by K. E. Young
She was shaking. "You wouldn't stay with me in Drakken?"
He rocked her gently to calm her. "My One, I couldn't. Until we deal with the valbore, my duty is to the safety of you and the rest of the world. I'm a strong mage, well versed in combat magic, and I would be needed here."
She looked up at him, fear and worry still haunting her eyes. "Then I will stay. I wouldn't feel safe away from you." She sniffled. "My people say 'Know your enemy as you know yourself'. When can I begin looking for information on the valbore?"
Kaio brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes. He marveled that his mouse could be so brave. "After guards arrive from Drakken. I can trust them with your safety. Then I can ferry books and documents to you until you finish healing and gain enough strength to spend time in the vault-library yourself."
"The vault-library? I take it you don't mean the library here in the palace?"
He tipped his head. "No, these books and documents date from the Mage-Kings and we keep them in an old, specially spelled vault originally built by the Mage-Kings to prevent deterioration. It's in the mountains on the edge of the waste not far from here. Many of the documents stored there contain dangerous information. It's safer to keep them locked up so we can control who has access. We can't replicate the spells on the vault anymore, so we can't move the vault itself without risking losing the contents. As a result, we keep the location a secret. I can bring books or documents out for a time so you can study them though."
"Maybe you can set up a cot in the vault so I can rest when necessary and let me spend time there. If it's meant to keep people out, then whoever it is will have a hard time getting to me, right?"
It gave him pause for thought. "That's not a bad idea. I still want to wait until the Drakkeni guards arrive though." He nuzzled the top of her head. Her safety wasn't up for negotiation.
She sighed and relaxed against him as her shaking slowly subsided. "I wish you all hadn't gone away. If you had still been here Dagresh wouldn't have grabbed me."
"It wasn't a matter of choice, my love. Dragos had to go back to Drakken because his adopted father took ill. When he died, we all had to go back to attend the funeral and swear fealty to the new Emperor. We may be the rulers of Therys, but we are still Drakkeni lords and we answer to the Emperor first."
Kaio paused. "I'm torn. I heartily wish you weren't hurt. However, if this evil hadn't befallen you we would still be ignorant of Fanul's depredations, Dagresh, and his associates would still be feeding the valbore without us even suspecting, and I would be contemplating a Drakkeni wife I didn't want without realizing the one I did want was possible after all. If I had married before we learned of your mage status, I could not have stopped them from pressuring you into becoming Empress. You would not have been happy. So, while I deeply regret your suffering, I'm glad in a way. You did not suffer without purpose. Great good will come of it, an even greater evil will be averted, and we both have a chance at happiness."
Her voice was thoughtful rather than the pained protest it was before. "Maybe that's why the Goddess brought me here. She knew I could take it."
He smiled into her hair despite his distaste for the concept. "Perhaps. Does that mean I am her gift to you for your service to her?"
She laughed abruptly. "You're a good gift if so."
He chuckled softly, stroking her hair. "I am honored you think so, but somehow I think I got the better deal."
"True. You didn't have to endure Fanul's speeches."
Kaio frowned. "There is much I didn't have to endure. It's not fair you had to go through all that, but I can see why the Goddess chose you."
She didn't answer, just snuggling a little closer. He sat there stroking her hair as his dragon purred happily until Master Bedin interrupted.
"It's ready, my lady." He handed a cup to Sara. "Don't smell it. My advice is to drink it as quickly as possible. It is very bitter, but it will counteract any venom you may have absorbed. I have a cup of something else when you finish that will settle your stomach and clear the taste away. The antidote will give you a bit of a fever for a few hours."
She looked at the cup dubiously, then drank it down as if it was water and she was dying of thirst. When she handed the cup back to the healer, her face twisted up at the bitterness. Bedin urged her to take the second cup and she took a swig of it with an air of desperation. It seemed to help although it was a minute before her expression cleared.
