by Ryder Bailey
As soon as they stepped out into the hallway he heard raised voices and discovered a group of familiar court members arguing with Ralix, Coulta's personal attendant. Standing next to him was Marla, Myri's lady-in-waiting. Only one of the usual two guards stationed at the end of the hallway was present, and was trying to hold back Lord Gawin, master of the wardrobe.
"You will let us into their rooms or I will see to it you lose your pay," Gawin ordered, his normally passive face red with rage. "I guarantee you will lose your job completely after this night, Ralix, so get your crippled self out of my way!"
Shelton scowled. Making this confrontation about Ralix's old, poorly-healed riding injury was absolutely uncalled for, no matter what else the argument was about, and he thought he knew what was going on.
"This is an inappropriate time and hour to demand to see the Grand King," Ralix replied, taking one step forward despite his limp.
As Gawin opened his mouth to protest, Shelton marched over to them. "He's correct," he declared. "What reason do you have for acting this way?"
Gawin hardly spared him a glance. "We heard the news. It's all over the castle now. The Second King is the one who fathered those cursed twins. He must be punished for soiling the family line."
"And you intend to punish him without the Grand King's consent?"
"The fool is clearly love blind. He would never allow the proper punishments to be dealt, so that leaves the task to us."
Shelton narrowed his eyes. "Remember who you're speaking of," he warned.
Gawin squared his shoulders and made direct eye contact. "He's a child."
"He's your Grand King!" Shelton snapped. "More words like that and I will press charges of treason against you. You may attend the court meeting in the afternoon. You will not see them until then."
"We demand answers!" one of the other men behind Gawin declared.
"And you will have them. At the meeting." He heard the sound of another group coming down the hall and cringed inwardly until he saw a dozen Guardsmen round the corner with Rohan. He turned his attention back to Gawin, who was still glaring at him defiantly. "Leave now, or be detained until the time of the meeting. Then, when His Majesty asks why you are all being led into his office under guard, you can explain how you planned to bully your way into his rooms and do harm to his husband. I highly doubt he will react well to that."
"He will be punished," Gawin spat. "Whether we do it with the Grand King's consent or not. That bastard will never be able to stick his degenerate cock in anything again."
"Leave!" Shelton demanded, anger flaring up even higher. "If every one of you does not leave this hallway immediately, you will all be arrested and held for treason. Go!"
Several of Gawin's supports fled before he even finished speaking. The rest, including Gawin only left after staying long enough to test Shelton's patience. Gawin threw him a rude gesture just for good measure.
Rohan came forward. "I brought more Guardsmen for the doors as soon as I was alerted to the threats," he explained. "I plan to stay here with them. If Gawin returns we will arrest him."
Shelton nodded. "Thank you."
"I know Coulta can't be the father," Rohan added. "But the magic passed on, didn't it?"
"It did. Fortunately and unfortunately."
"We won't let anyone near him."
"Thank you."
16
Coulta did not sleep at all that night, even with Wildas's repeated reassurances. Wildas hated how miserable he looked, how obviously frightened and defeated he was. It wasn't a look Wildas was used to seeing on Coulta, not even during or after one of his nightmares. Wildas did his best to soothe him, but nothing seemed to help.
He was determined not to let any harm come to Coulta. All would be well, or he'd be trying some court members for treason soon.
"I don't want her attending," Myri told them as they prepared to meet the court. "It will be too much stress too soon and I don't want her taking ill."
Wildas nodded. "I understand. I don't want her there, either. Honestly, I don't even want Coulta there. I just want my family safe."
Myri kissed each of them. "We will be."
Neither Wildas nor Coulta ate any of the food brought to them, both too worried to have any desire for it. Even Shelton looked concerned when he slipped into the room from Wildas's office.
"Rohan has lined the office with Guardsmen," he explained. "The court members have starting to arrive. Some have been holding siege to the royal wing all night and morning. I will warn you that they are threatening violence."
"Then I will speak to them first," Wildas declared. "I'll make sure they are thoroughly warned of the line they are walking."
Shelton nodded. "I'll have magic prepared, to be safe."
Wildas could hear the people milling about his office through the door. There were too many voices to know exactly what was being said, but he caught enough to know that he was going to have a battle ahead of him.
One he was determined to win.
He pulled Coulta into a fierce embrace and kissed him firmly. "It's time for me to protect you for once."
A ghost of a smile came to Coulta's lips. "Thank you."
Wildas released him and followed Shelton into his office.
The room went silent for a moment, then burst into chaos again. The office was packed full of people, and not many were typical court members. All were demanding answers, except for the silent and watchful Guardsmen.
"Silence!" Wildas yelled.
The room grew mostly quiet very slowly, then one person demanded, "Where is he?"
The question was echoed by several others before they grew quiet again.
Trying with great difficulty to control his anger, Wildas stated, "He's waiting for you to be civilized before he joins us."
"Why are you protecting him?" someone questioned. "He's broken all trust by ruining the family line!"
