“It was supposed to be a mission—a task—not a sacrifice, Ashel. Do you think I would give up a wizard and her power? My agreement with the Kragnashians was that she would return once she’d achieved her objective, but the lineage with whom I made this agreement is not the one that took her. I can no longer say whether she’ll find a way home.” He scowled. “This debacle is entirely your parents’ fault—not just your mother but Sashal too. They knew who she was, and they did nothing to prepare her.”
“They didn’t want her taken by Kragnashians in the first place.”
“Are you sure of that? It was Elekia who sent her to Kragnash.”
He choked on his response. He’d blamed his mother for Vic’s power and illness, but everything that had happened to her was rooted in Ashel’s own mad decision to try to avenge Sashal’s death. “How do we know which lineage did or didn’t take her? Everyone believes the Kragnashians never lie or renege on a deal, but what if they have? And if there are multiple factions at work here, how do we know one from another?”
“Good questions.” Lornk rose and retrieved an old tome from the stacks. While he flipped the dusty pages, Earnk took the globe out of the porcelain object, replacing it with coiled copper. He unwound a long length of the metal, stretching it across the table. Lornk lay the book flat, tapped a page showing drawings of Kragnashian tattoos. With half an eye on Earnk’s doings, Ashel scrutinized the pictures.
“The markings on their mandibles identify each Kragnashian’s clan and caste,” Lornk said. “The trouble is, the differences can be subtle, and it takes expertise to discern them.”
“Can you tell the difference?”
“Yes, but I did not see the Kragnashian that took Victoria.”
“So, you cannot know your Kragnashian partners weren’t the ones who betrayed you.”
He scowled. “What we do know is that she had better accomplish her objective, or none of what we do here and now will matter.”
“And what, exactly, is her objective? Killing Meylnara?”
“That, and saving the forest of Direiellene.”
“But the forest was destroyed.”
“My allies want it saved. If she manages to undo the destruction of Direiellene, this is what we will gain.” Lornk placed globes along the wire; each shone with white light. Ashel whistled softly—the light was bright and steady, revealing every spine of every book in the surrounding stacks. The globes bore little resemblance to the Commissar’s yellow flickering bulbs.
“The entire city of Re was wired for electricity five years ago,” Lornk said.
Scorn squashed Ashel’s awe. “There would have been rumors—we would have known about it from my father’s spies.”
“We? Was Sashal really so free with secrets, Ashel? Perhaps he simply declined to share his knowledge with you or your flibbertigibbet sister.”
“Father, please,” Earnk said. “Princess Bethniel is an astute and clever politician. I owe her my Seat.”
“You owe it to me.”
Earnk’s jaw bunched. “To both of you. Ashel, the grid is underground and hasn’t been extended to the houses yet. We dug up the streets, improved the sewers, and at the same time installed the wires. The Works Guild has kept it quiet because they don’t want people ripping out the copper to sell it. So, it will remain secret until we install the globes.”
“The river Re will provide the energy,” Lornk said. He pointed to the porcelain object. “The Ancients called that a power cell. There are mills set up at eight different stations along the river, but we need the cells from the Kragnashians to store the energy we pull from the flow.”
“You told the Buzzards this is all about keeping humanity free, and yet you sold my wife for a few lights!”
Lornk rolled his eyes. “We do not have the cells, Ashel! I did not give her to the Kragnashians. How many times must I explain this?”
“If she changes history, who knows if any of us will even exist to worry about your wires and lightbulbs,” Ashel spat.
“Stop fretting over what you cannot control, and start doing what you can, brother,” Earnk said. “We can do nothing about the past—all we can do is try to improve the present, and right now we need you to assert your claim on the Korng holdings. This morning you and I will go to Parnden and offer him a mine for Elsa and Wineyll. Afterward, you will use your skills and charisma to build support among the Citizenry until the miners arrive.”
“Miners?”
