Drawn in Ash, page 34
Hopefully it wouldn’t destroy everything.
53
Narius fought the urge to rub his hands on his uniform coat. Why was he sweating so badly? He felt like a boy sneaking out to meet some clandestine sweetheart. He snorted at the idea. Ridiculous. These were his gardens, his palace. He was an adult, the leader of the Dynasty. So why was his stomach flipping back and forth?
A couple came out of the state dinner, whispering to each other. It took him a moment to recognize the Dunestrider ethnarch and her husband. Narius couldn’t help but stare. He had always seen her as a miserly curmudgeon, but the way they hung on each other, they looked like young lovers. When they spotted him, they sobered, but once he waved to acknowledge their presence, they kept going into the garden. Narius smiled. They would have a nice night for a quiet walk. For once, Bastion’s air was crisp and clear, just chilly enough to be comfortable and maybe encourage couples to walk closer to stay warm. And the way the moons’ light bathed the gardens... Magical. Romantic. The perfect evening to spend with—
His eyes widened, and he bit off a laugh. What was he thinking? Whatever had infected the dinner was playing with his mind as well, although in his case, it could be stress. Yes, that had to be it. He had been on the run ever since they came back from the Cold Light parley. He knew how tired he was, how his mind had been pulled in a dozen different directions at once. It was understandable his mind was wandering. Maybe he needed to find some time away from Bastion. A smile tickled his lips. He hadn’t been to Bluerest, his family’s private retreat, in at least two years, maybe longer. His advisers could handle the Dynasty’s business for a few days. He could get away, clear his head, maybe spend some time swimming or hiking or—
“Narius?”
The gentle voice turned him around, and his breath caught in his throat.
Everys had changed her outfit, but while she had been amazing in her first dress, now she was breathtaking. The dress itself was a simple sheath, made of a silvery material that shimmered in the moons’ light. But unlike her first dress, which competed with Everys for attention, this one simply highlighted her natural beauty. And her girls had changed her hair, sweeping it into a style that accentuated her delicate face and neck. In that moment, her grace and beauty was driven home with the force of a punch to his chest. All thoughts of leaving Bastion retreated. All he wanted was to be near her.
She smiled shyly at him. “Thanks for waiting.”
As if he wouldn’t. He blinked several times, trying to snap himself out of his daze. “Of c-course. Shall we walk?”
She nodded. Narius tried to keep his breathing even, but he was finding it difficult to even think. And just a few moments ago, he was thinking about how pleasant it was in the garden. So why had it suddenly become so hot? He tried to cut through the silence with some small talk, but he found that he couldn’t speak. His dry mouth couldn’t form the words.
They wound their way deeper into the gardens until they came across a stone bench, one facing a display of plants transplanted from the island of Maotoa. The scent of sweet flowers drifted across the path, and once again, Narius was struck by how perfect the evening was. A serene garden, the darkening evening, and Everys at his side.
“Why don’t we sit here for a moment?” Everys whispered.
He nodded, but as he did, his heart slammed against his chest. He swallowed several times, trying to find his voice. Was she expecting him to say something? He should, right?
“Narius... I need to show you something.”
She handed a panel to him, made of thick gray plastic. He frowned. Had she been carrying that the entire time? How had he not noticed?
Then he caught another glimpse of her, and he understood why. He momentarily forgot he was holding anything at all.
He had to force himself to examine the panel. It was three feet square and slightly curved. He hefted it and felt something slosh inside. A liquid? He turned it over and over in his hands. He could see spots where it could be attached to something else. What was this?
He looked up at Everys, a question on his face.
She grimaced. “You said you thought my dress was responsible for the relaxed atmosphere of the dinner?”
He shook his head, holding up a hand. “A figure of speech! I—”
“No, you were right. But not because of the image projectors.” She nodded toward the panel. “Because of those. I had six underneath the skirt.”
Narius looked at the panel again, frowning. Why? What was the point? Tactical armor? No, it was too flimsy for that...
“You remember the void shields we found in the archives? How there were spaces carved in them in the shape of runes that would be filled with ink?” She took a deep breath. “That’s basically what that is.”
He almost dropped the panel. “There’s toratropic ink in there?”
She nodded. “And pretty powerful stuff too.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“I made it out of sap Tall Reach gave me before we left his shade.”
His mind locked. Tall Reach gave her what? He started to protest, but she put a hand on his.
“I haven’t been completely open with you about who I am. Who my family is.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “But I want to be. You need to know the truth.”
She took the panel and fiddled with it. The plastic split open along its edges, and she pried it apart, revealing intricately carved channels that resembled twisting vines, with little flares resembling leaves. Amber liquid sloshed through the carvings, glowing in the low light. As he watched, the remaining ink slowly burned away, consumed by the glow. A rune?
“Wh-what does this do?” he asked.
“It’s a healing rune, a potent one. The most powerful my people know. Normally it’s used for physical healing, but these flourishes—” She pointed at one corner of the rune. “—modifies it to promote ‘healing of the heart and mind.’ And these right here—” She pointed to another section of the rune. “—cause the effect to radiate, for lack of a better word.”