"I called for silence!" Wildas bellowed. "I will speak and you will listen. Do not interrupt me again." He took a moment to glare meaningfully around the crowded room before continuing. "Coulta is not the father of Kylar and Kyla. The magic he possesses, which he has granted to us as his spouses, has also appeared in the children. His magic is very powerful and this is not something that could have been prevented. It is unknown if the magic will remain in the children through life, but if it does, that does not mean the line is tainted. This magic is a powerful gift that can only strengthen the family. That is all you need to know."
"How can you know it's only the magic?" someone called. "Perhaps it's his magic and his seed that was shared!"
"No," Wildas replied, raising his voice over the mutters of agreement. "That is not possible."
"I heard a servant claim he doesn't take the tea as he's expected to!"
"He doesn't take it because it makes him ill," Wildas explained, frustrated that something so personal to Coulta had to be made public. "And it makes him ill because he completely lacks the life-giving force that exists in almost all of us. He is irreversibly infertile."
"And I have confirmed this," Shelton added. "Many other healers and sorcerers can also test this very easily."
Not everyone in the room seemed willing to accept this explanation, but there were no more loud objections. The very atmosphere felt much calmer than it had when Wildas had entered the room.
"I'm going to bring him in now," he announced. "Then we will continue this conversation. If anyone moves to harm him, I will have you arrested immediately and charged with treason. Am I clear?"
A grumble of assent passed through the room and he took it as all he was going to get. He went to the door and motioned Coulta inside, wishing he'd told Coulta to wear his swords. But that would have tempted Wildas to let him act in self defense instead of giving that duty to the Guardsmen.
Coulta stood silently beside him, concealing his fear by giving the room full of skeptics a defiant look. Wildas suppressed a smile. Intimidation might help.
"Are
we simply to believe you?" came a demand that broke the silence. "Where is the proof?"
"Perhaps we should make him prove himself by taking a hundred women to bed," someone suggested.
Several others called out in agreement.
Wildas felt a new surge of rage at the mere thought of that, but before he could speak Coulta took the matter into his own hands.
"I will allow you to have other sorcerers test me," he told them, "but I will not allow you to live out your perverseness through me."
"You are the one accused! You have no right to set your own methods of trial!"
"Enough!" Wildas yelled. "If you wish for confirmation, call upon your personal sorcerers and healers. You have one hour to return here. We will wait."
He nodded to Rohan, who motioned to his Guardsmen and ordered, "Clear the room!"
The crowd went grudgingly, muttering among themselves yet again. Wildas couldn't make out any direct threats now, but he was tense until the last person filed out the door.
"Will they lie to accuse him?" Wildas finally asked, turning to Shelton.
Shelton shook his head. "They will know that I've already tested him. They will speak the truth."
"Good."
***
An hour later, Coulta stood at the front of the room and allowed person after person to take his hand and search inside his body with magic for any sign that he could father a child. Each one confirmed Shelton's diagnosis of infertility, to the obvious annoyance of some members of the court. They demanded he be examined by every sorcerer they had brought, no matter how many agreed, until nearly fifty people had tested him. Even then, only the boredom of many of those watching led to the end of the examination.
Once assured he had not, in fact, fathered Kylar and Kyla, the accusation moved on to him having tainted the royal line with foul magic.
"This magic is a gift," Wildas argued. "It has saved my life and those of other members of my family many times. It would not have passed on if not for good."
"He himself admitted to being cursed!" someone cried.
"And he is no longer," Shelton interrupted. "When curses are broken, the magic becomes a force of good, a gift to the one who had suffered for so long. I know more about magic than any other in this room. My words should be trusted."
"Yet you have taken him under your wing and made him your fellow court sorcerer. Perhaps you speak with friendship and not with honor."
"How dare you question him?"
Everyone looked to the door as Brother Pelles pushed his way through the crowd. His normally calm expression was now one of anger.
"This magic is a gift from the gods themselves," he declared, making his way to the front of the room. "The gods have brought new strength to the family through this. Raiofsi himself, he who chose the first king of our great nation, spoke to me in a dream last night. He told me that this magic would bring great prosperity to us, and only good. This is for you to accept, not deny."
"And what is he to you?" a voice from the back demanded. "What do you stand to gain by defending his evil?"
"I will save the good and innocent souls you are trying to corrupt," Brother Pelles replied. "You are blind and ignorant fools if you seek to deny the will of the gods."
"He's correct," someone called out. "Let's be done with this foolish meeting. You have proof that he is not the father and our great priest speaks for the gods."
"No," another voice argued. "This is clearly a conspiracy to corrupt the family."
"There has been magic in the royal line before," Shelton reminded them. "Queens have been sorceresses and gave birth to princes and princesses of power."
"But none were Grand Kings! The ruling line was spared."
"Oh yes, I've forgotten that the statues in the entrance hall aren't colored," Shelton replied. "How could you have remembered Grand King Jasper? Clearly, you don't know much about the ruling family that you so thoroughly want to protect. Jasper, son of Grand King Caolan and Queen Dyna, was a red sorcerer with red eyes. Perhaps we should have an artist apply some paint to his statue."
