‘Who’s Daphne?’ Keira asked.
‘She’s pregnant, Kylon.’
Kylon’s face dropped, and emotions raced across his eyes.
‘Who’s pregnant?’ Keira said. ‘Kylon, answer me.’
‘How long?’ Kylon said.
‘The dates match,’ Leah said. ‘She was already pregnant when she rescued us.’
‘Kylon,’ Keira cried. ‘What’s going on? Are you the fucking father?’
He stared at her, his eyes confused.
‘Leah,’ Keira said, ‘for fucksake, will you tell me the truth?’
Leah shook her head. ‘It’s your brother,’ she said. ‘Killop’s the father.’
There was a sparking noise as Niall lit another stick of weed.
‘Carry on,’ he said. ‘Don’t mind me.’
‘Fucking give me that,’ Keira said, snatching the weedstick from his hand, and taking a draw.
She got a headrush, and her senses lit up. Everything around her appeared sharper, and the sounds in the tent clearer. What attracted her attention most were the lamps, their small yellow and orange flames dancing like woodland spirits, as if they were alive, as if she could control them with her thoughts alone.
She puffed out her cheeks. ‘Shit.’
She felt Leah take the weedstick from her hand.
‘I told Daphne the truth, Kylon,’ the Lach woman said, smoking. ‘I thought she needed to know. I guessed you would have done the same.’
Kylon shrugged. ‘It’s too late now to make any difference.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Keira said.
‘Kylon had a job to do,’ Leah said. ‘Carry a message to Killop in Rahain, tell him that Daphne was waiting for him in Plateau City.’
Keira stared at Kylon, studying his face, his skin, his beautiful dark eyes.
‘And?’ she said.
‘He told Killop that Daphne was dead.’
‘He fucking did what?’ Keira said, as Kalayne laughed. ‘What are you smiling at, ya old bastard?’
‘I picked out Kylon right from the start,’ Kalayne said. ‘I knew he was different.’
‘Many people are arseholes,’ Keira said. ‘He’s not that different.’
‘I had my reasons,’ Kylon said.
‘Care to share them?’
‘Killop needs to be where he is,’ Kylon said. ‘If he’d known Daphne was alive, he’d have left Rahain in search of her.’
‘And what’s fucking wrong with that?’ Keira said. ‘I mean, I assume the wee numpty was shagging this Daphne woman?’
‘He loves her.’
‘And you told him she was dead? You total bastard, you absolute shitstain. And she’s fucking pregnant?’
‘I didn’t know that at the time.’
‘And if you had?’
Kylon downed his glass and took the passed weedstick from Leah. ‘I probably would have done the same.’
Keira and Leah scowled at him, while Kalayne chuckled and Niall looked drunk and amused.
‘At least,’ Kalayne said, ‘your company is still entertaining. Kylon’s right though, only Killop could raise the size of rebellion needed to trouble the Rahain.’
‘Why?’
‘Because only the brother of the fire mage can redeem the shame you have brought upon them,’ Kalayne said. ‘The Kellach Brigdomin slaves will follow him, as they would follow no other, and so find some redemption in his service.’
Keira’s face dropped.
‘You cannot run away from what you did,’ Kalayne said, ‘not forever.’
Niall got to his feet. ‘I might go for a walk. This seems like a private conversation.’
‘No,’ Kalayne said, turning to him, and fixing him with his staring eyes. ‘Your evening’s over, laddie.’
Niall looked surprised for a second, then toppled onto the floor, a smile on his sleeping face.
Kalayne continued to stare at him, then turned and chuckled. ‘He won’t remember me in the morning, so don’t mention that I was here. Now, where was I?’
He turned to face the fire mage.
‘Keira,’ he said, ‘what you did upset the schemes of the Creator. He had his plan, and you were in it, but no more. At least now you are free of his machinations. He feels nothing but disgust for you. Funny. I sent Kylon to save the flow mage, but I didn’t know he’d be saving her from you.’
‘Blah blah blah,’ Keira said. ‘Who gives a shit? All I’m thinking about is finding Killop, as soon as we fuck Rahain over. Find him, and tell him Daphne is alive, and she’s carrying his bairn.’
