by Lisa Cassidy
His amusement sparked her pride. “You’ve been terrorising me for over a year. I have good reason to be afraid.”
“I was... over-enthusiastic.”
Was he serious?
She tried not to let her incredulity leak, instead asking tentatively, “What do you want with me?”
“You have power that could be of use to me. Our goals align.”
Alyx didn’t respond. Something told her that getting drawn into conversation with this mage wasn’t a smart idea.
He gave the equivalent of a mental sigh. “You can protect those you love by standing with me, Alyx Egalion. I want the council gone, and I will do anything to make that happen. There’s no good reason for you to stand in the way.”
Again, she refused to reply. His hold on her mind tightened fractionally, as if annoyance or anger were tempting him to cause pain, but it didn’t come.
“I do not seek the death of the Taliath.” His voice oozed sincerity. “They don’t deserve to die. They should be protected and trained, and allied with the new mage order that I will create.”
She didn’t want to listen to this, didn’t want to acknowledge the part of her that wanted to listen. “You showed me images of destruction, people dying.”
“Not the Taliath, not your father or brother,” he whispered. “Not Dashan...”
Her eyes squeezed shut, as if that would make any difference to the voice invading her dream.
“Only the council.”
And then he was gone, his last words echoing through her sleep.
Chapter 23
Bright sunlight shone through the arched windows of the atrium, falling across the wooden floors and luxurious sofas scattered around the room. Alyx and Cayr sat together on a particularly plush sofa by the window, momentarily left alone.
“How was your morning?” she asked idly.
“I spent it reviewing the newly-signed Tregayan-Zandian trade agreement,” he said. “Not exactly fascinating stuff, but parts of it will be useful for us.”
“I agree.”
“How are you going with the lord-mage?” He lowered his voice. “Has he given you any problems since my father’s announcement of our betrothal?”
Alyx winced. Several weeks had passed since she and Cayr had begun courting, and the king had agreed to a formal betrothal two days earlier. The work her father had done with the lords had made it impossible for him not too agree “Nothing overt, but he’s furious. Even after all the lords lined up to express their support, I’m astonished he didn’t talk your father out of it.”
“He tried,” Cayr said soberly. “But despite Casovar’s influence over him, your father did a superb job corralling the lords to put pressure on him. They don’t like Casovar any more than we do.”
“That’s one mistake he’s made,” she mused softly. “Behaving with such arrogance he’s put the entire court offside.”
Cayr’s mouth quirked suddenly. “And believing that you’re useless, when I can tell you’re far from it.”
She couldn’t help returning his smile, but then shook her head. “We shouldn’t be discussing—or thinking—about any of this while we’re inside the palace.”
“You’re right.” He frowned.
Sadness filled her as the levity left his face—Casovar wasn’t the only thing that had dimmed some of the light in Cayr’s blue eyes these days. “How are you?” she asked, squeezing his hand.
“This is hard,” he admitted. “Being here with you like this, it feels right and natural, but I know it isn’t. It’s all a façade. I wish so badly we could go back to how things used to be.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
“I feel so alone.”
Alyx leaned into him. “Despite everything, I’m still your friend. I’m still in your corner, no matter what. You’re not alone.”
“But I am,” he said, giving her a crooked smile. “I don’t mean to sound petulant, but seeing you all the time makes the hurting worse. I feel more alone when I’m around you.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, understanding exactly what he meant.
“The safety of Rionn is more important than both of us.” He reached out to sling his arm around her shoulders, voice firming. “We’ll work it out.”
Pride seared through her at the man Cayr was becoming, and the smile she gave him must have showed how she felt, because his eyes lightened and his smile turned genuine.
He pulled her closer—both of them spotting the approach of some of their friends at the same time—and Alyx pulled away with a light laugh, doing her best to give Cayr a moony look as she did. Lissa and Mira dropped into chairs nearby.
“Alyx, you simply must tell us where you got those shoes!” Lissa exclaimed.
