The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1) (15 page)

Domnae Nelek had been surprised at Roderick’s magical potential, and
was frustrated to no end when his pupil seemed to not want to develop his
powers to their full extent. Quite by accident, Roderick learned that Domnae
Nelek had secretly desired to steal him away to the Temple to become a Domnae
when he had completed his training, but as long as Roderick refused to
cooperate, he was upsetting those plans.

After that, Roderick had made sure to keep a more careful eye on his
teacher, lest he had suddenly awakened one day to find himself confined in the
novice wing of the Temple under a submission spell.

For nearly a decade, he had managed to keep up his pretense of being
the brat prince in the public eye to the fury of his father and his mentor.
Behind closed doors, he plotted and schemed against his father, deliberately
creating factions within the noble houses and the ranking occupants of the
palace until the entire kingdom was at the brink of a civil war. No one, even
Domnae Nelek, had dreamed that their lazy, self-centered brat prince could
possibly be the mastermind behind all the turmoil that had suddenly sprung up
out of the blue to torment Mihr.

Thus, when the king was found murdered one night when Roderick was nineteen,
the guilty finger never once was pointed in his direction. His father had been
found burnt to just a few bones and ash in his bedroom. His night clothes
didn’t have even a single burnt thread. Even the sheets beneath him had not
burned. Only magic could have accomplished such a remarkable feat.

Since Roderick was reputed to be so bad at magecraft that he couldn’t
even light a lantern with his power, the guilt had been thrown on the only mage
in the kingdom who had unlimited access to the king’s chambers—Domnae Nelek.
Roderick signed Nelek’s death warrant himself the very day of his coronation as
Mihr’s new king. It had pleased him to no end to see the Domnae being led to
the gallows wearing only his skin and shackles. In the end, Domnae Nelek
couldn’t even use his magic to save himself since Roderick had instantly
ordered his hands cut off and his tongue cut out.

Executing a Domnae had caused him trouble to no end with the Brothers
in Divinity. By divine law, it was forbidden to execute a Domnae without first
a trial in the Temple and a death warrant signed by the High Priest, himself.
Roderick had scoffed at them and promptly announced the Domnae’s plan to kidnap
him from Mihr and force him to become a Domnae against his will.

The Temple abhorred scandal. That had shut them up for a little while,
at least. It was with that accusation that Roderick had broken from the Temple
forever.

The people of Mihr had been shocked by this sudden transformation in
their brat prince and also by the power he wielded. Within days, Roderick had
united the noble houses and held their loyalties. He had set up sterner laws
and new peasant taxes. For a while, it had even seemed as though the peasants
would revolt.

He put a stop to such annoyances by demonstrating the extent of his powers.
Sometimes he burned houses, but more often than not, it was bodies that lay
strewn on the streets of villages, consumed slowly by green mage-flames that
could not be extinguished.

Roderick had also immediately enlarged his army, snatching any able young
man as young as ten to begin military training. He hired many mercenary mages
from the far eastern kingdoms of Bar’taiver and Rathtyen. He also forbade any
citizen to leave Mihr, stationing troops all along the borders to prevent any
attempts of escape. He thought of the people as his property, and all
would
bend their heads to his will or pay a cruel price for their insolence.

Then the stranger in black robes, his face concealed within the folds
of a hood the color of the blackest night, had appeared. Roderick considered
that the best day of his life. The stranger introduced Roderick to the dark god,
Arioch, and to the seductive world of Ter-ob, Arioch’s dark kingdom known commonly
as the six hells.

For two summers, the stranger taught him the ways of Arioch and the
Dark Powers. Never had he felt so consumed by power, so invincible, as when he
wielded the powers of Arioch. It was understandable why he had hated so see his
mysterious visitor leave him.

Never once had Roderick seen the stranger’s face. Sometimes he liked to
fancy that it had been the great god, Arioch, himself, who had been his mentor.

With the help of his newfound powers, Roderick drove the Temple
completely out of his kingdom, casting a spell over the lands that saturated
the very air and earth with the dark energy of Ter-ob, which would drive any of
the Brothers in Divinity mad should they set foot on Mihran soil. The spell had
also taken its hold on his people, making them completely his by binding their
souls to the land—and to Arioch.

When the hunger for power grew beyond the power he already held,
Roderick had aimed his sights on Lamia and their legendary Mage-field, which
could give him the power to rule the world. The only thing that stood between
him and that Mage-field was that cursed Shield around the kingdom.

All attempts to shatter the Shield had failed miserably. One such
attempt had left him bedridden for a quarter-moon after in a fit of rage, he
had tried to channel more of the dark energy of Arioch than his body was
capable of handling. In that attempt, Roderick had nearly drained the Mihran
Mage-field completely.

