XXIII | KING ZELPHAR
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"This is the girl?" Zelphar asked, gaze curious. His eyebrows knitted, and he studied Celvene with an unrelenting stare. When she and Melantha came to a stop, Melantha dropped into a bow, not meeting Zelphar's eyes. Celvene copied her movements, though her brows drew near.
Were his first words to Celvene that?
"I am Celvene Virac, sir," she said, forcing her voice to be both as powerful and soft as she could muster.
She met Zelphar's gaze without fear, not relenting her bow just yet.
Even from a distance away, she could tell his eyes were shaded, like the color of a shadowed rose.
"I am the heiress to Aizasea's throne. And I take it you are the king? "
Zelphar said nothing for a moment. Celvene stood up straight. Then, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards, and a small, breathy chuckle escaped his lips. "I suppose so."
What is that supposed to mean?
Zelphar, seeming to sense her confusion, continued, "Your kind has always had an avid fascination with names. From the dawn of my existence, I have been assigned a plethora of titles, none of which I've cared for. I've often wondered why, and where this curiosity stems from."
"Names and titles are our sense of identity as mortals. They're one of the only things we are able to choose and gain," Celvene said. "They hold power. And power is enticing. Even to you, I would imagine. The King of Noriya."
"Now that is an interesting title," Zelphar said, drawing himself to his full height. Even sitting down, he looked to be taller than Celvene. "Is that what they call me in Aizasea?"
"Yes. Among other things."
Celvene recognized the shift in Zelphar's eyes: a hunger for power. And power he had in Aizasea—she'd seen even the most powerful men and women in the streets cower at the mere mention of Zelphar's name. She was surprised he'd never heard of his kingly status; did he not think of himself as a king?
"All rather morbid, I presume?" Zelphar asked. When Celvene nodded, he sighed. "You poor, innocent creatures."
Celvene's eyebrows furrowed, but she said nothing.
"I never considered myself a king. Rather, I am a savior.
Virion, your... king, shall I call him? He wasn't an honest man, my dear.
He preached how twisted and evil we are in Noriya, but tell me," Zelphar said, clasping his hands together.
"Would a man so holy and innocent allow his men to die without a fighting chance?
Would a true king stand by and watch as rows of soldiers fall without a true weapon in hand?
I do not believe so. That is why I have entertained his war, so he could be pushed to see reason. It did not work, I'm afraid."
"His war?"
"Of course. Virion was my brother. Would I wish to harm my own blood?
We bicker, and we fight, and we quarrel, but at the end of the day, I care for him more than either of us could know.
Virion did not feel the same. He envied me.
Envied my power, my purpose. He envied my throne, and how he was cast in my shadow.
I tried to help him rise with the sun, but he wanted to stay shrouded by the moon.
He said if he did not achieve recognition by himself, then he didn't want it at all.
"It pained me when he wanted to leave my—our lands.
We ruled together, but he was not satisfied.
He wanted more, so more he took. He fractured our friends and family, breaking their relationships with us and one another.
All in his name—a silly pursuit for power.
I let him go, trusting he would allow us to live together, separated but in peace.
Oh, how I was wrong. He declared war against my brethren and me, claiming he'd been shunned, and he couldn't support a war against a tyrant. "
In Zelphar's speech, Celvene's gaze had fallen to the pristine wooden floors, split up by the rug beneath her feet. When Zelphar finished talking, she dragged her eyes back up, breath hitching in her throat. "Are you saying... Aizasea is the antagonistic force?"
He's lying.
If she didn't have faith in her city by itself, she knew that someone like Khamisi wouldn't have traveled to Aizasea and stayed there if they'd been the driving evil force in such a large, bloody war.
To Celvene's knowledge, Khamisi felt too strongly about justice for him to turn a blind eye to his home committing atrocities like Noriya's.
Zelphar's eyes softened, and a small, sympathetic smile grew on his lips.
"I'm sorry, Celvene. I do pity you. Virion has warped your sense of reality, as he has with all of his subjects.
It is how he ensures that you do not come looking for a better place: Noriya.
We would welcome you all with open arms, but he forbade it. With you as queen, though..."
Celvene tightened her lips into a thin line. Zelphar had to be lying. It was impossible for something of this caliber to be true. Zelphar was the beast wrapped his jaws around his prey. Not the other way around... right?
Then why did Virion allow his kingdom to suffer?
Why did the god of prosperity turn a blind eye to his subjects starving and withering away to nothing but dust on the streets?
Celvene knew he had the resources to keep them healthy and safe—he could create them, had he wanted to.
But... he didn't. And from what Celvene had seen so far, even if it was just quick glimpses while walking to Zelphar's throne room.
.. Noriyan citizens seemed far happier. Their skin didn't stick to their bones.
They didn't have circles beneath their eyes as black as the night's sky.
Celvene... couldn't say the same from whenever she walked the streets of Aizasea.
She'd heard how ruthless and downright awful Noriyan soldiers could be on the battlefield—but what if that was because Virion had hurt them in the past? She blinked, shaking off the traitorous thoughts.
"You say Virion was lying," she said, forcing the words out slowly.
Her stomach rocked. She just needed to focus on something else.
Anything else. "But even if he wasn't a good man, why would you allow your soldiers to kill ours?
It doesn't seem morally right to kill those who cannot fight back, sir. "
Zelphar clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and stood.
A purple satin cape fell across his shoulders, reaching the ground.
"You're a smart girl, Celvene. I can tell.
So enlighten me: why would Virion choose not to equip his soldiers with adequate weapons when he had the means to do so?
Either I am lying to you, or he was not as truthful as he promised.
Only after his death have my soldiers reported a threat.
In our last battle, the number of deaths on Noriya's side rose a tad. Not by much, but enough."
