Chapter 85
Gaeren pulled Aeliana against his chest, turning her away from Mayvus. The battle that had raged around them halted as chaos replaced determination. Several men and women cried out and cradled their hands. Some broke down in relief amidst their pain, while others fled the room.
Durriken let out another howl that drew everyone’s attention to the dais.
Gaeren tensed, wondering if the sight of their dead leader would ignite the Ahmranans’ ire, but instead it seemed to make them panic. The room they’d used as a trap for the royal family quickly became their own prison.
“How could he?” Aeliana murmured. Then she pushed against Gaeren, making a rush for Sylmar and Marnok, who lowered Emeris to the ground.
Gaeren swore under his breath and jumped from the dais after her, dodging those still fighting and rushing through those who’d decided the fight was already over. Aeliana lunged for Sylmar, but instead of railing against him, she wrenched her mother from his arms.
Gaeren quickly untangled the starlocks, placing his own around his neck. Then he passed the rest over to Velden, keeping hold of Aeliana’s and Emeris’. “Can you make sure everyone gets theirs back?”
“That’s music to my ears,” Velden said, picking his fish hooks out from the pile. He held them up to the torn flesh of his lobes, then frowned. “Maybe Marnok can heal them.”
They both watched as Marnok struggled to keep his light shield intact around Aeliana and Emeris, his face red and blotchy as he allowed her this chance to grieve.
“I can wait,” Velden said. “He’s needed more here.” The half-Sayhleen’s lips pressed together in an uncharacteristic grim line as he tucked the earrings in his vest pocket and headed for Brogdon, hunting for the axe-shaped starlock that belonged to the other man.
At Gaeren’s feet, Aeliana half screamed at her mother to live and half yelled at Sylmar, her words becoming unintelligible. Except Sylmar was no longer beside them. He made his way toward the dais, his steps slow and heavy.
The state of confusion in the room stirred something in Gaeren, perhaps a sense of self-preservation, but also a bit of his royal blood and training.
A part of him waited for his parents to command the room and take control of the situation, but their bodies remained broken, tossed to the side of the room.
His faithful uncle Danton was also gone, and Enla—his safety and security despite her being so confused—wasn’t here either.
Half the people in this room didn’t respect the authority of the Elanesse family, but for those who did, he was the highest rank in the room. And yet the woman he loved was falling apart as she grieved the mother she’d only just found. He couldn’t bear to leave her in such a state.
He scanned the royal soldiers, who gaped at the Ahmranans and Recreants filling the room. Their swords were drawn, but their faces held uncertainty over who was enemy and who was a temporary ally.
He took five steps to grab one of their collars. “Don’t let any of the Ahmranans get away. Some were coerced into serving her, but some followed by choice. Take them all to the dungeons until we can parse out the difference.”
The soldier licked his lips and nodded once, his eyes frantically scanning the room.
Gaeren sensed the other man’s resolve as he stood straighter and turned to his comrades to relay the orders. Then Gaeren turned back to Aeliana, hating what he had to do. Instead of pulling her away from Emeris, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing both of them into a tight hold.
“She’s gone,” he whispered.
“No.” Aeliana’s muffled cry against his shoulder was weaker than it had been.
“Please,” Gaeren said. “Let’s have Orra sing her to the Sun.” The words got through to Aeliana in a way he hadn’t expected, and she went completely still.
“She’s with the Sun,” she murmured. This time, when she pushed Gaeren away, he let her. She gently slid her mother’s body back to the stone, closing her lids and straightening her limbs. He’d just lost his own mother and father, but this seemed far different.
The hardness on Aeliana’s face left Gaeren on edge, and realization of her intentions came a moment too late.
She jumped to her feet and ran across the room, aiming for Sylmar, who now kneeled next to Mayvus’ abandoned body.
In death, none of her people mourned her.
They simply fled. Some mourned the loss of power, and some clearly celebrated their freedom.
But it was Sylmar who had tears dripping into his beard. Pain twisted the older man’s features, his body shaking. His hands curled into tight fists, and heat rolled off him in waves like his magic held no control.
