“Yes. Part of her arrangement with the Emperor. He didn’t want any reminders of Artur plaguing him,” Dain said. His eyes shifted from the window to Jin.
“So your grandfather, Artur, served the Empire faithfully, and his enemies accused him of the Emperor’s murder.”
“Yes. My father married Rivane al’Westryl, Artur’s daughter—my mother—and threatened to bring down the Empire itself to keep her family alive. My parents never spoke of it; the details were known only by a select few, but Artur’s enemies knew. They knew, and they hated my father for it. They wanted Artur’s family destroyed. They wanted all traces of the man wiped clean, but my father used his influence to deny them this.”
“This Chalmer, he was one of them?” Jin asked.
“His father. Though Chalmer ate up the lies and made his father’s hatred his own.”
She heard the weariness in his voice. The healing had taken a great deal out of him.
“Did you ever see her again? Helena, your grandmother?”
“No. She never visited me again. I don’t know why, and I was never able to attempt a visit to the prison,” Dain said. His face fell.
“What were the trials like? You haven’t explained why you left.”
“Another time,” Dain said. “For now we need to leave the sleeping past alone. We must focus on today. What happens next?”
“I guess we wait for word from Alpere and for you to get better,” Jin said.
“Do you trust him?”
“Do you?”
“Yes, in a way. I think he wants what’s best for his people. That may not be what’s best for you or for the wood elves, though.”
“Then I suppose we’ll have to make sure he knows that his best interests are served by helping us,” Jin said.
“I assure you,” Alpere said, entering the room on quiet feet, “that my interests and yours are perfectly aligned.”
Dain and Jin exchanged a glance.
“Tell us, then, how you explain the sudden reappearance of Koren?” Dain said.
“She rode in just hours ago. We hadn’t seen her since the day she left to seek her father. I swear this is the truth, though I can offer little in the way of proof.” Alpere bowed, his expression grave.
Jin saw the sincerity in the older elf’s eyes. Another emotion was there as well, one it took her a moment to place.
“You are afraid,” she said.
Alpere turned his attention to her. “I am terrified, Princess. The Koren you’ve known is no different than the nightmare we experienced here as well. For every wood elf she killed she butchered four of her own kind. She is an animal, a rabid beast, who needs to be put down.” Jin was surprised at the ruthlessness of the councilor’s words, but couldn’t argue with them.
“And all of this leaves us where, exactly?” Dain said.
“Koren is in her old rooms. They are off the castle’s central courtyard, in one of the high towers.” The councilor pulled a chair to the bedside. He leaned in as he continued. “Gashan has dispatched the Royal Guard around the castle itself and also around this manor. They have orders not to let her pass.”
Dain’s eyes narrowed. “You aren’t letting her near the throne, then.”
“No, we are not. We can only hold her off if there is another legitimate contender for it.” He gave Jin a meaningful glance.
“Why not deny it to her regardless? Why not do away with the monarchy altogether?” Jin asked.
“In principle, that sounds simple.” Alpere folded his hands, his shoulders hunching. He suddenly seemed much older. “To end the civil war I had to forge certain…promises. Allegiances, really. Not to any one person or group, but to the throne itself. I can’t swear that every Golden will hold to the throne, but I believe that the majority will.”
“Some of them want Koren back. They want someone like Elam to rule them; someone who believes in their superiority,” Dain said.
“I told you we might as well confess it,” Gashan said as he entered the room. “They are entirely too perceptive.”
“I was trying to avoid creating any worries about uncertain outcomes,” Alpere answered, a note of exasperation in his voice.
Jin turned away from them. The decision was hers—it had been hers and hers alone since she’d come here. Could she really abandon these people to Koren? Within a month Koren would have her soldiers attacking the wood elves.
Her people.
Were the wood elves really her people? She held her hands out in front of her, examining the spiderweb of scars and callouses there. Yes, but they aren’t my only people. Another war between the Golden and the wood elves would destroy both sides. Thousands dead. Homes burned to cinders. She imagined the piles of corpses. It would be like the destroyed caravan only ten thousand times over. Could she live with that?
“I have made my decision. Koren’s return means little to it,” Jin said. She rose from the bed and stood by her father’s side. She squeezed his hand. “I will serve the people here. I will serve the Golden. What must I do?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jin’s hands twitched, and she forced them to still by smoothing at the imagined wrinkles on her dress. The sun had risen hours ago and its light diffused though the room’s stained glass windows in a rainbow of colors.
Jin studied the images portrayed in the glass. Battles and journeys, it seemed. I will have to ask Alpere what stories they tell—I should know the legends and tales. Perhaps it would give her a reason to respect the Golden more. Already she questioned her decision to become their ruler. Already the crown chafed at her.
A dozen guardsmen were placed around the room; half golden elves and half members of her own escort. Regan was there as well, and Perthe. Her father wasn’t able to come; his injuries kept him bedridden still. Hexen was watching over him.
“Koren of Mirr,” Gashan announced. He opened the dark outer doors to admit himself, Councilor Alpere, and the wayward princess.
