by Lisa Cassidy
“The palace is essentially a private residence for the king,” Cario explained as he showed them through a richly-appointed meeting chamber. “He hosts guests and delegations here in the Hub—there’s a beautiful guest annex at the back of the building, complete with an entire contingent of servants. Only the really important guests get to stay out at the palace.”
The tour didn’t take long—the building was lovely, but apart from a magnificent, sweeping garden on the open roof, most of the rooms were similar.
“Down there is where the king will be meeting with his delegation.” Cario paused at an intersection of halls on their way back out and pointed down one of them. Two militia stood guard here, looking as relaxed as those out the front. “His private office is that way, and the meeting room he uses most.”
Alyx was turning away to follow Cario back to the front when she heard her name called. The voice was strikingly familiar, and she spun back, unbelieving.
It couldn’t be!
Cayr was striding towards her, the same astonishment written on his face. Delighted joy swept through her and she took off at a run towards him. His smile spread from ear to ear as he swept her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
“What are you doing here?” They both asked the question at the same time, breathless with surprise.
“I was—”
“I’m here—”
Alyx laughed and stepped back, for the first time noticing the formal attire he wore and the direction he’d come from. “Are you part of the delegation King Mastaran is hosting?”
“Yes. My father is here for formal meetings with him,” Cayr said eagerly. “You?”
“There’s a meeting of the Mage Council. We escorted one of the masters from DarkSkull here.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it.” Cayr looked up to see the others behind her. “Dawn, Tarrick, hi!”
“Hello, Prince Cayr.” Both bowed gracefully. Alyx almost laughed aloud when Jayn’s eyes almost popped out of her head and Mika turned a deep shade of red.
“I thought I told you my name was Cayr,” he chided. “It’s good to see you both.”
“Cayr, this is Jayn, Mika and Cario. They’re friends of ours.”
Cario stepped forward, bowing his head only before offering his hand. “Cario Duneskal. Pleased to meet you, Prince Cayr.”
“And you, Cario.” Cayr took the proffered hand before moving on to Jayn and Mika. “Pleased to meet both of you as well.”
“So you’re Alyx’s prince?” Jayn seemed to relax under Cayr’s easy-going attitude.
“That’s me.” He looked back at Alyx as something occurred to him. “I should have mentioned; your father is here too. He’ll be thrilled to see you.”
Alyx’s heart leapt. “You can organise something?”
“Absolutely. I have to go though; I’m sorry, I’m expected back in the meeting.”
Without a word the others melted away, giving Alyx and Cayr a moment alone.
“Do you have much free time?” she asked him. “Dash is here too.”
Delight lit up his face, brightening his blue eyes and dazzling her a little. “Really? Then we have to do something. After all, it’s our birthday time.”
“I agree! We’re staying over at Town Hall. Can you get a message to me when you’re free?”
“Absolutely. I’ll make it as soon as possible.” He reached out to touch her shoulder. “It’s really good to see you, Alyx.”
Unable to stifle the urge any longer, she leaned up and kissed him, pulling back after a brief moment. His blue eyes twinkled down at her. “I really missed that.”
“Me too.” Her smile widened. “See you soon?”
“Absolutely.”
By the time the first council meeting actually began late the following morning, Alyx was beginning to realise that their time in Carhall was not going to be quite as exciting as she’d imagined. The dubious looks Dawn was giving her across the room suggested the telepath was thinking the same thing.
The large domed hall in which the council was held was impressive enough, but after the first hour of horribly long introductory speeches, Alyx was stifling yawns and shifting restlessly on the spot.
“Hang in there,” Cario leaned down to murmur in her ear. “There’s only a whole week and a half of this to go.”
“You knew it was going to be like this,” she accused. “Why didn’t you warn us?”
A smile flickered across his handsome face. “Best to let you find these things out for yourself.”
She sighed. It was going to be a long week.
