Nightfall: Book Two of the Chronicles of Arden

by Shiriluna Nott

  Joel tried not to grin. “You must have had quite the time when he was your understudy a year ago. Was it difficult getting him to keep his opinions to himself?”

  Cenric laughed as he came over to sit on the lounge beside Joel. “On the contrary, Hasain was quite reserved. I suspect homesickness played a part. His decision not to pursue an ambassador’s life came quite easily. Though there was one time he made a snide remark to Sovereign Khalfani Heru and I full-heartedly believed the ruler would have had us both carted to the middle of the desert and left stranded there beneath the Gyptian sun.” Cenric wiped a tear from his eye in between fits of laughter. “Oh, the look on Hasain’s face when he realized his error was priceless. I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed an understudy more eager to return to Arden.”

  “I don’t know,” Joel replied, staring at his feet. “I’m pretty damned excited to go home.”

  “Mm, I think we all are.”

  Joel blinked, lost in his own tumultuous thoughts. Before coming to the Northern Empire, he’d been so certain he wanted to be an envoy—he’d even sacrificed his life with Gib to pursue the dream—but the reality of an ambassadorial life was so utterly different than he ever imagined. He could barely stomach the negotiations and endless council sessions, and the changes he’d hoped to bring would likely never see fruition. He’d dreamed of peaceful talks between nations but had witnessed only shouting and slandering. Where were the trade agreements and treaties of comradery he’d wanted to help create? Why was he returning to Arden with only a broken spirit? This wasn’t the way he’d pictured any of this playing out.

  A hand squeezed his shoulder, drawing Joel’s attention back to the present. Cenric gazed at him, concern lingering in his hazel orbs. “Is everything all right?”

  Joel thought to lie but knew his mentor would know the deceit for what it was. He knows me too well. I have to tell him what’s really on my mind. With a deep sigh, he met Cenric’s eyes and admitted the truth. “I hope you won’t be incredibly disappointed in me, but—I’ve been thinking that perhaps—perhaps I no longer wish to become an ambassador.”

  A deafening silence followed his confession, and for a brief moment, Joel mistook the mentor’s stillness for anger. But then, a warm smile broke across Cenric’s face and the hand touching Joel’s shoulder gripped a bit tighter. “I know. I could tell you had a change of heart.”

  Joel shifted his gaze to the marble floor, guilt eating his innards and making it impossible to maintain eye contact with the older man. “I feel like I’ve wasted your time—that it’s all been for nothing. I feel like I’ve disappointed you.”

  Cenric’s eyebrows knitted. “You didn’t waste anyone’s time, least of all mine. This journey is yours, Joel. It’s never been about whether or not you want to be an envoy—it’s about discovering your interests, your passions, emotional growth and maturity, and deciding the kind of man you want to be when your internship comes to an end. Those are the things that matter. Those are the reasons I take an understudy every year. It’s not about recruiting young men and women to serve as Ardenian envoys. I don’t give a damn what my underlings go on to do, so long as they’re happy, so long as they’re making a difference in the world. I suppose I can rest easy tonight.”

  Joel’s thoughts were a jumble of feelings. “What do you mean?”

  “Because you, my friend, will make a difference. You’ll leave a mark on the world, even if you don’t believe it now. Humanity will be a better place because you’re a part of it. And that’s all I could ever ask for. I’m honored to be your mentor.”

  A wave of emotion rolled over Joel. It was a strange, confusing mix of sadness, uncertainty, and triumph that he didn’t have the will or desire to decipher. I don’t even know where to go from here. I know I still want to help people. I want to be a good person. I just want to do it surrounded by my family and friends, not a thousand leagues from home. A single tear slipped from the corner of one eye as Joel nodded once, slowly. “Thank you for placing so much faith in me, even if I keep none for myself. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when we get home. I had this grand dream of being a renowned ambassador, but now that I’ve realized it’s not the life I want, I don’t know how I’m going to change the world.”

