He gritted his teeth and sighed. “Yes, Nonna.”
“So, Ri, how does one discipline a young immortal?”
Euriel laughed. “With a big club and a strong left hook.”
Breakfast wound on, with numerous questions and information being exchanged. Wysteri was there at the table as a spokesperson for Karanganoi subnet now in residence. She reported that all the members were officially moved into their new roles, and for the most part all were happy with what they would be doing in the future. She also indicated that the cylinders containing the mortal host bodies of the savants had been safely ensconced in the ghost vault. She informed the ascendants at the table that she had examined their mortal hosts carefully and found nothing amiss.
As the morning sup seemed to be coming to a close, Bannor looked to Janai. “Jan?”
The second princess looked over at him.
“Is Daena all right? Have you talked with her?”
Janai pushed a hand through her dark hair and looked at Sarai. “No. She has that trait where she must go in the opposite direction she’s pushed.” She sniffed. “It’s the red hair.” She cast an irritated glance at Sarai. “If my sister had been a bit more circumspect in her revelations, I might have been able to smooth things over by now.”
“Does anyone know where she is?” he asked.
Janai pointed up. “Battlement. It’s where she goes to pout.” She touched the large black bracelet on her arm. “Nice thing about a Shaladen, you can use it to do something besides slay people. I’m keeping an eye on her.”
“That’s the Shaladen?” he asked. “I thought Megan turned it into a bow.”
“She did,” Janai said with a nod. “It can be anything. After I saw mother make hers into a staff, I started practicing. It’s not so hard once you get the feel for it. Koass stressed to us vehemently that the Shaladen was never to get more than a few steps away from us. So—” She gestured to the band. “There it is.” She gave Sarai an arch look. “Do you need me to teach you so you’re not carrying a sword at the breakfast table?”
“It’s fine,” Sarai said with a growl. “I can cut my meat with it.” She turned to her sister. “I am sorry if I messed with your One, but what she did to Bannor really deserved a smack. A hard one.”
Janai rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Who were you trying smack again? I think I caught more of that swing than she did.”
“For all her smarts, she’s not very bright. It’s not like you’ve made a secret of her being your One. Maybe if you’d made that clearer to her she wouldn’t be making moon-eyes at my husband-to-be. I—” She stopped and looked at him when he pulled on her sleeve. “What?”
“You never explained that to me.”
Sarai’s brow furrowed. “I think I made it clear enough.”
“Never a word.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I didn’t say anything directly. You knew what it meant—it was fairly implicit wasn’t it?”
“Star, for a long time, I thought it was a pet name. Something like ‘dearest’ or ‘honey’. It wasn’t implicit at all—at least not as significant as it really is—a commitment for all time. That’s not something that you imply indirectly.” He looked to Janai. “I think she didn’t explain it to Daena because it would have scared her to death; she’s only fifteen. Humans aren’t very versatile when it comes to relationships. We assume a physical connection when you say a word like commitment.”
Janai sighed. “She’ll be okay. Sarai, to be honest, I don’t know any other tactic you could have used to divert her. The timing is simply inconvenient, but if I have to choose between you making her a couple hands shorter from the shoulders up or flipping her on her admittedly hard head—I’ll take the latter. It will take a while, but she’ll sort it out.”
“I feel terrible,” he said with a sigh. “I have tried to be firm the whole time. I thought I made it clear.”
“Brother, it’s not your fault,” Janai said. “You can’t help being the handsome prince that rescued her from that terrible life. She’s young and those crushes die hard.” She glanced sidelong. “Seems I recall a certain princess who became enamored of a rather married bow master…”
Sarai scowled at her sister.
“The problem is, what do you do when you’re on the King’s payroll and one of his daughters become infatuated? No doubt, bow-master Klevel spent many a sleepless night worrying about his head, his job, and trying to explain to his wife what those gifts were…”
Sarai sniffed. “I got over it.”
“I dare she shortened the poor sod’s life five centuries,” Janai said with a laugh.
