by Raye Wagner
“Yeah?” Next time I told a mate they could jump in my head, I should think about what I wanted to say beforehand.
The Drae’s voice trembled. “Thank you for this gift. It is priceless, and I will treasure our connection.”
My chest rose as some kind of warm, joyful sickness spread through me. “You’re welcome,” I whispered. I made tracks for the bathroom. I had a bath to take and an emerald to pry out of the wall, and both seemed something I should attend to immediately. I paused, though, halfway there. “Tyrrik, did you plan what you were going to say beforehand?”
“No, Khosana.” He’d turned on his side to watch me leave.
“Huh,” I mused. I guess some people just had a gift with words.
* * *
“How big is this place?” I whispered to Dyter. The old man knew a lot more about the realm than I did because of his talks with King Cal. Probably a good idea to learn as much as I could.
Dyter tilted his head toward me so our conversation wouldn’t be overheard by the gold guards trailing behind us. Thankfully, Tyrrik had been asleep when we snuck out, so a debate on his health wasn’t necessary.
“King Caltevyn told me the Gemond kingdom extends throughout this entire mountain range,” Dyter answered.
My eyes rounded. I’d seen how huge this range was from the air.
“They mine throughout the Gemond mountains, however,” he continued. “Not all of the area is inhabitable. This valley is where most of the population lives.”
I heard what he wasn’t saying, too. Out there wasn’t like in here. Well, we’d see about that.
The guards stopped in front of a set of gold-plated doors and drew them back, gesturing us through. Considering the grandeur of the palace, I’d expected to be led to a ballroom, something similar to Irdelron’s throne room with long tables overflowing with food. The room we entered was plain in comparison to our chambers. The walls were plain without the adornment of gems we’d seen everywhere else. A heavy stone table sat in the middle of the room with gilded, high-backed chairs set around it. A diamond chandelier hung above, but only a few of the candles were lit, casting the room in shadows. In the middle of the table was a small arrangement of food. Nothing like Irdelron’s groaning food benches.
At the head of the table sat an emaciated man, draped in finery. As we neared, I noticed the robes he wore were threadbare and ill-fitting. If those were his robes, they’d been made for him a long time ago.
Dyter took the lead, and I shuffled behind, trying to reconcile the thin king with the fat, crass man I’d created in my head.
“Greetings, King Zakai,” Dyter said. “Thank you for granting us an audience.”
The king used the table to stand and paused for a long moment before moving forward to meet Dyter. Zakai extended his hand. “I am pleased to have you here,” he said. “I’m eager to hear of Verald’s new king and to discuss how we may improve the bonds between our kingdoms.”
Straightforward. Polite. Open mannered. I narrowed my eyes, clinging to my expectations of his character. He let his people eat each other, I reminded myself.
He turned to me and, with a slight bow, said, “You must be Ryn the Most Powerful Drae.”
“I am,” I answered, dipping my head at him, ignoring Dyter’s eye roll. I wasn’t curtseying to rulers anymore. The sheer fact I’d entered this place was a miracle and one I hadn’t even thought about in my desperation to find shelter before the emperor found us.
“It is an honor to meet you, Ryn, one of the last free Drae. Please,” the king said, pointing at the chairs behind him. “Take a seat so we may talk further. You must be hungry.”
I swept my gaze down his frail frame. Dyter said the king was in his forties, but he looked much older, like the starving people in the Penny Wheel of Verald. There was no way we were as hungry as he was. Unease crawled through me at the disparity of my expectations and the reality before me.
I sat on the king’s left, Dyter on his right, and servers rested plates before us and removed the gilded domes covering the platters. The aromas of roasted meat and rosemary, rich gravy, potatoes with thyme, and baked apples with cinnamon assailed me, and all thought fled my mind but one.
“What kind of meat is that?” I asked. There was no way I was going to eat another person, no matter how good it smelled.
The king glanced at one of the servers who answered, “It’s roasted pheasant.”
