Authors: Dena Garson
“If there are any injured men I’ll have you—”
“Why couldn’t you just die like your father?” Aleric yelled
as he grabbed one of Runihura’s knives.
Before she could call out a warning, Aleric threw the blade
at Ceros’ back.
Without thinking, she pushed Ceros aside then extended one
hand and stopped the blade’s momentum. With the other, she let a fireball
loose.
Aleric yelled in pain when the orange sphere hit him in the
center of his chest. He flew backward and hit the ground.
When she realized the blade still hung suspended in midair,
Danet flicked her wrist and let it drop onto the sand.
“What the hell,” Runihura exclaimed.
Ceros reached for Danet. “Why do I have to keep asking if
you are okay?”
“I’m fine.” She looked down at her hands. Surprisingly they
looked the same. And weren’t shaking. Yet. “I’m sorry for injuring your
cousin.”
“I’m not,” Ceros mumbled.
“It seems I cannot control my abilities,” she pointed out.
He lifted her face by the chin until she was looking him in
the eye. “Thank you for saving my life. Again.”
Suddenly her emotions felt quite fragile. “You’re welcome,
my prince,” she murmured with a tear in her eye.
“That had better be a term of endearment,” he grumbled then
grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him.
Mdjai picked up the knife Aleric had thrown. “That’s quite
the party trick you have there, princess.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t know I had it in me,” she muttered as
she stumbled along behind Ceros. At this point, she was too tired to even
correct Mdjai on his improper use of a royal title.
Mdjai chuckled then went to help Runihura with Aleric.
It didn’t take long to return to the palace. Most of the men
who had been captured went with them easily once they saw Aleric had been
rendered unconscious then draped over a saddle.
Ceros escorted Danet to his rooms and left her in a
servant’s care with orders to soak in the tub as long as she wished then have
some dinner. As soon as she felt refreshed, she was to come to the king’s
receiving room.
He sent word to her father that she was safe. The note also
requested Sebak join him and Danet at the palace in the morning.
Meanwhile he had to deal with the primary issue of Aleric
and his treason.
Ceros watched as the queen paced back and forth in front of
the desk.
“I cannot believe Aleric was behind all of this,” she said
for the fifth or sixth time.
“Believe it, Mother. He confessed to me and Danet. And I
believe Mdjai and Runihura heard most of it as well.” He looked to the two of
them for confirmation.
Both nodded as they continued to stuff themselves with food
from the many trays that had been brought in.
“They certainly witnessed his last attempt at killing me.”
“Which you haven’t fully explained yet,” she reminded him.
“That’s Danet’s story to tell,” he said.
“What do you mean? Why can’t you simply tell me what
happened?” she railed.
“Mother, can we please move on? I still need to decide what
punishment Aleric should receive.”
She stopped pacing. “The punishment for treason is
beheading. The law is clear.”
“I thought as much but I want to make sure that I won’t be
creating a political firestorm when I issue the orders.”
“How so?” she asked.
Ceros began ticking reasons off on his fingers. “He is
family. He is a high council member. He supposedly has been listening to what
the people say and want. He seems to think he has a claim to the throne.”
“He tried to kill you! More than once!”
“He was behind Father’s death as well,” he said quietly.
The queen went pale. Ceros moved to assist her as she
slumped into a nearby chair.
“I can’t prove anything, of course. But now that I know who
was behind the attempts on my life, things add up based on the information we
have gathered about Father’s death.”
“Oh Gods,” she whispered with her hand at her throat.
“I’m sorry, Mother.” He knelt beside her. “That is probably
not what you wanted to hear.”
She patted his hand where it was resting on the arm of her
chair. “No, it isn’t. But I would rather know than not.”
“I’m sorry I was not able to attend the lighting of Father’s
funeral pyre.”
“I am too.” She touched his cheek. “You still need to say
your own farewell.”
“I have.” He indicated Gehiji and the others with a lift of
his chin. “We paid our respects last night.” His lips twitched. “As I stood
there, I remembered what he used to say about city projects. That’s when the
idea of building a grand monument in his honor came to me.”
A frown creased his mother’s brow. “Your father would hate
that.”
Ceros smiled. “I know.”
She chuckled. “You just have to get the last word, don’t
you?”
“Why break tradition now?”
The doors opened and Danet came in.
Ceros rose. Even Gehiji, Mdjai and Runihura came to their
feet.
Danet slowed her advance and looked from one man to the next.
