"So you did," Sebastian said with what suspiciously sounded like a muffled laugh as he quickly put his other fist to his mouth.
Thanar's lips thinned but he didn't drop Sebastian's hand as he said that. That was something, and Ciardis wanted to keep them working together as cordially as they could. For all of their sakes. There was nothing worse than a day when the two princes were at each other's throats. And it seemed that this time, they were able to get over that rivalry…with something as simple as a joke between the two. She was relieved to see that the exchange broke the proverbial ice. At least between them. Sebastian’s attending court members seemed less than convinced. But there was also nothing they could do about it as the emperor had clearly decided he wasn’t going to put up with any dissenting opinion, especially while lying flat on his back on the dead emperor’s bed while at least a dozen eyes focused on him with somewhat greedy anticipation.
Everybody wants a piece of the emperor and he’s not even legitimate yet, Ciardis thought sourly.
Not that she expected any less, but it somehow felt different now that their predatory gazes were focused on her prince heir.
Or the person who used to be known as the prince heir, she thought with a slight wince at her wrong turn of phrase.
She’d have to get used to referring to him by his new proper title. Ciardis had the feeling it would take some time before she stopped slipping between titles for Sebastian as easily as she blinked. After all, it felt like she’d known him for a lifetime in his former persona. In fact, it sometimes felt as if her life had begun the moment she had stepped down from the carriage at Lineaus, the tiny way station that had served as her entrance to the courts. Ciardis had the feeling that just as Lineaus had proved a pivotal point in her life, it had also served as a critical juncture for many others as well. After her first encounter with the young man she had protected as best as she was able ever since she stumbled upon him in a very tricky scenario in the middle of the Aether realm, Ciardis was different. And then she couldn’t think of him as anything but her prince heir. The one who had saved her.
As I recall, it was you who saved me, she heard Sebastian say softly in her thoughts.
Thoughts frozen but mind working, Ciardis asked, Which time?
Playing along, Sebastian responded, You saved me from being skewered by arrows from those three very ungrateful nobles.
Feeling a bit of amusement rise up out of the rafter of anxiety that was currently her mind, Ciardis replied wryly, I think we ended up saving each other.
And killing off anyone who stood against us in the process, Sebastian replied.
There was no regret in his voice. There was none in hers as well. They had done what they had to do and they would continue doing so until they couldn’t anymore.
Always, Ciardis responded somberly. Eyes met and they both nodded.
It wasn’t a question. Merely a confirmation. They settled comfortably back in their own minds. She—a little less anxious. Him—a little less irritated.
As the man turned from the bedside, his sights set on the magistrate, Ciardis’s eyes caught on something interesting. His robes. Or, more specifically, the embroidery on them.
“Well, well,” Ciardis said so softly that she doubted anyone else heard it.
That embroidery told her a story. It told her a profession.
This man wasn’t just some noble eager to witness history and the transition of power from one ruler to another. This was a mage. And not just any mage; judging by the Madrassa sigils embroidered in delicate thread down the length of his robes, he was a very talented mage of the master level.
Only instructors at the fabled school were allowed to wear the institution’s emblem, and rightly so—as far as Ciardis Weathervane knew, anyway. She wasn’t well-versed on the ins and outs of what it took to become a master, or even all of the lore about the school fabled for its studies of magic.
One day I’ll visit, though, Ciardis thought with determination. She wanted to know more, to see more. She had been to vastly different corners of the empire in her journeys, even to the Ameles Forest which sat on the Madrassa’s doorstep, but there were so many hidden pockets. Pockets unseen left to explore. Left to learn about.
Don’t worry, you’ll get your turn, said a slightly amused voice in her head.
It belonged to Thanar.
You know something I don’t? Ciardis asked back.
Don’t I always? he teased. But this time, it’s merely a matter of practicalities. The new emperor needs to meet his people. And unless you plan to shut yourself away in the palace, you will be a part of that grand tour.
Ciardis wasn’t sure how she felt about that revelation, but she didn’t have time to respond to him anyway. At that moment, Sebastian cleared his throat and his gaze focused entirely on Thanar. A knowing smirk crossed the mage from the Madrassa’s face, and Ciardis felt her hand balling into an unwitting fist. If he had done anything to jeopardize their already tenuous position in the political transition, she would wipe that smirk off his face permanently.
Ciardis knew, they all knew, that their control over the entirety of the empire was shaky at best. Inheritance or not. Transition or no.
People were only so willing to follow a prince heir rightfully accused of patricide for so long.
Sebastian would have to prove his worth.
She would have to prove her worth.
Thanar would just have to do the bare minimum of keeping his murderous urges restrained.
Together they were extraordinarily powerful, but each had their own individual flaws. Flaws that could weaken, even wound, one of the others in the bond. Not just magically, but politically.
So when Ciardis saw the self-satisfaction in the mage’s gaze and she didn’t know why he was satisfied—well, her hackles rose in unease. It was understandable. It was unstoppable as well. So she watched silently for what happened next.
Gaze unwavering, Sebastian raised their joined hands and asked the room silently why he had taken the daemoni prince’s hand in his.
