Chapter 26
Therxian glanced at Jathella as he accompanied her down in the direction of the royal throne chamber for the court, but his eyes drifted irresistibly toward the concealed tunnel. Jathella, noting the direction of his attention, slapped him lightly with one wing to regain his attention.
“I sent Buosoa to accompany the human. There is no reason to worry.”
He grimaced. Buosoa was reliable but also the least approachable of the sisters as far as he had noticed.
“Kitanara would have been a better choice,” he muttered, forcing his gaze away before someone else noticed his straying attention.
“Buosoa was available,” Jathella returned, as she pointedly ignored him to study the corridor.
A thought seemed to occur to her, and her head turned toward him so that she could scrutinize him.
“Why do you demonstrate such care and interest, Therxian? Are you allowing yourself to be distracted from your purpose here?”
Therxian bristled at the implication, his gavo raising slightly with hostility before he was able to quell the response. He flattened his gavo and adopted a cool expression as he returned her regard. “Do not speak so rashly.”
Jathella’s eyes narrowed, unconvinced. “Do not forget why you are here. Or has it changed? Are you planning on doing as Slengral did and abandon the shinara to nest with a human among the Vehal in the Vir?”
Her accusation cut him to the quick. Though there was no venom in her voice and only mild curiosity, the expectation made him inexplicably uncomfortable. His gavo twitched in response.
“I will not lie and say that this idea does not appeal to me,” he replied honestly, his tone gruff as he redirected his attention to some undefined spot ahead of them so that he would not have to meet the judgement in her eyes.
“But I will not. There is no one left to take my place presently. In the end, the matters here are my burden to deal with.”
The female hummed quietly in agreement, her gavo rippling faintly. “It is strange, is it not? No more than a single female born to inherit the rule—and one born sickly, at that—but of every male born offspring, that number nearly a dozen hatchings. Yet the whereabouts of only two are known to us.”
He did not reply, but that was a subject that frequently occupied his mind.
Never was there an issue of too few females born.
With the exception of his mother, who had only one younger sister, most generations had upward of three females born to the royal line.
And the disappearance of his brothers equally concerned him, though he had not thought of them at all in many revolutions.
He had hoped that they had escaped the Aglatha and were living happily and free.
But now he was not so certain. As the days passed, during his seclusion and under the scrutiny of the matriarchs, unsettling thoughts frequently crept up on him, though he had not dared to share them with another.
Thoughts that he could not even share with his mother because the queen matriarch was never alone.
There was always a female from the court of noble matriarchs in her company, and numerous members of staff surrounded her at all times like a swarm of barlisks covering their queen.
It made him even more suspicious of the level of influence the court had over his mother’s decisions, including the personal ones involving her own offspring.
Did she even know the fate of her own sons?
The question whispered insidiously through his mind, sending a shiver through him. There was no knowing how much his mother was aware of, or how much she was manipulated while the noble matriarchs plotted. How else could so many royal males disappear without a trace or record as to their fate?
“How long has my location in the Vir been known?” he quietly asked.
Jathella gave him a sidelong look and was silent for a long moment before answering.
“From the beginning,” she said quietly. She sighed and fluttered her gavo wearily.
“It was before my time, clearly, but my mother held my current position in the palace, and I recall hearing her speak with my father about it in low voices. She was assigned to track you and bring you back to the palace, but...”
“But she did not,” he finished, masking his own surprise with the flat statement.
If Nyrana had been sent to track him, she had clearly fulfilled the first part of her assignment if his mother had been informed, but why had she not returned with him as ordered?
Was there another who had also been sent after him?
From what he recalled of the female, Nyrana would have only failed in her duty if doing so meant protecting her charge.
Thinking back, his memories of his escape from the Aglatha were murky at best, fueled by an anxious energy that had run through him and an undefined fear of being caught.
If anyone had tracked him to the surface, he would have been unaware, given the state he was in at the time.
He could have had any number of pursuers.
Would it not have suited the noble families to capture him for their own use?
Or perhaps slay him if he resisted? The question sent an uneasy feeling through him, and his coils stirred restlessly in response.
“Would the matriarchs have taken it upon themselves to try to level power in their favor?” he asked.
