A King's Ransom
Page 46
"We shall count them among the casualties then," Veyl sighed.
The officer fidgeted, "And what shall we do if later we discover this not to be the case, Your Majesty? Should not this magus be brought to justice?"
"No. If you see either of them, treat them as ghosts. They are dead in the eyes of this kingdom, and we will honor them for the sacrifices they made for the good of the Crown." Saying the words felt strange, and it was an odd feeling having a man defer any authority to him. This officer was roughly Ahrn's age, larger in stature. The very kind of man who was used to giving and not taking orders—and now he was taking them from Veyl, someone who had, not so long ago, been a whore for mens' pleasure. The irony was too uncomfortable to linger on.
"Vey—Your Majesty," Engel cleared his throat, nearly tripping over his own familiarity, "what of the military's new recruits?"
"Send anyone under the age of consent back to their families. I'll let His Grace, the Archduke, figure out the rest. I'm sorry. I'm going to have a bath." Veyl got up, letting the cloak drop off of his narrow shoulders and settle onto the throne. He was exhausted, overwhelmed, and missing Kaidos fiercely.
Melina followed him and he turned to her in the hall. "Melina, you should rest. You are no longer my servant."
"It is no trouble, Veylisshe. I tend to you not as a servant, but as your aunt."
Veyl nodded, relieved that he wouldn't have to be alone, and Melina followed him, gesturing to some human servants to assist in drawing him a bath.
"So will you go with them? The other elves?" Veyl asked as they continued down the hall. Veyl felt his exhaustion slowing each step.
Melina shook her head, "I do not know. I believe that the other elves will follow Crow to where he leads them, but most of my memories are here. I have been in the castle since your mother and I were children."
"You know," Veyl mused aloud, "the Archduke will need a trustworthy advisor, and no one knows the inner-workings of this place quite like you." They had reached his room where the other servants were already working to fill his bath.
Melina blushed and lowered her gaze, "I do not believe the Archduke would want a woman—especially not an elf—suggesting how he rule Dandre."
"I don't know about that," Veyl was pleased to have the focus off of himself for the moment, "I think he was very impressed with how you handled rounding up all of the important people a little while ago. You are indispensable to me, and were I to remain in this post, I would most definitely ask you to be my chamberlain."
"That is kind of you to say, Veylisshe," Melina was finally smiling. "He does appear to be a much kinder man than his brother, at any rate."
Veyl waited quietly as the servants finished filling his bath then bowed and departed the room. "And what do you think of his son, Renwal?" He finally asked when they were gone.
"I think that he should be glad that your Kaidos cannot see how he stares at you."
Veyl laughed and pulled off his nightshirt, lowering himself into the tub as Melina busied herself by finding him some clean clothes.
"Renwal did think me a damsel at first, didn't he?"
"I don't know that he is quite ready to give up on that notion." Melina sighed with a smile.
Veyl's smile faded and he sighed, looking at his hands underneath the water as the tension in his muscles began slowly to relax. "I can't wait for all of this to be done with, Melina."
"So you do mean to give up the throne," she confirmed softly.
"It was never mine in truth. There is only one man's heart I wish to rule." Veyl leaned back into the warm bathwater, sliding down until it rose to his chin. "At any rate, I will have a discussion with the Archduke about your importance. Should he not agree, there will always be a place for you in our home."
Veyl had already decided upon the conditions for his transfer of title, and he had little doubt that they would be easily honored. He would request a nice plot of land where he and Kaidos could build their home together. The Archduke had already made it evident that he saw Veyl as part of his family, and that coming to his aid was no different than coming to help one of his own sons. It was a deeply moving sentiment, and one which had already been proved by his actions on this day.
"Thank-you, Veylisshe. Now hurry up so that you can go to your Kaidos."
*~*~*
It was a week later when Kaidos stood on the docks, looking up at the Cadence, the ship that had brought Veyl to Dandre and that was now taking Ahrn Engel home. Although the new King—the former Archduke DuFallier—had offered Ahrn an appointment as Captain of the Guard in his royal military, Engel felt it his duty to return to his wife and his career back in Aaullsworthe.
Since he'd regained consciousness, Kaidos had been spending every moment with Veyl. Later today they were headed out to see the stones being placed for the foundation of their new home together, and he could barely wait. It had been a nightmare being away from Veyl. Now that they were together, there was no better dream he could imagine coming true.
The guard captain looked over Veyl's shoulder as they shared a last embrace, and Veyl gave him a chaste kiss before letting him go.
"Vailinn," Engel said, offering Kaidos his hand. Kaidos gripped it firmly, and Engel smiled, covering it with his own.
"Ahrn," Kaidos acknowledged with a smile.
"I am glad that we could part as friends," Ahrn admitted, almost grudgingly.
