Chapter 1
Chapter One
I f Leander had thought about the fact that this would be the last time he would see his mother for a long while, he would have said something… heartfelt. His mother would have liked it, he would later muse.
As it was, he simply stood there sullenly as they both waited for the door to the Talius residence to be opened.
Pre-warned of their arrival, Lord Flavian Talius himself opened the door instead of one of his other sons or many slaves. He stared down at Leander, his youngest son, with an impenetrable expression.
“This is him?” Flavian asked the redundant question as the corners of his lips curled upwards into a smile that was far from comforting.
He looked like the sort of man who would find entertainment in snapping the necks of ducklings, Leander decided rather rapidly as he stared up at the man he had idolised from a distance all his life.
“Yes.” Leía nodded. “Leander, say hello to your father. ”
“A pleasure.” He didn’t extend his hand in greeting, knowing innately that it would not be accepted by his father.
“That remains to be seen.” Flavian turned to his side and gestured for them to come into the house. He led them through to one of the many parlours. The grand room they were shown to was as to be expected in the property of the king’s chief advisor.
“I honestly thought that, after twenty-eight years of silence, I would never meet my son. Now you bring him to my door in a clandestine operation with the vague forewarning that my deity son is now… mortal? In a time of political upheaval, this could not be more suspicious if you tried.”
“Your discretion is appreciated, Flavian,” Leía said with a sigh. “Are we safe to talk?”
“My sons are both out of the house on duties and any slave in the household has been set on a task far from this room. We will not be overheard.”
“Good. Do you want to explain to your father, Leo, or shall I?” Leía used her nickname for Leander, probably to ease him in.
Leander shrugged, feeling every bit the berated child his mother was going for.
“Fine.” His mother sat and Flavian followed suit. Only Leander remained standing, preferring instead to feign interest in the various ornaments and paintings than listen to his mother lay out his shame for his father to understand to its fullest extent.
The goddess sighed. “Leander is responsible for the presence of the king’s latest surprise houseguest.” She dove straight in without preamble.
“I have no idea what possessed him to do so, Leo is being uncharacteristically taciturn on the subject. But Prince Jarryn is here as a result of a lie Leander told. There was no conspiracy to murder the departed King of Desanne. Or, if there was, it was not Jarryn Eleinium’s doing. He is innocent of his accused crime.”
Leía fell silent, allowing Flavian to process this information.
Leander stared resolutely at a very uninteresting painting of Saeren’s skyline.
“Was the king murdered, then?” Flavian asked, his voice the epitome of concern.
Leía looked up, meeting her once-lover’s gaze. “Some say he was murdered, others claim it was death by natural causes.”
“You’re telling me the pantheon doesn’t know? Can Serai not commune with the king?”
“If she knows, which I don’t think she does, she hasn’t shared her knowledge.”
Flavian’s expression was grave. “What do you believe?”
Leía sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I’m not sure. There are whispers of foul play… but the king was old and frail. It is not uncommon for even rulers to succumb to illness. There are some things even the most accomplished physicians cannot heal.”
“True,” Flavian conceded, his brow furrowing in thought. “But considering current political tensions, one can’t help but wonder if there’s more to it.”
Leía nodded. “Indeed. Perhaps with time we will be able to delve deeper into this mystery.” She hesitated and Leander knew she was weighing her words and considering voicing her thoughts.
“I suspect… Leander is reckless but not completely irresponsible in thought or deed. There must be another involved somehow. Some purpose behind the lie Leander told.”
“I see,” was all Flavian said after a few moments.
“Do you?”
His father nodded as Leander turned, finally giving up on his feigned disinterest in the conversation and deciding to watch it unfold. The worst was over anyway.
“Why not just undo the lie? Just take it back.”
“The Nine do not believe in meddling in mortal affairs…”
“But this is not solely a mortal problem. Divinity is already involved. Leander is divine and is responsible.”
“Leander is divine no longer. And even if he was, his… lie… was simply too powerful for him to undo on his own. He did a very good job, too good. A lie of this scale would need an extraordinary amount of divine intervention. Having Leander apologise and, ah, ‘ take it back ’ would not suffice.”
