The Return of Absent Souls (After The Rift Book 6)

by C. J. Archer

  “I know why you kept it from me,” Dane said levelly. “But it seems I can’t claim the Glancian throne anyway. There is no evidence I am Prince Hugo’s son. When Leon’s claim came out of the blue, the skeptics circled until he presented definitive proof. They won’t believe the claim of a second unknown son, particularly one with no evidence. Let’s leave it at that and forget about it.”

  She clutched him harder as he went to walk off. “I have copies of the marriage and birth certificate in my possession.”

  “They’ll say you forged them. Unless they are in the possession of the priests, it won’t be enough.”

  “Then use one of the wishes to conjure the correct paperwork into existence. If you word it just so, perhaps a single wish could get your memory back and put right this wrong.”

  Dane extricated himself from her grip. “No, Yelena. You are welcome to come with us to Glancia. I will do my best to take care of you and Martha. But I won’t be attempting to claim the Glancian throne. There’ll be no more discussion of the matter.”

  She released him. “Very well. It’s your decision. I’ll take you up on your offer of coming with you, if that’s all right with Josie. I don’t want to intrude on your lives any more than I already have.”

  “It’s no intrusion,” I said and meant it. “You’re his mother. You’ll always be welcome wherever Dane is.”

  She smiled and thanked me. Dane nodded stiffly and walked away, his back straight. She watched him go, blinking back her tears.

  “Give him time,” I said gently. “He’s feeling overwhelmed, but he’ll forgive you and accept you.”

  She smiled wistfully, and I was glad to see that she did seem to have maternal instincts. She had simply set them aside for her ambition. Hopefully now she could be a proper mother to a grown son. “He doesn’t like things being out of his control,” she said wryly. “Something I’m sure you’ve discovered.”

  “I certainly have.”

  We walked out together and met the others in the second chamber. With our meager belongings packed, we departed our cramped quarters and headed along the tunnel and up the ladder. We emerged from the trapdoor in the copse of trees then followed the lights towards the house.

  The guards looked surprised to see us, wondering how we’d got past them at the gate, but the footman let us in without question. Eeliss and Ewen met us in the sitting room and immediately voiced their concerns about the guards noticing us.

  “I’m afraid I cannot trust them,” Ewen said apologetically.

  Eeliss tried to shoo us out the door. “Make haste! You must get to the boat before someone alerts the authorities.”

  “There’s been a change of plans.” Dane quickly explained the bargain he’d made with the ministers and told them he could leave Noxford without risking recapture.

  When he finished, utter silence filled the room. Then Eeliss muttered a small sound as she fainted onto the daybed. Meg and Kitty went to her, but her husband merely stood there, staring at Dane as if he hadn’t heard a word.

  Yelena took Dane’s arm. “I think we should go. They need time to consider—”

  “You!” Ewen suddenly growled at her. “You assured us he would accept his birthright. You told us he was eager to become king!”

  “He was, before his memory loss. Come, Dane. We must go. The boat is waiting.”

  “Everything has changed,” Dane added. “I’m sorry, but—”

  “You’re sorry?” Ewen scoffed. “You’re sorry! Do you know how much gold I’ve spent on you? All your tutors were paid by me. Your mother’s cottage and allowance, every loaf of bread on your table, every grain, all paid out of my pocket. The mercenaries, the bribes, the spies; they have all cost me a fortune.” He jabbed Dane in the chest with his finger. “And now, because you’ve changed your mind, I am to receive nothing in return?”

  “We are grateful,” Yelena began.

  “Spare me your pitiful gratitude,” he snapped.

  She straightened. “That is enough. Do not speak to me or my son that way.”

  “I will speak to you how I treat all my servants, because that’s all you are to me now. Servants I pay to perform duties. Except you did not perform your duty.” He poked Dane again. “Do you know what I do to servants who fail to do their job? I whip them.”

  Martha gasped then clamped her hand over her mouth.

