Breaking Stars (Book 2)

by Jenna Van Vleet

  Her words came as a shock to them.

  “Arconia is a land rich with gems, and I will do whatever it takes to keep my kingdom out of debt. The silver load my mother struck is running dry, and the inflow of coin has slowed. I refuse to raise taxes as my first order, so I will strike two blows in one action. Mages,” she said and turned to Mikelle, “I trust you to keep that to yourself.”

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Mikelle replied with a bow. “I know how to keep a secret—Gabriel is scared of snakes.”

  “I told you that in confidence!”

  “My apologies,” she grinned and dipped her head.

  “Snakes,” Aisling stated and looked at him flatly.

  “Robyn doesn’t like spiders,” he interjected.

  “No one likes spiders,” Bianji sighed.

  “Enough,” Robyn chuckled. “Ladies, please move your things into my wing once the Arconians are out of their hall. I will divide you into two rooms so you are more comfortable. Until then, please adjourn to my sitting room so we can talk of Arconia and King Victor.”

  “We need to speak first,” Gabriel whispered before she slipped away. Mikelle watched them go. They were a handsome couple if ever she saw one, even if Robyn was too short for him. ‘He is tall and should have someone tall to match him.’ She smirked.

  “Head Mage?” Robyn gasped, her mouth falling agape. They stood in her sitting room; a hearth blazed warmly at her back as Gabriel hooked his thumbs over his belt. “Truly?”

  “I would not make this up,” he replied lightly. “Secondhand Lael made a convincing case, saying it was Casimir’s wish.”

  “This—this would be….” ‘Wonderful for you, but it would keep you far from me. And you would outrank me eternally.’ She bit her lip. “Have you given your answer?”

  “I have.”

  “And?”

  “I want your opinion first.”

  She sank into a chaise gracefully. For a long time she had known their cottage life of hunting and running was gone. Though she knew she could never go back to it, she longed for it so desperately again it almost brought tears to her eyes. She knew she was stifling him to keep him hidden away; knew he was meant for greater things, but she never fathomed the Head Mage Seat to be an option. He would be the most eligible man as soon as word of his prospects leaked, though it was not unheard of for a Head Mage to not take a wife, for the position was so time consuming—and treacherous with Arch Mage Ryker loosed. He would be in Castle Jaden permanently, and finding time to escape could prove seldom.

  She could not keep him to herself forever. Though she wanted him to be solely hers, it could never be. She always swore she would let him go once she took the throne, but that was before he confessed his heart was hers.

  “Take it. You are made for greater things than I could ever offer you.”

  He sank to a knee and took her hand. “I would stay here if you asked it of me.”

  “I would never be so bold. You deserve to live as a Class Ten should.” She squeezed his hand. “Accept the position.”

  He thinned his lips. “I already have.”

  She smiled, truly happy. “Then may I be the first to pay you homage, Head Mage Gabriel?” she asked and pressed her lips against his.

  “I expect that kind of homage on a regular basis,” he grinned. “They will swear me in after you are crowned. We Mages will remain here until then to show you our support, but then we must return to Jaden. I will slip away every moment I can.”

  ‘No, you will not find the time,’ she thought and put a hand on his cheek. ‘Running a kingdom is easier said than done, and no one says it is easy.’ “I know you will try.” She took a deep breath. “I thought they might put you on the Council or make a position for you elsewhere, but this certainly is a pleasant shock.”

  “I never fathomed it.” He smirked and added, “You will kindly address me as Head Mage now.”

  She grinned. “Let us not forget I will still outrank you until the coronation.”

  “Cling to that if it comforts you.”

  She kissed him in retaliation. “What will you do until I am crowned?”

  He eased himself up to join her on the chaise, his knee cracking as it bent. “Learn the laws of Jaden, get to know my Council, discuss battle plans against Ryker and learn what he could do with the Silex. And I dare say, we should steal away for an afternoon to hunt.”

  “Truly?” she grinned. “Do you think they would let us?”