"My lord, I'll make up doses of antidotes for the most common poisons and bring them with me tomorrow when I come. That way they're available if needed. I can also ask my suppliers to notify me if they have anyone asking for anything out of the ordinary, but they'll want to know why. I gather from what you and your Lady said, her death could be disastrous. How much am I allowed to say?"
"Dragos will announce it to the court tonight so I don't see that it makes much difference. Fanul and Dagresh were feeding mage gifted women and girl children to a valbore. We're certain Dagresh bound Lady Sara to it so she could be its steed. Her escape brought the whole mess to our attention. If their associates can't get Sara back, then they want her dead so we can't follow the bond back to the valbore, drain it, and lock it away again."
Bedin looked upset. "Fools. Not even the Accusers could control them, what makes them believe they can?"
Sara spoke up. "Maybe they don't want to. Maybe all they feel they have to do is keep it from eating them and let it do as it wishes. Kaio, you said valbore have broken free before. What happens when that occurs?"
Kaio blinked, reasoning through the implications of what she was saying. "Conflicts stop. It disrupts everything, even wars. Running away is all most can do. They can't fight. For the last eight hundred years, most of the effort and cost of defeating them has fallen on the Drakken. We are immune to the valbore's efforts to control us and have more strong mages than anyone else so we are the ones called on to fight them."
"So they know Drakken will send forces to defeat it. Forces that have never failed to do so, correct? In the meantime, the valbore is busy snacking on their rivals. Afterwards, the holes in the local power structure would need filling and they'd be ready to step in. If they're lucky, Drakken will suffer enough losses to weaken it, perhaps even force it to withdraw from Therys."
Kaio sighed. "That makes entirely too much sense. It fits with the mindset we've seen here. We've always thought of those who summon valbore as madmen or fools. I'm not sure it ever occurred to us the case might be otherwise. I'll mention the possibility to Sano and Dragos. They're still questioning the prisoners." He turned back to the healer. "Pass on the theory that whoever is summoning the valbore doesn't care who gets consumed and has no intention of caging it themselves if you wish."
"Thank you, my lord. It may make certain of them more willing to talk." Bedin paused with an odd expression. "You're sure they were mage-gifted?"
Kaio sighed. "They shoved Demon's bane down Sara's throat all the time they held her. It would make sense to target those who were least wanted and most useful to them."
The old healer sighed. "It would explain why no one ever claimed them. Their families would have been relieved she was no longer an embarrassment. My lady, I will see you on the morrow." He bowed and exited.
After Bedin left, Kaio went back to cuddling Sara with a happy sigh. His dragon delighted in the feel of her and purred. "So, My One. A gown has been set out for tonight. I hope that's all right. I didn't think you would want to do this in your nightgown."
She burbled with laughter. "How long are you going to play lady's maid?"
He chuckled. "Until a real one arrives from Drakken. I'm sure the court will find it highly amusing when they find out. If anyone jokes about it within my hearing I plan to tell them they are simply jealous."
Her smile faded. "When will they arrive? Calum said if they were lucky, the first guards would arrive by tonight."
"Normally, it's a six-hour flight from here, but Arhis is one of the fastest dragonkin Drakken has.
It's why his parents named him that. Arhis means 'swiftly' in Atlani. He would have arrived a good two hours before noon. If guards left within the hour then the first would arrive slightly before sunset. It's more likely guards wouldn't be sent until after Girru arrives with word of the valbore though. Girru should arrive right about now. Which means the first guards could arrive between dinner and midnight. I expect the bulk of the new arrivals tomorrow."
"And your father and mother?"
I thought about it for a few moments. "The news of the valbore coming so soon after the first message would throw any preparations mother was making into confusion. It wouldn't stop her from coming though." I snorted in sudden humor. "Knowing Mother, it will cause her to move the entire household here all at once so we have what we need. She has the instincts of a general. Dragos sent her a note with Girru because of the threats to the maids."
"So why didn't Master Bedin have you and Lord Haradis take the antidote as well? You tasted the poisoned food too."
