Chapter Ten #2
Jaki poured them both a glass of water from a pitcher. Tivar wasn’t the only one who could send a spy.
“He guessed nothing,” said the man. “I was simply one of many to leech off the court.”
Good glamors were quite expensive, and the best came from someone in the Glasswood or Eveningwood Kingdom far to the south.
Some said they were in Elysia or southern Cumbershire too.
The problem was that the maker, or makers, because no one really knew, kept themselves a secret, and they only sold their work through a string of others.
It made sense because with such good glamors, they’d be a target for those who wanted to use them for nefarious purposes.
Supposedly, it took time and a lot of blood from the maker to make a good glamor, and it was a special ability. Not anyone could learn to create one that would last and also change a person’s eye color which was the hardest thing to alter.
Even more difficult was a glamor that could change the wearer in many different ways. Lord Smith had a cousin in West Iceland who was also called Lord Smith, and they hadn’t spoken in ages after the split. Lord Smith had impersonated his western relative.
Jaki sat on the couch opposite of the lord after handing him the water. “Are you sure he noticed nothing?”
“I’m sure. I’ve been to my cousin’s area many times before the Kingdom split, so I could speak of it as if it were my holding.
The other courtiers suspected nothing. A couple asked about my stomach issues, and I didn’t know my cousin had developed any problems. I said I’d found a better medicine that seemed to be working. ”
Jaki took a deep breath. “And Lumi?”
The lord glanced at him. “He’s alive, and he’s Tivar’s pleasure slave. I saw him a few times. Tivar kept him naked and leashed like a pet.”
Jaki clutched his glass. “How did he seem?”
“Like…” Lord Smith shook his head. “He wasn’t injured or anything, and he didn’t appear scared.
He didn’t look as if he were all there either.
His treatment seemed to be something he simply accepted like…
in the way a prisoner does after a time.
Tivar would occasionally get handsy with him, and it… seemed to arouse him.”
“Did he grow flushed?”
“No.”
So being touched and fondled made his body react.
The heat would be if he knew sex was coming, and it seemed Tivar didn’t use him in front of others.
The fact that he’d acted in such a way after being trapped with his older, adoptive brother likely meant years of sexual abuse had taken place. Saying no wasn't an option.
At court, he'd fucked whoever because he’d been expected to by Tivar, and he’d played the role of pleasure slave and entertainer. Fucking had been a job, and he’d said it made him feel like he owned a person in a way afterward.
Perhaps that was how Lumi kept himself together.
He lied and lied to himself, and since he was back with his abuser, he simply accepted whatever because he had no other choice.
Tivar wouldn’t send Lumi back to get him pregnant or find out more info, so he had to be imagining he’d never leave the place again.
“If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Tivar wanted a quiet pleasure slave who simply obeys and is treated like a dog.
That’s not unusual, and some people have kinks like that.
Since you said your old friend was captured, and I do know better, I wouldn’t say he was happy in his position.
He’s accepting it because he has no choice.
His collar is probably made of lirek, so he can forget using his magic.
He’s also smaller than Tivar, so I don’t think physical fighting would work out in his favor. ”
Jaki’s jaw tightened. “Did he show signs of abuse?”
“No,” said Lord Smith. “He didn’t have bruises or any marks.”
Tivar had healing powers, so that meant little since he could heal Lumi after a beating.
“The troublesome thing is in March, Tivar didn’t bring him around anymore,” continued Lord Smith. “I casually brought it up after a couple of weeks to someone, and they said the pleasure slave probably stays in his rooms and waits on him there like a dog.”
“He disappeared?”
“Yes.” The lord frowned. “I waited and hoped. I didn’t see him at all again, and I left just before June.”
Either Tivar grew tired of bringing his slave out like a pet, or he’d done something harmful to Lumi that couldn’t be reversed.
It was possible he was pregnant too. Everyone would think Tivar was stupid for hiring an abundant male as a pleasure slave.
Herbs worked, but what if they failed? If Lumi had gotten pregnant right after returning to Tivar, he wouldn’t be big by March.
Still, he imagined some abundant males who were thin started to show a little by then.
If a courtier noticed Lumi’s flat tummy had a little curve or that his waist had thickened slightly and guessed, it would bring questions.
He could have had morning sickness too. Tivar would have been smart to quickly keep Lumi hidden.
“I never managed to get inside his rooms,” continued the lord. “Two guards stayed outside of that hallway, and no one was allowed in. Tivar doesn’t invite anyone in as far as I know. He likes privacy.”
He described the layout of the Castle and where Tivar’s rooms were.
Jaki leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose.
There was always a small possibility Tivar had killed Lumi, but he was probably pregnant.
With a male heir, Tivar could bring the dead Crown back to life and go to war with the Ice Court.
Should he tell Father and finally admit everything since he had a little bit more info?
Father likely wouldn’t believe him, and he truly thought Lumi, who was Edur, had died years ago along with Aisi in a terrible fire.
He’d think Jaki was insane, and he’d say Lumi was just a pleasure slave who grew tired of his work and broke the contract.
Even if he did believe Jaki, what would he do if he knew he’d been fucking his own half-nephew without a clue? He’d probably drown himself in more wine and honey whiskey.
