Chapter 12
Twelve
Vox
Ichewed the inside of my cheek as Master Proxius dithered on, the excuses about where he’d been flimsy at best. Looking past him to Svenna, I raised an eyebrow, but she just stared back at me stubbornly.
I wondered if she hadn’t told him that I knew about Lierick, or if Proxius was more oblivious than I’d first thought.
Letting him talk in circles about being on a ship that was bound for Fortaare, I knew he wanted me to draw the conclusion that he’d been in the Capital without overtly saying so.
The verbal swordplay may have bamboozled me once, and if I hadn’t known about Lierick already, hadn’t already discovered Svenna was a spy, he may have managed to do it again. Or maybe he truly was oblivious.
Waving a hand, I created a bubble of silence. No one outside of this room would hear what I was about to say. “Did you see my father while you were in Fortaare?” I asked lightly, my tone slightly bored. “Perhaps give him an update on my progress?”
Master Proxius shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. You know how busy the Baron of the First Line is.” His pulse was normal, his breathing even, not an ounce of stress showing on his face.
“Better than most. I’m not surprised that he didn’t have time to see you. ” I gave him a crooked smile. “What does surprise me is that no one realizes the Master of Boellium War College is a member of the Second Line.”
He froze, his eyes going wide. I smiled at him, but it was all teeth as the tal to protect against the Second Line’s magic chilled against the skin of my chest. I hadn’t known for sure that he was Second Line, but the feel of the tal activating proved it better than words ever could.
I’d had Shay track down this talisman from an antiques dealer in Doend.
A lot of people collected antique talismans, and this one was no exception.
I’d paid a pretty penny for it, but that had already paid for itself.
The hunt was still on for more, or for someone who could replicate the magic in mine.
As a rule, only the Line you were protecting against could imbue a tal with the magic it needed to defend against attacks. Historically, it was given freely, a sign of friendship and camaraderie, but when that failed, enough money could persuade a poorer member of a Line to give up a little magic.
I could ask Lierick to create one for Avalon and Hayle, and Shay as well, if I actually trusted him. Which I didn’t.
I tapped my chest with my forefinger, indicating my tal, and Master Proxius’s face paled.
“Let’s just say that I’ve met your Heir and taken measures to protect myself against him.
But I’m not going to expose you to the Baron, so don’t look so frightened.
” I sighed heavily, wishing I had Avalon here.
This had all seemed easier when her hand was wrapped in mine.
“I’d just like us to continue without this subterfuge between us. ”
Master Proxius licked his dry lips. “So be it. Mostly, time and opportunity led me to this position. I was a school teacher in Ovl, and then later, headmaster there. I trained in the Dawn Army when the opportunity arose. When the position came up here in Boellium, everyone assumed I was from the Fourth Line. They aren’t great at record keeping there, and no one was intent on looking too hard. ”
Shaking my head, I felt my hatred for Eugene grew even more. Useless fucking Line.
“Did you know he was coming?” It was Svenna who asked the question, so clearly they weren’t as close as I’d thought, or they knew better to discuss these things out loud in a building when even the walls had ears.
Proxius shook his head. “Yes and no. He arrived earlier than I expected. I would have preferred to have been here when he arrived. But the Heir is young and eager to prove himself. He has always championed the idea of coming out of the shadows sooner rather than later.”
On that, we could agree. Wars weren’t won by arguing them into existence.
“And do you hold the same goals as Lierick Hanovan?” I asked seriously.
This time, Proxius paused, like he was weighing up how much I knew, and what the Heir had told me. Finally, he nodded. “Yes, I believe so. We both want every citizen of Ebrus to have what they deserve.”
Yeah, that wasn’t ambiguous at all. Was he forgetting I’d been raised in the poisonous quicksand of the Court of Fortaare?
I’d been speaking in double-talk as my first words.
I let that all show on my face: my disbelief, my distrust, and the fact I thought he was full of crap. However, I’d let it pass for now.
“So, where were you really? Although I don’t doubt you were on a boat to Fortaare, I have a sneaking suspicion that you didn’t end there.”
He ran his tongue across his front teeth. “With all due respect, Heir Vylan, I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
I narrowed my eyes at Proxius. Now that I looked at him, with his light hair that had turned prematurely gray and his high cheekbones, there was a resemblance to Lierick. Relative, perhaps?
“And if I choose to make it my business? Perhaps tell my father of this little insurrection?” I met his eyes, and we stared at each other. I’d been going toe to toe with monsters for years; I wasn’t so easily cowed.
Finally, he sucked in a breath, his nostrils flaring. “That would be your prerogative. But I don’t think you will. I think you also have a lot to lose.” His eyes shone, and I wondered what secrets he was privy to. Had Svenna told him about Avalon and I being in a relationship?
Proxius’s face softened. “I also believe you’re a better man than your father, Vox.
There is very little that happens in these walls that I don’t know about, and I know that you don’t support the forced starvation of over half our population just because they have no discernable magic.
I know you don’t look at the Twelfth Line conscripts and see a waste of resources.
I know you’ve come back from Fortaare with your own war wounds.
” His expression was too compassionate, grating against my skin like a pumice stone.
“But mostly, I have faith in you, Vox Vylan, even if you don’t have it in yourself. ”
Pressure swelled in my chest, and at first, I thought perhaps he was trying to use his abilities against me again. But no, it wasn’t the chill of my tal. It was something far more dangerous. It was gratitude. Respect. Pride. All dangerous emotions.
