without needing something to fight for me. Lox could issue out his inventions to his weaker soldiers, and leave the real warring to me.
I took the path to Lox’s building, not having to think about the way it was so familiar. When I knocked on the door, Veera answered it herself.
“You thought it would be Thane,” she said at my skeptic expression. Thane was one of Lox’s servants, and he generally watched over Veera while Lox was away. She opened the door further so that I could enter, then closed it behind me. “I sent him away so you could tell me all that’s happened in the other countries without his spying.”
“Doesn’t Lox tell him everything anyways?”
“Thane?” She scoffed. “He’d like to think so.”
I smirked. Veera matched it, then she bobbed her head towards the center of the room, where trays of food and wine were set out in front of couches. Lox’s main area was two stories high, with a staircase and balcony circling it and a number of colored glass lights—though whenever Veera was left here alone, she brightened the space with enough torches to make it seem like daylight.
“Just a minute, I have to grab something from upstairs,” I said.
“Don’t be long.” She tip-toed to the couch, her bare-feet springing her lightly along.
If nothing else, she was fun to look at; I was glad I’d come here first.
I ascended the staircase, then entered Lox’s room. It was just as brightly lit as the downstairs. I crossed it, then pulled a set of keys from my pocket. My fingers grazed Ellia’s stone as I did so, and I made a note not to return the keys where I might be forced to touch the thing again. I turned my attention to Lox’s desk; one of the keys slipped easily into his lowest and largest drawer.
The first thing I saw was a drawing of a dragon, reminding me what Lox had said about Ellia’s presence making it all the more important for me to look into this for him. The next few papers were star-maps, the type I’d seen too many of in my lifetime. Back in Uldin Keep, they’d decorated tapestries, plates, armor, even the walls of the washrooms. I bypassed these and the rest of the messy stack to find a small parcel, filled with papers and sealed shut. I set it aside and returned everything else to the drawer, catching sight of only one more sketch, a tiger, before closing the drawer and locking it shut.
I found Veera sitting on the couch and braiding her hair when I returned, not the whole thing, just the front, in small tight loops that she generall
y just as quickly unwound. Sure enough she released her hair when she saw me. I held the package at my side.
“So that’s what Malatos has you doing?” she said. “His assistant brought that to him ages ago, but he never opened it. I thought he’d given up on the whole venture.”
“You already know about it?” I asked. Now that I had no concerns about hiding the package from her, I set it out on the table, then I sank into the couch, grabbing a handful of grapes.
“I know what he means to find. But whether it proves a true myth, I’m not sure. He’s chased enough of them before in the past. Did you know that when he was young, he wanted to be an explorer?”
I raised a brow.
“I heard about it from some of the councilmen, they say he went down into the caves from the time he was a child. And even you must have heard the rumor that he’s been to the Mountains of Lotos.”
“You’ve never asked him?”
She shook her head. “He gets vexed with me when I question him about his past.” She shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
I untied my sword and set it aside to make myself more comfortable. And as I did, I didn’t know why, I thought of the handmaiden leaving Lox’s room and laughing, not just the most recent time but other times too. I just as quickly pushed it from my mind.
“Well go on then,” Veera said, “You’re too quiet. Tell me what’s happening in the war.”
I smirked ruefully at her, but did as she said.
“We’re doing well. The Wyverns are stuck in Ghaund for now, but at least that’s been allowing us to track down their hidden settlements. Goblins die by the hundreds, not that it matters, they seem to respawn just as quickly. It was going poorly in Selket, but Lox is convinced that will change. We’ve captured a few scorpios; he wants to try and train them.”
“I saw them in the stock district,” she commented.
“Of course things in Democedes were fine until Venoc stopped checking his decisions with Lox. We’ve still got them on the defensive though.”
“I saw Scanth before he left yesterday—did you pass him on the plains?”
I shook my head. “He probably stopped in one of the cities. We rode straight through.”
“You were in such a hurry to get home?” she asked, then laughed. “I thought you were a bit more enthusiastic than usual when you saw me.”
I thought back to greeting her beside the fountain. I had been truly glad to see her, maybe that was the only reason I’d made such a show of our meeting. Maybe not. I poured a drink and drank it slowly.
“Don’t you prefer to be fighting?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“Has something else excited your interest then?” she said. “I watched you in the throne-room with Molec.”
I didn’t want to think about that again. It felt complicated for no reason. The entire experience, albeit boring, should have been enjoyable. I’d more or less forced the king into behaving just how I’d wanted him to, and I’d been envied, even by Molec. I knew how it felt now for Lox to have Veera; maybe even more so. Nothing about it should have bothered me; I told myself nothing had.
“You knew the princess of Shaundakul before you came to Akadia, didn’t you?” Veera asked, rocking me out of my reverie. I narrowed.
“Why would you think that?”
She laughed a little. “Malatos told me what happened in the temple, the first time he discovered her. It was you that told him, wasn’t it? That’s why you had her crown?”
“A lot of people knew Ellia. I’d just been in charge of watching her the day of the battle.”
“Oh,” Veera said, reigning back a little, but I could feel her gaze on me even though I wasn’t looking at her; studying, forming an opinion. “Malatos thought she was dead,” she said, matter of factly.
