by Ben Wolf
The King’s visage, which had been almost compassionate before, hardened to stone. “That, I cannot do.”
Calum’s scowl returned. “Then you might as well execute me now, because I refuse to live in a world where your people live in mass suffering, slavery, and abuse. And I will never stop fighting until that changes.” Calum injected heat into his eyes and his voice. “Which means I will never stop fighting you.”
Matthios bristled in his spot at the King’s side, but the King only exhaled a slow, even breath, never taking his eyes off of Calum.
“Please return to your place next to your friends so the trial may continue,” he said.
Calum’s confidence bottomed out as reality set in once again. He’d expended every ounce of his rage and strength to try to harm the King, to no avail. He was truly powerless and weak, just as he’d been all his life. He’d sworn to fight until his final breath, but against someone like the King, his final breath might come far faster than he’d anticipated.
With no better options, Calum reluctantly returned to his place among his friends. As he did, he refrained from making eye contact with either of them, and he stood a bit farther away from Lilly this time. He’d caused a scene by letting his emotions rule his actions, and now the shame of it had found him.
Calum kept his head bowed as he took his place. Lilly tried to reach for his hand again, a gesture he appreciated, but he couldn’t reciprocate. Not as embarrassed as he was now.
Instead, he turned his heart to ice and stared up at the King again, cold and ready for whatever fate would soon befall him.
Thus far, Axel wasn’t overly impressed with the King, or even all that intimidated. Sure, he had an undeniable presence and power about him, and Calum had unleashed a barrage of crazy punches and kicks on him to no avail, but Axel had fought Calum before, and Calum didn’t hit that hard.
In fact, Axel was sure he could defeat the King in a head-to-head battle if it came down to it—in a fair fight, anyway. Obviously it was stupid to think he could beat someone with powers on the level of Lumen or Matthios or the King without powers of his own, but strip all that away, give each man a blade and some armor, and Axel felt pretty good about his chances.
None of that changed his current predicament, though. Even if Matthios alone had been standing there, Axel, Calum, and Lilly had no chance of fighting their way out of this one.
He stole a glance back at Valerie, who still stood behind them. Her bejeweled necklace glimmered and shined in the sunlight, and she looked even more radiant than when he’d first laid eyes on her. She gave him another simple smile, and it irked him that he couldn’t seem to affect her emotions beyond that.
The King’s words drew his attention forward once again.
“There is no question that the three of you have openly rebelled against me,” the King began. “You yourselves do not even dispute it. Therefore, the only question that remains is what shall be done with you.”
The King met Axel’s eyes, but this time, instead of allowing his emotions to overwhelm him, Axel stood firm, folded his arms across his chest, and frowned at the King. No matter what sentence the King passed, it wouldn’t shake Axel’s resolve. He’d die as he’d lived since leaving his farm: free.
The King paused for another long moment, scrutinizing them as he had so many times before. Then he sat upon his throne once more and finally said, “I forgive you, and I absolve you of your crimes.”
Axel’s eyes widened, and his jaw unhinged. He let this arms slump to his sides, and he stared at the King, uncertain he’d actually heard what he’d just heard.
“Come again?” he blurted before he realized he’d said it.
The King fixed his green-eyed gaze upon him again. “I said that I forgive you, and I absolve you of your crimes. All three of you.”
It made no sense. What they’d done—everything from fighting and even killing the King’s soldiers, to traveling across the continent to set the King’s mortal enemy free, to literally raising an army to dethrone the King—went beyond the confines of any normal crime. What they’d done was punishable not by one death but a thousand.
And yet the King had just absolved them of their crimes?
Axel recalled how he’d reacted when Valerie had mentioned the King’s mercy. He’d almost laughed out loud at the suggestion that the man who ruled all of Kanarah, whose soldiers did as they pleased regardless of whom they hurt in the process, would even know the definition of the word.
Yet he’d just granted them mercy, like Valerie had claimed. And neither Matthios nor Valerie—Axel had glanced back to check—gave any indication that they disagreed with the King’s decision.
No. It’s a trick, Axel reasoned. He’s toying with us. We have information, and he needs it to thwart Lumen. He’s only keeping us alive for as long as it suits him.
“I have only one condition,” the King continued.
Here it is. Here’s where the trap is sprung. Axel braced himself for the inevitable conclusion.
“I invite the three of you to remain here, as my guests, so that we may find a way to peacefully resolve this conflict,” the King said. “So we may together transform Kanarah into a place where suffering, sorrow, and pain are no more.”
“Ha!” Axel couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping his lips. He scoffed and shook his head.
The King, Matthios, Calum, and Lilly all fixed their attention on him.
Might as well lean into it now.
“Nothing’s gonna change,” he said, glancing between them.
“What makes you say that?” the King asked.
“If you really wanted to make changes, you’ve had the last thousand years to get to work.” Axel folded his arms again.
The King’s response came in measured tones. “You presume I have not done enough to alleviate the struggles of my people?”
“I don’t actually know what ‘alleviate’ means, but I’m gonna say no,” Axel replied. “You haven’t done enough.”
