by Lisa Cassidy
“I know that.”
“So does Dashan,” Cayr said. “Once I’ve organised his release, he plans to disappear from the city before my order can be overturned. He thinks—and I agree—that an escape and the ensuing search will confirm his guilt in everyone’s eyes and remove the need for Casovar to investigate further. That will buy us more time.”
“Where will he go?”
“Dashan thinks it best neither of us know the details. He’s figured out Casovar knows it was him in his house that night, but is uncertain how much he knows because Casovar’s accusation that he’s a Taliath confuses him. Either way, what we don’t know we can’t tell—and Casovar can’t read in our thoughts.” Cayr paused, searching her face. “Dashan is doing the right thing. His absence will allow us to continue our plan to remove Casovar.”
“I don’t think we can wait that long,” she said reluctantly. “Proof or not, I’m certain he knows it was me in his house. That means he’ll suspect Tarrick and the twins, and even you, no matter how good an act you put on. Worse, I learned last night that Shakar is definitely alive, and he’s working with Casovar.”
Cayr ran a hand through his hair distractedly, and she sympathized with the stress building in his face. “If you’re right... ”
“We still have some time.” She tried to reassure him. “Convincing your father to act against Dashan will be far easier than convincing him to act against my father, or you.”
He nodded. “I can have the orders issued to release him as soon as you think best.”
“Let me talk to my father and Tarrick and let you know.” She hesitated. “Cayr, the way I feel about Dash, if the wrong people knew it would get us both killed. I have to protect him, and that means staying away. Him leaving is the best thing.”
Tears shone in Cayr’s eyes. “As much as this hurts, I love you both. Be sure I will do what I can to protect you and Dashan.”
“You’re a good man. A better person than I am.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But as you’ve said to me over and over, none of us has had much choice in this. I’ll wait for your word. Be safe.”
“What did Prince Cayr want?” Garan asked as she entered his study.
She took the proffered mug of spiced cider and plate of sandwiches and sat in a chair near the window, telling him of Cayr and Dashan’s plan between bites. “How close do you think Casovar is to moving on us? I don’t mean for breaking into his home, I—”
“I know what you mean,” Garan said. “I’m impressed you saw that coming.”
“It’s inevitable. Casovar’s goal is surely total rule in Rionn, especially if he’s working for Shakar. To do that, he has to get rid of you, Sparky and the king’s other closest supporters.”
“Dashan’s right in that his escape will be taken as confirmation of guilt, but if your instinct is right in that Casovar already knows you were the mage... ” Garan considered. “He’ll have to come for me and Sparky first, as the most powerful and trusted lords. That will take more than suspicion of you. I judge we’ve got weeks, maybe months. No longer.”
“Cayr and I can’t marry that fast, and even if we did, it won’t hold Casovar for long. Cayr has no true power until he reaches his majority, and once he does he’ll be in true danger if he doesn’t appear malleable.” Alyx fretted. “And I can’t protect him properly until I’m fully trained.”
“Our plans need changing,” Garan agreed. “I’ll speak to Sparky as soon as I can.”
“We’re in some serious trouble, Papa,” she said soberly. “Not just Rionn, the entire continent; Tregaya, Zandia, everywhere.”
“Shakar.” He sighed.
“The way Finn tells it, it took the entire mage order to confront him and win last time, and that was after Shakar had almost destroyed the continent.”
Garan leaned back in his chair. “I believe you. What do you intend to do?”
Alyx rose. “I don’t know yet. First we need to get Dashan safely out of the city. Do you have a way to get a discreet message to Cayr? Unless you disagree, I think it’s best he release Dashan as soon as possible, tomorrow if he can.”
Garan nodded. “There’s a way. I’ll get it to him tonight.”
“Good. Brynn has been gone a few weeks, so hopefully he’ll be back soon with word from the council, and we can plan better what to do next.”
Garan nodded slowly and put down his glass, crossing the room to stand before her. “I’ve been thinking about what you said to me, and I want you to know that I love you. Warrior mage or young noblewoman, I love you more than anything else. You’re beautiful, strong and brave, and I’m so proud that you’re my daughter.”
Alyx went into his embrace easily. “I love you too, Papa.”
Upstairs, Alyx changed out of her mage attire, dressing in darker, non-descript clothing. As she changed, she contacted Dawn. “Cayr can issue orders to have Dashan temporarily released until Casovar finds enough proof to formally charge him with treason,” she explained. “Dashan plans to leave the city and disappear. He thinks that will confirm Casovar’s suspicions and take some of the heat off the rest of us. Papa agrees it should give us time to plan what to do next.”
“I hope it works, I’ll let Finn and Tarrick know,” Dawn sent, then, “And I’m glad Cayr can get him out.”
“So am I.” Alyx hesitated. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Alyx slipped quietly down the stairs, opening the front door just as a familiar Bluecoat was raising his hand to ring the front bell.
“Casta!” She smiled a greeting, hoping he wouldn’t ask questions about her odd attire. “What brings you by?”