  “We are the new generation of rulers. Why not set the tone for a youthful rule?” She could tell he did not believe what he said. Jaden and Anatoly were steeped in Ages of tradition. It was unlikely much would be allowed to change. It was more likely he wanted to get away before they attained their new positions, but it grew harder and less appropriate to revert to the old days.

  He grew silent and stared ahead, stirring the fire with a movement of his hand. As she waited for him to speak, she slipped a hand around his thigh and tucked her fingers under it. Whatever he had been about to say was lost as he looked down with a surprised expression, but he collected himself, and her hand he set on his knee.

  “I think it would be foolish of me to assume you know my endgame, so I feel it only prudent to say. I want to marry you, Robyn.”

  She assumed as much yet found herself smiling at the words. “Is this a proposal?”

  “No, not yet. I will ask for your hand but…things need to be taken care of first.”

  “What things?”

  He shifted and squeezed her hand. “I am the only defense against Arch Mage Ryker. I could not bear to leave you widowed should I die in battle, so I will not ask you until he is defeated. Should he learn of our love, it could jeopardize your safety, so I cannot let our true intentions known until he is dispatched.”

  “Can we tell no one?”

  “People know, but I don’t want to encourage them.”

  She nodded, thinking him wise. “Very well. But do not dally.”

  “I will try,” he replied and stood, giving her hand a kiss. “I must go order my parents about.”

  “I should like to see that.”

  “You will hear it,” he grinned and slipped free of her, vanishing into the hall.

  ‘Head Mage,’ she breathed. ‘He will be the most powerful man alive. No one will be allowed to refuse him if he gives an order.’ She smiled at the thought. ‘It will be interesting for a Queen of Anatoly to take orders from her husband. There must be a law about that.’ She frowned. Kings of Anatoly had little to no say in affairs of court, handling the armies instead, but Gabriel would likely be too busy for that and leave it to Balien. ‘If he does not come to that conclusion, I will guide him to it.’

  The door at the end of the hall banged open followed by a boisterous bellow of “Bow before me, underlings!”

  Chapter 25

  The Council, informed of Gabriel’s acceptance, convened as one to congratulate him, and to set his foundation of the role. Aisling watched on as proud as any mother could be. Her son sat at the head of the large table in the Sapphire Council Room, the curtains thrown back illuminating the usually dark room. It did not escape her memory that this was the same room he was brought into upon his first arrival in Kilkiny, though rather than dying on the table, he commanded it. Lael sat to his right as was the Secondhand’s place, but Gabriel had yet to choose a scribe, so Challis remained in her position.

  There was much the Council had to instruct, but it would overwhelm the man if they divulged it all at once, so they stuck to the basics of the law and the Council’s duties. Lewis handled the infirmary, Markus brought in most supplies, Penny saw to taxes and treasury, Adelaide dealt with the businesses, Dagan was Castellan, Galloway oversaw Madison Library, Aisling handled disputes, and Cordis would manage the fertile lands and kitchens. Challis would act as scribe until a new one was appointed. Until the remaining Council Seat was filled, Galloway agreed to manage the influx of new Mages.

  Lael handled the Council
and all the affairs of the Head Mage, seeing to appointments and mail and writing most correspondences. He also provided weekly tallies of everything from counts of sacks of grain to the people in the infirmary. The Head Mage would be the one to act as leader of all, entertaining those who wished to speak with him, answering questions and allaying fears, marking reports and making adjustments when needed, and performing a thousand-thousand other tasks they could not name. They were at an advantage with Gabriel’s particular skills in finding precious metals should the castle fall on hard times, and he would be in charge of all the relics and treasure stores. Most of all he would be privy to all secrets and legends of Jaden.

  “Of course,” Lael stated, a round of fresh tea poured and steamed before them, “Your main initiative will be to retrieve the Silex from Arch Mage Ryker and kill him. Until that time, I will handle most of your duties until you feel better prepared for them.”

  ‘You think he will die in process, so you fear to teach him everything,’ Aisling thought, grimacing into her tea.

  “I am prepared to assume all duties immediately,” Gabriel contradicted. “Give me a month to understand it all, and I will do my best not to disappoint.”