Jin had been warned to expect anything. Koren was unpredictable by nature. Any sudden movement and the guards had orders to cut her down.
Koren flashed her a confident smile as she entered the room, and Jin drew in a quiet breath. Her eyes, her nose, her brow…she could be my older sister.
“Why niece, they hadn’t told me how beautiful you’d grown. It’s like looking at myself in a twisted mirror. We are almost twins. Perhaps I should wear streaks in my hair as well, and we’ll be a perfect match.”
A hot flush of anger rolled through Jin. “We are far from twins. If I could erase our kinship, I would.”
Koren’s mouth formed into an exaggerated pout. “Now that isn’t very nice,” she said. “Why, I dare say my brother would be proud of you on the throne. Proud of how regal you look. Pity only I am alive to see it. Your mother’s kind saw to that.”
“Where have you been all this time?” Jin said. “Out raiding caravans? Murdering the innocent?”
“Oh, here and there and places in between. I don’t remember murdering any innocents, though. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever met one. Unless I’m mistaken, my father—your grandfather and a true king—declared war on the wood elves and their human allies,” Koren taunted. “With good reason, I’d add.” Her eyes scanned each of Jin’s guards in turn. They lingered on Regan, who’d moved closer to Jin’s side. Koren gave him a wicked grin.
“The war is over,” Jin said.
“Is it? Have you signed an order proclaiming it so? You’d need one for everything to be official. Surely your puppetmasters told you that.”
Jin looked at Alpere, but the councilor had eyes only for Koren. He seemed surprised by her line of questioning. Gashan, too, looked lost.
“I have signed no order,” Jin said. “But the fighting ended on the day Elam died.”
<
br /> “Elam, my father, was king, and a good one. My people should always remember him so.” Koren eased herself into a seat. She’s making sure everyone hears her speak of herself as Elam’s heir, Jin thought. Koren’s hands moved to the clasp at her neck, and she smiled as the room grew more tense. Slowly, she eased her cloak open with a low laugh. “I have so many happy memories of this room.”
“Elam will be remembered as he was. A slaver and a butcher,” Jin said, keeping her voice even and cool.
“Perhaps.” Koren crossed her leather-clad legs and turned her attention to her nails. “In any event, only the king or queen can formally begin or end a war, and as such, anything I might have done in the past would be considered a proper act of war from our people’s perspective.” Jin did not miss the sneer when the word “our” crossed Koren’s lips.
“Acts of war can easily become acts of treason. For example, if you’ve harmed travelers along the old road, you’ll be placed on trial and executed if you’re found guilty.”
“On trial, hmm? Well, that wouldn’t take long. I tried to sacrifice you to bless our army. I killed dozens of wood elves and a few humans along the way. I tortured many, poisoned a few, and slaughtered a great number more in combat. One was your uncle Jace, I think. When my daggers found his heart, he stank of fear.”
“You admit to all of this, then? Admit to murdering innocents?” Jin could barely believe Koren would be so foolish. She was giving them everything they could have hoped for.
“No one is innocent, sweet niece. I’ve been trying to tell you that. If I could have found you in your mother’s womb I would have cut you from it and strangled you in front of her with your own cord.”
“Gashan, take her into custody. We will execute this murderess and traitor.”
The guardsman seized Koren’s arm and she laughed.
“Little wood elf, we have real laws in this kingdom. It isn’t like your heathen ways in those primitive forests. I invoke Judis Marr, trial by combat.”
“Granted,” Jin snarled. “I will gut you myself.”
“Thank you, niece,” Koren said, beaming. “Your short reign will be erased from history and forgotten quicker than they can swab your blood from the stones.” She got to her feet, tore her arm free from Gashan’s grip, and marched out.
“I will finish what I started all those years ago, my dear,” she said before the door closed.
“What have you done?” Alpere said to Jin, face white. “There was no need to grant her Judis Marr. She’d confessed. We could have imprisoned her for the rest of her life without it.”
“We have a chance to end this,” Jin said. “If she wants to have a go at me then so be it. I will kill her, and then this will be done with.”
“And if she wins?” Alpere said. “She will go free, you will be dead, and the Golden will serve her.”
“This is a mistake,” Gashan said. “She is too dangerous. We need to kill her now before the trial. I can arrange—“
Jin’s face hardened. “No. I won’t begin my rule like that. She won’t win. My father defeated her once. I can as well.”
“You are underestimating her. You haven’t seen her fight; she is incredibly dangerous,” Alpere said.
Jin stared at the door Koren had left through. “So am I. She’s the one who made a mistake by underestimating me.”
“How are we going to explain all of this to your mother?”
Dain lay propped up in bed. Though still weak, he was recovering quickly now. Even overnight, the care from both Jin and the Golden’s healers had already made a huge difference.
Jin groaned. “I haven’t thought about it.” That was the simple truth. She’d gone back and forth wrestling with her decision. She imagined it as a great weight pressing down and grinding more of the life from her with each passing second.
“Well, if you manage to defeat Koren, you’ll need to,” Dain said. “You should let me face her for you.”
