by Megan Derr
"Yes," von Adolwulf said. "We were headed for the Winter Palace. I don't understand the Screaming—wouldn't it have killed the Breaker as well?"
"No," Matthias said. "He can resist it because his untapped power is stronger than that which is used to Scream. He's too strong for it."
Beraht glowered. "Figures."
"Anyway," Sol pressed on. "I met Iah when he was taken prisoner by another Seven Star Brother—one who is named Tawn deVry, my brother-in-law." His face tightened for a moment before he forced it to relax. "We are not on friendly terms. He did not like that I took Iah from him, and by now it is obvious that he—and likely the other Brothers—have figured out what we did."
Von Adolwulf laughed. "So there's an angry Kaiser looking for me, and the most powerful force in Salhara is out for your necks."
"Your sense of humor is as warped as the rest of you," Beraht snapped. "At least your Kaiser is too much of a coward to come after you." He shifted in his seat, still feeling an ache at the small of his back.
"We'll need to take cleansers," Sol said, looking at him. "It will be impossible for Tawn to touch us if there is no arcen in our systems." He explained quickly what had occurred that morning.
"But we can't alarm people by stripping him of it completely," Matthias said, drumming his fingers in thought. "With the dropped levels, too many are already starting to notice something is amiss." He looked at Beraht apologetically. "Not that I want to keep you drugged…"
Beraht laughed. "Highness, I've been keeping myself drugged, at far worse levels than this, for years. A few days at such a low level are barely even noticeable."
"But remaining at even those paltry levels will possibly prove dangerous, if not fatal, should Tawn work up the strength to try it again," Sol said firmly.
Matthias nodded and stood. "Then you'll have to excuse me. It looks like our search for the counter stone must become a much higher priority." He began muttering to himself as he limped from the room. He was the only one not startled when von Adolwulf stood up and followed him out.
Esta watched them go then shook her head gently back forth, sending the soft curls of her hair bobbing. "It's far too early in the morning for all of this gloominess, even if there is good cause. Would anyone like some more tea? Ring for more pastries."
Obeying the silent command, they set to managing a less serious conversation.
*~*~*
"Why has your father changed his mind?" Dieter asked. "I thought he was the one who started the search for the Breaker?"
"He was, however, I think he is letting his fears get the best of him," Matthias said as he limped along the hallways, nodding to, but otherwise ignoring, everyone he passed. "It is not a happy thing to learn to live without magic." He sighed. "We don't use it here in the palace much, but the moment everyone steps beyond the palace boundaries that changes." Matthias laughed. "That's actually why so few come to the palace. Only in winter and only until the worst of the snow is gone. Not like Kria—you remain together the entire season, don't you?"
"Yes," Dieter said. "Many have debated the advisability of the tradition, but generally only after they get caught playing the favorite winter sport."
Matthias laughed. "How many did you have to kick out of your bedroom?"
"None," Dieter said. "Everyone was too scared either of me or the Kaiser."
"Well don't think you'll be so fortunate here. Once you're established as my general, there'll be more than a few who will be plenty happy to set aside old grudges." Matthias grinned. "Though I don't think you'll have to worry about chamber maids overstepping their bounds." Dieter just shook his head.
"Here we are," Matthias said, nodding to the guards as they opened the wide set of double doors for him. Dieter ignored the looks they gave him—a mix of curiosity, fear and not-quite hate. Well, that was progress. Though it would all backslide the first time he sent them to bed with too many bruises to count.
The King's Chambers were opulent and far more ornate than anything else he'd seen in the palace. They were purple and blue and gold and still somewhat dark as his windows faced the west. It was also warm; quite a feat given how open and large the room was. There were two fireplaces: one on the west wall, one on the east. Both were lit and currently being tended by servants.
Near the eastern fireplace, the king sat on a chair while more servants fluttered around him. Some helped him dress, arranging his hair and the various accoutrements of office, while others flitted to and fro with things for him to read or sign, and the last man adjusted and reordered the king's schedule.
