Page 45

45

L arylis had figured the third time hearing Lex’s description of the events at Ridine Castle would be easier to bear. He was wrong. It seemed with every new repetition, Larylis heard some new detail that flooded him with an eerie chill. The first time he’d listened to Lex’s story had been in his father’s study. The second time had been later that evening when Larylis had asked Lex to go over all the details yet again. Now, three days later, they sat around the elegant mahogany table in King Verdian’s council room, with Lex relaying everything all over again. The day was early but the tall windows lining the far wall had been drawn shut against the sunlight, giving the meeting an even more daunting feel.

At least Larylis had finally come to accept that his brother was indeed captive, and war was looming on the horizon.

When Lex finished speaking, he was peppered with questions by King Verdian’s council. King Arlous’ councilmen were present too, but they’d already heard most of the tale before they’d departed Dermaine Palace.

“What joke is this?” Lord Ulrich said. He was one of Mareleau’s uncles, and the man Larylis had once served as ward to. He was stout and clean-shaven with a double chin, gray eyes, and a head of brown hair cropped just below his ears. “You expect us to believe King Dimetreus is being puppeteered by a mage who uses blood magic and has a monstrous wolf-boar as a pet?” With a disbelieving scoff, he leaned back in his chair.

Larylis couldn’t blame him for his doubts. He’d shared them at first. It was hard to believe in dark sorcery when no one believed in magic anymore. Magic had died with the fae. It only survived in Larylis’ favorite novels. Then again, the same could have been said for unicorns, months ago.

Lord Kevan, Mareleau’s eldest uncle and the head of King Verdian’s council, rubbed his jaw. Unlike his younger brother, Kevan had a bushy brown beard and gray-brown hair that reached his shoulders. “No, some of the story rings true. When I spotted the unicorn last year, I sent dozens of men after it. One man came back reporting that some monstrous creature had intervened and chased the unicorn beyond the border into Khero. I took the tale as folly, but perhaps it wasn’t.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Lord Ulrich said. “The rest of Prince Lexington’s story could be fabricated. He could be working with King Dimetreus, weaving tales of sorcery so that we’ll be more inclined to surrender.”

Lex’s mouth fell open. “I am not working with King Dimetreus. I risked my life in coming here. My own kingdom stands in peril because of my deception. If you surrender, Tomas is done for.”

One of Verdian’s other councilmen snorted a laugh. “Remind me how you supposedly got away.”

“Oh, sure,” Lex said. “Right after you remind me why I was in Khero hunting unicorns in the first place.”

King Verdian’s cheeks flushed. This was one of the rare times Larylis had seen the man without his powdered wig. His gray hair was kept close to his scalp, his blue eyes the same shade as his daughter’s. “No one told you to go to Khero, Prince Lexington. If you’d had any sense, you would have kept to Selay’s borders.”

Lex held the king’s gaze without falter. “If you’d had any sense, you would have kept your daughter from sending me on some idiotic quest without aid.”

Larylis was impressed with Lex’s ability to bluff so easily. He supposed it had come in handy when he’d pretended to take the duke’s offer only to escape his guards when they set him up at an inn the first night of their journey. According to Lex, he’d slipped away before dawn and bought a messenger horse to take him to Dermaine.

Only Larylis and his father knew the truth—that Teryn hadn’t been captured by the duke solely because of the Heart’s Hunt but because of his efforts to claim the fugitive princess’ bounty. The three of them had agreed to keep that part of the tale to themselves for the time being. Perhaps it was a bit underhanded to make Verdian think his kingdom was responsible for Teryn’s captivity, but if it gave Menah a respectable place at the council table, Larylis was happy to carry the lie.

King Verdian glared at Lex but seemed to think he wasn’t worth arguing with. Waving a hand, he said, “Selay will not surrender regardless.”

King Arlous rubbed his brow. “If we don’t surrender, Teryn dies. I will not let that happen.”

“Prince Teryn’s fate is contingent upon both kingdoms’ surrender,” added one of Arlous’ councilmen.

