Episode 189 Future King
Future King
Cerian follows as Tharios strides to the barracks. Tharios looks strong. Determined. Not to be trifled with.
Like the future king he is.
Viala walks beside Tharios, and when she reaches for his hand, he clings to her.
A lifeline in the storm.
Perhaps Tharios isn’t as strong as he appears.
Or perhaps he’s even stronger, doing hard things because Lostariel needs him, regardless of how brave he feels or how much he’d rather be elsewhere.
For so long, Cerian thought Tharios never struggled with anything.
But that isn’t true, is it? He’s struggling now.
Before Cerian can let his own fears take over, he steps up to Tharios’s other side and whispers, “I’ve got your back.”
Tharios briefly slows as he looks at Cerian. But then he nods. “Thank you, Cer. That means a lot.”
Together, they pass the gate into the walled barracks, and Tharios keeps walking as warriors glance their way.
The eyes on Cerian make his skin crawl, but he tries to ignore the sensation.
He can’t blame people for being curious. It’s not often their princes dress in full leathers with warrior braids and painted eyes.
Tharios heads straight for the guest houses to the left, and Cerian follows. It’s obvious which of the small tree-grown buildings holds Valethan. Guards surround it on all sides, at every door and window.
He did attack Lostariel’s future queen.
But he didn’t hurt her. It’s hard to explain.
That’s why Tharios is here, though. To make sense of some part of this.
And Cerian is here to lighten Tharios’s burden, if he can.
Thoughts of Arisanna hover on the edge of his mind. It feels as though he left something important behind. An arm or a leg.
The other half of his heart.
But the pull is more manageable than it was even a week ago.
She’s safe where she is, where he doesn’t need to worry about protecting her so he can focus on Viala’s safety.
So Tharios can focus on Valethan. On getting the answers they need.
The warriors guarding the door step aside for Tharios, who pauses and turns to Viala. He says nothing. He just gazes into her eyes as he fingers her hair and runs a thumb along the edge of her ear.
“I’ll be here when you return, elf prince,” she says in quiet Lothlesian.
Then he kisses her, and Cerian looks away as thoughts of Arisanna once again fill his head.
When Cerian glances back at Tharios, Tharios meets his eyes with a gaze full of a thousand words. Words that don’t need to be said because Cerian knows now. He knows how it feels to love someone so much that it’s hard to breathe when she isn’t near.
Standing straighter, Cerian nods.
Then Rafelis lays a hand on Tharios’s shoulder. “You can do this. We’ll do it together.”
Whether Tharios believes it or not, he doesn’t shy away or run or even hesitate.
He simply steps toward the door and pulls it open as Rafelis and Deridyn follow. The door closes with a thud, and Cerian breathes in deeply before letting the air out of his lungs.
Viala carries worry in her eyes as she hugs her arms around herself. “Now we wait.”
What they’re waiting for is anyone’s guess.
What will Valethan say to result in Tharios emerging full of even more worry than he carried as he entered?
It’s a troubling thought, but Cerian pushes it aside as his eyes sweep over their surroundings.
The danger is minimal. There are warriors everywhere.
But Cerian maintains his focus, anyway.
This is his part to play so Tharios can do what he needs to do.
And they’ll be stronger together.
It takes a moment for Tharios’s eyes to adjust to the dim room and the bed to one side.
A solitary elf stands at the window, staring at nothing in particular. His injury must be healing well if he’s standing.
“You came,” the man says without turning, clearly sensing Tharios’s magic.
He can probably sense little else with Tharios so near.
“I did,” Tharios says.
Silence falls around them as Tharios waits for Valethan to continue, but he seems in no hurry to speak.
“Why me?” Tharios finally asks.
Valethan turns from the window. He looks tired. Weary.
Broken.
He takes in Deridyn’s furs but says nothing. He barely spares a glance at Rafelis before facing Tharios. “Where is my daughter?”
“I don’t know, so I hope that isn’t why you dragged me here.”
“She’s being cared for by the woman who watches her while you’re at the healing center,” Rafelis says. “For now.”
Valethan lets out a wry laugh. “Such a simple answer to a simple question, yet you’re the first to tell me. And how’s your daughter, Second Rafelis?”
Rafelis doesn’t react to that, though it must take all the self-control he possesses.
Then Valethan looks back at Tharios. “And your elfling?”
Whistling wind. So much for secrets. Valethan must have sensed the blood marker when he put Viala to sleep.
Which means he was looking for it. But why?
Rafelis glances at Tharios but says nothing. There will undoubtedly be questions, but now isn’t the time.
“You attacked my binding partner,” Tharios says. “Unprovoked. You’re lucky you’re still standing.”
“My luck ran out long ago, my prince. As I’m sure you know, since you dragged the legendary Deridyn Corisanti here to, what?
Remind me of every choice I made that led to this moment?
You think I don’t remember?” He steps closer to Tharios, and Rafelis flinches, but Tharios holds a hand toward Rafelis to keep him where he is.
“Again, why am I here?” Tharios asks.
“The great Tharios Westaria, taking time out of his busy day to talk to the elf who attacked his binding partner. If only we could all be so heroic.”
Tharios clenches and unclenches his jaw before responding. “You asked me to come. So I came. And now you have the audacity to mock me for it?”
“It is easy to be heroic when life has been handed to you on a silver platter.”
“And your life wasn’t?” Tharios gestures toward him. “You’re a Fressenia.”
Valethan smiles, but it’s not a happy smile. It’s a smile that makes Tharios feel as if he just walked into a trap. He shouldn’t have reacted to Valethan’s words.
“Tell me something, my prince. At what point yesterday did you decide I was guilty of a crime based solely on my name?”
Tharios stares at him before glancing at Rafelis and turning his gaze back to Valethan.
His stomach turns at the thought, but he can’t deny it, can he? That’s exactly what he did.
Him. Tharios Westaria. He judged an elf based on nothing more than his name.
He might actually be sick.
All his life, he’s been revered or hated, based mostly on his name. Westaria. And not just Westaria. Tharios Westaria. A blending of two worlds. Half Outerlander. Half descendant of the ancient kings.
A light in the darkness to some. A pariah to others.
But always something because of little more than the circumstances of his birth.
Is he truly no different from the elves who have judged him his entire life? The room spins, and he struggles to steady himself.
Valethan’s expression changes as he watches Tharios. It softens somehow, as if the bitterness seething within him just vanished.
“That is why I asked for you, Tharios Westaria. To help you see.”
Tharios almost stumbles backward, but he holds himself in place. This wasn’t supposed to be about him. It was supposed to be about Valethan.
“And now that you see, I will tell you anything you wish to know, my prince. But if prejudice doesn’t end with you, where will it end? With my elfling? With yours?”
Why is it so hard to breathe?
Rafelis steps in front of Tharios. “Hey, Tharios, deep breaths. And while you breathe, you listen to me, all right? We make mistakes. We will keep making them. But what we do now is the only part we can control. So we learn from our mistakes. We both do. And we become better for it. Do you hear me?”
Tharios nods as his lungs finally fill, though the sick feeling remains.
“Together, remember?” Rafelis says.
“Together.”
Rafelis meets his gaze for a few more moments before stepping away, and Tharios looks at Valethan again as Valethan observes patiently.
And Tharios musters his strength.
“It ends with me,” he says. “I hope I would have proven that if you had spoken to me yesterday instead of attacking my binding partner and running. I made a mistake. I own that, and I am sorry. Let me make this right.”
Valethan looks thoughtfully at Tharios. “Your parents claim there is room in Lostariel for all of us. I believed that once. Perhaps you can help me believe it again.”