Chapter 28
Alyx and the twins followed Tarrick as he weaved his way through the narrow streets. Once they’d left the walled area of Centre Square, Alyx had quickly lost any conception of where they were, but was so glad to be outdoors that she didn’t much care. As exciting as the opportunity to visit a new city was, the council itself had continued to be utterly boring and the day had dragged painfully.
Debating what monetary cap to place on remuneration to the council for sending mages to help with struggling crops in north-western Tregaya wasn’t exactly a topic that held Alyx’s attention. The second topic—how much coin to provide the mages doing the work as a daily allowance—had almost sent her to sleep.
“Here we are!” Tarrick announced, coming to a stop outside a busy-looking inn.
“Dashan told you to meet him at an inn called the ‘Beating Bosoms’?” Dawn asked dubiously.
“That he did.”
“If this is a brothel, I’m going back,” Alyx announced as she followed the others inside.
The inn proved to be brightly lit and comfortably crowded with a warm, lively vibe. She scanned the crowd, a smile of genuine pleasure crossing her face at seeing Dashan waiting alone at a corner booth. He looked up and saw her, returning her smile with a grin of his own.
“Hi.” She swung into the booth beside him. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“Cayr’s here in Carhall!”
Dashan’s face lit up in much the same way Cayr’s had. “You’re kidding me?”
“No. His father is here for formal meetings with King Mastaran. I literally ran into him yesterday afternoon in the Hub.”
“What a fortunate bit of chance.” Dashan shook his head in wonderment.
“Agreed. He wants to see us, of course. He’ll get a message to me as soon as he can wrangle some free time.”
“Whenever it is, I’ll make sure I’m free.” He took a sip of ale. “How is the council?”
“Ugh.” Alyx made a face. “Tomorrow’s agenda includes debating the relative merits of using black ink versus blue ink for official mage documents. If it goes any longer than ten minutes, I may have no choice but to pull out my staff and blow up something.”
“That should end the debate, at least,” he said.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Might get you kicked out of DarkSkull though.”
“It would almost be worth it,” she said. “Just to see the looks on their faces.”
He laughed, brown eyes twinkling at her. “If you decide to go ahead, please let me know. I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”
“Uh, guys?” Finn’s voice caught Alyx’s attention.
“What?” They both looked at the others.
“It’s nice to see you too, Dashan,” Tarrick said, looking bemusedly between them.
“Yes, all right, hello.” Dashan reached out to cuff Finn’s ear good naturedly. “Where’s your well-dressed blonde friend this evening?”
“Dinner with his family.” Finn smiled. “He seemed thrilled about it.”
“And the two newbies?”
“Jayn also has family here, and poor Mika was dragooned into extra training with Rothai. Our dear master isn’t quite happy with his staff-fighting skills yet,” Alyx said.
“Better him than me. All right, who’s for an ale?”
“Yes!” they chorused at once, then laughed at each ot
her.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Dashan rose to get drinks, but leaned in to Alyx as he did so. “Good to see you, Egalion.”
She nudged him playfully with her shoulder. “Same here.”
“Why do you think Cario is so uncomfortable about his family?” Dawn asked while they waited for Dashan to return. “The last thing he wanted to do tonight was have dinner with them.”
“It’s odd,” Tarrick agreed. “His family is very highly regarded within the mage order. It’s not like they’re horrible people or something. From what I’ve heard, his grandfather is one of the most amiable masters on the council.”
“I’d ask him, but he’d just give some sort of flippant reply,” Finn said.
“Cario doesn’t feel like he belongs amongst his family.” Dashan reappeared, sliding a tray of drinks onto the table.
“Why?”
“Not sure. Trust me though, I know enough about it to recognise it in someone else.”
“Definitely a man of mystery,” Tarrick remarked.
It grew late, but nobody was in a rush to leave. Alyx studied Dashan as they sat around companionably, sipping ale and chatting idly, his comment about Cario sticking in her mind. He looked so much older than the rest of them, with his just-longer-than-regulation hair and the world-weary look of sadness he got in his eyes when he thought nobody was looking.
