Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
A fter a quick debrief with the king, Verin and Leander parted company with Lucien and Jarryn, leaving the palace to return to the Talius residence in the city.
As the two weary travellers pushed open the heavy oak doors of the family estate, the pair heard the patter of feet on the stone floors racing towards the expansive entrance hall.
“Incoming,” was all the warning Verin gave. Alix and Everly rushed at their father, who bent down and opened his arms to swoop down and catch them in a hug.
Verin staggered backwards at the force of their jump into his arms.
“I missed you!” Alix exclaimed. “I thought a dragon had eaten you!”
“You’ve been gone for three hundred days!” Everly added.
“It certainly feels like that, doesn’t it?” Verin validated his youngest daughter’s and son’s feelings with an indulgent smile as he pulled away and brushed Everly’s long blonde locks away from her face, revealing bright blue eyes.
Everly swatted Verin’s hands away with a grimace, then turned to Leander. “Uncle Leo!” She raised her hands into the universal sign for wanting to be picked up.
Leander happily obliged. “Oh, so you missed me too, then?”
“No!” Everly scrunched up her nose as she teased him.
“Huh. Thanks. Did anyone miss me?”
Kira, Verin’s eldest, hadn’t raced to greet anyone in a number of years, had now appeared. “I did. I’ve been having to get up in the mornings because Mother says it is not appropriate for a young lady to lounge about in bed in the mornings and I’ve not been able to cite you as an excuse.”
Verin frowned. “Your mother is quite right. Don’t let your uncle’s bad example lead you astray.”
Leander had a wide smile on his face but quickly capitulated when he saw Verin’s expression. He cleared his throat before saying, “No, I am certainly not a role model.”
“But I’m tired…”
“Then go to bed earlier.” Verin had a distinctly no-nonsense approach to dealing with both Leander and his children.
Kira muttered something under her breath as she turned to walk away.
“What was that?” Verin said as he placed his hand on Alix’s shoulder to guide him through to one of the many sitting rooms .
“Nothing. Love you, Father.”
Verin made a humming noise but made no further effort to correct Kira’s behaviour. He glanced at Leander, with a look that suggested it was all his fault.
The demigod shrugged—she was a pre-teen after all—and followed his brother through to the other room.
The familiar scent of smoke from the hearth and wildflowers picked and sitting on the table greeted Leander. More pleasant, perhaps, the room was alive with the sound of crackling flames and chatter of the family he realised he had actually missed.
Leander’s heart swelled with affection as he hung back, watching Verin insert himself onto the loveseat next to his wife, Aerilyn, as Everly clambered up onto his lap and folded his arms around her waist. Smiling, he met Aerilyn’s gaze as she looked over and gestured for him to join them.
He rounded the edge of the sofa and took a seat.
“So how was it, boys?” Aerilyn asked as she rested her elbow on the arm of the love seat and leant her head against her hand.
Verin huffed out a breath. “Tough.”
“Yeah?”
“The village was decimated, the survivors…” Verin trailed off, glancing down at Everly, who was fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt.
The youngest was clearly not paying any attention, but a quick glance told him that Kira, self-aware, and Alix, who wanted to be grown up already, had their full attention on the conversation.
Leander cleared his throat. “We helped as many as we could. They are resilient, and will rise from the ashes. ”
Aerilyn nodded, fiddling with a lock of her hair. “I’m glad. Any thoughts on the attack?”
Both men shook their heads, and Leander said, “I think this is the exception to the rule. No indication of anything nefarious at work.”
That was what all four travellers had agreed to tell the king on their journey back to Saeren. They could not prove anything else.
“It is just one of those horrific, yet unavoidable things, something that happens without recourse.” Leander drummed his fingers on the edge of the armrest. “Let’s just hope this was an isolated incident.”
“Lucien decided to leave some soldiers behind in Green Tryst, ostensibly to help with rebuilding,” Verin continued and the three adults shared a significant look.
“But Leander overheard talk of military activity in the area. Likely unrelated from the wyvern attack, but I don’t like it all the same. ”
“What’s a wyvern, Papa?” Everly finally looked up to ask. Apparently she had been listening.
“A wyvern... is like a little dragon, sweetpea,” Verin said, clearly not sure how to describe the biological differences in a bestiary of flying creatures. “But it only has two legs.”
“Do they breathe fire too?”
“This one did…”
“Cool!”
“Did the wyvern hurt people?” Alix asked.
“Yes, Alix. Many people got hurt… We went to the village to help them,” Verin explained.