‘While your future is now unclear,’ Kalayne said, ‘one thing hasn’t changed. You’re still the fire goddess.’
‘A fire goddess who can’t use her powers.’
‘Not here, at any rate,’ Kalayne said. ‘The Holdings would arrest you, probably after you had rendered many to ash first. Remain hidden for now, and listen to your dour-faced boyfriend, he knows things. Travel to Rahain, wade in the blood of revenge. There’s plenty of time for you to fulfil your promise.’
‘What about me?’ Leah said. ‘Nothing for me?’
‘If you insist,’ Kalayne said. He leaned over to stare into Leah’s eyes.
‘In a field not far from here, at night, soldiers, flames. You are looking into the eyes of Agang Garo, he is terrified beyond belief. As are you.’
He leered at her. ‘There you go, dear. Hope it was the kind of thing you were after.’
‘At least I know I won’t be dead tomorrow,’ Leah said, sitting back and drinking. ‘And maybe now you’ll tell us what you were doing hanging about outside Daphne’s house? You been stalking her?’
‘Maybe,’ Kalayne said, rubbing his thighs. ‘Maybe a bit. Right now she’s much more important than you lot. And much better looking. I’ve always found pregnant women attractive.’
His eyes drifted off for a moment.
‘I felt that someone needed to keep an eye on her, and what, or who, she carries,’ Kalayne went on. ‘She’s the only reason I’m in this city. Next to that, coming to visit you out here in this flea-infested dump was secondary.’
‘Then I suppose we should feel honoured by your fucking presence?’ Keira said.
‘To be honest,’ he shrugged, ‘I only came because Leah said there would be weed and booze. And I have to say,’ he held up a weedstick in one hand and a glass of rum in the other, ‘I’m not impressed with the quality of either.’
He gazed at Keira, and winked.
‘They’re much better in Sanang.’
Chapter 19
Words of Love
Plateau City, The Plateau – 17th Day, Second Third Autumn 505
A cold wind blew off the grey waters of the Inner Sea, penetrating Daphne’s thin clothes as she sat alone on the townhouse balcony.
She balanced a cigarette in her fingers, though she hardly raised it to her lips, guilty at the thought of hurting the baby within her. The sky was lightening, but she hadn’t slept, awake all night in her bed, thinking, going over the same conversations hundreds of times in her mind, until she had gone out to get some fresh air.
She wrapped her housecoat around her, shivering in the autumn chill.
She had never been angrier.
Killop should have been in the city, with her. Would have been, were it not for that two-faced liar Kylon. She was glad the fleet was leaving the following dawn, otherwise she might have been tempted to go down to the auxiliary camp, just to hurt him. At least Leah had shown some remorse, pleading that she had only been doing what Kylon had ordered her, and had played along with the deception.
Daphne had believed her when she said they had not known she was pregnant, but it didn’t make any difference. There was no way she could get to Killop, or he get to her, in time for the birth.
Part of her also felt relief, and a joy that Killop had not abandoned her. He believed her to be dead, so of course he had stayed, to fight for his people. If he had been made to choose between leading t
he rebellion and returning to her, and had chosen her, he might have regretted leaving Rahain, and all the slaves there that needed his help. In a perverse way she was glad he had never had to make that choice, but her heart sickened at the lonely wasted thirds without him, both those that had passed, and those yet to come.
She felt the baby kick, and put down the cigarette. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears.
‘Here you are, Daffie,’ her father said. ‘You look like you’re freezing.’
She felt a thick robe placed over her shoulders, and she pulled it close.
She opened her eyes as her father sat. He had brought tea, and poured two cups.
‘This will warm you up,’ he said.
He looked awkward, and avoided her gaze as he stirred in milk and sugar.
‘I am most dreadfully sorry,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she replied. ‘You’ve told me many times.’
‘Your mother is a stubborn woman,’ he said, ‘but if she’s as ill as Jonah says she is, then I must return. With the siege over the roads are clear.’