“And what do you suggest I ought to do differently?” the King asked.
Axel scoffed again. “You’re supposed to be immortal, or whatever. In all that time, you haven’t figured this out?”
“Clearly I do not comprehend your perspective.” The King lowered his chin slightly.
“It’s really not that difficult.” Axel raised his hands and gestured toward invisible images conjured from his mind. “Make sure people get enough to eat. Make sure they don’t get sick. Make sure your soldiers don’t abuse or mistreat them. Protect them from harm. This is all basic stuff.”
The King nodded. “And if I am to do these things for the people, what are they to do for themselves?”
Axel squinted at him and furrowed his brow. “Are you asking how they should serve you? Because that’s pretty arrogant.”
Upon uttering the word, Axel could sense the room constrict around him, mostly coming from Calum and Lilly. He’d just insulted the King to his face.
Then again, Calum had tried to beat the King to death with his bare hands and crack his head open with a pickax, so one little insult wasn’t the end of the world. Probably.
“I am asking what the people will do for themselves. If I am to provide food, shelter, comfort, and security, then how will the people occupy their time?”
Axel hadn’t considered that. “Well… they can just go about their own business. Live freely. Enjoy life.”
“To what end?” the King pressed.
“What do you mean?” Axel shook his head. “There isn’t an end. They live their lives, enjoy life, and thrive.”
“How so?”
Axel blinked at him. “How so, what? What are you asking me?”
“How will they thrive?”
“With nothing to worry about, how would they not thrive?” It wasn’t really an answer, but Axel couldn’t think of anything better either.
“And this food, shelter, comfort, and security you wish me to provide,” the King continued, “where w
ill it come from?”
“…from you. From the kingdom.”
“Who will produce the food? Who will build the shelters?” the King asked.
Alright… that was a dumb question, Axel mused. “Your men, obviously.”
“And who, exactly, do you consider to be my ‘men?’”
“Your soldiers.” Another obvious question. What was the King getting at, here?
“My soldiers account for less than five percent of Kanarah’s total population,” the King said. “So you anticipate that fewer than five percent of all of Kanarah’s people will be able to adequately provide food, shelter, comfort, and security for the other ninety-five percent, not to mention themselves?”
“Then your workers, too.” As soon as Axel said it, he realized his mistake, but it was already too late.
“And who, exactly, do you consider to be my ‘workers?’” the King challenged.
Axel bit his tongue.
“From what I understand, both you and Calum were among my ‘workers’ before you set out to find and free Lumen. Is that correct?”
How the King knew that, Axel didn’t know. Perhaps Captain Anigo had told him or passed along that information somehow, so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that he could’ve found out.
“So if it is my ‘workers’ who are to provide food, shelter, comfort, and security to all the people of Kanarah, then who will be left to simply ‘live freely’ and ‘enjoy life?’”
The King’s conclusion hit Axel like a punch to his chest. It reminded him of when the gemstone warrior had batted him halfway across the camp with his gigantic axe.
Axel had no response to the King’s inquiry—at least, no good ones.
“I do not mean to dampen your enthusiasm,” the King said to Axel. “The answers to these questions and the solutions to these problems are not simple. That is why I have extended my invitation for you to remain here as my guests. Perhaps together we can find some way to achieve the vision you have put forth.”
Even though the King had said it in earnest, and even though he hadn’t openly called Axel an idiot, Axel still felt like one anyway. He supposed he should’ve paid more attention when Magnus was teaching Calum and him about culture, economics, and society.
More importantly, the interaction reinforced how much Axel hated the King. Axel could admit he didn’t have all the answers, but someone like the King, someone dripping with wealth and power—that person had to do better.
He stole a glance over at Lilly and Calum, but neither of them would make eye contact with him. It embarrassed him to realize that he’d made a fool of himself not only in front of the King and Matthios but also in front of his so-called friends.
Then that embarrassment turned to anger. They could’ve jumped in at any point to help him make his argument. After all, they were all striving toward the same end, weren’t they? They’d all joined up to free Lumen, and they’d all joined Lumen’s army to fight to accomplish the kind of world Axel had described. So why hadn’t they spoken up, too?
“The time has come for you to make your decision,” Matthios said from the King’s side. “Will you accept the King’s generous offer of mercy and absolution, or will you reject his mercy and return to your false leader, whose name I will not utter in this sacred place?”
Axel’s skepticism hadn’t changed. This had to be some ploy to extract information from them about Lumen, or the combined army, or their plans to overthrow the King.
“Trust me,” Valerie’s voice said from behind them. Axel turned to regard her, and she smiled and continued, “Accept the King’s mercy. Speak with him. Find a way to work with him to create a better world for everyone.”
Axel exhaled a sharp breath, venting his frustration along with it. He wanted nothing more than to leave this place, return to Lumen, and continue to fight to rid the land of the King and his men once and for all. But if staying here a bit longer kept him alive, he had to consider it.