The bird was in an arrangement of herb-roasted vegetables. My mouth watered in anticipation as Dyter and I loaded up our plates.
I cut into a potato, popped it in my mouth, and vowed I would never begrudge a potato again. As I chewed, I glanced at the king and found him watching me. His eyes were a rich blue . . . in fact, his eyes were the color of my scales, lapis lazuli.
More confusion twisted my insides, and my gaze fell to his empty plate.
“You’re not eating?” I asked.
He gave a small smile and a casual wave of his hand. “I’m not hungry just at the moment.”
Uh-huh, and I was the queen of walking potatoes. I shrugged, choosing to take him at face value for now, and placed some of the greasy bird meat in my mouth. I withheld a moan. Just.
“I hear Verald is prospering as never before under Caltevyn’s rule,” the king said. “It’s been what? Just two weeks since his ascension to the throne, yes?”
I heard a rumbling sound and looked to the source . . . the Gemond king’s stomach.
Dyter swallowed a huge mouthful of meat and gravy and answered, “You’ve heard right.” He glanced at me. “King Irdelron kept a store of Phaetyn blood to preserve his immortality. With the Phaetyn’s permission, this is now being put to use on the land.”
The king leaned forward. “The lands are healing?”
“They are.” Dyter nodded. “And they will continue to heal and provide a more bountiful harvest with each year. The Veraldian people will grow in strength.”
“I am happy for your people,” the king said, and I paused mid-chew, hearing the complete honesty of his words.
He sighed, resting his head in his hand. “If I could do the same for my people, I would.”
Yeah, right. I opened my mouth, but Dyter intercepted me. No doubt on purpose.
Dyter leaned down and picked up a small case, placing it on the table. I’d seen Caltevyn give it to him before we left Verald. He’d guarded the case during our trip as zealously as I guarded my meager collection. He pushed the case toward the Gemond king. “King Caltevyn sends his regards and this gift.”
The king glanced at the case. “With what intention?”
“No strings, King Zakai,” Dyter said, resting his cutlery on the table.
I cut a baby carrot in half, but for some reason, I wasn’t feeling hungry anymore.
“King Caltevyn wanted you to have this gift. He asked me to press upon you that this is yours, no matter what your decisions are regarding other matters.”
“The other matters being what?” the king asked drily, his mouth twisting into a sardonic smile. Zakai wasn’t a fool, regardless of his frailty.
Dyter wiped at his chin. “Joining our alliance against Emperor Draedyn.”
One of the servers gasped, and the king cut the woman a severe look. The servers fell silent.
“Indeed,” the king said, his gaze flitting between us, spending a long time on me before he leaned forward and opened the case.
The Gemond king’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Several moments passed before he lifted his gaze to Dyter and asked, “This isn’t—is this—”
“Two vials of Phaetyn blood,” Dyter finished for him. “Enough to heal your lands now and for a long time to come.”
The king didn’t speak, staring at the vials. Tears gathered in his rich blue eyes, dripping to the stone table, staining the dark gray slate black with moisture.
33
A lump of emotion formed at the back of my throat. King Zakai was nothing like I’d anticipated, and the contrad
iction of depravity I’d seen in the mountains to the emotion of the ruler of Gemond made no sense.
“Thank you,” he whispered, lifting his head. “You cannot know what this means to us, what it will mean to our people.”
Dyter dipped his head. “Actually, I do. Most of Verald was on the brink of starving for the last twenty years. I’ve starved more often than I’d like in my lifetime.”
The king swallowed hard, blinking several times. “Yes, of course. Everyone in this realm is hungry.”
“Not Verald,” I said. “And with this, not your people.” Dyter shot me a look I couldn’t fail to interpret as I told you so. I was prepared to grudgingly admit he’d been partially right about the Gemond king. The guy was crying over Phaetyn blood, so whatever monster he was, he wasn’t completely oblivious or calloused to the struggles of his people.
He closed the lid as though the case held his heart, and his expression became reflective. He leaned back in his chair. “You have two Drae.”
Well, that made me feel like a possession.