I stood. “I’ll keep your secrets, Proxius, but know that if our values no longer align on a particular issue”—I didn’t need to say Avalon’s name—“I’ll use every terrible skill I learned at my father’s knee to end you.”
The crazy old bastard just smiled. “Understood, Heir Vylan.”
Leaving his office, I walked through the hidden halls of the main building back toward the atrium.
I’d had my suspicions about Master Proxius being the Second Line when I’d first walked into that meeting, but it could have blown up in my face if I’d been wrong.
It had been Shay who’d made the connection—she’d run into roadblocks in Master Proxius’s history, but usually, there wasn’t an ounce of information Shay couldn’t find if she was really searching.
That was her true magic. She was like a hound on the scent of prey when she needed to be.
I ran into a stormy-looking Hayle in the atrium and joined him as we walked toward the food hall.
Lucio Taeme had spread a very subtle rumor that we’d reached some kind of truce, a way to explain our sudden lack of animosity.
Apparently, to do that, he was pretending he and Shay were an item.
I didn’t know how he managed to convince my ornery second it was a good idea, but when I’d pressed, she’d snapped back that she’d agreed and the fallout was her business.
I was more than a little worried that it would get back to my mother, and she’d insist Shay make their affair more permanent, but I trusted that Shay knew what she was doing.
If she had to be forced into a political marriage, I thought perhaps Lucio Taeme was the best of a lot of bad options.
He respected her, which was more than ninety percent of the other possible connections.
I’d never tell the little asshole that, though.
I raised an eyebrow at Hayle. “What’s wrong?”
“Alucius said he tried to kiss her.”
I didn’t need to know any more details than that. “Did Alucius maul him?”
Hayle huffed. “No. But she reported that Avalon used her foresight magic and put a stop to his advances. So I guess his training methods worked.” He sounded like he was physically pained by the admission. “I’m still going to beat him to a pulp.”
I nodded my agreement. I wouldn’t mind seeing Lierick Hanovan bloodied. Sighing, as we entered the main part of the atrium, shining brightly beneath the dome, I lowered my voice. “She likes him, you know.”
It wasn’t a question, not really. If I’d noticed her attraction with my dull First Line senses, then Hayle would already know.
It might explain some of his irritability when it came to Lierick.
That, and the fact that the Second Line Heir was a sneaky bastard who would take every opportunity to weasel his way into her life.
Hayle gave me a sidelong look. “You’re taking his interest in her with less… ire than I’d have suspected.”
That wasn’t true at all, but it was nice to know I was able to hold the mask in place, even under the scrutiny of the Third Line Heir.
I wanted to rip off Lierick’s hands too, but I was looking ahead, toward the future, and to all possibilities.
There was a not-insignificant chance that this could all go to the craphouse and Avalon would need to run, would need to hide somewhere outside of my father’s reach.
And what better place to hide than a city that didn’t exist? A city that was almost impossible to access by land or sea?
No, if she fell in love with the Heir to the Second Line, and he loved her in return, then it could only be beneficial to Avalon, and she was what mattered. Not my own pride or jealousy, not even Hayle’s soul connection to her. Avalon Halhed needed to live; I couldn’t fathom a world without her.
I didn’t say that to Hayle, though. That unhappy line of thought would never be voiced to the universe, in case I spoke it into existence.
Instead, I gave him a smug expression. “I already share her with your furry ass. If he makes her happy, I’ll put aside our differences.
” Narrowing his eyes, Hayle kicked out and hooked a leg around my ankles, sending me flailing forward.
I caught myself with my air magic and shot him a pissed look. “What the fuck?”
“You don’t get to be the reasonable one. You get to be the haughty, demanding one who gives good dick and keeps Avalon happy. Stay in your lane.”
I laughed, a burst of sound that echoed around the atrium, making conversations die and people turn toward us. Schooling my face back into a frown, I glared at him. “What does that make you?”
“The great love of her life.” He grinned at me. “And giver of great dick.”
Rolling my eyes, I stepped out into the courtyard. “I don’t think it’s a competition.”
Hayle was now openly smirking. “But what if it was? A tournament even, like the days of old.”
“You want to do a sex tournament?” I asked incredulously, though I kept my voice low.
“No. Well, if you want, but that would be just between us.” Shaking his head, Hayle pointed west, to where the Eighth Line Barony sat.
“No, that’s how we get to Eaglehoth. I’ve arranged with my father to have a Tournament of Second Heirs.
And he’s arranging with Baron Tarrin to hold it in the forests around Eaglehoth, ostensibly so even the Eleventh and Twelfth Lines can attend. ”
That was actually kind of brilliant. Tournaments of Second Heirs had been a huge thing a century ago. Direct Heirs’ lives had always been too valuable, but with the spare Heirs? Why not pit them against each other for some kind of bragging rights?
I looked over at Hayle appreciatively. “You’re more devious than you look, Hayle Taeme.”
He grinned, his face lighting up when he saw Avalon crossing the courtyard toward him. “From you, I’m going to take that as a compliment. Right now, I’m going to kiss our girl for the both of us.”
Then he was grabbing up Avalon, kissing her possessively. Maybe there was something to be said for teamwork.