Chapter 16 #2
‘The third section takes longer for most people. For me, I was getting scarily close to thinking I was going to have to say my farewells to my family. But I got there, and you will too.’
Great.
I don’t respond. Instead, I shift around slightly until I’m in a position where I can at least put some weight on the left side of my body. Talking with Uzra while walking allows me to focus on something other than the pain.
‘You respect him a lot, don’t you?’ I ask as we begin a slow hobble across the cave to the bottom of the staircase.
‘I do. I doubt you would find a better man in all the kingdoms, but I can also understand how you would feel differently at this precise moment in time. For what it’s worth, I suggested he tell you the truth from the start – the old man’s terrible at lying – but he wanted it to be your choice.
He was trying to cause you as little pain as possible. ’
‘Yeah, well, that didn’t work,’ I say, nodding to my current state.
‘I meant emotional pain.’
I sigh. ‘Yeah, I know.’
Slowly, we make our way towards the bottom of the stairs. As I glance up, my stomach sinks. They didn’t feel quite so massive on the way down.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll just take it nice and slowly,’ Uzra replies. ‘Think of it as a chance to get to know one another. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of questions about my life here in Isthyr.’
‘I do,’ I tell him, appreciating the way he’s trying to put a positive spin on matters. ‘Though actually, I wanted to ask you about Kyor.’
‘Kyor, as in your Kyor? Prince Kyor?’
I like the way Uzra says it so easily. He is my Kyor, and I am his.
‘Is there any other?’ I ask drily. I grit my teeth as I manage the first step. ‘He’s been talking with you, right? Training with you? I wondered if you had made much headway, you know, discussing his father.’
A sharp inhale is all the answer I need. That’s a no then.
‘It’s hard for him,’ he replies, shifting more of my weight onto him as we take the next step. I wonder if that’s where he’s going to leave it, giving me nothing, pretty much the same as Kyor has, but a moment later he continues to speak.
‘When we decided to go against Korvane all those years ago, I didn’t hesitate,’ Uzra says as he helps me up the next step.
‘I had seen firsthand how gentle these people were and how much trust they had in Korvane. That was the decider for me, you understand. Seeing their trust and knowing he was going to break it. That was not the way I was brought up to be. It is not the way anyone should be brought up.’ His gaze drifts away.
‘In my family, trust was the foundation. My parents, my older sister… What we said mattered, and in my family’s eyes, to go against one’s word was just as bad as, if not worse than, physically wounding someone.
Words spoken rashly can linger in the back of one’s mind long after a cut has healed without so much as a scar.
Words spoken with true malice … well, those go even deeper. ’
His answer might be evasive, but it’s there all the same.
Kyor won’t talk. Won’t even ask about his father.
Maybe that’s wise. Maybe not reminding people that he’s the Morathkian prince, son of the man constantly waging war against these people, is the smart thing to do.
But while I don’t doubt Kyor’s intelligence, something tells me his aversion to even questioning what really happened when his father visited Isthyr doesn’t stem merely from shrewd judgement.
‘Do you worry about him coming back here?’ I ask, a churning unease rolling through me. ‘Korvane, I mean.’
‘In truth, I used to,’ Uzra replies. ‘I used to worry constantly, particularly when I met my wife. I feared for her then.’
‘So what changed?’
He hums slightly as if he’s never really considered the question.
‘I guess time and my faith in the pyrrhic. It would be difficult for you to understand, given that you were guided here, but that’s not going to happen for anyone else. Only someone who knows exactly where the pyrrhic is situated can ever find their way through it.’
‘And you don’t worry about someone here showing him? Any of your guards changing sides a second time and wanting to earn Korvane’s favour?’
‘No,’ Uzra replies with absolute certainty. ‘When Magnus advocated that those of us who had defected from Morathka be allowed to stay here, we were subject to various … situations to ensure our loyalty.’
‘You mean vows?’ I question, my heart ricocheting at that damn word.
‘In a manner of speaking. The Morathkians here could not lead Korvane or a single other person to the pyrrhic, nor would they want to.’ He pauses as he aids me up the next step. ‘I hope that will ease your concerns.’
I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re eased, but they’re certainly lessened slightly. I couldn’t imagine any Issen would want to invite Korvane through the pyrrhic. The expansionists want to move into his land, not draw him into theirs.
I decide to change the subject, wincing as we take yet another step. ‘Your family, are they still in Morathka?’