“She should have been. She fell from hundreds of feet. She has some freakish power that kept her alive.”
“What’s to stop her from using it again?” Veera asked. The way she did made me wonder if she hadn’t thought of this question before now. Lox must have told Veera even about Ellia’s powers.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out Ellia’s stone, then tossed it carelessly to Veera. She caught it in her hands. “A dispel stone,” she said. She held it up between two fingers, into the light, and, again, I thought she’d already guessed this much. Even from my seat I could see the colors swirling within the stone; like smoke, gold and amber, copper, flecks of brass.
Veera grew a wicked grin. “I suppose if I broke it Malatos would be angry with me.”
I snorted. “For some reason he wants it to stay with her. If you think of why, as you probably will, you could tell me.”
Veera let the stone fall. “Lovers must never share their secrets, Cyric,” she chided. It sounded like one of the many sage anecdotes from her country which she often quoted to me. “You’ll have to keep it with you, then?” she asked.
I nodded grudgingly. “Lox seems to think she’d kill anyone else to get it?”
Veera hid it in her hand. “Well, in that case you can’t keep carrying it around in your pocket. Think of when you start training again. It’s liable to get crushed.”
“That would require someone being able to hit me.”
“What about when you’re running the courses? You don’t want to end up having the powers for yourself, do you?”
I grimaced at the thought, but like I’d said, I wasn’t worried. With a yawn, I stretched my legs out and leaned back into the couch, basking in the torch-light and warmth.
“You look as if you plan to sleep there,” Veera said.
I’d closed my eyes. “Would you mind if I did?”
“I might find it curious, but I wouldn’t mind.”
I felt her scrutinizing gaze on me once more, I grew a smile. “You overthink things sometimes, Veera.”
Her reply came, clear but distant. “You, Cyric Dracla, do not think things through enough.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ELLIA:
I woke up with my head pounding. I felt soft thick blankets around me and saw fine decorations. For a moment of horror I thought I was back in the caves of dreams and nightmares on Yanartas. I jerked up and back against a bedframe. Then I realized where I really was and wished I had been right in my first guess.
Unlike Karatel, Cyric’s Akadian quarters were all a part of one single room. It was wider than it was long, with a window and doors to a balcony spanning the length of the longest wall. The bed I laid in was at one end, at the other was a sitting area with soft red couches, and in the middle, sunken down past steps, was a bath so large a person would be able to stretch out in any direction and not touch an edge. In the night steam had lifted from it, now in the bright daylight it seemed perfectly still. The entire room, from its mosaic pillars, mosaic walls, its blood red carpets and yellow stone floor, was perfectly still.
I dropped my blankets and slipped off the large bed. Picking up the knife I’d found last night, I walked towards the only other room connected to this one, the washroom. Because the door was open I was careful looking in, but I found it as empty as the rest of the space.
So Cyric had never come back last night, or else he had and left before I’d woken. I stomped across the stone floor, my knife still in hand. I looked outside the balcony. The sun was bright and high in the sky, I had no doubt that I’d slept into the afternoon. The mingled sounds of distant shouts and clashing swords could have meant I was back in Yanartas, but the balcony looked out onto stone buildings and courtyards of red and yellow stone. In one direction there was a high building, and then the palace of Akadia.
I locked my jaw in anger, then began to pace the room. The ground outside was three stories down, and even if I could scale down, I would still be stuck in the city. I measured the knife in my hand, imagining where I might wait for Cyric to return. I circled the bath three times before I thought to see if the main door to his room was unbarred.
Just as I was about to op
en it, I heard a knock. I jerked backwards. It came again. I held the knife behind my back, then the door opened.
As expected, it wasn’t Cyric: I did not think that he would knock. It was a servant, carrying a tray of food. I carefully slid the knife in the sleeve of my dress. He showed surprise when he saw me, then bowed and brought the tray to the dining table: which still held food from the night before. He exchanged the trays, then exited through the door only to return carrying an armful of fabrics. They were obviously very large gowns. He brought them to the trunk near the bed, then set them inside one by one.
When he was done he turned around, holding a linen towel. He bowed and held it out to me. “Your master suggests that you bathe and change. Will you require handmaidens to assist you?”
“My master? Do you mean Cyric?”
“Yes, princess. The lieutenant.”
I snorted. “Where is he?”
“I am not certain, princess. At this time of day he would generally be training, but since he just returned from war, he could be a number of places.”
“Did he never come here last night?” I asked.
“Only this morning, though he did not enter his room.”
I thought unwillingly of the handmaiden in blue. Of course he’d said that he would go to her, I did not know that it meant he would stay with her all night.
“He’s instructed me to tell you that you are free to roam the palace district, so long as you return before dark. He warns you not to approach the palace.”
“I’m allowed to leave here?” I asked in surprise, ignoring the way the servant seemed to think I should care what Cyric warned.
“At your leisure, princess.”
I bit my lip. I hadn’t been called princess so many times in a row since I’d been back in Uldin Keep. It felt strange, I was becoming reminded of the way the Akadians worked, allowing you to think yourself free, feigning generosity. It was all a clever plan. A clever plan that allowed them to destroy countries and collect their people without revolts. Were they now trying to use it on me? Well, they would find I was more than they bargained for.
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