“Good luck with that.” She reaches out to squeeze my forearm.
With a deep breath, I guide my horse forward, across the craggy ground. Fighting a battle on such uneven terrain will be unpleasant, but hopefully we will not have to fight one at all.
“You are full of surprises as of late, Zander Ascelin, First of His Name,” Telor calls out, he and his white stallion cloaked in matching navy blue coats. They stall, forcing me to move in farther, putting me farther from reach of my flame.
“It has been forever since I heard that address.”
“It has been forever since I uttered it. Frankly, I do not know how to address a banished king.”
“How about an old friend?” Telor was Lyndel’s lord long before Hudem’s moon ever granted me life.
“That is the only reason I am standing alone before you now. My son fought me in coming here at night and alone to parley. He said I couldn’t trust you.”
“My advisors were equally uncomfortable with the idea.”
He smiles sadly. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
Silence lingers, and he seems to be struggling with how to proceed.
“Tell me, Ailis, how does dear Erwynn fair these days?”
Telor swallows, the reminder of his one glaring indiscretion now placed clearly between us. He’d been unlucky in love for centuries and had all but given up when he fell for a mortal from Kier and, unwilling to lose her, infected her. It’s a secret I’ve kept for him, rather than bring him forward to my father and ensure he was punished. For a man so intent on following the rule of law, I’m sure that’s never far from the forefront of his thoughts. “She is well.”
“I am glad to hear that. I’ve always thought she was good for you.”
He clears his throat. “Would you prefer I recite the king’s declaration?”
“That I’m a traitor to my realm? No, I’ve caught the gist of it.”
“Yes, well … I have been ordered to capture you and the princess Romeria and bring you both to Cirilea for judgment before the king.”
“And kill my legionaries, I gather.”
“What’s left of them, yes. And whoever else you’ve allied with.”
The Ybarisans standing outside the gate, he means. “I imagine you appreciate the destruction I alone could cause your army.” I’ve spent my life hiding the true strength of my affinity from others, saving it for when it would serve me best. Still, few have seen my full power. Lady Danthrin, for one, and I’m sure that news has traveled to Cirilea by now.
“His Highness has warned me, yes. But he believes you will be too honorable to incinerate your own kind in such a devastating way. That you would rather die in an honest battle.”
“I assumed my brother would have too much honor to steal my crown. So, what have assumptions about honor taught us?” My laughter is a hollow sound in the night.
Lord Telor’s gaze veers behind me, toward Ulysede. Even in the dark, his awe is visible. “My scouts informed me of a magnificent gate where Stonekeep used to exist. I accused them of imbibing in hallucinogens and put them on latrine duty. I suppose I shall apologize at some point.”
Now my laugh is genuine. “I can assure you, the gates are real and the city behind them, even more so.”
“Is this to be your new home then?”
“Islor is my home, and though it may seem within our borders, that is not Islor.”
“I cannot begin to understand what that means.”
“No, you cannot. I fear there is much you have heard, Ailis, but much more you have not. I would beg you to stay your judgment and your choices until you have given me a chance to speak.”
“Beg.” Telor’s eyebrow arches. “When has the great and powerful Zander ever begged?”
“Never, I will admit. I am far too arrogant. But in this instance, yes, I would plead with my once-loyal allies and those who share a genuine love of our realm. Islor is in great peril.”
“Yes, both mortals and immortals are dying every day because of this Ybarisan plague that you allowed to take hold.”
I could claim that I didn’t know about the poison until I’m without breath, but I know that’s pointless. “It goes far deeper than that, and the poison may be the least of our issues soon. But to explain it would require faith in me that I have not forsaken Islor, that I am working to save it from ruin. In all the years we’ve known each other, as you look upon me now and listen to my words, do you truly doubt this?”