"Good morning, Father."
Everyone stopped as they realized Prince Matthias was in the room—and more than a few muttered a quiet exclamation when they saw that Dieter was with him. Matthias motioned them from the room.
"What do you want, Matthias?"
"We're running out of time. I need the counter stone."
The king turned around. His eyes were palest blue, his hair short and white hair, carrying only a hint of the silvery shine it had once had. Once he had probably been strong, but age had sapped it away, leaving only a skeletal thinness. "No. I've told you. We're making a mistake."
"No, we're not!" Matthias snapped. "Is that what you want to tell your uncle? Your brother? Your son? When you meet them in the afterlife? That killing them to give us magic was the right thing to do? Benji had a lover! He had dreams—a life. Yet he gave it all up because you promised he would be the last, that we would never have to make that sacrifice again. Now you stand there and tell me letting him die was the right thing to do?"
"You're going to be king someday, Matthias." His father spoke coolly, as if he had either not heard Matthias' words or simply did not care. "I do not need to tell you that making hard decisions is part of being a leader. You're as foolishly idealistic as I was at your age. But with age comes wisdom—and wisdom tells me it is foolish to take away our greatest strength."
Matthias clenched his hands into tight fists. "We can build a new strength; that is why we have General von Adolwulf."
"Yes. I have heard a great deal about the Bloody Wolf you have invited in." The king looked him slowly up and down. "He is certainly a beast." Dieter laughed.
"He's agreed to teach us to fight in the Krian style."
"Disgraceful!" The king snapped.
"Certainly you are!" Matthias snapped back. "What happened to you? You've become nothing but a cowardly ghost, some sad imitation of my father! I don't like you, not one bit."
The king said nothing for several minutes, merely glared balefully at Matthias. When he at last spoke, he sounded weary. "I wish I could make you understand, Matthias. Yes, I once thought getting rid of everything was the right way to go, but I was young and righteous and stupid. To get rid of it would cripple us. Looking back, don't you wish you had not broken that leg? It's weakened you. Do you enjoy it?"
"I've learned to live with it," Matthias said, though his face had paled slightly. "Climbing that cliff was a mistake—one I wish I'd never made, and it is exactly like the decision to increase the power of our magic: a mistake that shouldn't have been made."
"Except," his father replied coldly, "we haven't fallen off the cliff—we're holding on just fine."
Dieter startled them both when he spoke. "The higher you climb, the greater the cost when you finally fall. What happens when you reach the top?"
"Nothing," the king said. "From the top we'll be the strongest." He recoiled at Dieter's chilling laugh.
"The strongest?" Dieter looked at him in contempt. "Hardly. Merely unable to go higher, though you'll no doubt try to do so anyway. You would not be the first. A smart man is the one who falls and realizes that to try again would be stupid."
Matthias snorted. "A smart man wouldn't have tried in the first place."
"Some things are only learned the hard way," Dieter said, almost offhandedly. "This is a point that could be endlessly debated. What will it take to obtain the stone?"
The king
looked at him in contempt. "I will not give it to you. Its location will go with me to the grave. I am doing this for my people; when you're older, Matthias, you will understand."
"I know for a fact that Essie and I would never consign a child of ours to Benji's fate. Essie cried for days father. She never cries. Nor has she ever forgiven us—or herself—for doing that to him. Nor will she, not until we make sure it never happens again. Do you think it makes me happy to do this to my people? We'll be crippled for years until we raise a generation that doesn't know what it's missing."
"In the meantime you will get our country killed."
Matthias bit back a curse. "Why, father? Why are you letting me down when I need you most?"
"I am not the one offending the ministers every single hour of the day. Nor do I spend the rest of my time harassing a recalcitrant woman into being my bride."
Matthias froze. "So now you're claiming I don't work? Father—this isn't like you. More than anyone you should know how hard I work. My time is spent making up for the duties you neglect! It's easy to forget sometimes that you still run the country!" He turned away. "Mother would be ashamed to hear that you've given up."
