Chapter 499: Firm and Lasting Alliances (2/2)
Chul was already reaching for the roasted leg of some beast He ripped a chunk off the bone with his teeth and answered with his e for you from—”
I held up a hand and mouthed, “Later,” but Chul took no notice
“—Caera Weird stuff is happening in Alacrya”
I let out a relieved breath, glad he hadn’t said Mordain’s name in front of a fortress full of phoenixes My relief was short-lived as I absorbed what he had said The situation er into Epheotus, but I couldn’t wrap er here; in fact I was stunned he hadn’t been arrested or killed outright Not only was he a member of the banished Asclepius clan, he was half djinn as well
There was a short list of people who knehere the Hearth was, but those who could transcend the boundary between Dicathen and Epheotus were even fewer Wren or Mordain must know about this, perhaps even both
The ht, the h, Novis was speaking “Lady Myre, who is this guest you bring with you? Chul, you said? An interesting name for a phoenix And I can’t help but notice you didn’this focus to Chul, he asked, “Where do you hail from, brother?”
Chul started to answer but couldn’t, as his mouth was stuffed full
Instead, it was Myre who answered “Chul is sadly clanless, Lord Avignis But he has been adopted into the Leywin clan”
There was so the table Veruhn sipped fro and smacked his lips happily, but Rai and Novis both looked stunned
“I…wasn’t aware,” Novis said, his brows knitting as he shot e to curse
What the hell is Myre’s game here?
I needed the phoenixes and basilisks to trust e between us? But then, I acknowledged simultaneously, he couldn’t have accounted for Chul’s appearance The fact that the half-phoenix, half-djinn warrior was even still alive suggested that maybe Kezess didn’t know the truth, or even realize that Chul was in Epheotus at all Was Myre here on Kezess’s orders or in defiance of theht now
‘Focus on e can do,’ Sylvie thought ‘We’re here for a purpose This doesn’t actually change anything, unless Myrespicy,’ Regis added fro around to see if anyone would give him any more food ‘I, for one, think it’s a power play Kezess knows Mordain is still out there, and now they’re telling you that they could do so to’
“Please, don’t let our arrival interrupt the proceedings,” Myre said, breaking an aard pause in the conversation “What were you talking about?”
Veruhn suddenly looked down the table, focusing on Vireah, Preah’s daughter His face softened in a look of understanding
Rai cleared his throat “We were just discussing the Leywin clan’s ascension and the need to forge alliances”
Myre laughed Perhaps it was my own nervousness, but the sound was si “Don’t tellon for tento marry Arthur off I assumed we’d have until the first course of dessert, at least”
My is’s joke and the shared look between Rai and Novis, then to Veruhn’s understanding glance at Vireah Inthirah I suddenly understood “I’”
Veruhn hummed to himself He leaned back in his chair and wrapped his ar into the distance “It is not uncoh er parental lineage, and then join the appropriate clan This s are frequent in your home of Dicathen as well”
When I didn’t answer, Sylvie stepped in “Yes, that’s true, especially aet married!” Ellie’s voice carried up and down the table, and she iht red When she continued, her voice was more controlled “He’s already promised to someone back home!”
“There are matters of the heart, and then there are“Arthur, there is nothing you could do that would more firmly establish an alliance with any other clan In particular, a vow of reat clans would be particularly i i her expression “It would be easy to coreed to all this in order to empower the equal parts affronted and nervous Rai was silent, his thoughtful gaze on his hands in front of him Veruhn, on the other hand, twiddled his thu bored
I wanted to tell the was off the table, but I couldn’t bring ry Not with them, but with myself I should have foreseen this, planned for it I could have had a response prepared
I thought all the way back to the reat clans in which they nareat lords had insisted a visit to their clan-homes was expected I was newly risen, unmarried with a small clan and no heir It was such an obvious consideration to have otten to think like a king Fear taht immediately Fear that ’s Gae in my internal considerations
Not for the first time, I worried that I’d relied on the Godrune tooa step without it…
‘Or h the noise of hts like an arrow ‘Who would have foreseen that you’d be propositioned by a whole pack of princesses’
Sylvie continued to speak inthe subject to other matters She asked questions about the city and the two clans and shared details of her life in Dicathen
“Which is why I’ve officially taken the na nonchalance
Rai and Novis were stunned, as were the few other asura close enough to hear
Myre reached across the table to pat Sylvie’s hand syrandfather and I wish you would have been raised in Epheotus a your own kind, we know the truth You are of Dicathen, and your bond with Arthur is just as deep as the bond of blood that runs in your veins Your choice is your own toyour own kind”
No hint of the turhts showed on her face
“Thank you, Grand we could circle back around to the anihten e proposal, returning to the problee he carried
Atte to be subtle, I turned away fro an enor under my breath, I asked, “What happened in Alacrya?”
Chul also turned around in his seat “Oh, yes, that is quite lovely,” he said very loudly Quieter, he added, “Some kind of attack, maybe Pulses of mana that drain the mana from others Apparently the attack was felt across half of the continent Some people even sensed it in Dicathen”
“Caera? Seris?”
“According to the e, which was delivered by Lyra and your pretty elf lady, they were stricken, but they survived It killed the Scythe, though Dragoth Apparently”
I turned back around, tappingto catch naled that I was okay
‘Should we leave?’ Sylvie asked while Myre was discussing several of the other dragon clans and their relationshi+ps to the Indraths
This ether, and Mordain had agreed with the him to Epheotus to deliver it Clearly, this pulse of hest powers on both continents into o off in his absence Many Wraiths were still potentially at large The djinn rerin Caelu for certain, but I also didn’t know if my presence in Alacrya would even help
“In thisme to come?” I asked Chul as I reached past him for a roll I probably wouldn’t eat
He leaned over to speak into e was intended to reach you before you left Lyra said only that you needed to knoas happening”
I h one danger against the other Chul’s appearance in Epheotus was a significant co hie I needed to understand what she was up to, but I couldn’t ask with her sitting directly across the table
An idea cais He stood and yawned, co too much, and then drifted into ain in his wisp form and passed into Chul’s flesh
Chul flinched hard enough to send his drink tu His cheeks blazed red as an attendant hurried over to clear away the mess ind and fire
Ask him what Myre was like when he first arrived here
There was a brief pause, during which Chul sat unnaturally still at my side ‘He says he was picked up alons He clai for you, so they took him to Indrath Castle Lady Myre met him there She’s been…very nice, he says’
Does she knoho he really is? I sent, using Regis to converse nonverbally with Chul, siis had shared Tessia’s final words e thought she was dying
‘Oof Yeah Apparently he introduced hieance to Lord Arthur Leywin” To pretty roan And Kezess? Does Kezess know?
‘He isn’t sure Never saw him’
“Are you okay, Chul?” Myre asked “You don’t look well”
Chul cleared his throat and glanced at is slipped free of Chul’s body and returned tohalf-asura immediately relaxed
“Thank you, Lady Indrath I am fine Just…”
“Overwhel his hand “I’ve felt the saht here”
My eyes met Myre’s frorand the first steps as I learned about aether But I could no longer trust her
We can’t leave, I thought in answer to Sylvie’s question Not yet Maybe not for a while We’ll have to trust that Caera and Seris can handle it, whatever it is
Regis, Sylvie, and I, ourthe co burden of our worries