Chapter Thirty-Three
Cormal
It was a sober, nervous-looking group that presented themselves at the Queen’s receiving room for ten o’clock.
Molun, Arvus, and Trill hadn’t come in order to protect Trill.
If they came now, there would be no hiding what Trill was—or at least, everyone would assume he was a carnalion.
Although people might guess, it wasn’t confirmed right now, since Trill had already been at the castle.
Brannal had long-ago perfected the art of looking impassive in the face of almost anything. Perian looked as uneasy as Cormal felt. Yannoma, who had agreed to represent the carnalions, looked… wary.
The receiving room they were ushered into was much more formal than the Queen’s study, so it was perhaps a bit of a power move. On the other hand, they all fit here easily—and she hadn’t chosen the throne room.
When they entered—Kinan and Cormal at the front, thanks to the Prince’s status—it was to see that the Queen was already seated on her throne (less ostentatious than the one in the throne room but still, unmistakably, a throne), and there were Mage Warriors in attendance.
The throne was several steps up a dais to ensure that she was still taller than they were even when they were standing and she was seated.
“Mother,” Kinan said immediately, “are you sure you want anyone else here for this discussion?”
Cormal had to admire how he just leaped right in there. Everyone else was mid-bow to the Queen, though Cormal noted that the depth of Brannal’s bow was the bare minimum to signal politeness.
Apparently, he was still pretty annoyed.
Cormal really hoped this wasn’t going to end in a blood bath.
“Kinan,” the Queen said, her tone mild enough, “not all these people are known to me.”
“And should it come down to it,” Kinan responded, “these Mage Warriors will protect you.”
He gestured at Cormal and Brannal.
She raised an eyebrow. “Will they?”
Calmly, Brannal said, “Your Majesty, I have pledged to protect my companions. None of us here wish for a pitched battle. I will not allow any harm to come to them if it is in my power to prevent it. Equally, as long as they are not under threat, I would not allow them to harm anyone else in this room. You have my word.”
The Queen and Brannal stared one another down for a long moment, with the attending Mage Warriors in the room trying not to stare wide-eyed.
They weren’t particularly close with Brannal and his friends, which Cormal assumed was deliberate, but Brannal had still been their Summus for more than six years.
Kinan interjected. “It seemed simpler for you to speak to all of us at once since much of what I have to say needs to be corroborated by others, but I can speak to you privately first if you prefer.”
The Queen’s eyes cut to him, and then she said, “That will not be necessary. I prefer to listen to what you have to say once only.” She turned her attention to the Mage Warriors. “You may guard the door and ensure we are not disturbed.
They bowed and went to do as their Queen directed. They didn’t make eye contact on the way out, and Cormal couldn’t really blame them. No Mage Warrior of any sense wanted to go up against Brannal.
The doors closed with a sound that Cormal told himself was not ominous, and then they were alone with the Queen.
Or, to give her her due, she was alone with all of them. This couldn’t possibly be a comfortable situation for her, but she didn’t look even slightly uneasy. Irreverently, he wondered if she and Brannal had practiced those expressions in the mirror when they were younger.
Cormal had been too busy losing his temper, apparently, and had missed out.
Kinan advanced further into the room, and the rest of them followed.
Her expression softened a little as she looked at her son. “Why don’t you make introductions.”
Kinan introduced not just Yannoma, but also Perian as Brannal’s partner—and he just went straight for it, though they already knew that she knew, and called Cormal his partner.
“And what mess have you gotten yourself into?”
Shoulders remarkably square and back straight, Kinan said, “Mother, it wasn’t me who got into a mess. We’ve been in a mess for centuries, and this is our chance to rectify that.”
Rather than speaking about how he could be healed, which Cormal had been sure he would start with, Kinan launched into a recitation of what Yannoma had told them about the Great Cataclysm—or the Great Betrayal.
The Queen received this information stoically. When Kinan had finished his passionate recitation, she stared at him for a moment.
“And how do we know that is not simply another story?”
Yannoma’s voice was cold. “I am not a liar, Your Majesty.”