Then to make matters worse, Aidric and the mage troops he commanded
were making it increasingly difficult to attempt more attacks on the Shield,
and that left him ready to spit nails.

Now, not only did Roderick have Aidric to worry about, but he also had
this mysterious maiden whom the Lamians believed to be the Golden Mage to deal
with, as well. He would be a fool to think that he could easily twist her will
to do his bidding, but…

Even now he could hear the mysterious voice in his dreams whispering
that the maiden he had seen enveloped within the light of the two suns was
crucial to the success of his plans. Could the dream have been Foresight of a
different flavor, bestowed not from Seni, but from Arioch, himself? Just
because Arioch had not rewarded him with a Foresight sending before did not
mean those particular dream had
not
come directly from him.

With the Golden Mage in his power, his options were limitless. Roderick
could very well conquer all of Seni’s world, especially if he had the near
limitless power of the Lamian Mage-field to draw from—the Mage-field in which
the Golden Mage
would
help him to obtain.

With a smug smile, Roderick sat back into his chair and began to relax
the tension in his shoulders as endless images of grandeur flashed through his
mind. The more he contemplated it, the more he believed it could be done. No
matter what the prophecy foretold, Roderick believed that every mage had at
least one weakness. One just needed the fortitude to uncover it. After all, he
had found Aidric’s strongest weakness. A pity that his attempt to exploit it
had unexpectedly blown up in his face, and that method was now closed to him
forever.

That was one of the many reasons he had been willing to lose so many of
his best spies in his efforts to successfully plant one within Lamia. He had
wanted to try to uncover Aidric’s weaknesses no matter the cost. However, it
had taken the sole spy that had finally managed to cross into Lamia much longer
than Roderick had expected to uncover anything useful and even longer to use
that information to his advantage.

He simply did not have the patience to wait quite as long this time. If
what his current spy had conveyed was true, then perhaps it would be simpler to
uncover the weakness of the Golden Mage since she was untrained and ignorant to
the ways of magic. Perhaps that, in itself, was her weakness.

Life has just suddenly become more interesting
, he thought with
glee, gazing at the painting again and imagining that the soldier whose head
was being torn off by an enemy’s bare hands bore Aidric’s face.

“Aidric?” a hesitant voice called out from the sitting room, causing him
to look up from the map of Kemos, Mihr, and Na’ar he had been studying.

Allison…
Aidric smiled as he rose from his chair to go out to
greet her, his spirits immediately lifting. She sounded so uncertain, not at
all like the majority of Lamian women who were more headstrong than gentle. He
found her occasional uncertainty to be a charming quality.

In fact, Allison had not been far from his thoughts during the last few
sand-marks he had been working in his study. His mind should have been on the
ambush they were planning on Roderick’s troops in Kemos, but he had found it
very hard to concentrate.

There was no doubt that he was attracted to her. That Lady Gaelle’s dig
at him had gotten under his skin so badly that she had actually gotten the rise
out of him she had desired had made this rather obvious. That realization had
piled on an entirely new set of problems to his already overflowing plate.

He didn’t know what to think or even if he should explore these newfound
feelings at all. They were still practically strangers. Her trust in him was,
at best, tentative. The last thing he wanted to do was possibly make things
awkward between them, especially since they would be working together closely
on a daily basis on her magecraft. Even the smallest distraction during lessons
could be dangerous.

Then there was the little matter of
him
trusting
her
.
After what had happened with Alina, he didn’t know if he could ever fully trust
a woman again. Pursuing that type of relationship at this point would be
incredibly stupid. It was probably best to just put his attraction out of his
mind and continue on acting the mentor only.

Aidric left his study and headed for the sitting room where he found
Allison standing near the front door as if she was afraid to enter the room any
farther. She wore a dazed expression, her attention focused inward. At the
sound of his approach, her eyes immediately darted over to him. She smiled,
relief washing over her face, and she took a couple of steps away from the
door.

“I was afraid you weren’t here,” she said shyly.

For a long moment, he said nothing as his eyes took in the stunning
vision before him. Allison was no longer wearing the apprentice uniform he had
given her. Instead, she was dressed in one of Ileanna’s most elegant gowns,
obviously intended for the coming night’s celebration.

The gown was a deep shade of green that matched her eyes perfectly. It
was of the new style, its neckline cut lower and the bodice laced even more
tightly in order to accentuate every curve. The hemline in the back, though
still long, full, and modest as ever, hung slightly longer than the front until
it nearly brushed the floor as she walked. The dress fit as though it had been
made especially for her, yet she kept unconsciously smoothing out the material
at her waist as if wearing the dress made her uncomfortable. Considering the
type of clothing she had arrived in, he couldn’t imagine why.