Verdian shook his head. “It is not up for debate. We weren’t going to surrender to a mortal king. I’ll be damned before I surrender to a sorcerer.”

“So you’ll have me risk my son? Your daughter’s fiancé ?” Arlous pinned Verdian with a hard stare, daring him to contradict the engagement.

Larylis shifted uncomfortably in his seat. With Prince Helios dead and Lex having forfeited, Teryn was the clear winner of the Heart’s Hunt. King Verdian’s guilt over Teryn’s capture had been enough to solidify the betrothal between Teryn and Mareleau. Adding to that was Menah’s shift in fortune. Larylis had learned of their kingdom’s cleared debt in the same letter that had threatened Teryn’s life and summoned his father to Centerpointe Rock. Arlous had been sure to flaunt their financial state as soon as they arrived at Verlot Palace.

Verdian spoke through his teeth. “We would be devastated by Prince Teryn’s loss, should it come to that, but surrender is not on the table. I say we ignore the summons and prepare for war at once.”

Larylis gripped his armrests, forcing his eyes to remain on the table instead of cutting a glare at Verdian. How could he refuse to even consider an option that saved Teryn’s life?

Arlous slammed a fist on the table. “What of my son?”

“What of him?” Lord Kevan spat. “We will not surrender, therefore it is time to speak of our plans for war.”

The table dissolved into a fray of arguments as the kings and councilmen began to talk over each other. Larylis’ head spun, the chatter becoming a tidal wave of sound. He could hardly separate one voice from the other as they clashed with the weight of his own thoughts. Surrender. War. Surrender. War. Larylis wanted neither. All he cared about was getting his brother back. Why wasn’t anyone discussing a solution that involved neither surrender nor Teryn’s death?

Words burned on his tongue. He’d done his best to stay silent during the meeting thus far. His presence here today had already been met with enough scorn from King Verdian’s council. No one wanted to see a bastard born of scandal at their table. But something had cracked in his father’s heart after learning about Teryn’s captivity. Once they’d left for Verlot, he’d refused to let Larylis out of his sight for long.

The arguments rose and crashed against each other, and still, their words remained a jumbled mess in Larylis’ mind. His stomach churned, his blood turning to fire as he fought to stay quiet, stay seated?—

“We must get my brother back.”

Silence echoed. It took Larylis several breaths to realize the words had come from him. He stood at the table, his chair flung back behind him. He’d said nothing profound, nothing shocking, and yet the eyes of everyone at the table locked on him. It was only the element of surprise that had drawn their attention. The bastard speaks .

It was better than nothing, he supposed. He might as well make use of the quiet. “We cannot surrender to a blood mage, nor can we let the Crown Prince of Menah die.”

Lord Ulrich scoffed. Larylis may have been his ward once, but the man hadn’t liked him then. It stood to reason he didn’t like him now either. “Do you have some brilliant plan, Lord Seralla ?” Ulrich enunciated Larylis’ surname as if to remind him of his place.

Lord Kevan turned an amused gaze to Larylis. “I too would like to hear what Lord Seralla’s plan is. Amongst war generals, nobles, and kings, surely a whore’s son knows best.”

King Arlous rose from his seat, a vein pulsing at his temple. “How dare you speak to my son that way!”

Kevan opened his mouth but Verdian held up a hand. “We’ll give the boy one minute to speak,” the king said grudgingly. He seemed more concerned about offending Arlous than defending Larylis. At least Menah’s change of fortune had that benefit.

The eyes of the councilmen burned into Larylis. Now that they’d granted him permission to speak, he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t actually have a plan. Fantasies of vengeance, certainly. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d imagined himself as the heroes in his favorite war novels, or perhaps General Bralish, the famed savior of the Medlon army at the Battle of Delton in 94 Year of the Wolf.

His gaze swept the mocking faces of the men at Verdian’s end of the table. Then his eyes found Lex’s. And his father’s. Arlous gave him a subtle nod.