“I was young, and he was handsome, and nice, and talented and I just knew that old hag wasn’t taking care of him…” Sarai said with wistful tone.
It was nice to hear stories about Sarai, to know that even though she was a princess that there were some familiar aspects of her life.
Breakfast started breaking up and Wren waited for them at the doorway as they were filing out.
“Bannor, can I have a word with you?”
He glanced to Sarai. She nodded.
“Sure.”
Wren walked a few steps away from the portal and Bannor followed.
“What’s on your mind?”
Wren drew a breath and ran her hands through her now long hair. Her glowing eyes grew dim. She bit her lip. “I’m trying to decide something.”
“What? About being an ascendant?” He asked. “Are you having body envy?”
“That’s certainly part of it,” Wren said. “This whole problem though, I’m wondering if we shouldn’t get Gaea involved.”
“Gaea? The mother of the savants?” he said with a frown.
She nodded.
“Why?”
Wren rubbed the back of her neck. “For a lot of reasons. In all the times I talked to her, she never mentioned there would be a second coming. Suddenly, bam! We’ve got Daena. The eternals go positively loopy and lock her and me down. Then there’s Kell. He does we-don’t-know-what to her and she’s cranked up another three notches—and we don’t even know why. Then Marna does this.” She put a hand to her chest. “Bannor, that lady is so frelling dangerous… you cannot believe. Nothing is an accident, there’s a plan behind everything.”
“Well, I think the plan was to kick the spit out of the Baronians. Based on everything that’s happened—I think she succeeded.”
“It cannot be that simple—” She shook her head. “That’s what’s got me chasing my tail. The fact that she would even suggest letting us have these forms permanently bothers me. We are too dangerous—we could turn on her.”
He shook his head. “I doubt it. Wysteri showed us a little of what that Kriar shape magic can do. If Marna wanted, she could make it so your head would explode if you thought a bad thought about her.”
“A control?” Wren said. “Of course.”
He shrugged. “You know, Marna is too confident for something like that. Now, some kind of block—that seems more like her. She’s the kind that motivates with carrots, when you already have everything it’s easy to be generous. It goes together with a rather long lecture Cassandra gave us.”
“Yesss,” Wren drew out the word. “So, does that mean I should or shouldn’t? Are we playing into her plan by going to Gaea?”
“I don’t follow.”
“Gaea won’t say spit to Marna unless one of the savants is there. I’m pretty sure I am the only one who can summon her.”
“Take everybody then,” Bannor said with shrug. “If you’re worried about a trick then take the whole clan and all the Shael Dal. I mean it’s no guarantee that anyone will see through it, but all the affected parties would be there then.” He looked at her. “Do you suppose she would know anything about the genemar and those spells I was having?”
“Maybe,” Wren said. “She’s about as close to ‘all-knowing’ as you can imagine. If anyone would have a clue, it would be her.”
“We
ll, then, what do we have to lose?”
Wren sighed. “That’s what really worries me—I don’t know. You’re right though, if we bring the whole group, at least we’ll have all the benefit of those smarts.” She nodded. “Okay, I’ll lean on her to take us.” She tilted her head. “Do you think we can get Dane to go? I really think she should see Gaea. I think it would do her good especially after that… uhhh, argument this morning.”
“Do her good? How?”
The blonde savant bit her lip. “That would be tough to explain. Gaea just has a way of making us feel better about ourselves, and putting things in perspective.”
“Hmmm,” he glanced back to Sarai who stood at the doorway chatting with her sisters. “So, do you think Sarai should come?”
“Definitely,” Wren determined.
“There isn’t any danger is there?”
“No. No physical danger anyway.”
“Well, I must admit you have me intrigued. I’ve heard you call her our ‘Mother’.”
“You will too,” she said. “Trust me on that. Well, I better go make arrangements and start thinking about how to approach this. You see if you can’t get Daena off the roof and willing to come.”
“I will.”