"Being part dragon gives a certain resistance to most poisons and full immunity to some. Perisal venom is one of the latter. Perisals live in the southern waters of the Blue Sea. Beautiful creatures. Some call them sea dragons although there isn't any relation. They use their venom to hunt. They circle in calm water to herd fish into a ball then squirt their venom into the water to stun them. Then they scoop the fish up at their leisure. Fishermen know when they see the oil slick on the water that perisals are hunting there and they fish elsewhere. It breaks down and evaporates off the surface rapidly, but it will still taint any fish caught there until it does."
Sara was silent for a few minutes. "What happens after you defeat the valbore?"
"Life continues. We mourn the dead and clean up the mess. Dragos will use all of this to clean house. He'll remove lords who aided those calling the valbore or who hinder efforts to defeat it, permanently if necessary. He'll probably ban most of them from the court. A few lords may lose their lives." Sara shivered a little.
"You and I will go to Drakken for a few weeks. The celebrations will be spectacular. They always are after a valbore. The Emperor will honor you for your part. If you hadn't found the strength to escape and bring us word we would never have known until it was too late. Anyway, we'll spend time at my estate in the mountains getting to know each other better, and time in the city getting you everything you need, introducing you to the Emperor, building a household, and having fun."
"Fun?"
"You don't think we should have fun? Because I'm fairly certain you need it."
She laughed and said, "I should have said 'What kind of fun?' instead."
Sara: 32nd of Hunting, 3837
I listened as he reeled off a long list of potential activities. He still hadn't answered my question though, or maybe I had asked the question wrong. What happens to me after the valbore is defeated? What place would I have here? How could he expect me to be happy if I always had to watch my back, what I ate, where I went, and who was around me? What would happen between us?
After a time he wound down and suggested I rest until Sano returned with food. I wasn't tired though so I opted to read. Kaio plugged away at paperwork and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He seemed to hate it but he slogged on. "Is there anything I can help with?"
He looked up with a wan smile. "I wish you could, but most of what I have to take care of now is ongoing correspondence and reports from assorted sources."
"Spies." He looked at me sharply and raised an eyebrow. "I've heard the rumors. No one can say exactly what you do for Lord Gonturan, but it's clear you work closely with him. You end up handling the ugly situations and the lords are terrified you'll find out what they're doing. Someone has to do it and Dragos trusts you."
He looked thoughtful. "You are correct. I hope you can keep silent about that though."
I snorted. "Even if I were of a mind to talk, there isn't anyone here I would want to tell. The ladies of the court and I don't get along at all and the lords of the court don't want to talk, they just want to lift my skirts. Even in my old world, there wasn't anyone I could talk to."
"Does what I do bother you? Sometimes I have to order acts that aren't particularly honorable."
His expression kept me from laughing. In school, the history of the middle ages had always struck me as hypocritical. The leaders of the time spoke of honor, chivalry, and faith, and then demanded complete innocents fight and die in wars based on pride and greed. "That depends on your point of view. It may not seem honorable to strike from the shadows, but is it honorable to attack openly when innocents could and would be hurt? Is it honorable to allow someone to hurt others because the letter of the law backs them up? Is it right to allow a warlord to slaughter his own people because he stays outside your borders? Sometimes you have to choose the context of what is honorable. Which honor serves the greatest good?"
"Not everyone thinks that way. Even back in Drakken, there are many who think spies and assassins are dishonorable."
"Drakken has both though, don't they? Those who think it's dishonorable probably don't understand the complexities of statecraft and politics. Most don't."
Kaio looked down and sighed. "Among other reasons my father and I fight about my refusal to give up my duties with Dragos. He finds it — and me, dishonorable, a stain on the family honor, and an embarrassment to our ancestors."
"Your mother doesn't agree with him though, does she?"
He still hadn't raised his eyes. "I haven't told her."