  Lael gave a respectful nod in approval.

  “What does Ryker Slade want with the Silex?” Gabriel asked in a moment’s pause as some sipped their tea.

  “A right good question,” Markus replied. “There are many things the Silex was made for.”

  “Yes,” Lael nodded. “The Silex contains extreme power that one could use to fuel a pattern eternally or heal an army of afflictions, but it was truly made for one reason: to bring back the dead. We fear he will bring his Arch Mages out of the spirit world and give their bones flesh—should he find their gravesites.”

  Gabriel leaned forward over his tea and put a hand on his forehead. “So you mean to say I could be fighting all five Arch Mages, not just one.”

  “I dare not say it for fear it could happen, but yes, you are correct.”

  Gabriel exhaled. Aisling felt for him. It was one thing to fight Ryker; it would be another to fight Maxine, Pike, Dorian and Evony. It would be daunting, and she understood Lael’s trepidation in giving Gabriel the Head Mage reins so quickly.

  “I had it in my hands,” Gabriel whispered, staring at his own.

  “No one blames you, boy,” Cordis said quietly. “I can call him boy until he’s Head Mage, Aisling, don’t give me that look.”

  “You have already been absolved of your sins while in the Castrofax,” Lael stated. “We know had you never been collared, you would never have fallen in with Nolen.”

  “I will pay for it in due time,” Gabriel replied and sat back in his seat. “What are the chances of finding the bones of the Arch Mages before Ryker does?”

  “No one knows where they lie,” Markus replied. “But I warrant research could be done to find them.”

  “Castle Jaden holds the bones of one of them,” Lael said quietly. “I dare not say who in these walls, but it will keep at least one of them from rising.”

  “We do not propose you do this alone. If you wish to assemble a group of the best Mages Jaden has to offer, we would think it precautionary of you,” Challis spoke up.

  “Is there information Jaden holds that would show me where to find stronger than Class Six Mages?” Gabriel asked. He looked on the edge of perturbed but seemed to be under control.

  “Not in the charted lands, but the Head Mage study has detailed maps of lands on the other side of the Greynadaltynes,” Lael replied. “Though, if we knew of higher Mages by now, we would have sought after them.”

  Gabriel nodded staring at the table lost in thought. Lael continued to talk about training him in combat, pairing him with the best teachers in the castle.

  “I should like to train with Mage Markus first,” Gabriel cut in before Lael could continue. Markus flushed with pride and asked why. “I’ve had little luck with Air Mages, and the Arch Mages controlled it. Now that Nolen has the Air piece of the Silex, I would like to better know how to defend myself against an Air Mage.”

  “I would be honored,” Markus nodded.

  Lael continued to name off Mages he would train with before addressing a few imminent issues, mainly of Mages Malain and Oren who had recently been released from captivity. Both men were recovering in their rooms, venturing out as they gained their strength. Gabriel offered to sidestep them home as soon as they were ready, and Lael wanted to offer their families a sum of money to keep them steady until the men were able to work again.

  As Lael launched into the Laws of Jaden, Aisling could tell Gabriel was waning but kept a noble face as the Secondhand discussed habitation. Any Mage could come and go as they pleased in Jaden, most had rooms assigned to their families that stretched hundreds of years back, and it acted as personal property that only the Head Mage and Secondhand could enter without good reason. Mages paid a small tax to live there, and each had a job. There were laws and allowances for everything imaginable, but Lael chose to not touch on every one since Gabriel would learn them in time.

  “Casimir left letters for you,” Lael was said as Aisling came back to the conversation,

  “That should detail the information he knew that the rest of us are not privy to. Word of Casimir’s sacrifice has already been spread to the larger cities where Mages still reside, and we have extended invitations to any Mages who wish to be in the castle at your coronation. Penny, when we return, will you find the ceremonial cloak and have it mended if needed? Very well, if there is nothing else, we are adjourned for now.”