Wren nodded and waved to the princesses and turned back down the corridor.
He walked back to Sarai and put his arm around her waist. She looked up at him. “What was that about?”
“Savant stuff,” he answered. “We were deciding whether or not to go visit Mother.”
“Mother?” Janai repeated. “Who’s mother?”
“Our mother,” he answered. “Wren’s and mine, well all of the savants actually, if Wren is to be taken seriously.”
“And?” Sarai said, eyes narrowing.
“You are all invited. In fact, Wren thinks it’s important we get Daena to come. Jan, do you think you can handle that?”
“Probably.” The second princess’ brow furrowed. “Why is it important?”
“The way Wren described it, it would help Daena heal. I don’t claim to understand it. I’ve just learned not to discount anything Wren says.”
Janai nodded. “I agree. Okay, I will see what I can do.”
“So, what makes you think I want to see your mother?” Sarai asked with a straight face.
“Insatiable curiosity.”
His wife-to-be smiled.
Bannor wasn’t privy to much of the goings-on the rest of that morning. He and Senalloy acted as guards for the princesses while they made a court appearance to allay fears of the ‘disease’ that had infected the citadel. Rather than make things more complicated, they did not try to play him off as Sarai’s One. He dressed in the robes of the Nightslash elite and looked tough. With the mask up and a sword in his fist, none would meet his eyes much less notice they glowed.
Ryelle did most of the talking during the bell long session. She made up mostly plausible explanations for reports for what witnesses sounded like explosions and the roars of monsters. The eldest sister told the court that some of the citadel’s griffons had also gotten sick and their keening was what had been heard. The explosions were clothing and materials being magically burned to prevent the spread of infection.
After the session was over and the five of them were returning to the citadel, Kalindinai’s brother Bertrand stopped them at the stairway leading down into the city.
The elder elf had four heavily armed Elven guardsman with him. Dressed in black court regalia, a gold amulet of state around his neck, Sarai’s uncle looked in a foul mood.
“Nieces,” he addressed them, brushing at his white hair.
“Uncle,” Ryelle nodded to him.
He looked up at Senalloy and then at Bannor and his lip curled. His amber eyes narrowed. “Tell me, is my sister all right? She returns none of my messages.”
Ryelle made a little bow to him. “Mother sends her apologies. She said if I were to see you, to say not to be concerned. She has been very busy, and the situation with the illness has been taking all her skills and attention to abate.”
Bertrand frowned at her. “Child, I do not appreciate being lied to.”
The eldest sister straightened. In a very uncharacteristic move, Bannor saw her reach to the sword on her side. The sister did it slow and with a firm deliberation. She blinked. “Pardon, Uncle, I don’t believe I heard that clearly.”
His gaze went to the hand on her sword. “Please, Niece, you don’t have—”
A shaladen was naked in her hand and pointed at his crotch. “The stomach to pull my sword like this?” She finished.
Bertrand’s guards lurched forward, but the deed was already done, had the first princess wanted to strike him down, it would have happened before any of them could move.
Ryelle sighed. “Lord Valharesh—uncle—I believe you have the wrong impression of me. Mother bid me say what I have said. Believe it or not as you like. In any event, I will not tolerate disrespect.”
The elf lord stepped back eying the mirror polished blade that gleamed and crackled with magic power. “My apologies, Niece, obviously things in Kul’Amaron have been stressful for you.”
A muscle in Ryelle’s face twitched. Bannor had never seen the eldest princess like this. She was normally impossible to fluster. She glared at the lord with unabashed contempt. Her lip curled. “Obviously,” she repeated. “Is there anything else? We have many duties to attend.”
Bertrand focused from her to Janai. The younger sister was staring at Ryelle like she didn’t recognize her. Sarai’s jaw was hanging open.
“No,” Bertrand said. “Good morn to you all.”
“Be well,” Ryelle growled the courtesy. She stormed down the steps and out onto the wooded lane.