He released a shaky breath. “We…cannot surrender to a mage.”

Lord Kevan snorted a laugh. “That has been established.”

Larylis opened and closed his fists, a cold sweat breaking out behind his neck. Kevan was right. Larylis was only repeating himself. If he didn’t have anything to add to the conversation, he might as well sit down.

He took a step back toward his chair but his feet refused to take another. This was his chance to be heard. There had to be something he could add to the debate. Clearing his throat, he forced himself to stand a little taller, summoning the side of him that knew how to play it cool under supercilious scrutiny. “We must get Prince Teryn back and refuse surrender.”

“You still aren’t saying anything new,” Ulrich said.

Larylis ignored him, running histories, fictions, and fantasies through his mind. How had General Bralish stolen the hostages back from the Allerton Horde? His words came out slow. Careful. “We’ll go to the meeting and figure out where they’re keeping Teryn. He’ll be somewhere in King Dimetreus’ camp.”

Verdian narrowed his eyes. “How are you so certain? They could keep him at Ridine Castle.”

“They’ll expect us to demand to see Teryn alive and unharmed before we consider surrender.”

“What then?” Arlous asked, his skeptical tone in contrast with the hope in his eyes.

“Once we know where Teryn is being kept, we’ll send in a covert force to break him free. Until then, we will draw out negotiations.”

“Stealing a hostage is akin to a declaration of war,” Kevan said.

Larylis gave him a pointed look. “Which we’ve already resigned ourselves to in refusing to surrender. We will plan for war, but first we rescue Teryn.”

“How do you expect to free our prince without the sorcerer taking notice?” asked one of Arlous’ councilmen. From the look on his face, he was taking Larylis seriously. “We can’t simply march in and search from tent to tent.”

“I have an idea of how to locate him before we send in any of our men.” He didn’t elaborate, knowing it would take some work to convince them to put their faith in a falcon. But Larylis knew if anyone could find Teryn in an enemy camp it was Berol.

“It’s reckless,” Verdian said, running his hands over the ruffled collar beneath his royal white and gold coat. “But if we’re already set on war, we might as well attempt to free the crown prince.”

“You can't seriously consider this,” Kevan said. “Larylis Seralla has no place on this council. He’s a bastard?—”

“Enough with that word.” Arlous’ voice came out hard. “Larylis Alante is my son and heir.”

Verdian’s eyes went wide. “That’s taking things a little far, Arlous. Naming your illegitimate son your heir?”

Larylis couldn’t argue with that. He wasn’t even sure his father had meant what he’d said. He’d called Larylis…an Alante. The king’s royal name. A name Larylis had been forbidden to take due to his illegitimate birth. Arlous’ last attempt to legitimize him had nearly ended in war. If the queen found out, it very well could come again?—

No. The threat of war was already here. It just wasn’t coming from the same place it had before.

Lord Kevan scoffed. “Have you given up on getting Prince Teryn back so soon?”

Arlous held back a smug grin. “If we are to hide our plans at rescuing Teryn, we need the mage to think we’ve fully given up on getting the prince back when we refuse to surrender. Larylis will stand at my side during negotiations as my new heir. We won’t officially refuse the king until we’ve received a sign that Teryn is safe.”

“Dimetreus will never believe you’ve made your bastard your heir,” Kevan said.

“Why?” Arlous met the man’s gaze without any hint of shame. “I almost succeeded before.”

Larylis felt sick. He’d hated how it had felt to be pitted against his brother when the scandal erupted. He didn’t like it any better now, even if it was only an act. But if it got Teryn back…

“Well, Prince Larylis,” Kevan said, voice mocking, “since you seem to have everything all figured out, will you be the one to organize the prince’s rescue force?”

Larylis took a deep breath, forcing far more confidence than he felt. There was no use backing down now. No use revealing just how terrified and intimidated he felt. Instead, he imagined he was General Bralish, undaunted in the face of an enemy horde. Lifting his chin, he met Lord Kevan’s taunting stare. “Yes, I will.”