Abide: An Awakened Fate Novella

by Skye Malone

  “Except King Renekialen,” Neria added quickly.

  “Oh yes,” Siracha agreed. “Except him.”

  I tugged my attention back to them. It wouldn’t help anything to say that Chloe probably wasn’t guilty of helping Liana kill my father. Or that I’d rather have my teeth pulled out than talk about this right now.

  Tact and empathy weren’t the Deiliora twins’ strong suits.

  “Not yet,” I answered.

  Siracha made a disgusted noise. “Well, I’m certain the king will know just what to do with her when they do.”

  While Siracha would be right there to climb into Zeke’s bed the moment she heard the news.

  I kept my smile as pleasant as possible and made a neutral sound. “I’m sure. Now, if you’d please excuse me?”

  Siracha blinked. “Oh, of course, princess. You know that we would never dream of–”

  I didn’t wait for the rest. Quickly, I headed for the terrace.

  Courtiers called to me while I swam and a pair of guards trailed me, watchful as always. I kept my eyes on the exit, ignoring them all, and in only a few moments, the ballroom fell behind me. Several couples hovered outside, but at the sight of me, they bowed and retreated into the palace.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in the relative quiet.

  “Coin for your thoughts?”

  I flinched and then twisted, looking behind me.

  “My apologies, princess,” Tiago said, the words touched with a hint of his accent from Olicia, his home country in the Atlantic. “I wasn’t intending to startle you.”

  He swam closer, ignoring the guards eyeing him from a discreet distance. His dark blue scales seemed almost black, silhouetted as they were by the brighter lights of the ballroom, while his copper-colored hair shone. His brow twitched up with curiosity as he regarded me.

  “Of course,” I replied. I took a breath. “I was just getting some space.”

  “I can leave if you’d like?”

  I hesitated, wanting to take him up on the offer, even if it would probably be seen as rude.

  “Perhaps a few moments in the garden,” he offered when I didn’t respond. “There’s no telling who else might try to come out here.”

  I glanced to him. As attempts to get me alone were concerned, that wasn’t the most subtle. I almost didn’t mind, though. He had a point. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Egan was following me. He kept saying we needed to talk – which was the last thing I wanted. He’d screwed up; there wasn’t anything to talk about. But no matter how many times I explained that to him, he just wouldn’t give up.

  For a mountain, the palace had begun to feel entirely too small.

  “Sure.”

  I flicked my tail and passed over the edge of the terrace. Tiago followed, and the guards did as well, while I swam down to the arrangements of coral, stone, and free-standing fejeria plants that made up the palace garden. An oarfish slipped away through the decorations when we came closer, while smaller eels darted into hiding between the rocks. Leaving the palace behind, we wound through the boulders and coral till the distant sounds of the reception faded behind us and the courtyard wall came into view. A protective veil rose from it to disappear into the shadows near the top of the palace, and the countless bubbles of its surface sparkled in the blue twilight.

  “King Torvias would have approved of the ceremony, don’t you think?” Tiago commented as we reached the wall.

  Sinking down onto a stone bench, I didn’t respond. Since Dad was the reason for the ceremony, I was fairly certain he wouldn’t have approved of anything. He’d have been angry as hell at the mere suggestion that this – his death when he’d barely reached middle age – could ever have been allowed to occur.

  And as for the idea that it’d happened because of Niall…

  I pushed the thought away. It wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t.

  “What can I do to help, princess?” Tiago asked as he joined me on the bench.

  I glanced to him, though it felt like my brain took a moment longer to catch up with the words than my body. And I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell him what was going on. No matter how trustworthy Tiago might or might not be, the barest chance that whispers would get out about Niall somehow being responsible for this made my skin crawl.

  Tiago reached out, taking my hand. I tensed.

  His brow furrowed, and I grimaced. I needed to calm down, because this was silly. I couldn’t keep rumors from spreading if I jumped at every little bit of normal contact. Besides, Tiago and I had spent time a whole hell of a lot closer than holding hands after the fallout with Egan a couple weeks ago, and the last thing I wanted was him asking questions about my sudden tension now.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Just… long day.”

  He nodded, though he still looked unconvinced. “Makes sense,” he allowed.

  I looked away.

  A moment passed in silence.

  “Listen.” He glanced to the guards several yards off, confirming they were both out of earshot.“A few of us are getting together tonight, if you’d like to come with me?”

  Exasperation hit me. Seriously? I’d thought he was smarter than this.

  “Don’t you think that’d be a bit tacky?” I snapped before I could stop myself. “I mean, my father just–”

  I couldn’t finish.

  “Or understandable,” he suggested.

  Somehow, I doubted that. I was supposed to be mourning. Running off to some party on the tail of my father’s funeral… oh yeah, wouldn’t that look good?

  Even if on some level, it was almost tempting. Forcing myself to forget about this, forget what Zeke maybe said or what Niall might have done, forget assassins and Sylphaen and some weird girl who’d thrown our lives into utter chaos – even if it maybe wasn’t her fault…

  Honestly, tempting wasn’t the half of it.