“I think that’s my cue,” Cayr said dryly. He leaned over to kiss Alyx on the cheek before rising to his feet, bowing to the ladies, and walking off towards Jaran.
“You are so lucky,” Mira swooned. “He’s so handsome.”
“He certainly is.” Alyx allowed smugness to fill her voice. “What about a shoe shopping trip tomorrow? I’ll take you to the store I got these from.”
She looked up as one of the palace servants appeared, bowing low. “Lady Egalion, there’s someone here asking for you.”
Frowning, Alyx glanced over to see Cario hovering by the door. He was wearing his serious expression, which immediately worried her. Cario never looked serious if he could help it.
“I’m sorry, ladies. It seems as if the lord-mage needs to see me.”
“What is it?” she asked under her breath as they walked through the halls towards the mage offices.
“Your friends are back,” he said.
“Back, as in here at the palace?” She spun towards him, shock flooding her.
“As in, with Casovar right now,” he said. “They were less than thrilled to see me, as you can imagine, so I took the opportunity to leave. I figured you’d want to know.”
“He didn’t tell me they were coming back. They didn’t tell me.” She frowned. Why hadn’t Dawn contacted her telepathically?
Cario hesitated, catching her arm as they approached the door. “I don’t know them like you do, but there’s something... ”
Worry surged, and she pushed Cario’s arm off to start walking again. “Tighten that mental shield of yours.”
Alyx opened the door, halting two steps into the room. Tarrick sat on a chair directly across from her, one leg stretched out before him. His pants were ripped and a white bandage was visible underneath. The twins hovered behind him, both pale. Finn’s eyes took in her dress and hair, his face tightening fractionally.
“Lady Egalion.” Casovar’s voice caught her attention. He was seated in a chair near Tarrick. “You’re interrupting.”
“What happened?” The words spilled out. “Tarrick, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” His jaw was clenched in visible anger, eyes firmly fixed on Cario where he’d come in behind Alyx. Casovar glanced between them, curiosity beginning to creep across his face. Instinctively, Alyx sought to draw his attention away. “Lord-Mage, I apologise for interrupting. May I sit in? I assume you’re debriefing the apprentices and I’d like to hear what they have to say—it may assist in my review of reporting.”
His gaze swung back to hers and she relaxed slightly. “You may. Mage Duneskal, you may also join. The council will be interested in what we discuss.”
“Tell me you're all okay.” Alyx sent the thought as tightly shielded as she knew how, but couldn’t go any longer without being sure. Across the room, Dawn gave a very faint nod. The worry in her chest faded a little.
“As I was saying, Lord-Mage, we were attempting to scout the main Shiven camp north of the disputed area, as per your order,” Tarrick said. “We were ambushed, but not before gaining a solid idea of their numbers.”
“There was no discernible increase in troop size since the last count,” Dawn spoke, taking over from Tarrick. Alyx frowned as Tarrick’s
shoulders relaxed fractionally. “No substantive change in the cache of supplies as far as we could tell either.”
“That accords with the information I’ve received.” Casovar sat back. “It seems we don’t need to worry about an imminent attempt to annex the disputed area. And that’s why I’ve brought you home. I’d like to spend a few weeks on your training.”
“Yes, sir,” Finn said. “Tarrick should be off that leg for a couple more days at least.”
Casovar nodded, his interest seeming to fade rapidly as he rose to his feet. “Go home and get some rest. I’ll expect you back here the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll have my carriage brought around,” Alyx offered as soon as Casovar was out the door. “Cario, will you help him down? The twins look like they’re about to keel over.”
“I don’t need help,” Tarrick snarled.
Cario lifted both hands in the air. “Fine. Walk by yourself. Alyx, how about I go and organise your carriage?”
“Thanks.”
“What is he doing here?” Finn demanded once he was gone.
Alyx lifted a hand. “Not here. Let’s get Tarrick home.”