  A few of the Council bade Gabriel and Lael good afternoon, and Adelaide gave Gabriel a pleasant, thin smile. ‘She will be his greatest adversary.’ Fire was a powerful Element borne of great energy, and some weak women were known to have trouble controlling and mastering it, but Adelaide was the antithesis of such a woman. She was strong willed, highly opinionated, and usually disagreed with people. But Casimir had approved her to the Council. Kieran, Selene, Galloway, and sometimes Lewis usually sided with Adelaide as the divided group when it came to decisions. If Gabriel could win her, he would hold the whole Council.

  “We will have you fitted for your swearing-in costume as soon as we arrive at Castle Jaden next week,” Lael said. Aisling took Cordis by the arm, and they walked out into the hall.

  “Do you ever wish we’d gotten married and had a full quiver of those?” Cordis asked when they were alone.

  Aisling smiled thoughtfully and rubbed his arm. “You remember how I felt about one.”

  “Yes, but that was because we weren’t married. Had we been, I would’ve loved to have more. Can you see us with five more of those? They’d have your eyes and my hair. The girls would be built as delicate as you, and the boys would be as strapping as that one. We could be a real family.”

  That was what Cordis always wanted, and she had been selfish to keep it from him choosing career over family. He asked for her hand when she conceived, but she could not bear to give up her Council Seat and Advisor position to rear a family and play wife. She wished she had reconsidered his offer. Gabriel made her so proud to be a mother, and she wished now she had reared more.

  There were many things she had done to cause herself disappointment and giving Gabriel up was one of them, aside from trying to expel him from her womb when she realized she was pregnant. Chiefly, now she regretted she succeeded with the first pregnancy.

  “Are you crying, my love?”

  She put a hand over her mouth to hide the way it screwed as she fought the tears. “I wish we could have been a family, too.”

  Chapter 26

  “Y’ play a great blundering fool right well, Prince Nolen,” Ryker sneered. “But y’ brought me the Silex, so I can ne complain much further.”

  “I cannot help how fast the Class Ten lays his patterns.” Nolen strode to the window in the great room, casting his eyes out over the frozen landscape. It had snowed the night before, promising a cold winter, and th
e pines were frosted in sugar.

  “Y’ could learn t’ duck.”

  Nolen chuckled. ‘I will at that, since now we have an un-collared Class Ten with a vendetta against me.’ “I cannot go back to Kilkiny.”

  “Nay, y’ will stay here with me, though I can ne promise it will be safer for y’.”

  Nolen turned and put his brows up. “Are your Mages so dangerous?”

  “Ne these, nay.” He sat in his usual chair by the fire, a cup of tea beside him, and the Silex on his lap. It glittered in the firelight as harmless as any diadem.

  “How do you think he did it—the Class Ten?”

  Ryker set the Silex aside. “There are but a few ways to reverse death, ac y’ were carrying one, so my assumption is someone used the Ring of Rebirth t’ trade their life par his. I am quite certain of it, since he rose so quickly after his slaying, ac the Ring only works directly after a death. The question is, who sacrificed themselves par him?”

  “I believe it was Head Mage Casimir. I saw him fall before the Class Ten rose, and I did not see him again.”

  Ryker leaned forward in controlled surprise. “Y’ don’t think—the Head Mage? By my lady, that is good news. Castle Jaden will be rife with grief.” He tapped his fingers on his lip. “This would be the perfect time t’ strike par the Head Mage Seat while they are without a leader. I wonder how quickly she…. Times’ve changed, boy,” he said and sprung to his feet, “We raise her tonight.”

  Ryker made for the door in quick strides with one hand clasped around the Silex, giving Nolen no option but to follow. He rushed down the staircases and out into the attached livery where animals kept for food lived. He selected the largest pig, and with a snap of his fingers the animal dropped to the ground, dead.

  “Can y’ carry that?”

  Nolen did his best, not wishing to appear weak before his new lord, and hefted the animal over his shoulders. Ryker nodded, pleased, and led him back up the stairs, down the hall, and deep into the manor where no servants ventured. There were dark rooms here of grandiose size judging by the spaces between the doors.