And well…Thanar stared down at Sebastian’s pale flesh like his fingers were rotting maggots and the palm a shriveled-up spider long since deceased.
Still Sebastian voiced one simple question: “Why?”
All eyes turned to the whispering combination of magistrate and mage. Their faces were so close together that Ciardis could see the spittle flying from their loose lips as they met in midair.
It was disgusting.
But the two most powerful people in the room, by the sheer vantage of the knowledge they held, didn’t seem to notice. They were so focused on the words the other was saying in low, urgent tones.
Finally they broke apart and turned to face the waiting daemoni prince and reclining prince heir.
The magistrate spoke, either because he sensed that he still had the upper hand, or the mage just had no interest in speaking, Ciardis wasn’t sure.
“The transference requires complete complicity on the part of the emperor and any subjects whom he has formed a magical attachment to,” the magistrate pronounced.
Ciardis was still. She exchanged a disbelieving glance with Thanar. They turned to look at Sebastian, who looked as mystified as they did, as well as irritated.
More irritated, that is.
Shrugging, the prince heir said, “They were reluctant to acknowledge it. In fact, they begged me to choose someone else, as if I could, then they told me the same thing.”
Ciardis waved an urgent hand. “Why?”
The magistrate twitched his shoulders like a bird ruffling its feathers. He clearly was not used to being questioned.
Well, he’d better get used to it, Ciardis thought snidely. As soon as the ceremony is done, his fluffed-up importance will deflate like so many others. He’s not the important one here, we are, and we need to know what is going to happen and why.
She didn’t say those last thoughts aloud, although she was very aware of the fact that she should. Sh
e would if the magistrate didn’t get a move on.
Finally the pestered magistrate spoke. “To complete the bonded union, it takes total submission from the emperor, as he’s going from being in a solitary relationship with the Landwight to being the formal protector and unifier of the land itself.”
“Meaning what?” Thanar asked in a voice that could have cut glass, it was so sharp.
“Meaning,” said the mage with a frustrated look, “that we need to be clear on the entanglements he had previous to this new development.”
When Thanar raised an eyebrow and stared him down, giving him a pointed declaration that he should continue on with his explanation, the mage threw up his hands in frustration.
“I am not a clock-maker,” the mage finally snapped. “I cannot explain to you how every moving facet of the timepiece works. Magic is more than just show. It’s an esoteric art that dives down to our very core. As many things seen, even with mage sight, are also unseen.”
A knowing smirk crossed the daemoni prince’s face as he said, “Whom do you think you’re talking to? A novice?”
As Thanar spoke, he glided forth across the room. Ciardis hurried to intercept. Before he could get too far from the bed, she raised a placating hand and shook her head.
I’ll handle this, she told him softly.
The miffed daemoni prince shot her a piercing look but halted his advance.
That was all Ciardis Weathervane needed.
She whirled around, curls flying every which way and her hands placed prominently on her hips.
Angrily, she said, “Listen here, Master Mage.”
The man deigned to focus a pouty gaze on her.
Ciardis’s esteem for him just dipped that much further.
“We have a job to do, not just today,” the empress-to-be said. “But tomorrow. We have to rule and we have to defeat a god. Your idiosyncrasies are getting in the way of not just one of those goals but both.”
The mage crossed his arms defiantly and a tic emerged on the right side of his mouth. But regardless of his disposition, he kept quiet.
So Ciardis felt a little more charitable. She moderated her tone to a soft plea. “So please. Help us. Tell us what you need from us. Tell us why.”
The mage’s face transformed. He was still acting like a child, but the look plastered on his face this time was a little more amenable. Ciardis wasn’t sure if he felt sorry for her or if she had stroked his ego just enough to make cooperating a pleasant experience. She didn’t really care which, either, as long as what she wanted got done.
The mage nodded, “You…three, my Lady Companion, my Emperor, and Lord Daemoni Prince, have one of the most complex and intricate bonds I’ve ever seen. It transcends what we know magically and moves into something my colleagues would refer to as the divine.”
Ciardis looked back over at Thanar and Sebastian.
To her surprise it was Thanar who looked disgruntled.
But Sebastian looked intrigued.
She, for her part, was just more tired. It was another twist in the tangled threads of the tapestry that made up her life.
She didn’t need more explanations on entanglements. She just needed action.
Seeing the frustration on her face, the mage spoke slowly. “I am going to evaluate your bond, evaluate the emperor’s ties to the Landwight, and then assess which level his new connection as the lock and key of the empire should be placed at.”
“Level as in the arcane arts?” Thanar asked simply.
The master mage gave the daemoni prince the courtesy of a short nod.
That was all Thanar needed.
The daemoni prince stepped back to Sebastian’s side with quick words. “Put his new connection far enough away from ours and you won’t have to worry about one overlapping the other.”
The mage said in a voice that was clearly trying not to edge over into frustration, “That is precisely what I’m trying to do.”
He may have shown his frustration, Ciardis noted, but he certainly didn’t do anything to challenge Thanar. The mage was no fool. That was good to know. And good to have. She couldn’t abide fools, and she certainly didn’t want one performing the most important bit of magic they’d yet to witness this morning.