“What else did you find out?” asked Jaki.
The lord had managed to get a little info on numbers and army locations, although not as much as he wanted. Tivar kept his border guarded too, just in case Elswere got off his arse. That side of the country was also in bad shape.
Tivar often wore his Crown even though it was dead. The courtiers also pretended everything was fine. They’d thrown their lot in with him and couldn’t do much about the state of the Kingdom. Saying anything might lead to trouble. They’d leech off of him for as long as possible.
To get real info on what people in general thought, the lord had gone to a whorehouse in Lilling. His chosen lady had been quite happy to talk after they fucked. Crime had gone up everywhere, and she said the people were unhappy because they didn’t know what Tivar was waiting for.
Why not attack Elswere’s side? She thought Tivar was Reesing’s rightful heir, and he needed to bring the Kingdom together so they could survive. Elswere was a bastard child and a liar too for saying that Tivar was illegitimate.
On a side note, and worse, there had been rumors of cannibalism farther west, although there was no proof.
Jaki had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time he heard that.
When Lord Smith was ready to go, he hesitated by the door. “I’m sorry your childhood friend became unlucky and caught Tivar’s eye. You must try to get Elswere to do something. Both sides of Iceland suffer, and you certainly won’t get your friend back unless Tivar is defeated.”
“Do you think I haven’t tried to get my Father to do something?” asked Jaki. “I may be the Crown Prince, but I can’t command the King and drag the army over there.”
The lord paused. “I’m sorry, Prince Jaki.
I’m tired of seeing people suffer. The rents are almost nothing in my hold, and it’s not helping when there’s so little food to buy.
I'm not leaving any time soon, so I'm a leech here too. I remember when things were well, and I want that back for my people.”
“So do I.”
The lord left, and Jaki’s eyes stung as he thought of his half-brother trapped with the false heir. A monster.
If only Reesing, the Father he’d never known, hadn’t taken Tivar in.
Yes, the grief for Aisi would have been horrendous if she knew their actual first son had been born dead.
Lumi was her second child, so they would have avoided so much with a proper heir in line.
Even if Reesing had strayed later anyway and given Jaki to Elswere, the Kingdom would've been fine.
As for now, the lord was wrong about Jaki not being able to get Lumi back without defeating the opposing side.
He eyed the necklace Lord Smith had left on the table.
It bore a simple pentagram on the outside, which was for protection.
Underneath the outer gold layer, he knew symbols were etched in it.
It surely had enough use left.
Jaki found Elswere in his office the next morning, and he didn’t waste time on pleasantries or good mornings as he planted himself before the desk.
“When are you finally going to do something about Tivar and unite the country again?”
Elswere paused with a parchment packet he’d been opening. “Son, I’ve told you before, I’m working on it-”
“Yes, you’ve told me this many times before, yet, I see little evidence. It’s been years!”
“I would like more soldiers trained for one-”
“And with every passing year, others become old enough to fight in West Iceland too, and they join Tivar’s army to get higher wages and free food.
Do you plan to wait until we can’t even feed the army either?
Or until Tivar finally decides to march over here?
We're bleeding money and lives. We need to put down the White Tide Court once and for all.”
Elswere set the packet on the desk. “Son, war is not an easy thing-”
“Watching our people suffer while the land dies is not easy either.” Jaki locked eyes with him. “Eventually, there won’t be anything to fight for.”
“If I start a full war, I know you’ll go, and even if I order you as King to stay, I know you won’t listen. You’re all I have now.” Elswere glanced at the portrait of Preti on the wall.
“I’m an adult, and it would be my duty to fight. I don’t think war is all glory and heroism, but I would fight for my people. I’m not the sort of Prince who will stay at home and let others do it all.”
“You might not come back,” snapped Elswere. “If we won but you died, shall I just sit at the High Table alone for the rest of my life? I already lost my wife, our first baby, Reesing-everyone.”
Jaki pressed his lips together. “I’m not saying I want you to be alone. It would be better for the Kingdom in the long run and me. What will we do in time when we can’t even keep the court fed? Do you want me to starve here?”
Tivar would attack before then. Jaki almost wanted to tell him everything, but it might ruin things later. Jaki wasn’t going to stay there and sit on his arse forever.
Elswere fiddled with the edge of the packet. “I’m not fit to rule. I’d put you on the throne, but if the Elira Tree grows healthy once more…”
“They’ll know you’re not a part of the male Cleel line, and you lied. I know. If we go to war and win, you could pass the throne to me along with the Crown right afterward, and no one would know. I have the proper Cleel blood.”
“I wish I had coronated you in secret earlier, but you and your Mother were so far away. When I took control of the Ice Court here with my supporters, they declared me the King, and a good deal of the leaves fell off the first day. Nobody said anything...And I didn't know where the Crown was.”
Of course, if Jaki was coronated right there and became the owner of the Elira Tree, neither had any idea if it would return to its old self. The rules for the Crown weren’t debatable, but the Tree was rather a grey area since it was a later gift.
“Give me a little more time,” said Elswere. “No matter what I do right this second, it’s not like we can go to war tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Jaki arranged his face to appear mollified.