  Yelena swallowed heavily. She looked afraid, and if Yelena was afraid of the Rotherhydes, then we should be too.

  “Let’s go,” I said to Dane.

  He pushed Ewen’s finger aside with a deliberate sweep of his arm. He showed no urgency and no fear. “Thank you for taking care of my mother and me all these years. It’s appreciated.”

  “Appreciated!” Ewen blocked Dane’s exit and once again stabbed him in the chest. “We didn’t do it out of kindness!”

  “So I understand. Move aside, Ewen. We have a boat to catch.”

  Ewen planted both hands on his hips and settled his feet apart.

  Max drew his sword. “Get out of the way.”

  Eeliss whimpered from the daybed.

  “Guards!” Ewen shouted. “Take this man to the authorities. He’s wanted for…crimes.” Ewen grinned in triumph as two guards filed in, looking at their master with confusion. “Change your mind, Dane, or I will have them take you to the sheriff where you will no doubt be arrested on whatever charge I see fit.”

  Merdu, he might do it, too. He had enough money to bribe the sheriff into arresting Dane on a false charge of burglary.

  Dane merely smiled. “The high minister wants me out of the country and my identity kept secret. A public arrest and trial is against his interests.”

  The color drained from Ewen’s face, yet he didn’t order his men to let us pass.

  Dane removed the signed document from inside his doublet and addressed the guards. “This proves my pardon. Either you believe it and step aside, or I will have my men kill you. It’s your choice.”

  The guards glanced at one another and stepped out of the way. Clearly the Rotherhydes weren’t paying them enough to risk their lives.

  We hurried away. Ewen’s frenzied shouts roused the sleeping birds from their nests, creating a chorus for our departure. We headed for the docks, glancing over our shoulders at every turn, jumping at unexpected sounds. I breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the water’s edge without being stopped by constables or Rotherhyde guards, but I didn’t fully relax until the pier was behind us.

  “Ewen was always greedier than his father,” Yelena said as she stood on the deck and looked back at the moored boats. “He always wanted something in return for his loyalty, whereas his father gave it unconditionally.”

  “Is that why you promised Dane would marry Laylana?” Theodore asked.

  “It was Ewen’s price from the moment he took over the family empire.” She settled both hands on the deck rail and watched the dark hulking forms of the city’s warehouses slip past in the eerie quiet. “He’s going to regret the way he spoke to me.”

  She left to join Martha below deck. The others remained, listening to the light splash of the oars in the water as Captain Obsidian navigated out of Noxford’s congested river port. It was the sound of freedom.

  “I hope Yelena doesn’t mind swapping one cramped quarters for another,” Meg said, breaking the silence. “It’s not exactly accommodation fit for a princess.”

  “She’s not a princess anymore,” Quentin piped up.

  “Quentin,” Kitty scolded.

  “He’s right,” Dane said. “It’s time she grew used to being an ordinary person. No one will treat her like royalty in Mull.”

  “Don’t say that to her,” I told him. “It hurts to be reminded of what is lost.”

  “I won’t, but I’m not sure she deserves our consideration.”

  “She’s your mother!”

  “She was about to force me to accept something I didn’t want, as well as plunge Freedland into another war, for her own selfis
h reasons.”

  “To be fair,” Balthazar pointed out, “it was what you wanted too, once.”

  We stood on the deck for some time, watching the city pass by and filling our lungs with the cool, fresh autumn air. It was cathartic after spending so much time underground. We talked quietly of our enthusiasm for seeing our friends again, of telling them about their pasts, even the dark parts.

  “They’ll be pleased just to have some of the missing pieces,” Max said.

  Erik agreed. “And to know they do not have to go to prison again even if they go home to Freedland.”

  “Or wherever they came from,” Theodore added.

  Quentin looked at him. “Will you go to Dreen to search for your family after you get your memory back?”

  “I haven’t yet decided.”