  “You’ll figure it out,” Cenric replied, giving Joel’s back a pat. “No one ever said you needed to be an envoy in order to make the world a better place. Look at all the good things people like your father, Dean Marc, and your companion Gib are doing right inside Silver City! It only takes one tiny little pebble thrown into stagnant water to create a ripple that affects the entire lake.”

  “Yes,” Joel said, wiping the moisture from his eyes. “I guess you’re right.”

  Cenric gave one final thump on the shoulder before excusing himself, leaving Joel alone to ponder his mentor’s words. Deep down, he knew Cenric was right, but still the guilt ate at his heart. I caused so much grief by coming, and now I’ll have to make amends when I go home—if it’s not too late. Joel’s heart pounded in his ears. Gib would forgive him, wouldn’t he?

  A rustling sound from the terrace caught his attention. Joel turned toward the noise and blinked in surprise when Kirk Bhadrayu appeared in the open doorway. The mage trainee looked gaunt and frightened, skin a pasty white against his disheveled brown locks.

  Joel immediately rose from the lounge and swept over to the trainee. “Kirk? What’s the matter?”

  “I need to talk to you,” Kirk replied, chest heaving.

  Joel’s frown deepened. Had Kirk run the entire way there?

  “I swear, it’s of the utmost importance. Will you hear me out?”

  “Yes, of course.” Joel motioned for the other man to come inside.

  Kirk stepped into the suite, the shadows cloaking his pale face but not completely disguising the terror in his eyes. “Th–thank you.”

  “What happened?” Joel asked. “Is this something to do with your sister?”

  Kirk shook his head, and when he next spoke, it was in such a hushed voice that Joel had to lean closer to hear the trembling words. “No. This is about something else. This has to do with the well-being of you and your friends.”

  A horrifying wave of panic swept over Joel, crippling his mind and body. “O–oh?”

  “I have reason to believe you’re all in terrible danger.”

  Joel leaned against the stone wall for support. “Danger? What do you mean?”

  Kirk’s eyes shifted around the room, worry lines warping his youthful face. “Just now, I was returning a study tome to my master’s library when I overheard the Archmage speaking in the next room. Normally I wouldn’t have stayed to pry, but he—he was talking with the prince.”

  “Alerio?” Joel asked in a flat voice.

  “Yes. They were going on about the Emperor’s plan to deal with Arden. I shouldn’t have been listening to any of it! If Adrian knew I was eavesdropping—if he knew I was here, telling you—” Kirk gasped, unable to finish.

  Joel reached out and lightly touched the boy’s trembling arm. “Tell me what was said. Please, Kirk. I won’t betray you. You know I won’t.”

  Kirk nodded, taking a moment to breathe deeply and collect himself before continuing. “They—they spoke about betraying you. The prince said that since coercion with Seneschal Koal and your party has failed here in Teivel, they’ll now take Arden by force. Tomorrow, when the portal opens to send you home, the Emperor has ordered it to be overrun by his army of mages and soldiers.” His face grew even paler. “I–I think they mean to kill you all.”

  The entire room swayed. Joel gripped the wall and struggled to regain his balance. His lungs burned, but he couldn’t seem to get enough air no matter how hard he gasped for it. “You need to tell my father what you just told me.”

  Kirk took a step back, shaking his head. “No, please. I can’t—”

  “Kirk, please. He needs to hear it. If what you say is true, then all our lives are at stake.”

  “He w
on’t believe me! I’m just another Imperial to him. He has no reason to trust me!”

  Joel squeezed the trainee’s arm. “I trust you. I’ll be right here with you. It will be okay.”

  Koal paced back and forth across the suite with his hands clasped behind his back and a terrible mask of rage painted onto his face. Those gathered in the room watched and waited. The silence was so intense Joel felt as though he were suffocating.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cenric raised his voice. “Seneschal, what do you want to do?”

  Koal stopped. He stood completely still, staring with unfocused eyes through the open space leading to the terrace. His brows furrowed, and Joel could tell his father’s thoughts were tumultuous and deep. What would he decide to do? Would he heed Kirk’s warning?

  Shadows crept into the suite as the sky above turned from gold to red to navy. Darkness had already begun to cloak the city. Night was falling. Joel swallowed as he awaited a decision from his father. We’re running out of time.