“But history can be inaccurately reported, is that not what you’re trying to tell me?” the Queen said. “Who is to say such tales are not an exaggeration?”
Yannoma’s face was set in hard lines, though she looked no less beautiful. It still made Cormal want to shy away a little.
“I did not get stories from books, Your Majesty,” she said stiffly. “I relayed to your son what I experienced.”
For the first time, the Queen looked a little taken aback. “What you experienced? Are you saying you were alive then?”
“Yes,” she said simply. “I was young, so I was not providing counsel or support. A few of us sneaked out to witness the sealing of the breach, even though we’d been sternly admonished not to do so.
The humans set the camp alight when they started killing all those who had helped.
It’s the only reason we survived. We were able to run when the killing started. ”
Perian reached out and squeezed her hand. She looked a little annoyed and a little bit pleased.
The Prince took control of the conversation once more.
“Even if you don’t believe her, Mother, though she is clearly in the best position to know, it’s not even the most compelling argument.
Our best argument is standing right here.
” He gestured at Yannoma. “She’s a carnalion.
We’ve been taught to kill them on sight like any demon, as though they are indiscriminate killers.
Yet she’s killed none of us. She slept in the house with us for days.
She’s the one who confirmed the danger I’m in from wraiths, nightmares, and lesser demons.
I am a walking feast for demons, and she hasn’t tried to take any energy from me.
We’re not saying that all demons are suddenly our friends, but we’re asking to acknowledge an undeniable truth: carnalions have higher reasoning just like humans do, and they should therefore be treated in such a manner. ”
“Even when they kill people?” the Queen asked.
“Yes,” Kinan answered without hesitation.
“Then as at all other times. Because I can kill people—or I could, when I could touch them. Brannal is capable of killing everyone in this room right now, but we don’t kill him on sight because of it.
All our Warriors, Mage Warriors, City Wardens, and District Wardens could be required to kill people as part of their duties.
We’ve always allowed people to defend themselves in extreme situations.
Accidents happen. That is completely different from someone who is willingly and deliberately killing other people without cause.
But then we are condemning the crime, not the person who might commit it. ”
“Carnalions can kill us with a thought,” the Queen pointed out.
“Mother, so can Cormal and Brannal,” Kinan said sternly. “So can every Mage Warrior. Why are we lauding Elemental Mages but condemning those with other abilities?”
“I hardly see how the ability to steal energy from people should be lauded in any way.”
Perian interjected, “They aren’t taking energy to be malicious, Your Majesty; they’re taking it as a matter of survival.
It doesn’t have to kill. It can, and you’re right, that seems scary.
It may always seem scary to people. But if we learn to see them as people instead of simply demons, I believe we can get past it, just as we have for Elemental Mages.
If all carnalions indiscriminately killed everyone they fed from, then the situation would be different.
People would be fighting for their survival and defending themselves.
The Mage Warriors and Warriors see that every day when they fight lesser demons and wraiths and nightmares.
We can’t reason with them, they always attack, and their attacks are almost always fatal.
But carnalions don’t. Most of the time, carnalions live peacefully among us, and we don’t even realize it, that’s how little a threat they are. ”
The Queen raised an eyebrow. “If they were never a threat, then my Mage Warriors wouldn’t need to kill them. They are alerted to their presence because there is a problem.”
Brannal said, “In the years that I was Summus, carnalions were the least likely demon for us to face, even less than the lesser demons that could be handled by Warriors. Cormal and I killed them believing we were doing the right thing to protect our people. I have faced more than one carnalion who tried to seduce me and who killed colleagues and friends.”
His body was tense, his gaze on the Queen intent.
“But I’m no longer certain that the situation could only have resolved that way.
Did they attack us because they were out of control—or because we attacked them and they feared for their lives?
I can certainly tell you exactly what I would do if someone came at me with a fireball, and it would not be to stand there and take it, whether they thought they were justified in their actions or not. ”
The Queen’s gaze transferred to Cormal’s. “And what of you, Summus? I seem to recall you being of a rather different opinion recently.”
Cormal tried not to squirm. He forced himself to stand straight, blowing out a careful breath.