“I’ll beat her. You did.”
“That was a long time ago. I’m not sure I could do it today.”
“All the more reason for me to, then.” Jin hoped she sounded more confident than she was. In truth, part of her was terrified of facing Koren; another part was more excited than she ever remembered being about anything.
“Relax. You need to force yourself to calm down,” Dain said. His green eyes studied her close.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Yes, and if you face her like this you’ll be overeager and she’ll beat you.” Dain shifted in bed. “Do not underestimate her. She’s quicker than you, she’s more experienced, and she’s absolutely ruthless.”
“You don’t think I can win?”
“If I believed that, I’d have Regan take you out of here.”
“It doesn’t sound like I have any advantages at all.” A grip of icy terror squeezed at her heart, snuffing out her excitement. Gashan and Alpere were right. I was a fool to agree to this. I gave her exactly what she wanted all along.
“You have a few. At first, she’ll dismiss you, but she’ll revise that stance quickly as soon as she sees your skill. Unless she’s changed her preferences, she’ll fight with a pair of daggers. She’s very good with them, but I’ve taught you to fight with swords, axes, even your hands. Use every bit of skill and knowledge you have. Don’t even think about fighting fair. She won’t. Kick her in the face when she’s down, bite her, head-butt her. Fight desperate. Do whatever it takes to win.”
“So what am I going to tell Mother?”
“I don’t know. That’s your problem. Telling Sera only becomes my problem if you lose, and then you won’t be around to gloat over it.” Dain smiled then. Jin couldn’t remember the last time he’d really smiled. Since before the massacre of that last caravan, maybe. Or perhaps it was just that everything seemed to have turned so dark so quickly, even her father’s bright grins were dimming in her mind.
“Well, neither will you. I’ve no doubt Koren will storm this manor as soon as I fall.”
Dain hefted his tomahawk.
“Guess I’ll have to put this right back in her chest, then.” He smiled at her again, and then his face grew serious. “It’s a reckless thing you’ve chosen to do, accepting her challenge. But it’s also what I would have done. You won’t fail, Jin. You can’t.”
Jin left her father to rest and made her way out to a garden behind the manor house. Weeds had overtaken it, but here and there a few hardy blue and red flowers persisted between the twisting thorns and choking vines.
She found a rusty shovel in a little shed and set about chopping away the vines.
She’d been working steadily for some time, clean sweat trickling down her forehead, when her visitor spoke.
“Accepting royal seats, beating poor men senseless in duels, and now gardening. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you, Jin Gladstone.” Regan moved out from the porch shadows. “You were so involved with that root there that you didn’t even hear me.”
“You’ve been watching me for five minutes. You came around the corner there,” Jin pointed, “and you stepped on some leaves crossing near the door. You also smell faintly of horse. And if I beat any poor men, they were senseless long before they stepped within reach of my sword.”
Regan chuckled softly, shaking his dark head. “Why are you out here doing this?”
“I can’t sleep,” Jin said truthfully, wiping the back of her hand across her brow. “I’m not tired enough.”
“Why do this, though?” Regan gestured to the garden. “The weeds will return soon after we’re gone. They’ve overtaken most of this haunted city.”
“Maybe.” Jin took aim at the base of a vine. “But while I’m here I can give this garden a chance to grow again.”
“How do you think this is goin
g to go? After you win tomorrow, I mean?”
“I don’t know. Winning isn’t a sure thing. My father says she’s very good, and you’ve seen how skilled he is.”
“I’ve also seen firsthand how good you are. You’ll beat her, Jin,” Regan said. He moved beside her, and she could feel the warmth of his breath in the cool night air. “I have faith in you.”
“I don’t have that much in myself.”
They looked at each other for a long moment, the little sounds of the night’s creatures easing the quiet.
“Father said you did well at the tower.”
Regan’s eyes widened. “He did?”
“Not that he hasn’t earned it, but my father isn’t half so gruff as his reputation suggests,” Jin said, smiling. “He said you held the defense together at the end. I saw it myself, as well.”
Regan shook his head. He stared out over the darkened city. “Your father anchored us. I’ve never seen anyone fight like him. He shredded them, two, three at a time. It never mattered how much the orcs threw at him. He beat them all. He was injured while saving the man beside him.”
They lapsed into companionable silence again, Jin kicking at the upturned root of a thick vine with her boot.
“How is he?” Regan asked. “I should go see him if he’s well enough.”
“He’s doing better. The healings have helped, and he’s able to walk now. He’ll be his usual self in another day or so I suspect.”
Jin gathered the weeds and vines into a pile. She drew on the natural magic of her mother’s people instead of the Light—a vibrant connection to the elements around her that was always there at the back of her mind—and lit the heap. Despite its greenness, it caught easily. They stood side by side, watching the fire grow.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for this, Regan. I never envisioned anything like this—facing Koren, sitting on a throne, ruling the people who’ve tried to kill me. It’s all more than I…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked skyward.
Paladin's Fall: Kingdom's Forge Book 2 Page 19