  Koal whirled around to face Kirk. His eyes speared the young trainee, and Kirk recoiled under the scrutiny. “You’re absolutely sure you didn’t mishear anything?”

  “Yes, Lord Adelwijn,” Kirk responded. He sat on the very edge of the lounge, shoulders rigid and hands fidgeting with the sleeves of his golden tunic. “They made no attempt to hide the scheme. There’s no way I could have mistook what was said.”

  A sharp sigh of protest sounded from the opposite side of the room, and all eyes turned toward the noise. Apparently, Liro wasn’t having any of this. He threw his hands into the air and glared at Kirk. “So we’re going to just trust this trainee’s word? We don’t even know him!”

  Joel narrowed his eyes. “I know him.”

  “Oh, please!” Liro spat. “How can you possibly claim to know someone you’ve only just met?”

  Joel did his best to ignore his elder brother’s putrid words. Joel took a tentative step forward, stepping into Koal’s path and forcing the seneschal to halt in place. “Father, we can trust Kirk. Please, believe me.”

  Koal stared down the length of his nose at Joel, expression impossibly stern but searching for any trace of doubt in his son’s eyes. Koal stood face to face with Joel, measuring him in silence. Joel could scarcely breathe. Please, Father, he begged silently. Don’t be stubborn. Heed the warning. He winced when his father stepped around and resumed pacing. What did this mean? Had he come to a conclusion?

  “NezReth,” Koal called to the Blessed Mage, who lingered in the shadows near the open terrace. The mage was, no doubt, watching for Imperial spies. “If Sarpedon attempts to overwhelm the portal tomorrow, what are his odds of success? Surely Natori and the other Ardenian mages will sense something is amiss and bring the portal down before the entire Imperial army is able to march through.”

  NezReth didn’t tear his violet eyes from the garden outside as he replied. “Once the portal is opened, I can communicate with Natori and warn her of the danger.” His voice was serene in the midst of the chaos. “However, if the Northern Empire is in control of the rift, there is nothing any of us can do to close it—short of killing the mages who control the mage-spell, of course.”

  “That’s highly improbable,” Hasain muttered. “Their mages will be well protected. We’d be dead a hundred times over by the time we could find and destroy the ones commanding the portal spell.”

  The Blessed Mage nodded in agreement. “Lord Hasain is right. And I have not the strength to work the spell alone. None of us do. We would have to accept assistance from the Imperial mages.”

  Koal ran fingers through his greying hair as he paced. “Then we can’t allow the portal to be opened at all. I cannot afford to put the King—or the rest of the country—in danger. We’ll have to find another way home.”

  Liro’s voice was caustic. “Or we can disregard this boy entirely! Why should we trust anything he says?”

  “Is there any reason why we shouldn’t trust him?” Cenric asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “What would he stand to gain by fabricating a story like this?”

  Kirk’s cheeks flushed a deep hue of pink. “I swear on the Blessed Son, I didn’t make the story up. If—if my master knew I was here now, speaking to you, I’d be arrested on the spot and tried as a traitor.”

  Cenric regarded the trainee from across the room. “If you stand to lose so much, why risk warning us at all? Why put your very life in jeopardy to help perfect strangers?” His questions were gentle, not demanding like Liro’s had been.

  Kirk glanced over at Joel before replying in a timid voice. “Just after your party first arrived in Teivel, Lord Joel Adelwijn did me a generous favor. He—he could have turned a blind eye or walked away, but he didn’t. He was the first person in a very long time to treat me with kindness, for which I’ll be eternally grateful. I don’t want to see him—or any of you—hurt. That’s why I came to warn you.”

  The trainee’s speech struck a chord deep within Joel’s soul. “Can’t you all see he’s telling the truth?”

  Koal and Cenric exchanged glances. NezReth watched Kirk out of the corner of his eerie eyes but said nothing. Liro huffed a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. Heart thudding rapidly in his ears, Joel held his breath, waiting for someone to speak.

  It was Hasain, of all people, who finally broke the silence. “I trust Joel’s judgment. If he believes this trainee, then so do I.”