“From the Elgrion,” Lornk said. “We must wait for them to filter overland into the city, where they’ll harbor in the Roost and the docks. It may take several months to build a force large enough to mount a successful assault, since we will not have help from Parnden’s forces. The previous fiasco was instructive in who cannot be bribed, and we will be more judicious with our mullas and our plans. We must also sway the Citizenry; letting them remain neutral is no longer viable. This is our contingency plan. We cannot allow it to fail.”
* * *
A cool breeze gusted lazily off the sparkling bay, spinning drifting clouds into ribbons as a butler ushered Ashel and Earnk up the final steps to a rooftop terrace. The Commissar took Ashel’s hand first. “Highness! Oh, my, why do you retain that ragged thing covering half your face? My father was a barber, you know, and I was trained in the craft. I could remove it for you and reveal the perfect mien beneath.” Before Ashel could reply, the Commissar turned to Earnk. “Your beard, on the other hand, is very sharp, my lord. It strengthens the chin, and now I can hardly tell the new Lord of Relm from the old. Now come, let’s break our fast.”
Earnk’s expression was mild as they took their seats, but the blood had drained from his cheeks and he hid clenched fists under the table. While servants brought fish and fruit, cheese, breads, tea, and sweet wine, Ashel wondered what Parnden had done that Earnk had endorsed his father’s coup as an act of vengeance.
The servants left, and Parnden waved at the Caleisbahn frigates anchored in the bay. “Two more arrived since yesterday, and my dungeon is already brimming with seamen caught with the mob. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the First was trying to interfere with my rule. What do you think, Highness?”
“Aren’t those cargo boats ferrying goods between the frigates and the docks?” Ashel sipped his wine. “It looks to me like the alliance between Betheljin and the Archipelago is as strong as ever.”
“Appearances can be deceiving, as a man with two fathers well knows.” He pointed his knife at Ashel. “Will you forsake the ruler’s kinship for the outlaw’s?”
“My cousin despises my father, Commissar,” Earnk interjected.
“Ho, I believe it! Yet despite and loyalty can twine together—just ask my Major Demsch. She despises me, yet she is utterly loyal. After all, it was she who betrayed Lornk’s coup.” Parnden’s larynx bobbed as he eyed them suspiciously, his gaze resting on Ashel. “What about your wife? A warrior and a wizard would be a valuable mate for a Citizen of Traine. Too valuable, I think, when the rabble that attacked my palace chanted her name.”
“She could be a frightful enemy, Commissar, or an indispensable ally. You should know Victoria hates Lornk Korng.”
“And, she is lost, isn’t she? If she should be found, what guarantee can you give that she would not seek to harm me?”
“She’s never met you, Commissar, so she has no reason to harm you.”
Parnden’s grin sharpened. “As you say, Highness—or shall it be Citizen? Do you or do you not declare yourself a Korng?”
He swallowed some wine to clear the gall from his throat. “I would be pleased to take the surname and the properties, if you approve the change in registry, of course.”
“But do you claim kinship with Lornk Korng? I can hardly bestow the Citizenry without a blood tie.”
Ashel kept his face still. “Lornk is my marriage uncle; we share kinship through Earnk’s mother, my aunt.”
Parnden snorted dismissively. “R
ichelle and Elekia were sisters by law, not by blood.”
Earnk said, “Since Elsa was arrested, the Korng holdings revert back to me, and I choose to adopt Ashel into my family, to honor my mother, who was adopted by his mother’s family. Property may be passed through adoption and designation, Commissar. May I remind you how you came to your own Citizenry?”
“Both of you,” Parnden sneered, “came to your positions by birth. I became Commissar through the craft of politics. Don’t insult me. Lornk Korng sent you here to keep me from confiscating all his holdings.”
“We are here,” Ashel said, his indignation genuine, “to negotiate for my place in the world. To ask for the release of Elsa Korng, who is merely a housekeeper and incapable of intrigue, and to beg you to rescind the deportation order for Wineyll of Narath, who is only an innocent young girl. I despise Lornk Korng.” For emphasis he held up his right hand and let his voice shake. “I despise him, and I will not pledge allegiance to a tyrant.”