“We do,” Dyter said with an amused glance at me.
“I’m actually a bit Phaetyn,” I said, resuming eating.
The king started, and I enjoyed his shocked reaction in silence.
“You’re a land healer?” he asked. “How?”
I shrugged and swallowed. “Emperor’s experiments. Anyway, yes our side has two Drae, and Tyrrik is normally really strong. And he can breathe fire.”
“We also have thirty-seven Druman who are sworn to King Caltevyn and the people of Verald. Recently, we passed through the Zivost Forest, and the new leaders have assured us of aid when the time comes to fight.”
That was stretching the truth, but more important was the way the king’s face had dimmed at the mention of the Zivost Forest.
“New rulers, you say?” he asked.
I nodded. “Things were hectic when we left, but Princess Kamini is expected to rule.” I decided to take a risk by adding, “She formed a rebellion against Queen Alani and King Kaelan.”
“Good,” the king spat, his face turning fierce. They were the first bitter words to leave his mouth since our arrival.
“You’ve had dealings with Alani?”
“Me, my father, and even my grandfather. We’ve begged them for aid, and occasionally we’ll see evidence of their work in the mountains, but they refused to come to Gemond. Did they let you in because you’re Phaetyn? That’s why they agreed to an alliance?”
I frowned as his stomach rumbled again. Why wasn’t he eating? “Initially, yes. I’d hoped to learn more about my Phaetyn side, but we caught them in the middle of a civil war. I squashed Queen Alani and killed the King.”
The king’s eyes rounded. “They’re dead?”
The word kill had left a sour taste in my mouth, so I just nodded again.
“Good,” the king blurted, pounding his bony fist on top of the stone table. “They were cruel and selfish. This Princess Kamini . . . She will do better?”
Dyter sighed. “The Phaetyn are in a weakened position. Their barrier against the emperor depended on ancestral powers, and the barrier was broken at Queen Alani’s death. Kamini will not be able to put it up again.”
“They are vulnerable?” the king asked, aghast.
Kudos to the guy, he didn’t even seem like he wanted to go corral the Phaetyn to keep his people alive.
“They are for now, but —” Dyter started.
“But the Phaetyn will find a way as they have in the past.” I cut Dyter off with a warning look. This king wasn’t what I’d expected, but I wasn’t willing to impart any more information to him, especially not about Kamini’s sister, at least not until I knew him better. The Phaetyn girl would be the Phaetyn’s last hope.
The king glanced between Dyter and me as his stomach rumbled again.
“Why aren’t you eating?” I asked with a huff, throwing manners to the wind. “If you don’t hurry, Dyter and I will finish the lot.”
The king smiled. “I’ll eat whatever is left.”
I watched him, listening to his stomach gurgle yet again. “But you’re hungry. I can hear it.”
“Yes,” he admitted, spreading his fingers on the table edge.
“Then eat,” I exploded.
Dyter frowned at me. “Ryn.”
“No, no,” Zakai said. “I’m not offended. My behavior is peculiar, I know.”
“You’re not eating until we’re done eating,” I said slowly, digesting his words. “Tell me why.”
“Ryn, manners,” Dyter said in a low voice.
“She is both Phaetyn and Drae, Ambassador Dyter,” the king said. “Only a fool would not answer her questions.” He leaned forward and met my gaze. “You seem to be good people, and you’ve given my people a hope they have long been bereft of,” King Zakai rested a hand on the closed case, “I do not eat because my people do not eat. I take what is necessary to survive and to rule. The rest goes to my subjects, that they may live another day until I find a solution.”
I looked at the remnants of my meal. “But you just let us eat all of that food.” I’d eaten more than I’d needed. I’d been so certain the display meant food was ample here. Since we’d arrived, there had been a steady stream of food. “We’ve been eating since we arrived,” I said in horror. “Why did you give us so much food?”
“You are guests,” the king said. “You’ve traveled far, and you’ve had hardships. Even a fool human, such as myself, could see you were hungry and in need of nourishment.”