  “What about you, Bal? Will you return to Tilting?”

  Balthazar took a moment to answer then shook his head. “The temple didn’t feel like home. Mull and the palace do. I hope to regain my position there…if the new king will have me.”

  Quentin glanced at Dane, but everyone else kept their gazes studiously on the river bank.

  “Me too,” Max said. “Mull and the palace are my home, not Freedland.”

  Meg placed her hand over his on the rail. “You might think differently when your memory returns.”

  He turned his hand over, palm up, and clasped hers. “I won’t.”

  She smiled, but it lacked confidence. It warmed my heart to see them getting along so well, but Meg was right. A small measure of doubt would remain for me too until Dane got his memory back.

  Erik put his arm around Kitty’s waist and she leaned into him. “What about you, Duchess? You must be careful when we arrive in Mull. You are supposed to be dead.”

  Kitty couldn’t stay in Mull or Tilting. She couldn’t go anywhere near her husband’s estate, either. She must travel to somewhere remote where her peers would never go. Hiding in uncivilized villages was not in Kitty’s nature, but she had done a serviceable job of it so far.

  “There’s a place called Brawle, in the north,” Meg said. “I have cousins there. They could find work for you until the duke dies and it’s safe for you to reveal yourself.”

  “Brawle,” Kitty said, drawing the word out. “It sounds rough.”

  The fishing village was smaller than Mull, and it was indeed rough. Smugglers and pirates made it their home, and I doubted there was work for an educated, privileged woman. Not unless she was willing to spread her legs.

  “Or you could travel to Dreen,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I hear Logios is beautiful and interesting, and it will be large enough for you to get lost in. You could find work as a governess or nurse to the children of students and teachers.”

  “You can travel with me,” Quentin said, puffing out his chest. “I’ll be your protection on the road.”

  “You’re going to try to get into the medical college?” I asked him.

  His teeth flashed white in the darkness. “I am. Do you think I can get a recommendation?”

  “I’ll write to my father’s friends and see what can be done.”

  “What do you think, Kitty?” he asked.

  Kitty merely shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You could go back to Merrin Fahl,” Theodore said.

  When Kitty sighed, Quentin added, “Or you can travel with Erik to the Margin.”

  “I am not going there,” Erik said. “Not yet. Maybe when I know why I left, but I could ride into danger if I return.”

  “You think you’re a wanted man in your homeland?”

  “It is possible, since I was imprisoned for theft in Freedland.”

  “You wouldn’t have been sent to a prison mine just for theft,” Quentin said.

  “Multiple thefts, maybe.”

  “Or for the simple fact you are from the Margin,” Theodore said with grim certainty.

  “Or I made love to a woman with a powerful husband and she was so satisfied that he became jealous.” He nodded, liking the idea. “Many, many jealous husbands.”

  Theodore patted Erik’s back. “It’s a good idea for you to stay in Glancia, but try to stay away from the wives of powerful men.”

  My gaze slid to Kitty, but she was too occupied with yawning to notice. She bade us goodnight and departed for the women’s sleeping quarters. Her sad smile worried me, but the decision of what to do next was hers alone. She knew the dangers she faced if she stayed in Glancia. I hoped she would take up Quentin’s offer of accompanying him to Dreen. At least that way they would both have a friend in a strange city.

  The others soon left too, leaving Dane and I alone. He wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my head. I gazed up at the sky, my heart full, my nerves tingling. The last time we’d studied the stars, we had made love on the riverbank and Dane declared he would marry me.

  So much had changed since then, yet nothing had at the same time. We both still loved one another, and we wanted to be together, now and always. If I asked him, Dane would still declare his intention to marry me. But I wouldn’t ask. I didn’t want him to break that promise, something he may yet be forced to do, not by anyone else but by his own conscience.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized Dane could save my country from destroying itself. And a king could not marry a commoner.

