“Xenith,” he said, with a respectful nod.
“Lord Stoneblood.” Xenith’s hair was messy, but her expression was strong and unreadable. “Do you intend to kill my father?”
“Mud and blood, I’m not some kind of monster,” he said. “I was hoping that you would be more reasonable than him so we could discuss a proper compromise.”
She stared at him, and Ari briefly wondered if he’d made a mistake in assuming that she’d be more reasonable than Diya in surrender.
“Name your terms,” said Xenith.
“Your father has already drawn up a reasonable map of the borders between our lands,” said Ari. “The only thing I ask for on top of that is for you to release the prisoners you’ve taken.”
“Prisoners…?” Xenith shook her head, and then seemed to realize what he meant. “You mean the slaves?”
“They are people, not slaves,” said Ari. “You have no right to treat them as property. You will set them free, all of them, and give them the means to travel to safety.”
He tightened his jaw, considering for the first time about what he’d be willing to do if Xenith refused his offer and the conflict continued. It didn’t seem so outlandish anymore to think that he could potentially lay siege to Central Dominion with the Weatherblight and free the captured Ravarians by force.
“Done,” said Xenith.
“Daughter!” shouted Diya. “You cannot possibly—”
“Quiet,” said Ari. “She’s the authority now, not you.”
Cold fury burned in Diya’s expression. Ari wondered if he’d gone a little too far for a moment until he saw the way the other man sucked in a calm, defeated breath.
“I agree to your terms, Lord Stoneblood,” said Xenith. “The prisoners will be released.”
“In return, I will limit my troop and Weatherblight movements to the new border,” said Ari. “Your father and what remains of his army will be allowed to pass out of my lands safely.”
The discussion continued for a minute or two more, with Xenith bringing up the possibility of exchanging official diplomats. Ari was surprised by how comfortable she seemed with the situation and almost forgot that he was still holding her father at the point of his sword when the conversation came to a close.
“No hard feelings,” said Ari, as he sheathed Azurelight and handed Diya back the Messagem.
Surprisingly, Diya gave him a slow nod in return.
“If yesterday’s encounter proved anything, it’s that I cannot protect my daughter from you, and you cannot protect your friends from me,” said Diya. “I seek outcomes, Lord Stoneblood. Not victories. This was not the outcome that I expected, but it is one that I am willing to accept. I wonder if you share that same sense of practicality in this shattered world.”
Ari resisted the urge to point out that it was fairly easy to be practical when he’d gotten everything he wanted. There was wisdom in Diya’s words, and for an instant, he really could see the man as one of Mythril’s old friends, along with the lengthy road that had led to where they were now.
CHAPTER 52
Ari rode his rune sled back to Etheria slowly, waving a hand for Rin and her warriors to stand down as he came within a few hundred feet. Rin looked as though she was bristling for a fight as he dismounted.
“We can strike them down now, chala,” said Rin. “I understand if you wish to wait for the next storm to do it yourself, but we mustn’t let this chance pass us by.”
“No,” said Ari. “We’ve made peace.”
He grinned as he pulled out the treaty, which both he and Diya had signed and kept a copy of once it had been redrafted with the important changes. She scowled as she began reading it, and Virgil, Skinner, and Durrien moved in close to read it over her shoulder.
“The slaves will be released?” asked Rin, in disbelief. “That means… my sister?”
“Yeah,” said Ari. “Your people will have their Vereshi back.”
Rin shouted something in her native language to the other Ravarians nearby, and Ari was instantly pulled into a crushing hug by half a dozen ecstatic men and women.
“How likely is it that he’ll hold to this contract?” asked Rin.
Ari was about to shrug when Azurelight flashed, and Eva appeared next to him.
“The Emperor will uphold the terms,” said Eva. “I have no doubt that he will seethe under the surface while doing so, but I am confident that the treaty can be trusted.”
“It’s over then,” said Ari. “We really did it.”
Several celebratory shouts came from around the main chamber as the others hurried over to the group. Ari saw Durrien and Grena holding hands and grinning. The Ravarian children were chasing each other around, smiling and laughing.
Kerys stood a little behind the others, smiling with tears in her eyes. Ari worked to extricate himself from the center of the crowd and hurried over to her. She reached her hand out, first to cup his cheek, and then to run the surprisingly cold fingers of her copper hand through his hair.
“You kept your promise,” she whispered. “For once.”
“For once?” Ari pulled back a little and furrowed his brow in mock offense. “Kerys, you’re so mean.”
He pulled her into a tight hug and spun her around in the air, eliciting a small, surprised gasp. Some of the others flooded in around them, and Ari laughed as he suddenly found himself in a group that also included Amber, Eva, and Rin.
Virgil, with in Selene in tow, squeezed into the celebration. An idea that had been formulating in the back of Ari’s head came to the forefront, and he clasped the boy’s shoulder.
“Virgil,” he said. “Have you ever considered being a diplomat before?”