“You’ve chosen your words very carefully,” Parnden rejoined. “Yet my old friend always had a long and subtle reach, and a particular talent for turning enemies into allies. What assurance—beyond your word—can you give me that he is not behind this ploy?”
Ashel took a breath and squared his shoulders. “You can search the palazzo.”
“No,” Earnk interjected. “I’m sorry, Commissar, but my cousin is unaware of Betheljin law. A Citizen’s palazzo is sovereign territory.”
“I’m very much aware of it,” Ashel said. “You grant me the Citizenry, and I grant you permission to enter my home and search it.”
Parnden snorted. “Where I will find no evidence of your father’s presence, I’m sure.” A sly smile twisted his lips. “Will you permit me access to the Device?”
“Yes.”
“To go where?” Earnk asked, shooting a glare at Ashel. He had to admit, his cousin was a convincing actor. The conversation was going exactly where Lornk predicted.
Parnden said, “Oh, a few places, actually. I believe there is a Device in the Elgrion, near several of the Korng mines. I would like Major Demsch to secure that location and search for Lornk in the mountains. I would also like to inspect the palace at Olmlablaire, to ensure he is not there. I remind you, my lord, that there is still an extradition treaty between our nations. Finally, I would like to visit Latha. I never properly congratulated Elekia on her election to Ruler.”
“A visit to Latha will take some time to arrange,” Ashel said, “and only my cousin can grant you access to Olmlablaire. But as for the Elgrion—the Device is at your disposal.”
“Now, a final question.” Parnden looked at Earnk. “What are you mining in the Plenetor?”
“We thought you might ask.” Earnk pulled out his copper coil. “Copper. We’ve found it.”
Parnden whistled, his eyes glittering. “After three thousand years—a miracle.”
“It seems the Plenetor is loaded with opportunity,” Ashel said.
“So it is . . . Citizen.” Parnden clasped Ashel’s hand, his grip as flaccid and honest as their deal.
The Legacy
Skin tingling, Ashel stepped away from the stone platform and raised a hand to shade his eyes. Above, a glacier clogged an alpine pass. The sun glared off the ice, and a frigid breeze whistled through the trees, dusting his clothes with conifer pollen.
Major Demsch and a pair of guards hazed into view. One shivered and cringed, feet dancing as she rubbed her skin.
“Shake it off, soldier.” Demsch eyed the woods suspiciously. “If your father’s rebels attack here, or anywhere, you’re dead.”
“Lornk Korng is not my father.”
Lips twitching, her eyes scraped over him. “You have the look of him.”
More guards came through the Device in pairs. The major ordered to them to take defensive positions round the platform before tossing a blue stone into the shallow well surrounding the knob. The stone disappeared, and Parnden took its place a moment later.
He sucked a long, loud breath through his nose, let it out of his mouth with a longer, louder sigh. “Mountain air is so refreshing. When we’ve caught your father, I think I’ll give him back to your mother. Hasn’t she sentenced him to the Shrine?”
“He escaped before his trial.”
He snickered. “Yet she tried you in absentia. Why do people favorably compare your nation’s justice to ours? I think a quick, clean hanging more merciful than starvation and exposure, don’t you?”
“I no longer claim Latha as my nation, Commissar.”
Parnden patted Ashel’s cheek. “I do not like this beard, Citizen.”
A shudder rippled up his spine; he tensed his shoulders to hold himself still. “Are you satisfied Lornk is not in the palazzo or hiding here?”
Parnden nodded. “I will be, so long as Major Demsch has free access through your home to hold this position and search the environs.”
He inclined his head. “I’m at your service.”
* * *
Geram’s heel thumped the floorboards in time with his pulse. It irked him that he marked the rhythm of heel and heart, but bonding with Ashel had infected him with all sorts of abilities and inclinations he’d never possessed before. Like his devotion to Elekia. A warped perversion of a son’s longing it may be, but his yearning had only worsened since he’d stopped visiting her bed. Elesendar, he missed her.
