Chapter 65
Gaeren tried to watch Enla closely after that.
She’d spewed so much chaos he no longer knew what to believe.
But each possibility she’d mentioned held enough truth he had to at least consider them as possibilities.
He and Riveran spent the next two days and nights hiding in Gaeren’s room while Enla snuck them food.
Gullet held no clues about his presence, meaning if any note had been sent, it had been lost in transit.
On the third day, their parents still kept Enla from the council meetings, but they let her return to the throne room in order to welcome the navy representatives arriving from Andel.
Before she left, she crawled through the passageway, heedless of the way cobwebs clung to her braids and the way the loose boards snagged at her silk.
“Today you must come,” she said to Gaeren. “Remember the alcove where we would watch as children?”
Gaeren nodded, picturing the small space at the edge of the throne room, most likely intended for servants to be ready at a moment’s notice. They’d observed many of their parents’ outbursts and questionable rulings from that vantage point, forever tainting Gaeren’s impression of them.
“Be there to watch the naval officers return. They won’t be alone.”
He pinched her arm when her gaze wandered, forcing her to focus again on him. It was a cruel trick he’d used when they were young, but it was also effective. And he wasn’t willing to let her fall back into her dangerous sifting. “I’ll be there.”
She nodded, then retreated through the passageway once more.
“Are you really going?” Riveran asked as Gaeren rifled through his drawers for fresh clothes.
“Of course I’m going. Why wouldn’t I?”
“If she was wrong about what she sifted, you could be caught by your parents. All your efforts to hide from them would be wasted.”
“And if she’s right?” Gaeren asked, unwilling to hold Riveran’s gaze. Neither one of them had wanted to consider that possibility. Not only did it mean that some of Enla’s visions still rang with truth, but it meant things hadn’t gone well in Myndren.
“If her vision was right, wouldn’t Emeris come find you?”
Gaeren paused, considering Riveran’s perspective. “Maybe. But I’ve learned things no one else has heard by eavesdropping in that alcove. There are things we might need to know, and this could be the only way to discover them.”
Riveran winced, and a memory came to Gaeren with so much force that he took a step back.
Riveran stood in the throne room, kneeling before Enla and the king and queen, offering out his hand while his head remained bowed.
It was fleeting but strong, the precipice of time that had changed everything for Riveran and Enla. Everything for Gaeren as well.
As the memory cleared, Gaeren’s breath came quick, like he’d just run to his hideout in the swamp and back. “I guess I didn’t see everything that went on in the throne room,” he murmured.
Riveran blinked rapidly and looked away.
“You can stay here,” Gaeren offered. “In fact, it’s better if you do.
If I vouch for Emeris, but my parents disown me for my treasonous actions, it’s better for you not to be found with me.
If I don’t return before the night’s end, you should go back to the harbor.
Take Gullet with you, and send word to Aeliana. ”
He pulled the star-shaped bead from his starlock’s necklace and passed it to Riveran, whose face held all the conflict Gaeren felt stirring within his own soul.
“You know it’s the best course of action,” Gaeren said. “Even if you don’t like it.”
Riveran swallowed hard and nodded, taking the bead from Gaeren. “May the Sun’s light always shine upon you,” Riveran said.
“And may the Stars’ light always guide you,” Gaeren responded, the words holding less irritation than they usually did.
By the time he’d changed and made it down to the alcove without being seen, the throne room was full of servants and soldiers.
His uncle Danton and Tobias, the healer, stood on the dais, partially blocking Gaeren’s view of the thrones.
He nearly missed his parents’ entrance, followed by Enla’s.
She approached her throne with trepidation, almost like she nursed a wound or struggled to remember which seat was hers.
He itched to go to her aid and offer her a hand, then despised the fact that Croft wasn’t there to do that very thing.
In fact, where was Croft?
Gaeren scanned the members of the navy for his brother-in-law. Before he could pick him out amongst the sailors, his father’s advisor announced that the king and queen and the queen-in-training would receive the navy and hear their commitment to protecting the throne.