Aeliana had no respect for whatever grieving process Sylmar was going through. She launched herself on top of him, forgetting all the skills he’d taught her to incapacitate someone, and instead simply pounded his back with her fists, railing at him.
“You killed her. How could you kill her? We were getting away. We could have won.” She repeated the words over and over, and rather than defend himself, he turned, letting her beat him until Gaeren feared there would be another death.
He pulled Aeliana back, grateful when Lukai joined him to stop her flailing arms from catching Gaeren’s own jaw.
“You are a disgrace to the Recreants,” she shouted. “You killed the high priestess they all loved. Everything you ever taught me, everything you’ve said has been a lie. You waited for this moment when you could exact your revenge.”
For the first time, he spoke, shaking his head no. “It’s what she wanted. She asked me to—”
“It was still your choice,” Aeliana hissed. “Tell me the truth. Did Lady Merinnia show you killing Mayvus or my mother?”
He hesitated. “Your mother, which I knew would result in Mayvus’ death.”
She broke free from Lukai’s and Gaeren’s hold, letting her fists swing wildly in Sylmar’s direction. “You liar! You lied to me! You knew all this time!”
Sylmar took the blows without fighting back until Gaeren and Lukai got her back under control. His face hardened once more, his familiar scowl returning, but he nodded. “I accept whatever punishment is due.” He held out his hands, and the fire fueling Aeliana’s anger seemed to abate.
“Lock him up,” she murmured.
When no one moved to do her bidding, she wrenched herself free from Gaeren’s and Lukai’s grasp once more and stood tall, straightening her shirt. Her regal bearing was so much like Enla’s that Gaeren felt himself stand a little taller too.
“He must be tried for his crimes,” Aeliana said, “for treason against Emeris Wyndren, High Priestess. Lock him up in the dungeons with the Ahmranans until we’re able to sort out his punishment. Take his staff and starlock, and don’t let him have any visitors.”
Lukai and Gaeren exchanged a glance. She had no authority in the Elanesse palace, but Gaeren suspected the people in this room would enact her requests before they would bother with his.
“I suppose you think you’ve done us all a favor,” Aeliana went on, sneering in Sylmar’s face. “You’ve rid us of Mayvus, and now we don’t have to hunt down the curse.”
Sylmar’s face paled. “You still need to find the origin of the curse. You still need to—”
“Stop.” She cut him off, her voice colder than Gaeren had ever heard it.
“I’ve wasted the last year listening to you.
We all defended your behavior, secretly seeing you as broken by your past. But you killed her.
” Her voice broke, and her shoulders slumped.
“I don’t ever want to hear your advice again.
I hate that I’ve depended on you for as long as I have, and I refuse to listen to another word. ”
She strode away without a single glance for Mayvus’ body, and returned to her mother’s still form, kneeling beside it. By this time, Rildan had found Emeris, and along with Marnok, the three formed a strange huddle as they mourned her together.
It left Gaeren feeling like an outsider, especially since part of him wondered if she’d been too harsh.
Had Emeris asked Sylmar to sacrifice her?
Hadn’t Aeliana asked Gaeren to do the same to her that night on the Myndren Mountains’ balcony?
If he’d followed through on her request, the others likely would have responded the same way she did now.
But he would have done it because she’d asked him, and it would have felt like a loving way to free her, even if he despised himself for it.
He stared at Sylmar, hating that he continued to find ways he and this man were alike. It terrified him enough that he pulled a soldier from the ranks and demanded he lock the older man up along with the Ahmranans, just like Aeliana had requested.
Around them, the battle that had barely begun was over, and yet the room remained flooded with people unsure where to go from here.
The winex slunk from the room, carrying out their dead without anyone trying to stop them.
Felk nodded his farewell before he left, his face long as he took in Aeliana’s anguish.
Gaeren watched her a moment longer too, wishing he had something to offer, but right now she needed her father more.
He turned away. And then he did something he hadn’t expected to do for at least a decade or more.
Something he hadn’t thought he’d have to face without Enla.
He gathered his father’s broken body in his arms and headed for the highest tower.
It was time to take the king to the Stars.
It was time for them to release him to the Sun.