Daphne picked up her tea, and sipped the sweet scalding liquid.
‘My stay here was always going to be temporary,’ he went on, ‘as was Ariel’s. She misses little Teddy, and Faden needs to get back to work in Holdings City. I ask you to re-consider, Daphne. Won’t you come with us?’
‘I’d have to go by wagon, father,’ she said. ‘I’d be about ready to give birth by the time we got to the Hold Fast estate. I can’t risk it.’
He shook his head, his eyes torn with conflicting emotions. ‘At least you’ll have Celine, and I’ve set up an allowance for you. You’ll be comfortable.’
‘I’ll have Bedig as well,’ she said, ‘and Princess Shella will help when the baby comes.’
‘By which point I hope to have returned,’ her father said. ‘Faden, Ariel and baby Lydia will be travelling by wagon, but I will be riding as fast as I can. I can make the estate in a little over a third, and if your mother is fine, I shall come back immediately.’
Daphne smiled.
‘I’m not sure it will be that simple,’ she said. ‘Mother will find a way to keep us apart.’
‘Oh Daffie,’ he sighed, ‘don’t say that. Your mother loves you.’
‘She gave up on me the moment she discovered I was a vision mage.’
‘No,’ he said, ‘she felt that she’d lost you. She never gave up on you. It goes two ways, Daffie. When was the last time you made an effort to see or speak to her? You’re so sure she doesn’t like you that you don’t even try.’
Daphne stared out at the grey skies. It had been years since she had said a word to her mother, before she had left the Holdings for her second tour of Sanang, when she had been twenty-one. She would be twenty-four in winter. Her father was right. She had been away for most of that time, and had been imprisoned on her only trip back to the Holdings, but she had never written, or passed on any message to her mother.
‘After the baby’s born,’ she said, ‘I’ll try to make it right.’
‘You’ll come up to the estate?’ he asked, his eyes lighting up.
‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘I’m not making any promises though.’
Her father sipped his tea in silence.
‘Everything packed up?’ she said.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Ariel and her family will be leaving on the wagon in an hour or so. I will accompany them to the city walls, then strike out on my own.’
He took her hand. ‘Everyone is gathering for breakfast. Come and join us.’
‘In a minute.’
Her father nodded, and stood.
Daphne watched as he left the balcony, then turned her gaze back out to the grey, endless sea.
‘You look knackered,’ Shella said. ‘Family get away okay?’
‘They left just after dawn this morning,’ Daphne replied.
‘I’ll miss your dad,’ Shella said.
‘You mean you’ll miss his constant supply of alcohol?’
‘That as well. You still up for going to the palace today?’
Daphne nodded. ‘The fleet sails tomorrow. We can’t leave it any later.’
‘Okay, if you’re sure it’s a good idea.’
‘It’s probably a stupid idea,’ Daphne said, ‘but I have to try.’
Shella smiled. ‘My carriage awaits then, Miss Holdfast.’
Daphne and Shella dodged the rain falling from the grey overcast skies, and climbed on board the carriage. Shella nodded up to Jayki, and they set off.
They left the aristocratic quarter, and trotted up the main boulevard through the city. The lines of tents to their right looked dank and miserable in the autumn rain, but building work had restarted despite the weather, and more houses were being erected every day. Mud-covered workers were clambering over construction sites like ants. A great hole had been knocked through the Emergency Wall, and the Kellach camp was now back in contact with the rest of the city. Surveyors had already been out, marking the extent of a new set of walls to encompass the refugee camp, and link up with the abandoned wall on the far bank. Soon, it would be as if the Sanang siege had never happened.
The carriage halted to allow wagons laden with building stone and timber to cross the road.
‘The King is throwing money around,’ Shella said. ‘Paying for the invasion of Rahain, finishing the city as fast as he can. What’s the rush?’
‘The plateau gets very cold in winter,’ Daphne said. ‘The King just wants the people to be living indoors by then.’
Shella raised an eyebrow. ‘No more doubts about Guilliam?’