Thanar took Sebastian’s hand with no more vocal complaints. His face said he’d rather be anywhere else.
The mage gave a heavy sigh, hurried over, and did something so fast with his magic that Ciardis couldn’t have even begun to guess at what it was.
“And now you, Lady Companion Weathervane?” the mage said in a voice as dry as the desert wind. “For the exact same reason. The strength within your union must be measured, weighed, and evaluated against the forthcoming access to the locks and keys of the empire. Call it an insurance policy.”
“Insurance against what?” Ciardis sniped, but she moved forward to do as he requested. She didn’t wait to grip Sebastian’s other hand tightly, and as soon as their flesh met, she felt reverberations floating through her body from what felt like all across the room. Looking around Ciardis was nervous but she couldn’t see where it was coming from.
“It’s all right, Ciardis,” Sebastian assured her. “I recognize this magic, at least.”
She laughed nervously as she said, “You do?”
“Yes,” Sebastian said while blinking heavily and lying back on the pillow. She felt him talking to someone or something, but it wasn’t her.
When he did the reverberations stopped and a hollow ring began.
It was both an ominous sound and a welcoming one.
Eyes wide with shock, Ciardis looked around.
“What was that?” she demanded.
“That was the acknowledgment that we can proceed, that is if you’ll let me,” said the mage as he came over to stand at the fourth point of their loosely shaped rhombus—with Sebastian at its head and Ciardis and Thanar at the west and east points.
Before Ciardis could interrupt again, Sebastian said, “I take it you think it’s satisfactory now to complete the official transition?”
“I do, my liege,” the mage said with a short bow.
Sebastian’s gaze flicked between Ciardis and Thanar.
Then he let go of their hands.
“Then by all means, Master Mage,” the new emperor said impatiently, “proceed.”
And Ciardis Weathervane could do no more than watch as the emperor’s mage did as he was bid and magic began to gather over their heads in a funnel-like cloud.
One that centered directly over Sebastian Athanos Algardis’s chest.
Ciardis heard the mage say just one word, “Schliess es!”
I wonder what that means, she had the presence of mind to think.
She heard Thanar whisper in her mind, Lock. He commanded it to lock on to Sebastian’s aura.
And there was no more, because Ciardis’s world descended into a blue haze.
The same color as the dark funnel cloud that hovered above them all like a haunting specter ready to descend.
Well, it had. With a vengeance.
5
When Ciardis woke next, it was with a headache that she would complain about for days.
After getting her bearings, she speared the master of ceremonies with an impatient look and he more than got the message. Thanar was only now just rising and Sebastian…Sebastian looked like he’d been hit over the head with a very large brick.
Fortunately he’d been lying down when he was hit, she grumbled. The rest of them hadn’t been so lucky, which made her think the bed being the place of the ceremony was no incidental feature after all. If he’d been in a chair, he’d have still fallen to the floor.
Wincing at the migraine that was pounding in her temple, Ciardis noticed that she had managed to hang on to Sebastian’s hand during the transfer of power and that was about it. She was collapsed on the floor and leaning against the bed when she awoke, one hand gripped in Sebastian’s on the duvet and the other useless by her side. Looking around as sh
e tried to will away the black dots that were emerging in her vision, she noticed that most of the coronation ceremony observers hadn’t fared much better. Some were flat out on their backs. Others were groaning and getting to their hands and knees already. Not wanting to be left out and knowing she had to rise, Ciardis grabbed a fistful of the bed covers in a strong hand and lifted herself up by sheer strength of will.
Grumbling, Ciardis wondered where all of her energy had gone. She felt as unstable as a newborn baby trying to stand up for the first time. Her weak knees certainly weren’t helping.
As she finally reached a position which enabled her to lean, if not stand, against the bed while panting, she heard a decorous, “Here, let me,” from behind her.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw a nobleman with a strong bearing and an honest expression on his face. Deciding she’d take the offer, Ciardis shifted her weight and he gripped her by the waist—helping her fighting body to stand fully. As long as she kept her hand bracing against the bed. She wasn’t too proud of that, but she’d take what she could get at the moment.
She gave him a polite thank you and he stepped back with an even politer nod of acknowledgement. Looking across the bed, she saw Thanar leaning fully against the bed to Sebastian’s left side. Sebastian’s hand still gripped in his, but that was the only thing that had stayed the same. The daemoni prince might have managed to remain upright, but he certainly looked the worse for wear.
You look like a wet dog that’s been set out to dry, Ciardis said in sympathy through their mind-to-mind link.
Thanar looked up from his death stare into the duvet cover and she noticed he too was breathing heavily. But whereas hers was just to catch her breath, the daemoni prince was clearly struggling to breathe.
Disturbed, she asked, “Are you all right, Thanar? You look like whatever hit us all hit you with three times the force.”
He blinked and gave her what he would probably call a smile and she thought was more a primal flash of teeth. Scary to be on the receiving end of.
With a hoarse voice, Thanar managed to say, “You didn’t ride out that storm. I was awake the whole agonizing minute.”
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