Rays of the noon sun shined down through the boughs of giant scalebark and ironwood. Music chimed from somewhere deeper in the trees, and the smell of flowers was thick in the air. The winding path leading back to the citadel was laced with craft shops, open-air cookeries, and goods merchants. The princess moved fast, stepping around other elf pedestrians in her fuming hurry, boots crunching on the layer of dry leaves scattered across the lane.
The gap between her and the other two increased so rapidly that Bannor jogged after her and caught her shoulder. “Whoa, sister-to-be, slow down…”
The first princess slowed down, stopped and leaned against a tree. She stared at him in shock for a moment, then finally nodded. Janai and Sarai caught up with concerned looks on their faces.
“Rye,” Janai let out. “What happened? You pulled a sword on Mother’s—brother.”
The elf princess rubbed her forehead. She held up the shaladen. “I wasn’t trying. I didn’t intentionally read his mind. I looked at him and I knew. I saw…” Her voice trailed off.
“Saw what?” Sarai asked.
“Bannor was right. Uncle Bertrand is a traitor. It was so clear—gah!” She slammed a fist against the thick scalebark with a crash, causing a crack to shoot up the massive bole. “To stand there calling me a liar. How—” She stopped herself as a group of elves walked passed bowing to them. Her voice dropped to a forced whisper. “Dare he!”
Janai stared at the tree with wide amber eyes.
Ryelle noticed her sister’s focus and stared at the cracked tree.
Senalloy stepped up and put a hand on the first princess’ shoulder. “Let’s get you out of here. Teleporting.”
The Baronian raised her arms, her eyes flashed and Bannor felt the five of them pulled into nether space, their threads compressed as they fell down from the apex of infinity back into another place.
In a flare of light, the three of them were standing in the central council chamber. Bannor’s stomach twisted from the transition, but the disorientation was brief. None of the sisters looked affected by it at all, probably something to do with their shaladens.
Ryelle thumped a fist against her thigh. “I’m sorry, that was unseemly. It just made me so furious.”
Janai put an arm around h
er sister. “We gathered that. I don’t know why this surprises you. Sarai and Bannor have suspected for a while.”
“There’s a difference between surmising and knowing,” Ryelle growled. “I must go tell mother directly.”
She started to stalk off and Senalloy grabbed her arm. “Wait.”
The eldest princess looked back. “What?”
Senalloy stared at her with hard violet eyes. “Be careful. This is your Mother’s brother.”
“Yes, but I saw…”
“Ryelle, forget what you saw. Outrage is not the right thing to be feeling now. It’s best to approach this thing as obliquely as possible. I suggest you say that in your inexperience with the shaladen, that you accidentally scanned him. During that scan, you caught wind of things that greatly concern you. Don’t offer anything. Let her ask you. She has a shaladen now too. She can see in your mind or his if she chooses. Let her assimilate the information in her own way at her own speed.”
The princess pushed a hand through her translucent hair. She glanced to Janai and Sarai.
“Rye, I think she’s right,” Janai said. “Mother will be angry enough. Confronting her with it definitely won’t make it better.”
Sarai nodded.
“Okay,” Ryelle said with a nod. “Yes.” She drew a breath. “I—I—I am not used to feeling like this.” She looked down at the sword in her hand. “I think it’s this sword.”
“She’s an avatar for the advocate eternal,” Janai said. “It’s no wonder it has her frelled up; she’s sharing her spirit with a silly paladin.”
“Paladins are not silly!” Ryelle proclaimed, hands on hips. “And I’m not ‘frelled up’!”
“I didn’t realize shaladens had side effects,” Bannor said.
“Well,” Senalloy said. “There is some euphoria like when you’re immortal, and if you have some affinity for the eternal, there’s a kind of a—leaking—I guess you’d call it.”
“A paladin is leaking on my sister?” Janai said with a frown.
“Ryelle,” Senalloy said. “After you speak with Kalindinai, you may want to consult with Megan. Just tell her that you’re—”
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