Her brow was furrowed in confusion at their show of respect.
“I thought I left orders for you to rest,” Ceros said.
She moved past the table of food and made her curtsey to the
queen. “I did.”
“Not very long,” he mumbled as he reached for her hand. “We
were just filling Mother in on the details of what happened.”
“I understand I have you to thank once again for saving
Ceros’ life,” the queen said to Danet.
Danet bowed her head. “I am just happy to have been able to
help, my queen.”
Ceros watched in silence as his mother waved to the chair
next to hers.
“Now you’ll have to tell me your version of events,” she
said to Danet. “Men don’t always see things the same as us.”
Danet looked to Ceros, a question in her eyes.
With her hand still in his, he led Danet to the chair his
mother indicated and encouraged her to sit. He winked then returned to the
desk, leaving her to his mother’s mercies.
Throughout the question-and-answer session, Ceros kept one
ear tuned in. He was surprised Danet answered without hesitation. Even when his
mother got around to asking how Danet had managed to stop Aleric’s knife.
He glanced up from the document he was writing to see how
the queen was handling the news that Danet was a mystic. When he realized she
didn’t look the least bit surprised, he frowned.
“Mother, did you know about Danet’s, er, talents?” he asked.
“Not specifically, no. But I knew her mother. And her
grandmother. Both of whom were skilled mystics. So I knew it was possible Danet
could have inherited their gifts. I just hadn’t seen evidence of it yet.” She
patted Danet’s leg and smiled. “Other than her uncanny ability to cure people
even when they were beyond the capabilities of most healers.”
Ceros and Danet exchanged glances.
He was relieved the queen was taking the news so well.
Danet, however, looked as if tension was holding her together.
“How is it that you knew about her mother and grandmother
and yet they were allowed to remain in Licosia? Mystics were banished long
ago.”
The queen waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the
idea. “Phish. That decree should have been overturned before your father ever
sat on the throne. It was originally written during the Great Wars.” The queen
began telling the group. As she spoke, Mdjai, Gehiji and Runihura moved closer
to listen.
“The king, your great-grandfather,” she nodded to Ceros,
“was led to believe that one of his most trusted advisors, a very powerful
mystic, was behind a series of treasonous acts that directly impacted the
balance of power during the war.” The queen turned thoughtful. “I don’t
remember exactly what he was accused of, but sleeping with the king’s wife
would have been a lesser crime.”
Mdjai let out a low whistle.
“Thankfully it was proven the man was innocent before he was
executed. However, to flush out the true culprit, the king and that advisor
developed a plan. They knew a mystic was involved but they didn’t know who it
was.” She looked to Danet apologetically. “It is far too easy for mystics to
hide their gifts so they decided to banish all of them through this decree.”
“They banished all mystics because of one bad one?” Danet
protested.
“Yes. A rescinding order was supposed to be issued before
the end of the week, once most of the families had left. They wanted to make it
legal for the two who were chosen to return to Licosia to search for the
traitor.”
“But they didn’t want to advertise that fact, otherwise the
flood of mystics and their families would return, hampering their efforts,”
Ceros guessed.
“That’s correct,” the queen nodded.
Danet crossed her arms in front of her chest. Obviously she
didn’t care for his great-grandfather’s plan.
As a soldier, he could see the value in their strategy.
Especially during those harsher times. But he also knew it must have been
difficult for those families who were forced out of their homes with very
little notice.
War was never pretty.
“Would you get me a glass of wine, my dear? I’m getting
rather parched telling this story,” the queen asked Gehiji.
“I would be happy to.” Gehiji made a slight bow and hopped
up to get the requested drink.
If the frown on Danet’s face was any indication, she was
confused why
she
wasn’t asked to retrieve the wine for the queen. He saw
her fighting the urge to get up out of the chair and do as the queen requested.
Gehiji delivered the cup with exaggerated flair, making the
queen laugh. After she had a few sips, she continued.
“It took time to locate the traitor. Several cycles of the
moon, I believe. By the time they did, the war had reached its height.
Unfortunately, that rescinding order never got signed. Partly due to who the
traitor ended up being.”
She nodded as if she were telling one of the greatest
secrets ever known. “The king’s scribe. A seemingly simple and relatively
unimportant position, but it put the traitor in a position to know all of the
kingdom’s business. And he had the power to alter documents, changing the
meaning ever so slightly. More than one key document went missing in his care
too.”
Ceros shook his head. “No wonder Father handled his own
correspondence.”