Aidric couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her beauty was so astounding
that for a moment, he forgot that she had spoken. He couldn’t think. It was as
if she had cast a submissive spell over him, and he no longer had a will of his
own.

“Aidric?”

Her voice shook him out of his fool’s paradise, and with some
difficulty, he managed to gather his wits again. Aidric offered her an
apologetic smile at the questioning in her eyes as he cleared the distance
between them and took her hand, lifting it up to his lips to greet her with a
light kiss. He delighted at the blush that suddenly colored her checks,
lighting up her entire face with a radiance that enhanced her beauty more than
he thought was possible.

“I see Ileanna has kept you very busy for the past few sand-marks,”
Aidric said conversationally. “I trust you enjoyed her company?”

“Oh, very much,” Allison replied. “She and her ladies filled me in on a
lot of the customs of this world, but mostly on palace life and the life of the
surrounding villages.” She sighed. “It’s—a lot to take in.”

She suddenly looked worried, uncertain. As Aidric watched her, he had
an impetuous desire to draw her into his arms.

Aidric gave himself a mental kick in the backside.
What are you
thinking? She is to be your apprentice. Unless she shows any interest, then
that is
all
she will be.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “As I’ve told you before, no one will expect you
to adjust to our ways so soon. Now, let us sit and talk for a moment. There’s
so much I wish to know about your world, and I’m certain you still have many
questions about Lamia and your duties as a mage that the queen could not
answer. We still have several sand-marks before nightfall and the start of the festivities.”

“Yes, I
do
have questions,” Allison said slowly. “I think maybe
I’ll never stop having questions, but I’m sure you must have other, more
important, things to attend to. I don’t want to keep you from them. I’m
determined not to be any more of a burden to you than I already am. I can just
sit in here and read some of your books. Don’t feel as if you have to spend
every waking moment with me.”

“I thought that ‘burden’ nonsense was settled,” Aidric said in mock
consternation. When she merely adverted her eyes, he sighed and shook his head
in frustration. “It really does please me that you are staying with me.
Rattling around in this monstrous suite alone is not my idea of a good time,
mind you. I have never had the pleasure of having a fulltime apprentice. You
are my first simply because no other potential mage came even remotely close to
the level of my abilities and could be taught by any other mage. The king
thought my abilities would serve the kingdom better in military and diplomatic
pursuits rather than instructing all the youngsters.”

He shrugged. “However, over the past few years, I
have
occasionally taken up a ward. Both were young men who were about to be
proclaimed a mage by the Horae that had shone extraordinary skill. I served as
a kind of final mentor to them, polishing their techniques and learning their
limits, yet they weren’t anything like a true apprentice. You will be the first
I’ll instruct completely from start to finish.”

“But your other duties—” Allison protested.

“You are
far
more important than any other duty I might have,
Allison,” he replied firmly. “Without the proper training, you could very well
destroy the kingdom, and only I have the knowledge and ability to give someone
has potentially powerful as you that training. But that’s not the only reason.
Over the last few years, I have grown extremely weary of politics and have longed
to go along another path. Your arrival here has finally given me the perfect
excuse to do just that.”

Aidric smiled down at her, but her eyes still reflected a great amount
of uncertainty.

“Okay,” Allison said hesitantly, “if you’re sure I won’t be taking up
too much of your time, then I’m glad for the company. To be honest, I—don’t
want to be alone right now.”

She then abruptly pulled her hand out of his and sharply turned her
back to him as though she was about to cry and didn’t want him to see her
tears. Yet, when she spoke again, her voice was surprisingly steady.

“I still don’t know what to make of all of this. It’s just so
overwhelming, especially after everything Queen Ileanna has told me about this
place. I’m still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact this place
exists
much less everything else. It’s just so different, and—I guess I’m just afraid
that I’ll
never
fit in…”

Allison walked over to one of the windows and sighed as she gazed out
into one of the indoor gardens.

Aidric waited a couple of beats before following. He stopped directly behind
her, uncertain of whether he should touch or even speak to her. Finally,
against his better judgment, he placed a hesitant hand lightly onto her
shoulder and then was surprised when instead of flinching away as he half-expected
her to do, she reached up and covered his hand with her own. Her unexpected touch
sent a pleasant shock through his body.

He started to speak, but before he could utter a word, Allison’s
shoulders tensed, and she said in a wavering voice, “A-Aidric—I don’t—it’s too
much—I can’t—”

“It’s all right,” Aidric crooned softly, wanting to take her into his
arms to comfort her but making no move to do so. “You can tell me.”