He refused to believe the King was truly offering forgiveness. After going up against the King’s men, enduring their abuses back on his farm, and seeing how they took advantage of everyone they possibly could, Axel wouldn’t be tricked into cooperating with the King on anything.
But he could still be useful right where he was, too. From inside Valkendell, in close proximity to the King and Matthios, perhaps Axel could find a weakness to exploit. Perhaps he could find a way to bring down the King’s reign from within. And if he could do that, there was no end to the rewards Lumen would heap upon him.
Plus, it wouldn’t kill him to be around Valerie a bit longer.
“I accept,” Lilly said first. “As the Premieress of the Sky Realm, I would be honored to work with the King to try to resolve the issues that face both our peoples.”
Axel spoke up next, feigning complicity. “I accept, too. If it’s not already clear that I want to work through this, it oughta be by now.”
The two of them turned to look at Calum, and Axel hated that his decision was partly dependent on whatever Calum said next—yet another reason why Axel should’ve been leading this stupid escapade all along.
Calum stood there in silent contemplation for far too long. The choice wasn’t that hard, even with the potential for divided loyalties, so Axel wasn’t sure why he was stalling.
Finally, Calum gave a slight nod. “I accept, under the condition that you release us to return to Lu—to the other side within three days’ time if we fail to reach a compromise before then.”
The King stood up and matched Calum’s nod with one of his own. He even showed a faint grin. “I look forward to resolving all of Kanarah’s problems within three days’ time.”
Axel wondered if he’d caught a hint of condescension or sarcasm in the King’s words… or had he just imagined it?
Then the King nodded to Valerie, who approached the trio from behind with clacking footsteps.
The King turned to Matthios, and the two of them shared a quiet conversation atop the platform while Valerie wrangled Axel and the others.
“Please follow me, and I will show you to your chambers for the duration of your stay,” she said. “You will meet with the King in his garden for lunch in one hour’s time.”
Axel cast one last glance at the King and Matthios, both of whom still spoke to each other in hushed tones. The sight of them alone confirmed his suspicions that this was all some sort of setup, and not even a convincing one. He could see right through it.
But so much the better. If he could see the danger coming, he could protect himself from it—and maybe Calum and Lilly, too.
For now, he was content to follow Valerie, as she’d requested. One thing was for certain—he didn’t mind the view one bit.
When Valerie had shown them to their chambers, Calum had expected to be sharing one with Axel, but that wasn’t the case.
Of the three doors in the hallway, Valerie assigned Axel his own chambers—actually more like a full suite than a single room—at one end. Calum had the middle chambers all to himself, and Lilly had the one on the opposite end of the hall from Axel’s.
Despite Lilly being actual royalty, her chambers weren’t any better or worse than Calum’s or Axel’s, but that hardly meant anything, given how nice all three suites were. They each contained multiple rooms, including a bedroom, a small kitchen area, and a bathroom with a bronze tub inside. Fine stone floors and bronze accouterments solidified the chambers’ elegant feel.
The windows in the chambers overlooked the city of Solace, which Calum finally got his first good look at. Far below, an ancient city of white-and-gray stone sprawled out before him.
In the distance, to the southwest, he could see the city walls towering over the nearest buildings and houses, a stalwart and robust means of defense that, according to Magnus, had never been breached by any foe in history—including Lumen himself a thousand years ago.
People, no bigger than ants from this distance, milled about in the streets, which bustled wit
h commerce and energy. High above, the sun burned in the azure sky, casting everything in pure light, and glinting off the stone that formed Valkendell, most of which Calum couldn’t see due to his chambers’ position within the tower.
Several minutes after exploring his chambers, Calum heard a knock at his door. He turned to find Lilly standing in the open doorway. The sight of her still wearing the beautiful blue dress given to her by the King and her yellow crystal crown atop her head sent Dactyl wings fluttering in Calum’s stomach.
He gulped back his emotions and smiled at her. “Sure beats getting executed, doesn’t it?”
Lilly gave a mirthless laugh. “It does, but I can’t help but wonder what the King is playing at.” She paused. “May I come in?”
“Yes, sorry.” He gestured toward the overstuffed leather sofa across from the unlit fireplace in the chambers’ common room.
Was Calum supposed to invite her inside without being prompted? He didn’t know the etiquette for situations like this. He’d never really been in a situation like this, except back at the Sky Fortress, sort of, after they’d returned Lilly to her family there.
Come to think of it, that was the only time in his life he’d ever been higher up in the air than he was now. The chambers they’d granted him there had a similar degree of polish to them, but the ones in the Sky Fortress weren’t as large as these, and the décor was different, too.
Calum stood across the room from her to give her the space she’d said she wanted. He displayed an awkward grin and wondered if he was supposed to say the next thing or if she was.
“You don’t have to stand all the way over there. I don’t want to feel like I’m shouting at you to have this conversation.” She patted the seat on the sofa next to her. Well, not right next to her, but it was the same piece of furniture, at least.
Calum obliged her and tried to fend off the flutters in his stomach again. Fortunately, she spoke up again so he didn’t have to think too much.