"It's still not the same type of magic!"
"All magic is inherently good," Shelton explained. "Even if it is used for ill purpose, the magic itself is still good. To claim that good magic is a taint to the family, you are a fool."
Coulta's frustration was overcome by curiosity as he watched the form of the late Grand King Deandre appear before him. He was dressed as regally for court as he had been in life, and the room grew dim as his form took on a very solid appearance. Unlike when his mother had visited, Coulta couldn't see through the ghost at all. It was as if he were truly there in the flesh.
All arguments and mutterings died away as the crowd stared at him with open wonder, awe, and fear.
"I am appalled by the way you have treated my son," Deandre's ghost declared. "You have not given him the same respect given to me. You treat him as a child unworthy of your fealty, and this is greatly offensive. Have you no honor? No respect for your leader? You dare to question his authority by calling him dishonest? You question the honesty of both of your court sorcerers? You argue the statements of your former Second King, a man I so trusted during my reign that I would not make a decision without consulting him?
"You are all quite lucky that I have no true authority here now. If I did, I would arrest every one of you who had uttered threats against your Second King and publicly hanged you for plots of treason. Those of you who desired to break into the royal suite and do harm to him in the night would not be alive now. I know who each of you are, and I am appalled. How dare you think you have more power than your own rulers? How dare you question the proof you have heard? How dare you defy the very gods who have granted us health so far, when a war is coming? Why would you bring the wrath of the gods upon us now, of all times?
"What we need now is the strength gifted to us by the gods at this pivotal time. The royal line will be made even stronger thanks to this great and powerful gift. How dare you deny it? You are all fools. Do not demand such an audience of your Grand King again unless it is for a real and true concern. You are simply hungry for power, and you do not deserve power. Are any of you truly loyal to the crown?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was gone, leaving a room full of stunned court members.
Wildas was rigid with anger beside him. "Whoever planned to enter my rooms should come forward now and ask my forgiveness. If you don't, I will find out who you are and you will be arrested."
Coulta was surprised to see five people come forward with only minor hesitation. They all knelt before Wildas, heads bowed and arms spread. The room was utterly silent.
It took several moments for Wildas to speak, and his words were clearly not what most in the room had expected.
"I do not take this lightly. You threatened the life and safety of my family, and therefore myself. If you ever even hint at such a thing again, I will not be lenient. Do you apologize?"
"Yes," the eldest man declared. His voice was strong despite the slight tremble Coulta could easily see in him. "The idea was mine. The others followed me, but it was my decision. I have put many people in danger, I realize now. For that, I am deeply sorry."
Wildas gazed at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Very well. This time, you are forgiven. Return to your seat."
The man looked up, clearly surprised. Then he bowed his head again before rising to return to where he had been sitting. The other people who had come forward followed his example and apologized for their actions. Wildas offered them the same forgiveness.
"Now that that business has finally concluded," Wildas said to the crowd, "may we present the royal children?"
***
Despite the agony of having been in labor for a full day, Anil was happy. She was tired and weak, and Myri had confined her to bed rest for the next several days. But she was happy.
Myri and the midwife hadn't been surprised when her labor continued after Kyla was born. She couldn't say tha
t she was that surprised herself. Deep down, she had always known she was carrying twins.
There had been quite a bit of muttering among the healers and servants as soon as Kyla was born, but through the haze of herbal potions she had been given, Anil wasn't concerned. Vaguely, she remembered hearing Myri order no one to leave.
Thankfully, Kylar had come relatively quickly after his sister and though Anil had wanted to see them immediately, Myri had urged her to rest for a moment to let the effects of the herbs fade. She found it impossible to rest until she held them, and finally Myri relented. Sitting beside her on the bed, Myri helped her hold each of her children.
Despite the medicine dulling her discomfort and her mind, she was aware of the marks both babies bore. Far from being worried, she was overjoyed that they could carry a part of Coulta with them. He was just as much a father to them as Wildas was.
It wasn't until later, after the herbs had worn off and she was resting as comfortably as possible in a fresh bed, longing for the presence of her family in the next room, that she became aware of what trouble those marks could cause. Would someone try to claim Coulta was the father and hurt him? Surely the court wouldn't stand for such a thing.
When she saw her husbands that night, they were clearly hiding their own concern even as they held the newest members of the royal family. But seeing their worry did not stop her from believing that everything would be worked out. They would prove Coulta wasn't the father, she knew.
Myri wouldn't allow her to attend the meeting the next day, claiming it would be too stressful. But it was also stressful to sit in bed and wait to hear what would happen. Myri sat with her, each of them holding one of the children. When they slept in their cradle, Anil worked on more embroidery, thinking of designs for her babies' clothes and blankets.
Once, when she glanced up to the cradle with a happy smile on her face, she saw her youngest brother's ghost standing beside it. He smiled at her, then looked into the cradle.
"Thank you for keeping your promise, Sissy," he whispered, then vanished.
She wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. "You're welcome, Kyler," she murmured.