  “Agreed,” Cenric said with a nod. “And if there’s even a small chance Sarpedon plans to overtake Arden, we can’t allow that portal to open tomorrow.” He rubbed the back of his neck, worry lines chiseling his face. “Of course, that will leave us in quite the predicament. How are we going to get home?”

  “Yes,” Liro hissed like a cornered viper. “How are we going to get home?”

  Hasain sneered at him. “Weren’t you just complaining about how you wished to stay longer?”

  “None of us are staying!” Koal cut in. He whirled around, fierce eyes settling onto NezReth. “What if we leave tonight? Unannounced and under cover of darkness? We can escape Teivel before they even know what’s happened.”

  The Blessed Mage stiffened. “That will be very difficult, Seneschal. The city is patrolled by hundreds of sentinels—not to mention scores of mages, trained to seek out potential trespassers. It would be a treacherous journey.”

  “But it’s possible,” Koal pressed. “We can make for the mountains, find a way to get word to Rishi, hide until a rescue group can be sent for us—”

  Liro let out an incredulous snort. “Listen to yourself, Father. You sound delusional! All of you do!”

  Koal glared over at his eldest son. “We’re not going to sit here with tucked tails and wait for the Empire to come for us.”

  Hasain nodded in agreement. “Better to be a moving target than a sitting duck. I say we go.”

  “Why don’t we take a vote, Seneschal?” Cenric suggested.

  Liro raised his chin into the air and pointed savagely at Kirk. “I vote we turn this traitorous boy over to the Imperial authorities and go home as planned. There’s no reason why Emperor Sarpedon would attack Arden.”

  “I can think of a few reasons,” muttered Hasain.

  Cenric’s hazel eyes flitted around the room. “NezReth? Joel? What say you?”

  “I believe Kirk,” Joel replied quietly. “I think we should leave tonight.”

  NezReth fixed an unwavering gaze onto Koal. “I will follow whatever command you give.”

  Koal remained silent as he debated. Time seemed to stretch into infinity. Joel held his breath until his lungs nearly burst and he was forced to gasp for air. He hated waiting for an answer. He hated having no control over the situation. Surely his father wouldn’t take up Liro’s unpopular opinion, would he? Joel swallowed down a spike of fear. His father wouldn’t turn Kirk into the authorities, right?

  “We’ll go.” Koal’s firm voice brought Joel back to the moment. The seneschal clasped his hands behind hi
s back as he stared into the darkening sky beyond the terrace. “Tonight, in the marks before dawn, we’ll slip away.”

  Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh, save Liro, who curled a lip and turned his nose upward. “This is madness.”

  Koal either didn’t hear the remark or didn’t care. He was too busy delegating tasks. “Cenric, find me that map of Teivel. Do we have an accurate diagram of the landscape outside the city? NezReth, you have past experience in these mountains. Are there any allies we can call upon if the need arises? Hasain, Joel, Liro—you three need to find any provisions you can—warm clothing, blankets, food, if possible.”

  Joel stared aimlessly across the suite, feeling numb. What is going to happen to us? How can we possibly escape? He didn’t mean to despair so feverishly, but the terrible thoughts came without accord. We could die tonight, like King Rishi warned we would. I might never see Gib again. I may never get the chance to apologize to him.

  His father’s voice was a low hum. “Using the gate is out of the question. We can’t overpower the guards there without them sounding the alarm.” Joel glanced up and watched as Koal leaned over the table, staring intently at the map which Cenric had just spread across the tabletop.

  “Do you think with enough rope we can scale the wall?” the ambassador asked, setting a hand on either side of the canvas to hold it in place.

  Koal rubbed his blotched face with one large hand. “Even if we could, it’s too well guarded. I had a good look at the structure when we were first brought through. Imperial sentinels man the entire length. Getting all six of us up and over unseen would be damned near impossible. We’d have a better chance of magically sprouting claws and whiskers and burrowing our way underneath the palace like moles than to successfully scale that wall.”

  Cenric tittered a nervous laugh. “It’s reassuring to know you haven’t lost your sense of humor amid our troubles, Seneschal.”