His father's words bothered him more than he wanted to admit. "Kaio, she already knows and she approves. If she is as capable as you've said, then she has figured it out. I did and I haven't had as long to do it as she has."
He met my eyes but stayed silent for a long time. Finally, he took a deep breath. "You really do see more than you ever reveal, don't you? You may be right. Mother is like that too."
I looked down at the book in my hands. "He's wrong you know. You haven't stained either your family's honor or your own. You have brought greater honor on yourself by making those hard choices. A spy must convince people to give him information that could endanger them. To do that, you must prove to them you have integrity, reliability, and discretion. They are putting their lives in your hands. A spymaster is in the same position but more so. He must keep both his spies and their informants safe. A dishonorable man would fail. What you do helps prevents wars, right wrongs, and keep your lands and peoples safe while causing the least amount of harm. Can your father say as much? How many people has his honor protected?"
Kaio's harsh bark of laughter spoke of his upset. "You'll not convince him he's wrong Sara."
That made me mad. Kaio didn't deserve that kind of treatment. "I don't care what he thinks. I don't like seeing you hurt by his ignorance and selfishness."
"Ignorance?"
"Maybe I have the wrong word. I mean ignorance as in a purposeful lack of willingness to think or to consider viewpoints other than his own, in this case, due to stubbornness and misplaced pride."
"You think his pride misplaced?" Kaio looked thoughtfully curious.
"When he cares more for the reputation of the dead than of the living, more about what others think of him than what he thinks of himself, and more about his own image than the well-being of his son — yes, I do. It makes no difference whether it's pride or simply insecurity masking itself as such. The effect is the same.
"A writer of my world once said, 'Reputation is what others know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.' A family does not have honor. The people who make up the family do."
Kaio came over and sat next to me, leaning his forehead against mine. "My One, you could give the Emperor himself lessons in honor. I consider myself very lucky you agreed to become my mate. Please, never decide you've made a mistake because I don't think I could survive losing you. I would do anything to make you happy, even if it cost me my life."
"Before my father died, he told me 'Be who you
choose to be, not what others would have you be'. It's a bit of wisdom we both should heed. We are each caught up in the expectations and desires of others but in different ways."
He gave me a slow sweet smile. "My One, my love for you grows with each passing hour. Never forget that."
I ignored the pain and pull of injured tissues to lean into him. This man made me feel safe for the first time in far too long and I chose to trust him. I wasn't at all sure I could survive losing him either. He had always drawn me, right from the start. He was volatile and unrestrained in his way with strong opinions and passions but he was a good man. Intelligent, wily, clever, and honorable as the day was long. I didn't understand what he could see in me.
Despite his original treatment of me, I knew he wasn't an inherently cruel man. He had criticized my dress, my attitude, and my behavior, but he had never called me stupid, ugly, or incompetent even if I had interpreted his words that way. I had done a lot of thinking since he left for Drakken. I had realized I sometimes made assumptions I shouldn't and sometimes I misinterpreted his words. This is a different world and so far, Drakken's culture bore little resemblance to the one in which I grew up. There are differences in the experiences that inform our words.
It all boiled down to the fact he had never intentionally harmed me. I could forgive the rest. We all say and do things we shouldn't when we're angry or frustrated.
We sat there cuddling for a time before Sano returned with a fresh tray. The light was ruddy as sunset approached. "I'm sorry it took so long. It turns out they dumped the venom into the pot. It took a lot of running to track it all down. Fortunately, no one else had taken a bite yet as far as I can tell, but we're still verifying. A potboy is missing and may have gotten some. I traced it to a new kitchen worker, his first day on the job. He disappeared after he served up your tray. My men are tracking him now.
"Lady Sara, the head cook insisted on making something fresh for you as I watched. He's an old Akkadi fellow so I don't think you need to worry about its safety. He's one of those we brought in when we arrived as a precaution. He's offered to make all of your meals personally. I told him he's to hand them off to Kaio, Calum, or Thorn only. Kaio, I'll let you know when I find more."