  The journey down Blood River to Lake Torment took a day and a half with the sails full most of the way. The remainder of our journey would take us up the Upway River along the Vytill-Dreen border and a short distance along the Vytill-Glancia border to Tilting, where we would continue by road to Mull.

  Yelena kept to her bed, below deck, from the beginning. The river voyage was calm, so I didn’t think it was seasickness, yet she complained of tiredness and stomach cramps. I nursed her with Martha’s help. Together we made sure Yelena drank the tisane I gave her to settle her stomach, and when that ran out, we simply tried to make her feel comfortable.

  Thankfully, she rallied when we docked in Upway, the capital of Dreen, which sprawled along the western bank of the Upway River. Like Tilting, it was a city of contrasts, with the flat-faced Dreenian folk making up the majority of the population, but a number of Vytillians and Glancians worked alongside them at the dock. It was a relief to see Yelena up and about again, and even well enough to go to market with us while the boat unloaded its cargo.

  We looked around the city first, taking in its interesting architecture of pointed roofs and ochre colored buildings before heading to the market to stock up on necessities for the rest of the journey. We split up into smaller groups and came together at the market entrance to return to the boat. Yelena took me aside and pressed a book into my hand.

  “What’s this?” I asked, reading the title. “A medical book?”

  “Dane told me you lost many of your belongings after your house was confiscated, including your father’s precious books. I don’t know if that’s one you can use, but it was the only medical text the bookseller had.”

  “Oh. Yes, it is. Thank you, that’s very kind of you, but you didn’t have to give me anything.”

  “It’s just a small gift in appreciation for your doctoring skills on the boat.”

  “It was nothing. I’m not sure the tisane helped you much anyway.”

  She fell into step beside me and nodded at Martha, walking up ahead with Meg and Kitty. “She’s good to me, but she fusses. Your no-nonsense manner calmed her, and that calmed me.”

  I cradled the book to my chest. “I’ll treasure it.”

  She smiled, and I could almost feel Dane’s gaze on my back as he walked behind us. He was far enough away, and our voices low enough, that I doubted he could hear us.

  “Dane told me all about how the two of you met,” she went on. “He is full of praise for you. Anyone with eyes can see that he loves you.”

  “And I love him,” I assured her. “I’m glad you two have talked some more, and not just about the succession.”r />
  “We’ve talked about that too, naturally. He knows what I think.”

  “He doesn’t want to be king, even of a peaceful country.”

  Her gaze turned distant. “Sometimes we must set aside our heart’s desire and do what is right for the greater good.” Her gaze suddenly snapped to mine. “You know Dane’s becoming king is the right thing. For your country, your people.” She nodded at Meg. “Your friends. A war will destroy lives and livelihoods. It will tear Glancia apart. I saw it happen forty years ago in Averlea.”

  “And yet you wanted him to start another war there.”

  “I let my anger for the regime that destroyed my life rule me. I acknowledge that anger now, and I have set aside those ambitions. But this is different. Dane has it in his power to stop a war before it begins.” She clasped my hand. “I know you think so too. I see it in your eyes when you look at him. They’re sad because you think it means you’ll lose him. But he doesn’t have to give you up altogether. Kings are—”

  “What are you two talking about?” Dane’s attempt at casual conversation fell flat. He was worried about what his mother was saying to me and we all knew it.

  She released me and smiled up at him. “We’re discussing the future and how bright it can be.”

  “Mother,” he said on a sigh.

  Her smile widened. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that without me prompting you.”

  She lengthened her strides and joined the others ahead, while Theodore joined us.

  “I’ve been thinking about your dilemma,” Theodore began, breaking through my thoughts.

  “What dilemma?” I asked, all innocence.

  “You know.” He jerked his head at Dane. “Him being king of Glancia and what that means for you.”

  Dane let go of my hand. “I’ll leave you two to your gossip.”

  “I don’t gossip,” Theodore said crisply. Once Dane was out of earshot, he said, “Diplomacy is not his strength.”