"You have no idea what your mother would think."
Ignoring him, Matthias motioned to Dieter and led the way from the room. Out in the hallway, Matthias released a long sigh. He slid Dieter a glance. "Do you see what I have to put up with?"
"He is old and scared. Lecturing him will gain you nothing."
"I know," Matthias said. "Thank you for supporting me, by the way." Dieter shook his head, brushing the words aside. "So what do we do now, I wonder." Matthias mused allowed.
"It's not in the palace," a voice said from behind them. Matthias rolled his eyes as he turned around. Kalan grinned back then sobered. "I've been watching him. As agitated as your father is… He's the type to check on something like that; if it were nearby, he'd want to make sure it was safe, so I don't think it's on the premises. Or if it is, the damnable thing isn't where even he can easily access it."
"Where does he go during the day?" Dieter asked. Matthias led them away from the King's Chambers and back toward the main halls of the palace.
Kalan fell into step on Matthias' other side, and together, they took up most of the hallway as they walked. Enthralled in their conversation, they barely noticed as others were forced to step out of their way, nor the mixed expressions on their faces as they watched the prince walk with the Duke of Ferra and the Wolf of Kria at his sides. "Mostly he stays in his room. He's old enough now that the cold is sheer torture. His room is stifling; I can't stand it." He shuddered. "Give me the cold of winter any day. I'm telling you, I'm going to die in the snow and not in front of some stuffy fireplace."
Matthias laughed. "Yes, Kalan."
"He also goes to visit the late queen. Occasionally to meetings with the ministers—which I wish he'd stop doing because every time we've got them squirming your father undoes all our work. Goddess, I cannot wait until we have some real measure of control!" He grimaced.
Dieter frowned in thought. "He does not sound the type to leave another to the task of hiding such a thing. So he hid it himself. Unless he leaves the palace, it is probably here."
"A good point," Kalan conceded. "He never leaves the palace, and there is no way he would trust a messenger with something like the counter stone." He looked at Dieter. "You are not bad at this game."
"On the contrary, I have no patience for games." Dieter's hand briefly touched his sword. "It is not a general's job to solve such a riddle. My job is to know who is best suited to solving it."
Matthias' brows went up. "You sound like you've someone in mind."
"The cat," Dieter said. He looked at Kalan. "You have the same crafty air about you, but it's not as developed in you. If you want to find this counter stone, I highly recommend consulting with Sol."
Kalan broke into a grin. "Of course. I should have though to ask for Spiegel's help myself. I will go and find him now. Thank you, Lord General, for the suggestion." As they reached a split in the hallway, he veered left while Matthias and Dieter continued straight.
"Speaking of recommendations," Matthias said after a moment, "your moment is fast approaching. I would imagine we are woefully unprepared for whatever you have in mind."
Dieter nodded. "You lack weapons, I doubt you have the appropriate sword smiths, and your country has no foundation in such combat at all."
"No," Matthias said. "We have always used magic. Is there any hope of our surviving without it? Sometimes I wonder…" He started to rub away the ache in his head, but stopped.
"I am going to be universally hated," Dieter said, "but they will learn. It would be easier if they had some sort of history… Or if I had more help." He shrugged. "However, it will largely depend on your people. They will only learn if they want."
"Hmm…" Matthias fell silent as he thought. "I will see what can be done to help you. It will not be much. I am all too aware how unfit for Krian-style combat we are. But a leg does not heal easily. Compose a list of what you need, or write me a report. Bring it directly to me when you're finished."
Dieter nodded. Matthias clapped him on the shoulder, then turned toward the Hall of Ministers. "I'll see you at lunch, Lord General."
"Yes, Prince." Dieter turned back down the hallway to return to his room, mentally outlining his report.