Kaidos could see the unshed tears in his eyes and knew they were for Veyl. "We'll visit you. I swear it."
Engel snorted and released him, "I should believe the words of a thief?"
Kaidos offered a sharp grin. "No longer a thief— a prince's consort."
Once Veyl had renounced the throne to the Archduke DuFallier, he retained the title of prince. Although they would certainly be coming to visit from time to time, leaving the castle and court behind was fine with Kaidos. The flurry of politics and pomp of the last few days was more than enough to last him a lifetime.
Crow had not been so lucky. The other elves had recognized him as one through whom their gods worked miracles, and the nameless king now ruled the Wanderer's lands that the previous king had stolen—those lands where Barlan had spent most of his life, and would spend the rest of it protecting Crow and his newly-formed Court of the Nameless Valley.
The only elf who hadn't joined them was Melina. She'd been happy to accept the appointment as the newly crowned King Ratheburne DuFallier's chamberlain, though it seemed that it might not be long before she became much more to the kind-hearted king, who'd been a widower for many long years.
"You take care of Veyl." Engel said softly to Kaidos, his smile still in place, but an understandable sadness lay beyond.
"I promise. Thank you for all of your help. I owe you my life a couple of times over."
"Spend it well, Kaidos," Engel said, and with one last kiss of Veyl's hand, he boarded the ship.
Kaidos moved up behind Veyl, his stealth now gone because of his cane. The bones in his ankle had been too pulverized in places to heal properly, but the elves had done the best that they could. It didn't matter; a thief's life was no longer a necessity. Veyl sighed and settled back against him, resting in his arms. They watched the ship for several silent moments as it moved slowly out to sea.
Veyl squeezed Kaidos' hand and brought it to his lips. "Let's go see our new home," he said.
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
Awakening
The demon, who had been slumbering in the skin of a child, awoke as the Mage took his final breaths. Although the door to his room had been guarded once, the sounds from outside indicated that his captors had gone elsewhere.
He left the room and hurried from the tower to claim what had been promised him nearly since the day the mage was born. Once the demon's name had been carved into that mortal flesh, they had been bound together. It had been coincidence that the demon and the mage had met so soon, and curiosity that had caused the demon to draw the flesh of a child around himself, to hid
e in the spirit of a young boy, so he could wait until the mage's weak body passed away.
Somewhere in that time, the demon had lost track of what was self, and what was disguise, and had let the child's consciousness take over.
No one had seemed to notice the little red-haired boy as he walked across the courtyard. He'd raised his face skyward to the rain, then looked around at the hundreds of crows perched on every parapet and roof. There was magick here, but none of it belonged to his mage.
He'd walked through the crowds of elves, and the air hummed with their healing spells as they cared for their injured. He might have pondered what could have brought them to a state, but all he'd cared about was going to claim what was his. Whatever disaster had befallen them had woken him as his promised one passed into death.
Late into the afternoon, when all of the chaos had ended, in the deepest recesses of the castle he found him. The mage's delicate bones were crushed beneath earth and stones. His snowy-white skin was splattered with blood and the dark poison of his own power. Finn's beloved Aegeus.
"Master…" the child wept as each stone was moved and each broken piece was revealed. The beast closed his eyes as they blurred with tears he should not have. This mortal had loved and had cared for the small boy who possessed the soul of a demon. Had cared for him. "Father…" the demon felt the word leave him, as the boy's emotions filled in where he had none.
The mage's skull had not been so badly crushed. A blemish and a stain of crimson in the hair the color of rare metal. He looked so young and fragile—the boy had always found him beautiful, but never so much as when he was at peace. The demon lifted the twisted body from the rubble, cradling it as Aegeus had often cradled Finn.
"I love you," he said in the child's voice and kissed the mage's cheek, cooled by death.
This mortal's soul belonged to the demon. It was his right to take it, but the child's memories—his memories—felt incomplete. He wanted more—the promises made to the child fulfilled. He wanted to go home—to the home he'd been given by this man who'd loved him more than he'd loved his own soul. Aegeus had seen the demon, they'd come face to face through the eyes of the child several times, and there had been that sense of recognition. Yet the mage never swayed in his mission to raise the boy as if he were of his own blood.
The demon should not have understood love, and decided then that he wanted to keep the mage alive for other reasons. Selfishness. He would rob him of his mortality so that he might remain young and keep the child company as he grew up. There would be plenty of time to claim his soul later.
The demon reached inside the mage, mending the body, and was surprised to find another soul. The mortal king—trapped in the crystal that had shattered inside. The demon absorbed the broken bits of each soul and fused what was left. Inside, the child he'd become, rejoiced as the mage's heart began to beat once more.
Holding him close, the demon called Finn carried his master home.
Other Stories by Lia Black:
Worthy (m/m)
Spiretown (m/m)
The Loss of Sunlight (f/m)
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