“Sometimes they cause harm to people and this time some people died. And those who survived, well they felt sad and scared so your un cle Leo and I went to help them feel better. Remember, we must do everything we can to keep each other feeling safe and happy.”
Alix looked for a moment like he was considering his father’s words, then he nodded his agreement. “Were you scared too, Father?”
Verin, who was stroking Everly’s hair with one hand while the other held Aerilyn’s free one, shook his head. “I was sad for the villagers, though.”
“Why?”
Leander hid his smile. Alix was a never-ending pit of questions: who , what , where , when , how and above all, why ?
“Because they have experienced something terrible. Some people watched people they loved get hurt. You would be sad if anything happened to me or to your mother or sisters.”
Alix looked truly stricken by the thought. Leander watched as Aerilyn nudged Verin with their entwined hands in a clear warning.
“But we are far away from any wyvern nests, they prefer warmer climates, so we are all safe,” Verin hastily said, which seemed to soothe Alix.
The room fell silent in a lull of conversation. Leander considered leaving Verin to enjoy some time alone with his family, but he was inherently selfish and enjoyed the sense of belonging he felt around his brother, Aerilyn, and their children.
The adults glanced up as they heard the distant chime of the front gates, though none of them made an effort to move, knowing the slaves would see to it.
“I’m starving,” Verin said eventually .
“Good, I ordered duck for dinner.” Aerilyn smiled. “It should be ready imminently. In fact, we should probably make our way through…” Standing, Aerilyn yanked on her husband’s hand to make him follow suit.
Leander also stood and went through with the rest of the group to the dining hall. As always, Everly sat to his side.
The family left the seat at the head of the table vacant for the patriarch of the family, who was late: the food was being served.
Quiet and light conversation passed over the table as they ate their starter, only to be interrupted by the late arrival of Flavian while the plates for the first course were removed from the table.
“Apologies for my delay. I was held up by a missive from the palace.”
Flavian was not normally one for excuses, so evidently he wanted to talk further about the message he had received. Leander waited patiently, as did Verin and Aerilyn, who were clearly of a similar thought process as Leander.
Kira was not so subtle. “What did the message say, Grandfather?”
Flavian glanced at Kira as he took his seat.
He had an expression on his face that would never have been present were he looking at Leander.
“It seems the king is struggling to maintain control over his lords. Factions are forming and are becoming more and more vocal about Prince Jarryn’s presence in the city. There is unrest across the kingdom.”
“They want Jarryn returned to Nevari?” Verin asked softly .
Flavian nodded. “The general consensus is that, if Jarryn is innocent, he will be exonerated. Some of the lords are arguing that it is not our place to be involved and there is nothing to gain from harbouring him here.”
“Except that he is innocent,” Leander blurted out.
“The idea didn’t spring into Nevari’s mind of its own accord,” Verin said quietly.
Leander fell silent, having nothing to say to that. He took a moment to insure he had strongly erected mental barriers. This was one of those times his thoughts might betray his secret, one only Flavian was aware of.
“Be that as it may, King Caisa obviously heard a compelling argument from Prince Jarryn,” Flavian continued.
“He spoke very well before us and it is not Vyrica’s policy to condemn an innocent man to die.
He even provided us with unfettered access to his mind.
There were no memories of plotting, conspiracy, premeditation, or even in meditated actions.
We even called in Venser, our most powerful Aesthesic, to determine Prince Jarryn’s innocence. ”
“But... why does the new Desannian king think otherwise?” Kira asked.
Without missing a beat, Flavian answered his granddaughter. “That much is unclear to the king.”
It wasn’t a lie exactly, just a veiled truth. Leander was impressed with how easily Flavian did so, though it made sense: his domain of lies had to come from somewhere and it wasn’t his mother.
But Flavian’s answer didn’t satisfy the curious mind of Kira. “Did he do it, then? And then blame Prince Jarryn? Is it because he wanted to be king? ”
Flavian smiled indulgently. “Perhaps. However King Nevari seems to have tunnel vision where Prince Jarryn is concerned. Something tells me that he genuinely believes Prince Jarryn to be responsible for their father’s death.”
“How do we help Prince Jarryn, then?”
There was a pause in the conversation as the main course of duck was brought out.
They all began to eat, except Flavian, who was considering how to respond to Kira.
“Prince Jarryn was accused of a terrible crime, one he did not commit, and many people believe he did. But, you see, accusations with no proof can lead to great harm... not just to the innocent accused. That is the problem the king is currently managing with his disgruntled lords. It is important to always speak the truth, even when it is difficult. We should all strive to be like Prince Jarryn, standing firm in the face of falsehoods, and always choosing the truth.”