But we’d been eating on the way. None of us were truly starving. I was upset I’d eaten so much now, and a glance at Dyter’s stricken face told me he felt the same. We were on a strict diet for the rest of our visit, and I’d put my powers to use where I could during our stay.
The king paused. “When I saw you fly down the mountainside opposite us, I felt something akin to what I felt upon opening this case.” The king studied me and said, “Did you know, your scales are the color of our royal family? My father’s name was Lapyz after the stone. Lapis lazuli is known to bring both protection and peace. Seeing a Drae that color felt like a sign.”
Considering I’d seen the resemblance between his eyes and my scales, I knew what he meant about a sign, but I’d never known about the properties of the stone.
“My people have suffered for a long time, and times have gotten worse,” the king said, his shining blue gaze on the table. “For the last dozen years, the Gemondians over the age of fifty have left the walled kingdom to survive as best they can in the mountains.”
A horrible memory resurfaced. “They go willingly?”
The king sighed. “Of course, they would stay if they could, but they go so their children and grandchildren have a chance to survive. My great-grandfather left at age fifty, my grandfather and father both left at fifty, and in two years, I will also leave, and my son, Zardin will ascend the throne. Though, now things may be different. Maybe we can abolish that custom altogether.”
“Maybe your exiled elderly will stop eating each other then,” I said, watching him.
Because I watched him closely, I did not miss any of the horror that rocked him.
“W-what?” he asked, staring at me.
Dyter was shaking his head, but if I was queen of somewhere, I’d want to know how my people were suffering. “Your elderly women form small communities. Tyrrik and I flew over an encampment in the mountains outside of Verald. They ate one of the women.”
“They . . .” The king swayed on his seat, his slack face turning green. “They . . .”
“Your elderly are eating each other to stay alive,” I said again. Now that I knew Zakai wasn’t the monster I’d thought, a part of me sympathized with his shock, but I hardened myself, thinking of the way his people were living outside this kingdom.
For a moment, it seemed he would lose the contents of his stomach, though I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant in there.
“I had no idea,”
he said, brushing a hand across his eyes.
I reached across and took his hand; his thin skin was dry and pale. “I’m glad you had no idea,” I said. “Or I would’ve killed you for letting your people live that way.”
He looked up, and his torn soul was evident in his lapis lazuli eyes. “Perhaps I still deserve to die. Ignorance is no excuse. My people do not do such things . . . What kind of sickness or desperation drove them to do such a thing to each other?”
The king bowed his head as he muttered under his breath about his failure.
I closed my eyes, unable to resist a quick search of his body with my powers. Not that you could put on ‘emaciated,’ but I was interested to know how much he’d suffered on behalf of his people. I nearly gasped aloud as the tally of the damage to his body hit me. Several of his organs were failing, some just barely getting by, and there was permanent damage to all of them, including his heart. I sent through a subtle stream of my healing power, hoping it wasn’t too late.
When I let go of his hand, he stared at it with a furrowed brow rubbing his fingertips together.
I grabbed his plate and loaded meat and vegetables onto it, and then I shoved it back at him. “Eat.”
“No, I—”
I snarled at him, some of my Drae entering my words. “You’ll be dead in a week if you do not. Who will lead your people then?”
He blinked. “Y-you just told me my people are eating each other. I don’t have any appetite.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, you can suffer as you eat if you want, but that won’t make anything better.”
“Ryn!” Dyter gasped.
Scales erupted up my arms, and I snapped my growing fangs at the old man who didn’t look scared in the slightest at my display.
The king had more sense, slamming back into his chair. He swallowed hard, but when he noticed Dyter wasn’t fazed, Zakai relaxed enough to take a good look at my scales. He looked at the plate of food, and then the case, and eventually back at my vibrant blue scales.
“I knew you were our salvation as soon as I saw you,” he said with a curious smile. His gaze slid to Dyter. “Gemond is with Verald and the Phaetyn. We will fight Emperor Draedyn alongside you.”