"That's because..." Celvene's mouth went dry, and she swallowed, though it was hard to do so.
"The man who is trying to steal my throne, Aleksandr, was able to find better weapons, but he still hasn't invested any money into good weapons.
I don't know how he worked himself into the heart of Aizasea, but from what I've heard, he slid into our military and rose through the ranks.
Fast. Faster than any man can naturally rise, unless they possess the sharpest militant intellect Fellstride has ever seen.
He was Virion's right hand man, and once he died, Aleksandr wasted no time in taking the throne for himself.
Believe me, I'd love to give Aizasea a fighting chance, but Aleksandr refuses.
And his word triumphs mine, so when Virion died, he was free to do as he pleased. He still is."
The pressure of Melantha's hand against Celvene's back lessened, though it did not vanish.
"No," was all Zelphar said.
"No?"
"That is what he wanted you to believe. But tell me... Were you on the battlefield when Virion ruled as king?"
Celvene shook her head.
"So you have no one's word but mine, this... Aleksandr, and the word of a king who was slain. It seems you do not trust Aleksandr, and for good reason. Had you ever met Virion?"
"No. I didn't."
"I would like to stop this war, Celvene. Put this all behind us and look ahead to build a brighter future. We can unite Noriya and Aizasea. Virion's goals were ludicrous, and you are a girl with a sensible head on her shoulders. Please, help me end this."
If Celvene didn't have the support of Melantha's hand, she was certain she'd collapse on the spot.
There were too many thoughts swirling around in her head: whether there was a possibility Zelphar was right, whether Virion had been as truthful as everyone claimed, and most importantly.
.. Did Zelphar truly want to put an end to this age-old war?
But she couldn't trust this man—this immortal.
For years, she'd heard nothing but nastiness about Zelphar.
How he was thirsty for the blood of mortals.
How he yearned for Aizasea's demise. How he would go to the ends of Fellstride to ensure Aizasea was eradicated as punishment for Virion's choices.
Did he think a single conversation would be enough to sway Celvene's beliefs? She frowned.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept," she said. "I can't trust you. I've heard too many things about you, and while I can't know if they're true or false, they're not things I can ignore. I hope that's no—"
"Perhaps you don't understand the power I can grant you," replied Zelphar. He took a step towards Celvene, and she looked up; in his eyes were specks of silver. "Aleksandr would be nothing to you with my help. Nothing but a speck of insignificant dirt."
Now this intrigued Celvene, even if she didn't want it to. Her entire journey thus far had been far more difficult than it needed to be. All because Aleksandr couldn't accept he'd lost the game the first day he became a player, when he had no claim to the crown.
But she couldn't ignore the blaring alarms.
She could, however, play along; perhaps Zelphar could offer her something of use.
"Like what?" she asked.
"We plan to ramp up our attacks in the coming weeks. Every fifth moonrise, in fact. We will be basked in shadows, and your soldiers will not see us coming until it is too late. Soon, we will lay siege to Aizasea itself and unravel your city from the inside out."
"Why tell me this? Why give me secrets that could result in the genocide of your people?"
"Wars are not won without bloodshed," Zelphar said, shoulders sagging.
Yet he kept his chin tilted high. "At this point, I will allow ten soldiers to fall for the benefit of one hundred civilians.
It's an unfortunate game we must play, but it's one with sacrifices to be made.
Unless you are able to seize your power at once, Aleksandr will continue to kill my men, and I will be forced to continue killing yours until he may see reason. "
"You say you can help me become queen," Celvene said. She cocked her head to the side, a few strands of hair falling out one of her loose braids. She tucked them behind her ear. "If that's possible, wouldn't no one need to die? Couldn't we end the war with no more blood being spilled?"
"Usurping a throne, assuming Aleksandr has already taken it—or is close—takes time.
I may be powerful, but I'm not powerful enough to topple a city by myself, lest I go into my Sunshadow form, where I am left vulnerable.
That is why I rely on planning. You think a battle, a war can be won with brute force alone?
No, you need to be careful. Precise. Wait for the right moment to strike.
"I cannot stop whatever Aleksandr has planned," Zelphar continued, "but I can help you prepare for the future. Your soldiers will continue to fall as long as Aleksandr is in charge. I doubt he will listen to reason, so negotiating peace is off the table."
Celvene's lips twitched into an unsettled frown.
She couldn't trust Zelphar. Not after what she'd heard he'd done.
Whether or not it was true, he'd shown no signs he could be anything but a ruthless, murderous king, besides honeyed words and a polite tone.
And though it sounded like he'd allow her to leave Noriya if she agreed, she couldn't risk him unleashing a force of animalistic chaos into Aizasea, if that was even possible.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, though she knew Zelphar could hear her. "I can't say yes. Not right now. There's... there's too much I'm questioning."
"I suspected you'd say as much," Zelphar said.
He did not face Celvene, nor did he move.
"That's alright, though. I can help you see reason.
I will not be freeing you from Noriya quite yet.
Instead, I'd like my frinigari to give you a tour around the castle and Noriya itself.
She is quite familiar with the grounds."
Celvene let her hands fall lax to her sides, one finger twitching as she glanced over her shoulder. Melantha was still standing behind her, and she wrung her hands together. She didn't meet Celvene's gaze.
"Okay," said Celvene. As soon as the word left her tongue, Zelphar's hand glowed a pale orange, and Celvene could hear the crumple of parchment paper from behind her.
Zelphar smiled. "I trust you will not harm Melantha, correct?"
"Right," Celvene said, biting her lip. What exactly was he planning?
"Wonderful. She will escort you to our premises, and after a few days, I will see you again." Zelphar sat down in his throne once again, leaning his cheek against the palm of his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Celvene. I look forward to seeing you again when you're feeling more open-minded."
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