He didn’t return her smile. “I was hoping to speak with you, Lady Egalion. I realise it’s improper, me coming to you like this, but I—”
“Casta, stop.” She raised her hand. “You can always come to me. I hope you know that.”
A little smile. “Thank you, my Lady. I’ll only take a moment of your time, I promise.”
“Come in.” She stood back from the entrance.
He hesitated. “Outside might be better. If you’re heading out, perhaps I can walk you to the stables?”
Frowning, Alyx stepped out and closed the door behind her. Casta fell into step as they walked towards the stables.
“Is something the matter?” she asked him.
“I wanted to ask about Dashan, Lady Egalion,” he said diffidently. “The lads and I have been worried about him. Do you think he did what Lord-Mage Casovar says he did?”
“I don’t think that matters to Casovar,” Alyx said carefully. “I’ll be honest with you—Dash is in serious trouble.”
Casta processed that as they came to a halt by the stable door. “If there’s anything we could help with... anything you could think of, you’ll let us know?”
She frowned at the odd note in his voice. “What exactly are you saying, Lieutenant?”
“Tijer and me were there when he bought that.” Casta gestured at the bracelet on her wrist. “So I know you’re someone we can trust. I’m saying we’ll do whatever we can to help him, Lady Egalion. You understand me, I hope?”
Alyx flushed hotly, hoping the darkness hid it from him. How had he even seen the damn thing? And why am I still wearing it? As discreetly as she could, she pulled her sleeve down over her wrist.
“I understand, and you have my genuine appreciation, Casta.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “A temporary release order will go out tomorrow. No doubt Lord-Mage Casovar will have his Mage Guard watching Dashan carefully until such time as he can re-arrest him.”
“No doubt,” Casta agreed easily.
“If Dashan could get out of the city, leave and not come back, he would likely be safe.”
Casta was quiet for a moment, then, softly, “I think I understand you perfectly, Lady Egalion. I should let you go, I’ve taken up too much of your time already.”
She nodded, cleared her throat. “About the bracelet... whatever you might assume about�
�”
“Dashan is a brother, my lady.” Casta cut her off politely. “There’s nothing for us to tell or know without his say so.”
She nodded. “Good night, Lieutenant.”
“And to you too, Lady Egalion.” He tipped his hat and strode away.
Alyx left Tingo at the empty warehouse they’d used to watch Casovar’s house and headed on foot into the city. Climbing up a roof access ladder to reach the city jail without being seen was easy enough. Once there, she crouched down and closed her eyes, using telepathic magic to scan the minds of everyone inside to learn where Dashan was being held. By the time she’d established that, then the best way to get there from the roof without being spotted, her head was aching and exhaustion made her limbs tremble. She had just enough telepathic strength left to distract the guards outside the door to the wing of cells holding Dashan and slip through.
Dashan lay sprawled on a small cot in a cell at the far end of a long hallway of cells, arms folded behind his head, brown eyes hooded and watchful. He groaned when he spotted her. “The reason I sent Cayr to talk to you was so that you didn’t risk yourself coming here.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I hear you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble?”
“Oh, you know, this kind of thing happens to me all the time. The rats and I have a great escape plan though.” He gave her a lazy smile, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
He rose and strolled towards the bars. “What brings a high-born lady such as yourself down to visit the riff-raff?”
“You thought I’d let you leave Alistriem without saying goodbye?”
“Yes,” he said pointedly. “Because I’d rather end this without anyone else getting into trouble. It’s bad enough that Casovar has gotten it into his head that I’m a Taliath. I didn’t realise the man was insane as well as evil.”
Her hands reached up to curl around the bars, her eyes searching for his so that he would understand what she was about to tell him. There was no need to hide it anymore. Casovar knew, and Dashan couldn’t be in any greater danger.
“Alyx,” he murmured, as always catching her mood. “What is it?”
“You are a Taliath.”
Once spoken, the words lifted an enormous weight that she hadn’t even realised she’d been carrying. Hiding this from him had been beyond painful—he deserved to know what he was, deserved to know that he wasn’t worthless, that he was special.
He huffed a laugh, then sobered as he realised she was serious. “What are you talking about?”
Tears welled in her eyes, a result of the relief flooding through her, but she smiled through the tears, smiled for him so he would know she meant it. “I told you there was more to you than just a soldier. It took me too long to see it, but you’re a Taliath.”
He cocked his head, uncertain. “Are you sure?”
“I’m certain,” she told him firmly. “There is no doubt.”
“Huh.” He shook his head, clearly still having trouble believing it. “Fighting has always been the one thing I was good at, but I had no idea.”
“And now that you know you must be careful, especially once you’re out of here,” she insisted, keeping her voice low. “You know what the council will do to you if they find out.”
There was a beat of silence as he processed that, and then dawning realisation began spreading over his face and his dark eyes shot to hers. “When did you realise I was a Taliath?”
“I didn’t. My father told me. He’s apparently known for years.”
“When?” Dashan’s voice was suddenly intense.
“Dash...”
“Tell me when.”
She looked down at the floor. “The night of the ball.”