“I’d rather go to the twins’ house.” Tarrick winced as he lifted himself out of the chair. “Further away.”
“Fine.” Her worry came flooding back, and she reached out for his arm. “Are you really okay?”
“It’s just a little gash.” His face softened. “Finn fixed me up, I’ll be fine.”
“It’s true,” Dawn reassured her.
Her gaze flicked between all three of them. While Dawn seemed to be telling the truth, something else was hovering between them. All looked tense.
Something had happened.
An hour later they were settled in the A’ndreas’ warm living room. Both parents were out working. While Finn cleaned and re-bandaged Tarrick’s leg, Alyx sent Cario straight to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. When he returned, the tenseness in the room thickened perceptibly.
“It’s not what we thought,” Alyx said, forestalling their questions. As succinctly as she could, she told them Cario’s side of the story, finishing with, “I believe him.”
“I’m here because I have no respect for the council or what they do,” Cario spoke into the silence that followed. “I came because Alyx—and you—are my friends, and I respect your values and your friendship. That is the truth.”
Tarrick and the twins stared at him, faces slack with astonishment. They’d never seen Cario without his mask of amiable arrogance before, and his honesty clearly moved them as it had her.
The twins shared a glance, after a moment nodding slightly at each other. Tarrick stared at Cario for another moment before giving a stiff nod. “If Alyx trusts you, then you can stay.”
“Not the warmest welcome I’ve ever received, but I’ll take it.” Cario placed the tray of tea down and took a seat, pulling the chair back so he could stretch his long legs out. Nobody made a move for the steaming pot.
“He’s wearing mage robes.” Tarrick looked at Alyx. “If he’s really here to join us, what’s his official reason for being in Alistriem?”
Cario sighed. “I’m here as a representative of the council. The position came up after I passed my trials, and I organised to have it assigned to me.”
“You passed your trials?” Tarrick’s eyes widened comically.
“I did.” Cario shrugged.
“Now that’s sorted, I want to know what’s going on.” Alyx looked at each of them in turn. “Did you get my message from Dash? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? And why was Tarrick afraid that Casovar was going to read his thoughts back there?”
“We got your message.” Dawn spoke first. “Congratulations on your betrothal, by the way.”
Alyx waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not important right now. Quit stalling.”
“Your message made us pay closer attention to what was going on up in the disputed area,” Dawn said. “And we were lying to Casovar back there, hence me jumping in to take over from Tarrick. I have a better mental shield.”
“You were lying about being ambushed?”
“No, that part was true. We were lying about the troop numbers we saw. On the surface, the numbers were similar to what we’d seen before,” Finn explained. “But Dawn picked up more minds—they were hidden in deep bushland a short distance off. At least double the number of soldiers.”
Fear struck at her. “So invasion could be imminent?”
“We think so.”
Alyx glanced between them. Something was off. Finn’s gaze was darting all over the place and Tarrick looked grim, even more so than his usual sober expression. Dawn was fidgeting, her left foot tapping against the floor.
“What else?” she asked, unable to stop the dread seeping into her voice.
The twins shared another look. Alyx tried to quell the urge to knock their heads together.
“Today would be nice.” Impatience threaded Cario’s voice when they hesitated further.
Tarrick nodded. “We think Lord-Mage Casovar is involved with the new military commander the Shiven have. That’s why we lied to him—he’s actively working against Rionn.”
A tense silence fell over the room. Finn sagged back into his seat while Tarrick stood, seemingly unable to stay seated.
“Alyx, your father’s plan to oust Casovar seems sound... ” Tarrick began, then hesitated. “But we fear that by the time your plan is realised, it will likely be too late.”
“Too late for what? The drama is killing me. Spit it out, will you,” Cario drawled.
“Fine. We think the new Shiven commander is Shakar,” Tarrick snapped.
A deep silence filled the room. Alyx looked at Cario, checking to see whether he’d heard the same thing. He looked as bewildered as she felt.