With a shaky sigh, she slowly turned to face him, her lovely face now
stained with tears. Her eyes carried a very familiar haunted look. It made his
heart ache. Seeing the despair in her eyes was like looking into a mirror. He
stared down at her mutely, wanting to say something to ease her torment, but
unable to find the right words.

“I’m scared, Aidric!” Allison said bleakly, desperation creeping into
her voice. “I feel it—all this power within me I don’t understand pushing hard
against your shields, wanting to break out and cause all sorts of terrible
things! I was terrified it would happen when I was with the queen! I just want
it to
stop
, to wake up from this nightmare!”

Allison then crumbled before him so quickly that Aidric nearly missed
preventing her from falling to the ground. The moment he grabbed her, she
immediately threw her arms around him, holding onto him tightly as though he
was her anchor in the sea in which she was now drowning.

This time he didn’t hesitate as he drew her closer to his body,
enfolding her protectively in his arms as she trembled and began to sob quietly
into his chest. He carded his fingers through her golden hair gently in an
attempt to soothe her tears, bending his head to whisper words of reassurance
into her ear.

Aidric silently held her until her body stopped shivering and her
sobbing ceased, bearing her weight as her body slumped against his in exhaustion,
her breathing reduced to ragged gasps.

Holding her so close to him, sharing a moment so intimate, left Aidric
feeling conflicted. His emotions were in utter turmoil, partly because his
Empathy was picking up Allison’s emotions and they were bleeding into his own.

So much for his earlier determination to keep her at an arm’s length. Sharing
such an intense, emotional moment made that virtually impossible now. He had
never longed to make love to a woman more than he did at that moment.

Seni help me, it has been so long, so damned long—

He gazed down at her as he lovingly stroked her hair. Her eyes were
closed tightly against the world, her lips still trembling with unreleased
anguish. He could feel her arms still holding him tightly in their death grip,
the feel of her warm breath on his chest. It was maddening!

Aidric glanced longingly in the direction of his bedroom. He knew he
merely had to lead her over to it, and she probably would not hesitate to
follow.

He didn’t move.

Lamia’s Mage-general at his finest
, he thought sarcastically.
She would follow him yes, but not because it was what she truly desired. She
was merely feeling incredibly vulnerable and as a result, longed for his
companionship. Nothing more.

Aidius, I’ve been far too lonely for far too long!
he thought,
disgusted with himself.
Seni condemn me to the lowest hell of Ter-ob if I
ever think anything so depraved again! I’ll not have her unless she comes to me
out of love!

A few beats later, Allison pulled away from him, still visibly shaken,
but now her expression was more embarrassed than frightened. He didn’t know
whether to be relieved or disappointed.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” she stammered, her tear-stained eyes refusing to meet
his gaze. “I’m not making a very good first impression, am I?”

“Nonsense,” Aidric replied firmly. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of doing what
any other would do in your situation. Allison—look at me.”

Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his. They stared at one another for
a long, tense moment, almost as if they were trying to read down to each
other’s soul. Whatever Aidric had meant to say was lost in the heat of that
gaze.

Finally, Allison blinked and smiled wryly as she wiped away all the
stray tears from her eyes and said almost casually, “I’ve ruined your shirt.”

Taken aback by her sudden shift in mood, Aidric looked down at his clothing
dumbly and saw that his shirt was indeed ruined. The front of his shirt was
soaked with Allison’s tears and heavily wrinkled beyond salvation where she had
gripped him so tightly. Had anyone seen him in such a disheveled state off the
battlefields, they would have been shocked.

“So you have,” he agreed with amusement. “Strange your dress received
no such damage. If I did not know better, I would think the queen had all of
her wardrobe spell-protected. You don’t have even a single wrinkle.”

“It’s a gift all women have, I suppose,” she said with a smile.

Aidric laughed but then immediately sobered when he saw her face turn
serious again.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Whatever for?”

“For just being here,” Allison said, “for giving me a shoulder to cry
on when I needed it. I would have lost it a lot worse if I would have been
alone, and who knows how many bad things I could’ve inadvertently caused with
my mind so unstable.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Aidric said gruffly. “Do you wish to speak a
bit more, or would you rather rest until tonight?”

She paused, her eyes flickering towards the entryway to the hall before
she shook her head. “Let’s talk.”

He nodded and gently took her hand, leading her over to one of the
couches. Allison sank into it in exhaustion, and Aidric seated himself beside her,
consciously keeping about an arm-span’s distance between them as much for his
sake as for hers. He was still unnerved by the emotions she had roused in him
earlier, and her closeness was only tormenting him.