“Exactly,” the queen concurred.
The queen smiled at Danet. “I strongly suspect both families
wanted to bring their loved ones and friends back, but since the last battles
of the war were fought at Licosia’s doorstep, no one wanted to return.” She
looked at Ceros. “It was some time before trade was reestablished with our
neighbors. Communication would have been slow and irregular outside the city
walls. Even if the decree had been rescinded, it is doubtful many would have
returned.”
He nodded his understanding. “So the bottom line is, I need
to complete that rescinding order.”
“That is correct,” the queen agreed.
The stunned expression on Danet’s face was priceless.
“That can’t be one of your first orders as prince,” Danet
declared.
“Why not?” Ceros asked.
“Well… Because people might not approve,” she blustered.
“Approve of what? Me dissolving some antiquated order that
should have been rescinded two generations ago? Or me honoring you and your
father’s years of service to the royal family and the city of Licosia by
dissolving that same order so you no longer have to worry about your heritage?”
When he saw a teardrop glisten on her lashes, he had to
fight the urge to rush to her side like a lovesick fool. Before he could get
out of his chair, his mother reached to comfort Danet.
“Why are you sad?” The queen put her arm around Danet’s
shoulders. “You should be proud. You come from a line of very brave, very loyal
mystics. Why, your great-grandmother even saved his,” she pointed at Ceros,
“great-grandmother’s life.”
“I’m sorry.” Danet wiped away her tears. “I’m just having a
hard time coming to terms with the thought that I wouldn’t have to hide what I
am any longer. That I wouldn’t have to worry that someone might take away our
home or Father’s clinic or even worse, harm Father, all because of me. It’s
just too much.” She looked at Ceros. “But I don’t want you to risk public
displeasure by doing this.”
Ceros moved to stand next to Danet. He put his hand on the
back of her neck to offer what comfort he could in front of others. What he
really wanted to do was scoop her up and drop her onto his lap and wrap his
arms around her. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“I want to do this, Danet. I truly doubt there will be a
public uprising. But I am willing to discuss it with the chancellor first. Will
that make you feel better?”
“Yes, if you will promise to wait if he feels it will be an
issue.”
Ceros growled. “We need to discuss your tendency to argue
with me.”
That brought a smile to her face. She sniffed back her
tears. “I’ll put it on the list.”
Satisfied they managed to avoid an emotional upheaval, he
wiped a stray tear from Danet’s cheek then turned to his mother. “There’s one
more thing to be dealt with.”
“What’s that? The date for your wedding?”
Gehiji snickered in the background.
Danet choked and turned pale. Ceros patted her on the back
and shot his mother a look that spoke of retribution. “No, actually, I was
thinking along the lines of Aleric and his allegations that he has a claim to
the throne.”
“That is just nonsense,” the queen declared.
“I agree, but if he has spoken to a large part of the
population, he’s bound to have attracted some attention. Especially when those
people don’t know our family history,” Ceros pointed out.
“Your father descended from a long line of kings. And the
blood of the last known omegamorph runs in your veins,” she said proudly. “He
may share a similar heritage, but the throne rightfully falls to you.”
Mdjai cleared his throat and gave Ceros a meaningful look.
Gehiji was looking at him in a similar fashion. Each of them believed he should
have told his family years ago that he was now an omegamorph. There had been
more than one heated debate on the subject.
Ceros took a deep breath. “There’s something else you need
to know, Mother.” He toyed with a strand of Danet’s hair, seeking comfort in
the silky feel.
She reached for his free hand, silently offering her
support.
“Just before I left for Shirghada, I was visited by one of
our Gods. He came to me in a dream and said I was needed to maintain peace in
our lands.” He looked at his friends. “I was told I would journey to a faraway
place. There I would meet others like me, brothers in arms, with similar
destinies.”
The queen looked at Gehiji, Mdjai and Runihura.
“Each of us would come from a different part of the world.
And each of us would be gifted with a different talent.”
“What is your talent?” the queen interjected.
Gehiji answered for him. “Strategy.”
“I would have said justice,” Mdjai added.
“They’re both right,” Runihura said.
Ceros bowed his head in thanks.
“What are your talents?” Danet asked, looking at each of
them in turn.
“Gehiji has a silver tongue. He can obtain supplies when
there are none to be had.” Runihura’s voice held only sincerity.
“He also has an uncanny ability to sense a lie. Even the
most gifted trickster cannot fool him,” Ceros said. The others nodded in
agreement.