Silence fell between them. More weight lifted—the truth leaving her spirits momentarily light as a feather. When Dashan spoke again, his words were whisper quiet. “That’s why you agreed to marry Cayr.”
She swallowed, looked up to meet his warm brown eyes and gave a little nod. “Yes.”
He moved as quick as lighting and took her hand, prying it away from the bars and holding it with aching gentleness. “That’s why you’ve been so miserable. You feel trapped.”
Her tears welled again when he so neatly understood what she was feeling. He always understood. It made her joyously happy and desperately sad at the same time. His next words washed over her, confirming how well he understood.
“Then I definitely have to go, no matter what I... ” he cleared his throat. “It will keep the others safe from the council. Even more importantly it will keep you safe. They’ll never know, I promise you. I’ll disappear.”
“I wish you didn’t have to,” she whispered, her heart feeling like it was being crushed in a vice. Why did this have to hurt so much?
“It’s what’s best,” he murmured, gently rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. “And not just for your safety, and the others. It wouldn’t be fair to Cayr.”
“I know.” She tried for a smile but failed dismally.
“I want you to be happy. Cayr can make you happy, he always has.”
“You be happy too,” she said fiercely. “And safe. I need to know that you’ll be happy and safe.”
“You promise me the same and we have a deal.” He gave her his soft half-smile, and it lit up his face.
Alyx closed her eyes and leant her forehead against the cool iron bar, raising his hand to her mouth to kiss it softly. His other hand came up to cradle her head, gently stroking her hair.
“I love you,” she whispered. The words were so easy to say in the end. After all the confusion and misery, it was a relief to be honest with herself and with him. His hand stilled. She raised her head to look at him with a sad smile. He was regarding her with tears in his dark eyes, an expression of unbelieving wonder on his face.
“I do,” she whispered again. “I love you.”
“Me too,” he whispered back, his voice taut with emotion.
With a deep breath, she removed her hand from his and then stepped away from the bars.
“Good bye, Dash.”
“I’ll be seeing you, mage-girl.” He saluted her.
Alyx pulled herself up through the air vent and carefully replaced the grate, pausing a moment to take a shaky breath and regain her composure. Standing, she froze at the sight of Finn across the roof from her, his staff drawn.
“Finn, I... ” Her voice trailed off and the words hung between them.
“Give me a good reason I shouldn’t report both of you to the council right now.” The determination on his face chilled her. This was a side of Finn she’d only ever seen brief glimpses of, where his cold rationality and logic took over.
“He’s going away,” she said. “As soon as Cayr gives the order to release him, he’s leaving and I’m going to stay here and marry Cayr. I only came to say goodbye. Isn’t that enough for you?”
“Have you slept with him?”
“That’s none of your business,” she snapped.
“It’s all our business, Alyx. If you absorbed his invulnerability you’d be a danger to us all.”
His blithe assumption floored her, and then sparked her temper. “You’re suggesting I could be like Shakar?” she demanded. “How could you even think that? We are friends, Finn.”
“I’m saying this because you’re my friend.” His grip on his staff shifted, tightened. “I don’t think you’d ever be intentionally evil, but look what you’ve done already. You took control of us earlier because you could, because you decided that freeing Dashan was the most important thing to you. You’ve been keeping secrets from us for months because you thought it was best.”
“Tarrick gave me control.”
“You took it from him!” Finn shouted, his green eyes dark against a face that had turned pale. “I trusted you to do that. And then I find you’ve run straight to Dashan. If you were invulnerable too, what couldn’t you do, to protect the people you loved? None of us could stop you.”
Her ang
er boiled at his accusations, his lack of trust in her. She thought they’d had more faith in each other than this. It hurt, and that hurt fuelled her anger. She was so sick and tired of the people she cared most about underestimating or distrusting her. “I took control because you and Tarrick were too afraid of the fact he’s a Taliath to help a friend,” she snapped. “Look at you, standing there with your staff. Are you going to attack me? After everything we’ve been to each other?”
“Are you going to make me attack you?” he demanded, and his eyes glistened with tears now. “I’m trying to save both of us.”
Her magic rose with her anger, thundering to be let out, to explode, and her arms lit up in a green glow. Finn shifted, something like despair flashing over his face, and it hit her... this was Finn, one of her dearest friends, and she was thinking of using her magic against him?
Standing on that rooftop, for the first time ever Alyx was afraid of her magic. Of what she could do with it.
Her anger shattered into a million pieces and she took a deep, sobbing breath. The light of her magic winked out of existence. When she spoke, her voice was full of the tears welling in her eyes. “You’ve always been there for me, all three of you. You’ve saved my life and you’ve supported me through all the awful things that have happened to us. I ended my relationship with Dashan the moment I found out, Finn, and I did it because I could never betray the three of you that way. I’ll do whatever you want me to. Just tell me what that is.”
His hands trembled where they held his staff. “Stay away from Dashan. Give Third Patrol back to Tarrick and trust him enough to do the right thing for all of us.”
“I’ll do it.” She spoke without hesitation.
Slowly, he lowered his staff, then sheathed it down his back. He scrubbed at his face and looked away. “I’m sorry that it turned out this way.”