‘I’ll always love the old queen,’ she smiled, ‘but the King’s not as bad as I’d feared. I don’t agree with everything he does, but the way he handled the Sanang invasion? He turned a siege into an alliance, and an alliance into an invasion of Rahain. Whatever else he does in his reign, the people will love him for that. Barely a third ago everyone was worried about starving. Now, all they can think about is glory.’
‘A monarch does get things done quicker,’ Shella said. ‘The Rakanese assemblies would probably still be debating what to do about the siege, while Guilliam acted. Still, that doesn’t prove anything. It doesn’t get round the fact that you can’t get rid of a bad ruler.’
‘The church would argue,’ Daphne said, ‘that as they are guided by the Creator, there can be no such thing as a bad ruler. All are blessed.’
‘Do you really believe that, Daphne?’
‘I believe that’s what they believe,’ she said. ‘And I know the Creator’s real. What I don’t understand, is what the Creator wants.’
‘Who can know the mind of a god?’ Shella smirked. ‘Aren’t you supposed to have faith that the Creator loves you and so on?’
‘I spoke to him, remember?’ Daphne said, lowering her voice. ‘He seemed well, more like us than a god. Angry, proud. Because I thought I’d imagined the whole thing, I didn’t sit down and think clearly about his actual words to me.’
‘I thought you said he helped you?’
‘He did, but it was more of a deal, rather than through love or kindness.’
The carriage halted as they approached the main palace gates, and a cavalry trooper took a quick look through the window.
‘Open the gates for her Royal Highness, Princess Shellakanawara,’ he called out.
The wrought iron gates were pulled open, and the carriage went through, into the large open courtyard in front of the half-built palace.
‘Before we go anywhere else,’ Shella said, ‘we must first attend court, even if just for a few minutes. It looks odd if you come to the palace, and don’t pay your respects to the King.’
Courtiers welcomed them as they dismounted from the carriage, and they were led through to the temporary throne room.
Inside, the hall was bustling with merchants, soldiers, Rakanese diplomats and Sanang chiefs. There were lines queuing to petition the monarch, who was up on his throne, talking in hushed ton
es to his advisors.
The courtier escorted Shella and Daphne up the main aisle, stopping halfway.
‘Your Majesty,’ he called out, ‘may I present her Royal Highness Princess Shellakanawara, and Miss Daphne Holdfast.’
The King looked up, and smiled.
‘Miss Daphne,’ he said, breaking off his conversation, ‘how wonderful to see you again. You haven’t attended our court in some time.’
‘No disrespect intended, your Majesty,’ Daphne said, bowing. ‘I’m finding it harder to get about these days.’
‘Of course,’ he smiled. ‘We hear that Holder Fast has departed the city?’
‘Yes, your Majesty,’ she said. ‘This morning. My mother’s sick, and he’s travelling to be at her side.’
‘How unfortunate,’ he said, ‘for you. What with your elder brother Captain Vince already having ridden out with the main army, does this mean you are the only Hold Fast left in the city?’
‘Yes, your Majesty.’
‘And to think that it wasn’t so long ago that you were the talk of the town,’ he said, ‘and now you’re alone. It’s funny how things change, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, your Majesty.’
The King nodded. ‘Carry on.’ He looked away, and resumed speaking to his advisors.
Shella and Daphne bowed again, and moved to the side of the hall, several glances from others aimed in their direction.
‘What an asshole,’ Shella muttered. ‘You okay?’
Daphne nodded, but said nothing.
They waited fifteen minutes to be polite, then edged out of the hall and began walking back through the palace.
‘He was talking crap in there,’ Shella said. ‘You’re not alone. I’m not going anywhere. I promised I’d help with the birth, and I will.’
‘Thanks,’ Daphne said.
‘You don’t look very upset,’ Shella said. ‘If that had been me, I’d be raging.’
‘I stopped caring what people in authority thought about me a long time ago,’ Daphne said, ‘around the time they imprisoned and tortured me. I’m not likely to start caring now.’
‘I wish I could be more like that,’ Shella said. ‘I take everything people say personally. I guess that’s why I’m angry most of the time. Either that or I’m usually surrounded by stupid people, present company excepted.’
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