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He’d never acted like this during court visits before. Or ever, really. Gennel cleared his throat, obviously nervous of the huge rinhound currently growling at him.

“Thank you for waiting to see me,” I finally answered, my eyes still on Behar and his strange behavior. I shifted on my throne, poised to catch him if Behar decided he wanted to lunge at our guest. “I admit your name and family are not familiar to me, have you recently moved to Gilamorst?”

He rose back to full height, an easy smile showing perfect white teeth brightening his face. If he was nervous, Gennel was good at hiding it. “I have resided in Gilamorst for the last five years or so, moving from the City of Scholars after studying under my father as a treasurer, may his soul rest in peace. But by practice, I am a hydromancer.”

“My condolences for the loss of your father.”

Gennel waved his hand as if shooing the words away. “No need, Your Highness. He was afflicted with a rather aggressive disease while we lived in the City of Scholars and passed before I moved away. Mother followed him shortly after, so in a way it was a blessing they did not live long without each other.”

I hummed noncommittally. “I see. Have you considered joining the Gilamorst Hydromancy Guild?”

“I have, but my family comes from a long line of financiers, so I will likely stay with the Guild of Finances to honor my father’s last wishes. I study hydromancy as more of a hobby since Ihave a natural affinity for it. But you may be familiar with my mother’s relatives, the Britons?”

Thatname did ring a bell. “Yes, yes, there is a Nebold Briton who leads the Necromancy Guild. That is interesting… you didn’t want to pursue a similar field?”

Gennel’s face twisted out of its pleasant expression into one of slight disgust. “Gods, no! Necromancy is…” He didn’t even finish the thought. A visible shudder overtook him. “That is a rather unnatural magic practice, don’t you think? The dead should be left well enough alone. Let them rest in Wira’s embrace.”

“I agree, but I don’t take offense to those who study that field of magic. So, you don’t have contact with your mother’s family?” I leaned to the left and propped my chin on a fist as my leg crossed over the other knee, keeping my right hand on Behar’s head to idly twist his fur between my thumb and forefinger. He was so tall, even sitting, that it wasn't much of a stretch to reach over the armrest. “That seems a bit extreme to cut off a whole limb of the family tree, especially since her passing. You haven’t felt the need to connect with them while in Gilamorst?”

Gennel shrugged. If I was prodding too deeply into his personal life, he wasn’t showing discomfort from it. “We are not particularly close, no. Mother was not a practitioner in general, so it made it even easier to separate herself from that side of her family.”

“Understandable. Necromancy is not a proper profession for most women, I would say.” As the words left my mouth, my thoughts turned to the only female necromancer Ididknow. Haron was a breed unto her own, even excluding her chosen field of magic. Looking at Gennel Rhen in all his prim manners and proper speech, I could not imagine someone like him being raised by a woman like Haron Val Toric. Just thinking about that scenario almost made me laugh aloud. “Did your mother study another branch of magic?”

“Absolutely not!” Gennel waved the thought away. “Women have no place in practicing magic. Their dispositions are much too unstable, too emotional, to be able to harness its unpredictable nature.”

I opened my mouth to agree, but thought again of the account Beolf gave in his brief—and apparently very traumatic—encounter with Haron at Highlan Pid’s manse. How he recounted the corpse she reanimated to attack the guards kept me up for nights after. Four people were gravely injured that night. Fortunately, the healers were called in time to save them from bleeding out, but two of those guards were permanently maimed—one had deep cuts across his face and the other lost half his hand from getting bitten off. She could be an anomaly, sure… but in my life the very few female healers I knew who served in the royal army were all very gifted in their field. Not that they received any kind of recognition or promotion for those accomplishments.

That was unheard of in Respar.

“And that belief is what brings me to the main purpose of my meeting.”

My eyes narrowed with suspicion. Behar’s growls grew even more threatening. “I thought you were coming to introduce yourself.”

“I was,” he answered innocently enough, but his eyes shifted nervously to Behar and back. “But I also have a concern to report regarding a certain… woman I heard about. One that goes by the name of Haron Val Toric.”

Beolf was having a harder time keeping his noises to himself. Another snort, poorly disguised as a cough because he's not that creative, had us both turning our heads to stare at him. “Sorry,” he tapped his chest with a fist. “Must be coming down with something.”

“What of this woman? Did she attack you?” I tried to keep my tone even and unbiased, despite the beast inside me wanting to rage against whoever thought to speak badly of her. For all her strong-willed mannerisms, I would never suspect Haron of attacking someone without provocation. Even when I first saw her at the guild, she didn't retaliate until the guild member laid his hands on her.

Gennel’s head rocked from side to side. “Not personally,” he began hesitantly. “But I heard from some reliable sources that she brought a revenant to the Necromancy Guild’s front door. Has the guildmaster not contacted you about this yet?”

“I hadn’t heard about this incident fromhim, no. But I’m sure if the guildmaster thought he couldn’t handle it himself, he would send a request. Would yourreliable sourcehappen to be Nebold?” I was careful to word my response so it wasn’t a blatant lie. I had, in fact, heard about this. But it was from Haron, further undermining Nebold's schemes. While I didn't exactly agree with her methods, this was out of my jurisdiction until Nebold brought a formal complaint against her. Guild matters stayed within the guilds, unless there was a murder involved.

Although Haron seemed to be toeing that line, hauling a revenant to the guild's door.

Gennel shifted uneasily on his feet, the perfect picture of a concerned citizen. “Perhaps, although the source of my information is irrelevant. It’s quite shocking to hear of a necromancer strong enough to actually animate a corpse. Doesn’t that make you… uneasy?”

My eyebrow cocked. “How so? I trust the guild to be able to manage their constituents, and Haron has not given any indication of being out of control with regard to following the laws of Respar.”

“Of course,” he pandered. “But someone that powerful, especially a woman, would need to be closely monitored, wouldn’t you think?”

“I could be wrong, but that decision ultimately falls to me and my council, if the guild requests assistance. Please trust in the fact I will keep Respar as safe as possible.”

It was brief, just a heartbeat’s time. But there was some dark, insidious emotion that flashed across Gennel’s otherwise friendly expression before he schooled it into an easy smile. “Of course, Your Highness,” he said with a slight bow. “I would never presume to overstep your authority. I’m sure Guildmaster Briton will follow the correct procedure to have that woman detained.”

“I’m sure he will.” I struggled to keep my voice even. “Is there anything else you would like to address?”

“I believe that is all. Thank you for your time, Prince Irin. I look forward to serving beneath your rule.”