Guilt abruptly seeped through her for the way she’d behaved towards him, for the cruel things she’d said, even in jest. The drinking and the gambling and the womanizing... over the past few months she’d come to see them for what they truly were: a front, a shield to protect himself from a father who didn’t love him and a world that shunned him because of his blood.
He glanced at her, as if sensing her thoughts, and unsurprisingly seemed to pick up on her mood.
“What’s wrong?” He leaned closer so as not to interrupt the table conversation.
“How do you know something is wrong?” she asked curiously.
He shrugged. “I just do.”
“I’m okay, really. I was reflecting on some of my past behaviour and wishing I’d been a better person.”
“You were never a bad person.” He smiled. “Despite some of the things I’ve said to you.”
“No,” she agreed. “But I was self-involved, and arrogant and… a fool. I still am, I suppose, but I’m working on it.”
He grinned broadly. “Well, you know I’m always happy to point these things out to you.”
“Don’t I know it.” She mock-scowled, reaching over to give him a playful shove.
“Time to go.” Tarrick stood abruptly. “I want us all up early tomorrow.”
Finn shared a glance with his twin. “We’re not on duty till late morning.”
“Which gives us a couple of hours of practice time.”
“Oh joy,” Alyx muttered, rising and falling in with the others as they wended their way out of the inn.
“Does it make you feel better to learn I’ll also be up early for drill?” Dashan asked.
“No,” Alyx and the twins chorused.
They separated in the street outside, Dashan going back to the militia barracks while the others went back to Centre Square.
They arrived back at their rooms, laughing and chatting, only to come to a stop at finding two strange Bluecoats standing watchfully in the hall outside. Alyx had just opened her mouth to ask them what they were doing when a tall figure unfolded from a seat further down the hall.
“Papa!”
“Aly-girl.” He smiled at her, his handsome face softening as it always did when he saw her.
“We’ll leave you to it, Alyx,” Dawn spoke before anyone else could. “Come on Finn, Tarrick. You can show me your room.”
“Sir,” Tarrick said politely as he passed Garan, Finn doing a half-bow, half head-nod that made his sister chuckle in amusement.
Her father waited until the room door closed before opening his arms. Alyx flew into them and they hugged fiercely for a long time before he squeezed tightly and let go. “Prince Cayr told me you were here. I came as soon as I could.”
“It’s wonderful to see you.” She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d missed her tall, serious-looking father terribly.
He glanced around ruefully. “I can’t say that I ever thought I’d be walking these halls again. It’s been so long.”
An unaccountable chill wrapped her at his words. “Perhaps you shouldn’t be here now.”
“I’m fine. You know the Bluecoats won’t let anything get near me.”
“Let’s at least get out of the hallway.”
She led him into her room and he pulled up a chair as she sat on the edge of the bed. “You look well.”
“I am,” she assured him. “How long are you in Carhall? I assume the reason for the king’s visit is Shivasa?”
“We’ve been here a week, and discussions with King Mastaran are going well.” He nodded, a shadow flickering over his face. “He’s as worried about the Shiven as we are. I’d say we’ll be here at least another week, talking through potential contingencies in case of outright invasion.”
“The council is worried too.”
“Yes, I gather that’s a large part of Mastaran’s concern. They’ve been in his ear a lot recently.”
“Is Lord-Mage Casovar with you?”
“No, he stayed to ensure Rionn remained secure in the king’s absence. Astor is assisting him while we’re gone.” Garan paused, letting out a long breath. “I read your letter, Aly-girl.”
“I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t sure I’d actually be able to leave if I spoke to you face-to-face.”
“You know I love you no matter what.” His hand reached over to squeeze hers. “And I respect your decision to return to DarkSkull.”
“Thanks, Papa.” Alyx rose to her feet, still uneasy despite there being no good reason for it. “It’s getting late. You should probably get going.”