Chapter Twenty
Iah hummed along as he listened to his sister and poor Beraht dance. It did not take eyesight to realize how discomfited Beraht was, and it probably did not help that Essie was his self-appointed dance teacher. He wished he could see, though he knew exactly how it would look. The ballroom was a beautiful room. It was long and rectangular, the floor was made of a light wood and polished to a high shine. Ten glass chandeliers ran the length of the room, and windows ran along the top edge. This time of day, the light streaming through the windows would hit the chandeliers and dust the walls and floor with flecks of rainbow-colored light. Esta loved to dance in the empty ballroom even more than she liked dancing at a crowded party.
He sat on the raised platform where the king and queen would normally sit. Far on the opposite end was a place for the musicians. For the day's lesson, Esta had kidnapped only one pianist. Iah didn't doubt that by the end of the week she would have commandeered the whole troupe. Teaching Beraht to dance had, it seemed, become her latest mission.
It made him wonder if Matti had noticed Esta's infatuation with the Breaker. Probably. The better question was: when would Essie realize it was pointless?
The sound of someone tripping and the music stopping made Iah grin. "Come, Beraht. This is the easiest dance in the lot. You're going to be in trouble something fierce at the Winter's End Ball if you can't master at least the simple dances."
Beraht muttered something indistinguishable. "I don't see why I'm going to this stupid ball, or any ball at all. Soldiers don't do balls."
"I tried that line for years," Iah said. "No one ever listened to me. In fact, Esta usually made me dance more for daring to say such a thing."
Esta sniffed. "By the Goddess, why are men such babies about dancing? Children are easier to deal with, I swear it."
Iah laughed hard enough he nearly out of his chair. "I'll remind you of that when you're tracking down a tiny Matthias and find him up a tree."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Esta snapped. "Now—" Iah heard her snap her fingers at the pianist and resume her instruction as she forced Beraht to dance.
Someone sat down next to him, and Iah reached out a hand with a smile. "Sol."
"Iah," Sol leaned in to kiss his cheek, and Iah turned his head to steal a proper kiss. "Where have you been? Trying to find trouble to get into?"
Sol laughed. "On the contrary, I was merely listening to a discussion on the weather."
"Looking grim?"
"They didn't seem to think so."
Iah smiled. "Who was it?"
"I'm not certain. A
few noblewomen."
"Well, I guess we'll see. There are many saying that we're in for one more nasty spell before winter finally begins to loosen its hold." Iah held Sol's hand in a light grip. "Personally, I hope the snow does not melt for a long time."
Sol squeezed his hand. "There's no reason anyone has to go back to war, Iah. I doubt the Illussor will be missed. Kria and Salhara have always been more than happy to kill just each other."
"Something tells me you can't simply declare you're finished fighting," Iah said. "Just because we drop out of the problems surrounding the Regenbogen doesn't mean the trouble with pirates will stop. That will get worse. Much worse."
The music stopped, interrupting Sol's reply, and Iah grinned as he heard Beraht stomp over and drop down beside him on the dais. "Giving up already, Beraht? Come now, you're far more stubborn than that." He laughed. "You'll get into fights with the Wolf, but a simple dance defeats you?"
"Fighting that bastard is far easier than learning all these mincing, turning steps. How is this fun?"
Esta stamped her foot, and Iah bet her hands had gone to her hips. "Quitter! It's no wonder Salhara never seems to win any battles!"
"Stars refuse you!" Beraht protested. "There's a world of difference between fighting for your life and flitting about trying not to trod on someone's stupid slippers. We've won plenty of battles!"
"Calm down," Esta said with a laugh. "I was only teasing. You're plenty coordinated when you're not thinking about it. Just pretend you're fighting." She laughed again. "Honestly, I don't understand men and dancing. My father used to love to dance. He always said the coordination and grace of movement he learned from dancing helped him on the battlefield."
Iah and Beraht laughed. Beside him, he could tell Sol had turned thoughtful. "There is something to what you say, Esta, though I still think soldiers are better served practicing movement and coordination in circumstances a bit more strenuous than the ballroom."
"You don't think this is strenuous?" Beraht asked irritably. "That's just because you're good at it. You dance with her, and I'll keep Iah company. I think we'll all be happier that way."