“And you want me to… what?”
“Two things,” Leía said with a grimace. “First, keep Prince Jarryn safe.”
“The king required no convincing to give Prince Jarryn asylum.”
Leía nodded as if she expected no less. “Second, watch over Leander as he learns to navigate his new mortal life.”
Flavian glanced at his son. “This punishment from the Nine, is it permanent?”
“For the time being. ”
“So it can, and may, be undone?”
“If Leander is found worthy, yes.”
“I see.” Flavian repeated. He tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair as he gazed at his former, one-time lover, clearly unsure as to what to make of the situation and how to handle it. “I don’t want him,” he finally said.
“Pardon?” Leía said after a long moment of silence passed.
“He’s not welcome here.”
“He’s your son.”
“By blood, yes. But by any other measurement of relationship, he has only one parent. He’s not my problem.”
Leander didn’t like how his parents were talking about him as if he was not there.
He felt insignificant, small, and utterly invisible.
It wasn’t a sensation he was used to. It was unpleasant.
He was restraining himself from drawing attention to himself out of some misplaced desperation to escape this situation.
It wasn’t successful: he inhaled just a little too loudly.
Flavian glanced at him, as if remembering that he was in the room. “And what do you have to say for yourself then? Why did you do it?”
“I didn’t have a reason.” He stuck by his original defence used during his trial and sentencing.
Flavian’s face contorted into an ugly expression as Leía sighed. “Oh?” He said, anger colouring his tone, “Is that what you want written on statues erected in your honour?”
“No,” Leander ground out in irritation.
“It seems you have no other claim to a worthier statement, God of Lies indeed. You are a plague on this world, breathing life into a despicable, cowardly act. ”
“Flavian—”
“I didn’t invent lying!” Leander exclaimed, enraged by his father’s judgement. “I merely act as a conduit to harness its energy, you ignorant fool.”
The air in the room stilled, a suffocating weight descended on Leander as his father whispered with incredulity, “I beg your pardon?”
“Leo, please let me speak to your father alone.”
“No.”
Flavian blinked. “Well colour me surprised. Forgive me for thinking you respected your mother.”
Leander stood there for a good few seconds, breathing heavily and staring at Flavian as the edges of his vision went red.
“Please.”
He listened to his mother’s desperate plea and nodded, exiting via the door through which they had entered.
Busying himself with looking at more bland artwork, he considered the humiliation of the trial he had just been subjected to.
His mother had taken him directly from the amphitheatre without time to collect any belongings or even say goodbye to his siblings and friends.
Now, he had to do his best in this confusing mortal world that he only understood through the eyes of divinity: answering prayers and accepting libations had not educated him in the ways of Cariun…
he wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for his mother to leave him here with a man who clearly hated him on first sight.
The minutes ticked by until, finally, his mother opened the door and looked at him with a tight-lipped smile.
“Walk me out? ”
Leander nodded and the two of them headed towards the entrance.
“You may have the rest of the divine court fooled, Leo, but you forget that I am your mother.” Leía glanced over at her resolutely quiet son.
“You’re not nearly as impulsive as you are trying to convince the world you are.
You don’t make decisions out of nowhere.
No matter how reckless they seem, they are always, always premeditated.
This may seem to everyone else like it has backfired immensely, but you are too calm for me to believe this is really all there is to it.
Lie all you want, I will gather the truth of this in time.
Because you always calculate every possible outcome, and I am certain that there is more to it. ”
Leander sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I suppose this one time is the proverbial exception that every rule must have.”
“What happened to you?” she asked, placing a hand on Leander’s cheek as she stared upwards to meet her son’s eyes. “You weren’t always like this.”
“Yes, I was. You just never paid attention, Mother.”
“I don’t think that’s entirely fair, Leander,” Leía said. “I understand you’re frustrated, but I am here to listen.”
“You’ve always been too busy with this infernal city to really see who I am. It’s not my fault you’re surprised at who I’ve turned out to be.”
“Be that as it may, I know there is more to this than you are sharing. I don’t like your silence. You used to tell me everything.”
“I’m sorry, Mother.”