He stared at the rune. “And you had six of these under your dress?”
“I thought maybe the toratropic magic, along with the images of the Dynasty’s territories, would promote a sense of peace among the attendees. Break down some walls. Smooth out some rough places.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if it’ll make a difference or not, but I thought it was worth a try.”
That explained so much. It wasn’t just relief about the newfound peace with the Cold Light. He had seen the guests relax in Everys’s wake as she made the rounds through the dinner. She had been using her magic on the Dynasty’s leadership.
“Why?” he asked.
She took the panel from him and sealed it up. “Because I had to try. The Singularity entrusted this particular rune to my family, not to hide it, but to use it. That’s why He committed the missing Principalities to us.”
His head snapped back. “The missing—?”
Everys nodded. “You have five of the eight Principalities in the archive. Three weren’t captured.”
He nodded warily. “They were destroyed when Nekek the Bright was sacked.”
She winced, looking away. “Actually...”
A cold wave washed over him. “They weren’t?”
She shook her head. “No. Before the Ascendancy fell, each Principality had a family assigned to it. It was that family’s job to maintain the plinth, to paint the ink on the rune every morning. To protect the Principalities and to listen to the Singularity’s will.
“When my ancestors realized the Singularity was preparing to overthrow the Ascendancy, before King Heronus had even left the Xoniel’s territory, three families, faithful to the Singularity’s will, smuggled their Principalities out of Nekek the Bright and took them into hiding in the surrounding countryside.”
Narius couldn’t breathe. He wasn’t sure he even remembered how. Instead, his mind raced through the history he had learned about the Night of Shards. When his ancestor, Heronus, approached Nekek the Bright with his armies, he had discovered a convoy trying to remove five of the Principalities from the city. He slaughtered the Siporans and captured the Principalities. When the Scriptotum was burned, everyone just assumed that the missing plinths had been destroyed with it.
He finally found his breath. “So the reason why I’ve never met your family...”
“...is because they’re still protecting our Principality.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“The Demilitarized Zone?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. We’re supposed to keep this secret. We’re not even supposed to use these runes in case someone figured out where they came from.”
“Then why did you use this tonight?”
She flinched again, and he couldn’t blame her. His voice was harsh, but he couldn’t help it. Too much of his thinking was caught up in trying to untangle this new information, to weave it into his understanding of the world.
“Because I could. Because I had to. We’ve been hiding these gifts the Singularity gave us. We’ve created all sorts of excuses as to why we should hide and I realized, maybe the reason why I’m here was to use this rune, to use what He’s given me to help make things better. Or at least help people take those first few steps toward—”
“What were you thinking?” The question burst out of his mouth before he could really think about it.
She blinked, her head snapping back as if struck.
“What if you had been caught? What if your girls had figured out what those panels were?”
“Th-they didn’t. I told them the panels were to add stability to the imaging system—which they did—and—”
“But what if they had?” His fingers curled into fists. “What do you think would have happened if people knew that their queen was performing illegal magic? They’d want you dead! They wouldn’t care who you are! They wouldn’t care what the rune is supposed to do!”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she tried to say something, but apparently she couldn’t talk either.
“They would demand you be punished, and I wouldn’t...” His words caught in his throat. “I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it! I wouldn’t be able to protect you. Gravedigger’s wrath, Everys, if anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I’d... What I’d...”
The full import of what he was saying crashed down on him. If she had been caught, he’d have to turn her over to the mob, to let them do whatever they wanted to her. Exile, execution, no matter what, it would mean losing her and he didn’t... He couldn’t...
“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I...”
He couldn’t lose her. Not when he... Not when he...
He reached out, his fingers hovering next to her cheek. Then he gently caressed her skin.
She gasped, her eyes wide as well. He felt a jolt up his arm, as if he had come in contact with lightning. But the connection was there, and he couldn’t pull away. Didn’t want to.
Instead, that small touch pulled him in. He leaned in, not sure what he was about to do, scared to find out, worried to see how she’d react, hoping she would...
Her eyes closed as she leaned in closer.
“Your Strength!”
The moment shattered. Everys jerked away from his hand, shoving the panel off her lap and into a nearby bush. Narius took several ragged breaths, trying to calm his mind again.
Paine rushed around a corner. Actually rushed! Narius had never seen his friend so worked up before.
“What is it?”
Paine skidded to a halt, his gaze snapping between Narius and Everys, a question forming in his expression.
“Paine! What is it?”
The vizier blinked and pointed back toward the palace. “I’m sorry, Your Strength, to interrupt. But he just showed up. We invited him, of course. How could we not? But he actually showed up!”
Narius rose, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. “Paine, take a breath. Calm yourself. Who showed up?”
“Alezzar. Alezzar has just arrived at the dinner.”
Narius frowned. The Dalark ambassador? “So he’s a little late to the party?”
Paine shook his head. “No, Your Strength. He says he came to the party on official business. He bears a message from the Emperor himself.”