“Shakar is dead.”
The words didn’t come from Alyx or Cario, and all eyes snapped to the newcomer in the doorway. The hood of his mage cloak was pulled back, revealing Brynn’s boyishly handsome features.
Chapter 24
It took a long moment for Tarrick and the twins to process who stood there. Alyx stared between them, wondering if she should say something, wondering what she could say. Nothing came.
“Brynn?” Tarrick took a tentative step forward, astonishment written all over his face.
“It’s me.” He smiled. “I’m alive.”
“I don’t believe this,” Dawn said in wonderment.
“Oh, mate!” Finn leapt up from his chair and crossed the room to pump Brynn’s hand enthusiastically. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.”
“We missed you so much!” Dawn threw her arms around him tearfully. “I can’t believe it!”
“I missed you too,” Brynn told them, looking teary himself. “A lot.”
Tarrick’s gaze shifted to Alyx with a frown. “Why don’t you look surprised?”
Alyx winced in anticipation of the reaction she was about to receive and shot Brynn a glare—surely he could have warned her! “Because I’m not. Brynn has been working for me ever since we arrived in Alistriem,” she said.
“How long have you known he was alive?” Tarrick demanded.
She hesitated, tried to hold Tarrick’s gaze. “Since not long after we went back to DarkSkull.”
“You knew he was alive and didn’t tell us?” Finn didn’t seem able to believe it. His green eyes had darkened with a mixture of hurt and anger.
“That was my fault,” Brynn spoke. “I insisted she not tell you. It was too dangerous with Romas’s telepathic ability.”
“I don’t care,” Finn said flatly, looking straight at Alyx. “You knew how much we were hurting over Brynn’s death. You knew. How could you not say anything?”
“It was a deliberate choice, and for that I am sorry,” Alyx said. “But I would do it again if I had to, and I would do the same thing if it were any of you in that position.”
“You keep behaving as if the Mage Council is some evil mons
ter out to destroy everything,” Tarrick said coldly, glancing in disgust between Alyx and Brynn. “You have reason to question them, I understand, but you act and speak as if you’re better than them, above them. And yet here you are keeping secrets just like they do.”
“I agree. You deliberately allowed us to believe something that wasn’t true,” Finn said. “Something that caused us pain. That’s something the council would do, Alyx.”
That stung more than she would like to admit. Alyx glanced at Brynn. He’d turned white, but despite herself she felt little sympathy for him. He had a habit of keeping things to himself that hurt other people.
“I don’t know what to think,” Dawn said quietly as Alyx turned to her. And that hurt most of all.
“As much as I can understand why you’d be upset,” Cario’s voice broke the silence. “There are more important things to discuss right now, particularly if what you said about Shakar is true. Recriminations can wait.”
“What are you even doing here?” Alyx asked Brynn pointedly.
“I followed you from the palace,” he admitted.
Tarrick’s jaw clenched and he looked away for a moment before giving an angry shake of his head and looking at Brynn. “You’re the council spy?”
“I am.” Brynn said. “And if you wouldn’t mind continuing to tell us what you’ve learned, I’ll tell you if I have anything to add at the end.”
“He can be trusted,” Alyx said quietly, when Tarrick hesitated. “Despite what the council have done to him... there’s time for that story later, but for now you just need to know that he’s still the Brynn we knew.”
Tarrick took a deep breath, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Fine. We think Shakar is alive and working for the Shiven leader.”
“It was Dawn that picked it up,” Finn said. “She heard his name in the thoughts of Shiven prisoners; prisoners that later killed themselves rather than give up any information about their new commander.”
“I am certain of what I heard.” Dawn added, “I think Shakar is alive, and he’s in Shivasa.”
“There must be another explanation. The council killed him,” Alyx said. “The war wouldn’t have ended if they hadn’t. And even if somehow he was still alive, he’d be too old to be a threat.”