Formal bows were made, along with dry statements about their loyalty to the crown.
There was little to garner Gaeren’s interest until one sailor stepped forward, sweat pouring down his temple as he bowed low and raised a hand.
The entire room went still as he requested the right to address the throne, a move that was either very brave or very stupid.
“Rise and state your case,” the king commanded, warning in his tone. This man would likely receive demerits for approaching the throne without good reason. But then Enla turned her gaze Gaeren’s way, nodding slightly. If she was right, this sailor had a very good reason.
“Your Honor, while in Andel, we were approached by a small delegation from the Myndren Mountains.”
The king’s eyebrows rose, which seemed to bolster the sailor’s courage.
“At first, we thought it was a trick meant to gain passage to Elanesse. One of them claimed to be Emeris Wyndren. She had with her two men, one who is her husband and the other the son of witches.”
A gasp rose through the room. What had Emeris and Rildan been up to since they’d left if they were in the company of witches?
Unless… had Marnok returned? Was his status as the son of witches some sort of ploy they’d come up with to get attention?
Or was this a truth about Marnok’s past that he’d discovered?
“The final woman is a mystery. Even our progenies could not ascertain her identity. And she refused to answer questions.”
Gaeren grinned. So, Orra had come. He’d assumed she’d stay behind because Enla hadn’t seen her in her visions.
But now that he thought about it, no one’s magic seemed to work on Orra.
She was either too far above it or too far below it, a strange truth that set her apart once more, alienating her from the people she cared about.
“They wished to come north in search of a peace treaty,” the sailor continued. “They wanted to work together with Elanesse to protect Vendaras from Mayvus Wyndren.”
This time, the gasps rose to murmurs that drowned out anything else the sailor might have said.
A few of the soldiers called for order, drawing weapons to silence those who did not immediately obey.
Gaeren allowed a small groan to escape his lips, hidden by the chaos.
What made Emeris think this was where she’d find aid?
They would have been better off in Andel, hunting for help among the remaining Recreants.
“So you brought them here,” Gaeren’s father said.
The sailor nodded, looking less certain than he had before.
“If they were lying, we knew you would find the truth in their words. And if they were telling the truth, it seemed something you would wish to hear for yourself.” The sailor dropped to one knee again, lowering his head and holding out his hand in a request for mercy for his approach to the throne.
The entire room held its breath as they waited for the king’s response until he lazily waved a hand, palm up, signifying the man could go free. “Bring me these travelers and send for the progenies.”
Gaeren dared to creep to the edge of the alcove where the shadow met the light, getting as close as he possibly could to catch sight of Emeris, Rildan, Marnok, and Orra entering the room.
The rest of the soldiers and sailors were dismissed, but they all lingered, hoping to catch wind of what the strangers had come to say.
Tobias poured some concoction in the queen’s drink while a servant fanned her.
“I thought I would require my gifted progenies to assess your identity,” the king said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes at Emeris. “But I can see your resemblance to Mayvus from up here with my old eyes. What truly brings you to my doorstep after so many years in hiding?”
Emeris curtsied and left her head hanging low, the respective deference almost comical in light of her constant humility as a priestess.
“I apologize, Your Grace. I have not been in hiding for the last fourteen years, but rather imprisoned by my sister. Although, if I had not been imprisoned, I would have remained in hiding. It was never my intent to fight for the throne. I merely wanted to lead people to the Sun as a priestess in Celanoft, where you sent your son for his dedication year.”
Gaeren grinned at the veiled accusation. He’d thought Emeris a pushover. But here she was referencing the fact that his parents had sent a spy in her midst within her very first sentence.
The king seemed equally taken aback as his brow furrowed and his scowl returned.
“I don’t see any chains or shackles on you now.
So I will ask you again, what brings you here?
” His father said the words slowly, and the soldiers at the edge of the dais took their cue from Gaeren’s uncle Danton, the throne warden, and they stood a little straighter, their palms tightening on the pommels of their swords.