Virgil shook his head and raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I need to send someone to Central Dominion to represent Etheria,” he said. “Not permanently, we’ll still need you back here in the long run. But I figure you’d be a perfect fit, given that the Sai are your people.”
“You… would trust me to do that?” asked Virgil.
“Yeah,” said Ari. “I would.”
Virgil opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded his head. “I… would be honored.”
Ari grinned and was about to explain more of what the responsibility would entail when Durrien thrust a clay mug into his hand.
“Here,” said the old innkeeper. “I think a celebration is in order.”
Ari chuckled and took a deep sip of the best plum brandy he’d ever tasted. There was still food left from earlier, and Durrien and Grena began assembling it into more of a proper meal as the sun began to dip low for the evening.
There would still be work to do the next day, cleaning, repairing the tree fence, along with the general tasks of hunting and gathering food. It was work that Ari was looking forward to, the peaceful process of maintaining a burgeoning settlement.
He stood by the entrance to the tunnel with Kerys and Eva on either side of him, eating a slice of bread and continuing to nurse his mug of plum brandy.
“Can we relax now?” whispered Kerys.
“Yeah,” said Ari. “I think we can.”
THE END
Thanks for reading. My next book, Arcane Dropout, will be the first in a new urban fantasy series and should be out on June 5th. I’ll most definitely be looking for ARC readers through my newsletter, if any of you are interested in getting it early. To get in touch with me directly, send an email to [email protected]. For updates and occasional freebies, sign up for my newsletter.
Edmund
Heartgem Homestead
CHAPTER 1
And as such, Lady Eletha demanded supreme fealty from Billick. She strode into his palace flanked by her valkyries, wearing the sensual, open cut dress of the elven dawning ceremony. Billick, defeated in both battle and pride, stood naked in his court room. His contemporaries watched on, knowing that their only hope for thriving in the next era lay with the heir about to be conceived.
Before the war, Bil
lick had boasted of his intent to bed Lady Eletha. Perhaps that was part of the irony of her demands, placing the burden of conception into his lap along with complete surrender. Now, she walked toward him with long, languid steps, the horizontal slits in her dress revealing glimpses of pink nipple as they shifted across her bosom.
Billick made a show of sneering openly, but it was clear that he was a defeated man. Even as aroused as he was, there was no confidence left in his eyes. If anything, his expression hinted at self-loathing and annoyance in the deep satisfaction Lady Eletha took in their reversal of roles.
She pushed her hand against his chest, knocking him back into the chair that was once to be his throne. Pulling up her dress from the hem, she lowered herself onto him. He was ready for her, and reached his hands up to feel her body and take control.
Two of Lady Eletha’s valkyries seized his wrists before he could. Lady Eletha nodded to a third, who came up beside her and took hold of Billick’s long ears, rubbing the appendages and teasing the erogenous zones there with soft movements.
Lady Eletha sank lower onto him, and Billick’s mask faded away. He let out a defeated moan and tried to glare at her, only managing a halfhearted effort. Lady Eletha pulled at her plunging neckline and thrust her bare breasts into his face. Slowly, she rocked her hips back and forth. She planned on taking her time with him.
“Halrin Kentar! Are you truly this daft?”
Hal flinched at the sound of his sister’s voice, nearly dropping the translation he’d been studying. Lilith was headed up the hill in his direction, carrying her skirts high as she stepped through the rain speckled grass.
He felt his cheeks reddening as he considered the history he’d been reading. Many of the ancient elven texts that Roth assigned him to translate centered on topics that were less than appropriate for polite discussion. Some of them even veered into explicit detail, giving a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the lurid history of the elder race.
“Do you need something, Lilith?” he asked.
Lilith bounced with each step as she made her way toward the tree Hal was resting against, her strawberry blonde curls falling loose across her freckled, youthful face. Behind her, carriages approached the Kentar Estate in an unbroken line, appearing to flee from the beautiful setting sun and indigo infused clouds in their wake.
“It’s father’s victory party,” she said. “He’s going to be expecting you there.”
Hal shrugged.
Of course he will be. Along with all his sycophants, desperate to win his favor however they can.
“Father is always expecting one thing or another,” said Hal. “I’m sure he’s learned to manage his disappointment over the years.”
Lilith made an annoyed noise and crossed her arms, the motion causing the curls of her hair to pull and bounce like paper spirals. She stomped toward Hal, pouting as her eyes ran over him. For an instant, he feared that she was going to look at his work, and he scrambled to set the stack of paper just out of reach.
“What happened?” asked Lilith. “I know you too well, brother, to think that this morose mood comes naturally to you.”
She sat down next to him, leaning her back against the tree trunk, and took hold of one of his hands. Lilith was only twelve, a full eight years younger than Hal, but she was precocious and surprisingly perceptive for her age. Hal sighed and made a vague gesture, hoping she’d just let it drop.
“Father denied your request for dueling training,” guessed Lilith. “Again?”
Hal slowly nodded.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “The Collected Provinces may be at peace now, but that might not always be the case. And he’s one of the most prominent Voicemen, especially now that he’s been reelected. How does he expect me to protect him or you, should something happen? With a single ball from my pistol, which I also haven’t been trained with?”