“What worries you?” he asked with a frown.
“Nothing, I’m being silly. I’d feel better if you didn’t stay too long, that’s all. Are you staying out at the palace or over at the Hub?”
“At the palace.” Garan stood. “Which means a late night by the time I get back, so you’re right, I should leave. Will I get the chance to see you again before you go?”
“I’ll make sure of it,” she promised.
“Good.” He hugged her tightly. “Sleep well.”
Dawn must have been keeping watch on the hallway, because she slipped into the room soon after, quietly going about undressing and climbing into bed. Alyx stood at the window and watched until her father and his Bluecoat detail had safely left Centre Square. Only then did she blow out her lamp and crawl into bed.
Cayr laughed and took a swig from the bottle before passing it to Alyx. The liquid was bitter on her tongue but left a trail of searing warmth down to her stomach.
“Careful, Lady Egalion.” Dashan swiped the bottle from her hands. “It won’t do for a young lady of your breeding to drink from a bottle like that.”
“What about the prince of Rionn?” she protested indignantly.
“I’m the prince!” Cayr declared, stopping suddenly and spreading out his arms. “I can do as I like.”
“Not until you’re king you can’t.” Dashan laughed, dancing out of Cayr’s way when he tried to grab the bottle.
“Some birthday celebration this is.” Alyx had walked on ahead to find the street ending at a grassy riverbank. “You’ve brought us to a dead end.”
“Not a dead end but a destination.” Dashan walked agilely down the incline and out onto a small wooden jetty.
Cayr followed suit, stumbling twice and laughing both times. Loving the sound of his laughter, Alyx followed more carefully, stepping into his waiting arms at the bottom. His body was warm in contrast to the biting night air, and she snuggled into him, watching as Dashan pulled off his boots before sitting down at the edge of the j
etty and dropping his feet into the water with a small splash.
“Dash, it’s freezing!” Alyx protested.
“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “There’s nothing better than the sensation of water flowing over your skin, don’t you think?”
“You’re drunk,” Cayr observed. He stepped away from Alyx but grabbed her hand, tugging her after him as he dropped clumsily beside Dashan. She stumbled and nearly fell headlong into the water before landing almost on top of Cayr. Laughing, he shifted to make room for her.
“He’s not drunk,” Alyx observed. “Just weird.”
Dashan laughed and took a long swig from the bottle before passing it to Cayr. “Ha! I’m completely normal in comparison to you two high-born rich folk.”
“This is good.” Cayr murmured, the bottle resting in his lap. “The three of us together.”
“Yeah,” Dashan acknowledged just as quietly.
Alyx leaned into Cayr’s shoulder, relaxing as the sounds of the night drifted around them. The sense of home that she thought she’d lost settled over her, and she hung tight to the feeling, relishing it with every fibre of her being.
“It’s awful, with both of you gone,” Cayr admitted. “There’s nobody there who knows me anymore. Without you, I’m the prince, all the time.”
She reached out for Cayr’s hand. “It’s not the same without you either.”
“Stop being so maudlin and either drink up or give it back,” Dashan said.
Cayr laughed, taking a swig as ordered before passing it to Alyx. Staring down Dashan’s daring glance she raised it to her mouth and took two long swigs, managing not to choke or gasp. He burst out laughing when she proudly handed the bottle back to him.
“All right.” Cayr stood with a suddenness that almost sent Alyx tumbling sideways. “Who’s up for a swim?”
“It’s freezing,” she tried protesting again.
“No, it’s not!” he proclaimed before jumping off the edge. Icy droplets of water splashed over Alyx’s skin and moments later Cayr shot out of the water, cursing loudly. “It’s freezing!”
She burst into giggles at the look on his face, so distracted that she wasn’t quick enough to respond when Dashan picked her up and tossed her in after Cayr. The cold was a sharp shock and she came up gasping and spluttering. Dashan stood above them, arms crossed, beaming triumphantly.