Jathella’s expression hardened. “At that time, many still had high hopes for the princess and for more queen-eggs, but it would not surprise me there were other plans in place among some of the families who imagined vaulting their own lineage into the line of succession. A royal son would have provided, at the very least, an opportunity to safeguard an alternative if a new queen failed to rule in a way that favored their interests. It did not go unremarked that the queen had failed for many revolutions to produce a female, and in the end had only managed to nest no more than one female, and who was frail all her life. It was considered highly unusual and was naturally a topic of considerable concern. Especially when the princess was smaller and far more delicate than her peers. There was some doubt that she would grow robust enough and possess the right temperament to ‘correctly’ rule the shinara. With no other princesses hatched by Zathexa, a new legitimate heir would be an easy solution. And very convenient.”
Although Jathella did not elaborate, Therxian understood way lay unspoken by the guard. The “solution” would be convenient for solidifying the power of the council and shifting the axis of power to a new mother-line.
Jathella’s musings were not far off-wing.
It all lined up far too well. But who would have dared to orchestrate it.
To even speculate on queen nestlings invited danger.
Daring to tamper with the high queen’s conception and the health of a queen egg...
it could not possibly be the work of a normal Seshanamitesh among the council and noble families.
Such a move against the queen required someone particularly bold.
“Which family would be in a position closest to taking control of the court of noble matriarchs without opposition?” he quietly asked as they neared the entrance to the throne chamber.
The captain’s gavo quivered with her indecision as she considered his question.
“Undetermined. There are four families which have the highest standing, between whom the competition is the fiercest. Should any one of them gain control, it would only require annihilating their direct competition to guarantee that the rest of the court would fall in line. All it would require is a legitimate blood-claim to the throne.” Her head tipped slightly as she considered further.
“It would certainly explain Vekatha’s determined pursuit of Slengral.
Through her mother, Shalyia, she is the direct daughter of descent for the Shel mother-line.
As is Gareiia. Her mother Zara is Shalyia’s sister, and both are close cousins of Queen Zathexa.
As the youngest of Zathexa’s offspring, Slengral would have been the last opportunity within the Aglatha to establish a legitimate line to the throne. ”
Until Therxian had returned.
His jaw clenched as he recalled the way his brother spoke of Vekatha’s relentless and ruthless pursuit.
No one within the shinara, much less their mother, would have been ignorant of it.
She would have done anything to have him, and in the end even resorted to trickery in order to push her claim on him.
That his mother cooperated and not only approved but encouraged the match initially—until the matter of Vekatha’s deception was revealed—was surprising.
Had there been pressure from the noble family in question?
Shalyia was a vicious and cunning female within the noble court.
But his mother collaborated with those of the Shel nest in disposing of Lori. How did it fit together?
Unless his mother was merely grasping at an opportunity to protect her son.
With Slengral mating a human and his refusal to cooperate, would that have otherwise put his life under immediate threat?
Whatever Zathexa’s shortcomings, she was a female who would do anything to protect her sons.
Of that much, he was certain. Why else would she have conspired with Vekatha’s blood kin, Payeri?
She must have had some suspicion. Perhaps she went to such great lengths out of determination to protect Slengral because of it, even if it meant betraying him.
If he was not wrong, she willingly sacrificed much to keep one of her few remaining sons alive. But it still left him with far too many questions as to how much she knew about the fate of his brothers, and how much of it was merely suspicion. More to the point, how much did Vekatha know?
The tip of his tail hooked in response to the tension rising within him. He wanted to speak privately with his mother once more, but there would not be an opportunity that day. Therxian expelled his breath in a long sigh, and he turned his head to peer over at Jathella.
“Can you arrange for me to meet with Vekatha?”
Jathella studied him, weighing her answer. “Perhaps. She was initially sealed with her mother and sister, but Vekatha remains there alone. She is bitter and may refuse to speak to you. Whatever you intend may be for nothing.”
“Let me worry about that,” Therxian rumbled. “Just tell me if it is possible to see her.”
The commander’s gavo snapped reluctantly. “It can be done. For now, you have other things to attend to.”
“The matriarchs await,” he murmured in agreement.
“As does Ferinia,” Jathella added, a hint of amusement in her voice. She chuckled when he immediately groaned, his gavo flattening with his reluctance. “Thought you had escaped her attention, did you? No son of Zathexa is so lucky. Not even you, Therxian.”