“He doesn’t want that kind of life for you,” said Lilith.
Hal scowled, not at her, but at his circumstances.
“Father used those exact same words,” said Hal. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect an element of collusion between the two of you.”
Lilith made an offended noise, and Hal couldn’t keep a tiny smile from betraying his teasing. She was too easy, sometimes. Or perhaps she was just playing along, doing what she could to drag a better mood out of him.
“It’s not just the training though, is it?” asked Lilith. “He must have said something more than that to darken your temper so.”
“It’s not what he said…” Hal ran a hand through his hair. “It’s what he does. Who he favors…”
“You think he favors Mauve over you?” asked Lilith. “Mauve isn’t his son, Hal. And he isn’t your brother, despite how close he’s become to all of us.”
Mauve was the son of Eddard Broven, the Voiceman who’d originally pulled Hal’s father, Karnas Kentar, into politics. When Eddard had passed away, Mauve had still been a young child and the last of his family line. Karnas had taken him into the Kentar household without a second thought.
Mauve and my father get along well enough that maybe it would be better if he was his real son.
Hal pushed the thought away, realizing how petty it was. Mauve had been his best friend for almost his entire life. While Karnas had gone as far as to hint that he’d be open to allowing Mauve to marry Lilith one day, if he wished to join the family legally, Mauve was just as free spirited as Hal when it came to his future.
“I know,” said Hal. “And you’re right. It’s just frustrating. I’ve seen Mauve on the dueling grounds before. He’s the best swordsman under 25 summers in the province. It’s like father takes a perverse pleasure in allowing him the freedoms that he denies to me.”
Lilith frowned and said nothing. After a few seconds, she sat up straight and glanced over at him, her green eyes open and hopeful.
“I know what will cheer you up!” She reached into one of the pockets of her dress. When she pulled it out, her hand was clenched into a fist over something. “Close your eyes!”
Hal felt as though he’d rather roll his eyes than close them, but he obeyed. He felt Lilith draping a necklace over his head.
“Okay,” she said. “You can open them now.”
Hal looked down at what he’d been given. The necklace was an odd thing, a circle of leather cord with a small, clear stone in the shape of teardrop hanging from it. It was smooth and uniform, lacking any imperfections that he could see.
The stone had a strange effect on the light that passed through it. It wasn’t prismatic, but it still created minor distortions, almost like a full glass of water. A small, metal clasp with a loop for the cord to run through had been secured to the tip of its teardrop shape, leaving the larger half to hang downward.
Hal glanced up at his sister, who watched him with an excited expression on her face.
“I found it washed up on the edge of the river,” said Lilith. “What do you think of it?”
“I can’t really wear a necklace,” said Hal. “Rings are the only jewelry appropriate for grown men.”
All the excitement faded from her face, replaced by open disappointment. She bit her lower lip, and Hal knew beyond doubt that she was seconds away from crying.
“It’s beautiful!” he said, quickly. “And I can just wear it under my shirt. Thank you, Lilith. I’ll treasure it always.”
He pulled her into a tight hug, and felt her rest her head against his shoulder.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he said. “Thank you.”
“I love you, Hal,” she whispered.
She kept hugging him even as Hal started to release her from the embrace. Her hands moved across her eyes quickly as he caught sight of her face again, brushing away wasted tears.
“Now,” continued Lilith. “You need to head down the ballroom and join the festivities. And for the sun’s love, Hal, patch things up with father. Tonight isn’t about you, it’s about him.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
CHAPTER 2
Lilith headed straight back to the victory party, but Halrin needed to return his translation to Roth’s library first. He buckled his pistol belt back on as he stood up from his spot by the tree and set off down the hill toward the archives.
The Kentar estate was one of the largest land holdings in southeast Cardvale. It was mostly undeveloped, with the main house and buildings set within a large clearing surrounded by cultivated fields and pasture lands. Further beyond lay the dense, thick forest that had reclaimed much of the province over the past hundred years.
Hal took a route that would keep him away from most of the party’s guests. He was already dressed for the festivities, but he hated listening to the pleas and overtures of the merchants and politicians who were desperate to win his father’s favor.
The necklace Lilith had given him felt odd around his neck. The strange stone pressed against the bare skin of his chest, feeling warm and alive. He pulled it out as he walked, frowning as it began to heat up against his fingers.
A flash of light came from within the clear stone’s core, lasting only a fraction of a second, but shining bright enough to hurt Hal’s eyes. He flinched back from it, blinking several times in quick succession and frowning. Stones that changed color over time were not uncommon in the collected provinces, and were often set in to jewelry and purported to be able to tell the mood of the wearer.
I’ve seen that before, but never anything like this. Very strange…
The library doors were already locked for the night, but Hal had his own key. He let himself into the musty space and headed to his tutor’s desk. He tucked the translation into the drawer that Roth reserved for him to submit his work and made his way back outside.
Reborn Raiders (The Weatherblight Saga Book 4) Page 33