Narius’s frown deepened. “Did he say what?”
“The Emperor has finally agreed to a permanent peace treaty.” Paine’s expression turned grim. “He agrees to all of your terms. All of them.”
Narius stumbled back a step. No. That meant...
“Alezzar is here to discuss your upcoming marriage to the Princess Innana.”
54
Everys followed Narius back into the ballroom, her head spinning. Wedding? To a Dalark princess? How was that possible? What would that mean? For them? For her? And had they just been about to... Had she actually let him... Would she have let him?
Alezzar stood in the center of the ballroom, all of the other guests giving him a wide berth. He wore an elaborate series of robes and wraps, all of them brilliant hues and colors, and the imperious way he eyed everyone around him marked him as Dalark.
As Narius entered, Alezzar turned to him and bowed deeply. “Ah, King Narius, blessed by the spirits and potentates, it is but my humble honor to bear tidings from his illustrious presence, Emperor Devroshan the Eighteenth, Bestrider of Worlds.”
Alezzar’s gaze shifted from Narius to Everys, his expression hardening. Everys felt the distinct urge to step behind Narius, to use him as a human shield. But no, she was the queen of the Dynasty and if Alezzar was hoping a disapproving look would be enough to send her running, he was sorely mistaken. She returned his glare with one of her own, one she hoped conveyed the message: how dare you interrupt my party?
Narius, for his part, kept his distance from Alezzar, circling around the ambassador with measured strides. Once he had the grand staircase at his back, he turned sharply to face Alezzar. After he stared at the Dalark ambassador for a full minute, he smiled and looked to the other guests.
“My apologies, friends, but I have business that I must attend to with our friend, the Ambassador of the Dalark Imperium. I would ask that you stay and enjoy my hospitality while I and my advisers listen to the words of Alezzar.”
With that, Narius turned on his heel and started up the stairs. Everys tried to follow him, but before she could, Paine stepped into her path and shook his head ever so slightly. She frowned. Why shouldn’t she go with him?
As if reading the unspoken question, Paine leaned in and whispered, “While your desire to walk with Narius is commendable, it will not be well received by Alezzar. The Dalark are not nearly as enlightened as the Xoniel when it comes to women. That, and the fact that you are Siporan, would strain what comes next.”
Everys bristled and started to object. After all, Duke Brencis, Minister Masruq, and the other members of Narius’s council were heading for the stairs.
Paine leaned even closer. “Blessed, I understand your frustration, but this is a delicate moment. We have been issuing invitations to the Dalark to negotiate a permanent peace for the past hundred and fifty years! Please, I beg you, set aside your hurt feelings and let Narius do his job.”
She didn’t like his tone. She didn’t like his condescension. But she couldn’t argue. She nodded.
Paine studied her face, his eyes narrowed, then he sighed. “Very well. You may accompany us to the throne room but I insist that you do not interject in the proceedings, no matter what is said. Understood?”
About time he backed down. Paine didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead, he quickly fell into step with the other advisers. Everys had to hurry to keep up with them, casting one last smile around the room to the other guests.
By the time she made it up the stairs, most everyone else had hurried toward the throne room. She gathered up her dress and moved as quickly as she could. As she caught up, though, Paine slowed his pace and very clearly stepped into her way, blocking her from moving past him. She ground her teeth. Fine. If that was the way it was going to be.
A few moments later, they arrived at the throne room itself. When Everys slipped through the doors, she saw that Narius had already settled on his throne, Alezzar standing before him. The other advisers took their places throughout the throne room. Where should she stand? She crept along the edge of the room, keeping the massive pillars between herself and the Dalark ambassador. Hopefully that would be acceptable to Paine.
If the vizier noticed what she was doing, he didn’t let on. Instead, he stepped to Narius’s side and nodded to him.
Narius turned his full attention to Alezzar. “I must admit, I am surprised to see you here. You never responded to our invitation to tonight’s dinner.”
Alezzar bowed again. “With many formal apologies, Your Strength, I regret my rude behavior. It is not fitting for neighbors to behave as such, yes?”
“Neighbors? Is that what we are?”
“We share such a long border, do we not?”
“Separated by the remnants of the Siporan Ascendancy.”
“Do not good neighbors need a fence?” Alezzar laughed. “But his Imperial Majesty, Devroshan, sees it more as a reminder of what Xoniel and Dalark may do when they are united in purpose. He would see what our two peoples might accomplish as one again. Is this not something you desire?”
An uncertain look flickered across Narius’s face. “Peace is always a noble pursuit.”
“As it should be!”
“But I have made repeated offers of peace since my coronation, and your Emperor has not only ignored me, but from what I have heard, has mocked me for my ‘childish dreams.’”
Alezzar actually flinched at the words. Everys wanted to cheer. Clearly Narius scored a hit with that!
“Our great Emperor, inspired by the spirits and potentates, did not wish to enter into such an agreement with someone unseasoned. Even you must admit that you ascended at a very young age. Would you rather not negotiate the terms of such a treaty with both eyes open than with both shut and your hands groping in the dark?”