  “It’s not going to be anything raucous,” he assured me. “Just a few friends getting together in memory of the king. We won’t even give the palace busybodies anything to talk about – for once.”

  In spite of myself, a small laugh escaped me.

  “Come on.”

  I hesitated. “Who’s going to be there?”

  His lip twitched up in a smile. “Well, me…”

  The laugh came again, and it was sort of nice, everything else aside. I felt like I hadn’t laughed in days.

  His grin widened. “The Ryairan ambassador’s daughters are coming, along with a few of my friends from Olicia, some people from Midrarca… it’s not a huge thing, but it’ll still be a break from all this.”

  I sighed. I shouldn’t go. I knew I shouldn’t. Raucous or not, it’d still look bad and people would talk, and though he never really said anything – to me, anyway; the whole palace knew what he said to my brothers, especially Zeke – Ren wouldn’t appreciate the gossip.

  But then, everything caused gossip, no matter what I did – and it’d be better than what people could be talking about.

  I wished Niall was home so I could just ask him about this.

  “Princess?”

  I drew a breath. “I–”

  “Ina?”

  I turned at the voice from behind me, and then my brow climbed. “Granddad?” I rose from the bench. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  He swam up to us. Never one for dressing up, even at formal occasions, he still wore the vest I’d seen him in the other day.

  It occurred to me that he might not have anything fancier.

  The idea brought a twist of pain. I hated how things were between him and the rest of the family, and that it meant he lived out in the middle of nowhere, rather than here with us where it was safe.

  Normally safe.

  I pushed the thought away.

  “Ren had the sense not to try keeping me from coming,” Granddad said. His gaze twitched to Tiago.

  I blinked, politeness catching up to me. “This is, u
m…”

  “Tiago Colcoran, son of the Olician ambassador,” Tiago cut in smoothly when I trailed off. He gave my grandfather a small, reserved nod. “My condolences, Lord Jirral.”

  Granddad returned the nod and then looked back to me. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but may I speak with you?”

  I could hear the tension in his voice, and it set my heart pounding. “Yeah, sure,” I managed.

  Giving Tiago an attempt at a smile, I trailed my grandfather farther along the wall.

  “What is it?” I asked when we were out of earshot.

  “Have you spoken to your brothers?”

  I hesitated. “Why?”

  “Niall left for Santa Lucina over a day ago, and Zeke’s been gone for nearly that long as well. One or the other of them should’ve called by now, and before I start getting concerned, I wanted to check with you.”

  I swallowed. “Um…”

  My gaze darted back to Tiago, who was hovering by the bench, watching us. The guards were studying us as well, distrust for my grandfather clear in their eyes. I swam a bit farther away. Granddad followed, his brow furrowing.

  “Zeke called,” I said, my voice low, “just before the funeral. He, um…”

  “What is it?” he asked warily.

  “I don’t know if it was him. I mean, maybe it’s a trick or something. Like, a horrible setup of some kind, but…” It was hard to get the words out. “In the message, he said Niall was a Sylphaen. That he’d been behind Dad’s death. Him and that physician, Liana.”

  Granddad stared at me for a heartbeat, and then glanced around as if checking to make sure nobody else could hear. “Have you told anyone this?”

  I shook my head.

  His mouth tightened. “You need to talk to Ren. Now.”

  “But it has to be… I mean, Niall would never… he couldn’t really be–”

  Granddad held up a hand as several guards drifted by overhead. “Your brother is the king, Ina,” he said when they moved on. “No matter what you think of the information, he still needs to be told.”

  I grimaced, looking away. I knew what Ren was. He didn’t have to remind me.

  But this was Niall.

  And Zeke.

  That was the problem, on top of everything else. Zeke and Ren had never gotten along. Not once in their entire lives. They were too similar, really – not that either of them would have seen that in a thousand years. But it was true. Protective, loyal, and strong-willed to the point of being obstinate, everything else about their personalities meant that they’d used those traits in different ways, but they were still like two sides of the same coin.

  And this would just make things worse. If Zeke was wrong, the fact he’d accused his own brother of treason and patricide would be the final rites for any chance of respect between him and Ren.

  “Ina, you have to,” Granddad pressed, as if reading my mind. “Whatever Niall may or may not have done, you can’t leave Ren in the dark.”

  I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

  “Come on,” he urged, his tone softening. “I’ll go with you. I want to hear what Ren has to say about this, anyway.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Just…” I glanced to Tiago. “Give me a second.”

  He made a noise of agreement. I swam over to Tiago again.

  “My grandfather wants to go talk to my brother,” I said, doing my best to adopt a light tone. “It’s nothing major; it’d just be better if I was there. You know how it is.”

  Tiago smiled. Everyone in Yvaria, and probably beyond, knew how tense it had been between Dad and my grandfather. The idea that relations between him and Ren were taking a bit to settle, and that I had a vested interest in helping smooth things out, wouldn’t be surprising to anyone.

  Which was the entire point.

  “Might I expect to see you later then?” he asked.

  I smiled, even though the expression felt mostly like a lie. “I’ll do my best.”

  He took my hand again, giving it a quick squeeze, and then swam up toward the terrace and the ballroom.