“Lieutenant! This is a pleasant surprise,” Fensin said, coming into his office.
Geram rose. “Your clerk told me I could wait here.”
“Of course. I’ll have tea sent in.”
When they were settled with warm cups behind a closed door, Geram said, “Elekia met secretly with the Center.”
“Well done! You must have gained her full confidence if she’d tell you about such a meeting.”
“I was there.”
“Were you now? Well done, indeed. What did they discuss?”
“She asked about her daughters, and the Center told her they had traveled to the past.”
“So Victoria of Ourtown is indeed a wizard, and the Kragnashian’s One?”
“Yes.”
“This is something you’ve known all along, yet never mentioned. I’m disappointed, lieutenant.”
Geram’s fingers curled toward fists, but he spread them flat on his thighs. “Vic is a friend, Senator.”
“Did the Center say anything else?”
“It promised it would bring them home if Elekia pledged Latha’s allegiance to Kragnash.”
“Elesendar! How did she respond?”
“She said she would consider it. She claimed it was a delaying tactic, but Senator, I think she might agree.” As he lied to Fensin, he Listened intently. The Senator’s surprise seemed genuine. “Her husband died a year ago. Her son has abandoned her for her worst enemy. Her daughters are missing. She is distraught.”
“Do you really think the Ruler would betray Latha’s sovereignty?”
“I don’t know, sir. She collapsed when the meeting ended, and I know she is grief-stricken. I thought if you and the Prime Minister spoke to her together, reminded her of her duty—”
“Oh, of course. We cannot betray the nation!”
“I would say she never would, but she . . . she is distraught.” Shrine, how he hated painting Elekia as a besotted, emotional fool.
“Have you had any success obtaining Breon’s proof?”
“No, sir. She pretends she doesn’t have any magical abilities.”
“She let you witness a meeting with the Center but does not show you her powers?”
“She wants to appear ordinary in this regard,” he said truthfully. Elekia had not used wizardry for months.
Fensin’s teacup clattered, and the old man’s feet shuffled between the desk and sitting area. He kept his thoughts well baffled, but Geram Heard him wondering how he could use this information to remove Elekia from the throne. “I will speak to Vel
baor, but we must approach the queen delicately. I don’t want to give you away.”
“I could suggest she consult with the Prime Minister about the Center.”
“Yes. Do that. Is there anything else?”
“I’ve heard from Ashel.”
“You remain close with the prince?”
“I do. Lornk Korng attempted a coup against the Commissar and failed. Afterward, Parnden granted Ashel the Korng surname and Citizenry, and Ashel is cooperating in the hunt for his father.”
“So we’re all calling him that now, are we?”
“Elekia insists it isn’t true.”
“She would, but she also knows that cat has slipped out of the bag and captains the ship sailing away from port. She’ll never repair her reputation.”
“She is still Ruler.”
“For now. This meeting with the Kragnashians could seal her fate, but we must have more proof than the word of her blind lover—no insult meant, lieutenant.”
“None taken, Senator. Parnden wants to meet with Elekia and asked Ashel to facilitate. Obviously, that’s difficult given the rift between them.”
“Does she know you communicate with him?”
“Yes.”
Smug satisfaction ebbed through Fensin, so clear and loud Geram wondered if he broadcast it. “Then you should tell her about Parnden’s request. Latha will need all the allies we can get in the days ahead.”
Geram left the Senate filled with the dire certainty that Fensin would twist the meeting with Parnden into Elekia’s downfall.
* * *
Shouts and clattering hooves signaled the arrival of the prison wagon. From a library window, Ashel watched Elsa emerge. Earnk helped her climb down, and the pair went inside, arm in arm. Ashel returned to the library table and his study of Kragnashian markings, making his own drawings of the pictures. He’d never been a particularly good draftsman, and renderings with his left hand were crude, but they still helped to fix the intricate patterns in his mind.
“May I have a word, Citizen?” The physician Moralen stood on the threshold of the library.
Ashel beckoned him in. “How is Elsa?”
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