  My smile died. Attempting to ignore the nervous twisting of my stomach, I followed Granddad to the main gate of the palace.

  Chapter Three

  The guard shift must have changed during the course of the funeral, because the men by the door seemed cautious when we swam toward them, and they eyed Granddad as if wracking their brains to recall whether Dad’s orders to keep him away remained in effect.

  “Do you know where I can find the king?” I asked them as we came closer.

  They hesitated. Seeking an answer to their own silent question, they twitched their gazes to the guards still trailing me like a pair of ghosts.

  “The king gave me permission to be here, boys,” Granddad said dryly. “You think I would’ve made it past the palace wall otherwise?”

  The men glanced to each other and then cautiously moved out of the way. “He is in his apartment, princess,” one of them offered. “He retired there about a half hour ago.”

  “Thanks.”

  We swam by them, the ghosts coming as well. I could feel the other men watching us till we were past the door.

  Granddad sighed.

  “So Ren’s still mad about how you helped Zeke?” I asked quietly.

  “It’ll be fine,” Granddad said rather than answer. “Let’s just get this sorted out.”

  He didn’t look at me while we continued toward the royal residences on the distant upper floors of the palace. Ren still lived in his own rooms, as he had yet to move into Dad’s old apartment. He seemed in no hurry to relocate another level up to the floor reserved solely for the king, however – despite the fact that after the official coronation in a few weeks, he’d have no choice. Propriety and the continuity of appearances would demand that every detail of his life affirm that the kingship carried on, no matter who wore the crown.

  I just thought that, secretly, he no more wanted this to be real than I did.

  More guards hovered by the walls on Ren’s floor, just as they had all week, and the sight made my stomach twist into a tighter knot. No one was taking any chances that Liana might not have had more accomplices, or that someone wouldn’t try to finish what she started and kill Ren as well. The man and woman by the door regarded Granddad while we swam closer, no confusion on their faces like I’d seen with the guards on the first level. Instead, they just looked like they’d decided that, though he was allowed in the palace, this side of the king’s door was the farthest my grandfather would go.

  “I need to speak with the king,” I said.

  The guards paused. “He has asked for privacy, highness,” the woman said.

  My brow flickered down. “Is he okay?”

  The pause came again. Their gazes twitched toward Granddad.

  “I believe so, highness,” she allowed cautiously. “He received a call and needed time to reflect upon it.”

  My confusion edged toward hope, and my heart started to pound. If Zeke had been able to reach him…

  “I need to talk to him.”

  “Highness–”

  “It’s an emergency,” Granddad said.

  I nodded hurriedly in agreement.

  The woman hesitated. With a glance to the man on the opposite side of the doorway, she turned and slid past the leaves of the door.

  A moment passed. She returned.

  “He will see you both.”

  I swam by her, and Granddad followed. The pair of ghosts remained outside with the other guards.

  Ren was sitting near the relay station in his room, and when he glanced toward us, I could see him hide the tinges of a troubled expression in favor of something more controlled.

  “They said you needed to speak with me?”

  “Did Zeke call you?” I asked.

  He paused. “No.”

  The reply was cautious. Questioning. I blinked, working to regroup. “Um, okay…”

  “Ina, what is it?”

 
I glanced to Granddad. “He called me. He, um…”

  My heart was pounding. The words wouldn’t go well. I knew they wouldn’t. I couldn’t believe Granddad had convinced me to come up here.

  “Ina, you’re worrying me. What did he say?”

  “Niall’s a Sylphaen.”

  He blinked at the rushed words. “What?”

  I drew a shaky breath. “He said Niall was a Sylphaen. That he was behind Dad’s death. Him and Liana. They did it to get to Chloe and scare you and take control of Yvaria.”

  For a moment, Ren stared at me, incredulity on his face.

  “Zeke said this.”

  I could hear the question in the statement, and his tone was so utterly disbelieving that it made me wince. My mouth moved, trying to work its way around to a yes.

  “Ina, there are no Sylphaen,” Ren said. “They were wiped out a century ago.”

  “Then how do you explain the rumors in the Prijoran Zone that they’re back?” Granddad asked.

  Ren paused, as if weighing whether or not to acknowledge Granddad was here, let alone that he’d spoken. “Lies? Misinformation? Tribal gossip? Take your pick, Jirral. Last year, the Prijoran Zone was rife with stories that the Ivalaen tribe had tamed giant squids as weapons, and before that it was tales of how the Olicians intended to conquer us all using jellyfish hybridized with sharks – news that, I assure you, surprised Ambassador Colcoran to no end. Tribesmen will say anything to pass the time. You know that.”

  “But Liana,” I tried. “She–”

  “Was probably in league with Vetorian mercenaries,” Ren finished. “We’re checking it out.”

  “The same ones you think Chloe was in league with?” Granddad asked, and I thought I could hear an edge to the tone.

  I wasn’t alone in the impression. Ren’s face took on a cold cast. “And your evidence against that is?”

  “The fact they beat the girl to a pulp before trying to smuggle her out of the capital in a rather small box.”

  I blinked. I hadn’t heard that.