remained slitted. “Because I’ve seen what you have done here.” She opened her arms to take in the expanse of Tsatol Pelyn and the armored warriors therein. “You resurrected this fortress from a midden, and you turned a rabble into an army. It is magic on a scale unseen. Not only is it paramount to get you back to Nalenyr, but it would be an abrogation of my responsibility if I killed you.”
Keles frowned, but Tyressa did not let him ask the question forming in his mind. Instead, she took one of his broken and bruised hands and again began to wash away encrusted blood. “Keles, you have to understand the impossibility of any love between us. I am bound in service to the crown of Nalenyr. You are bound in service to your family, and they are likewise bound to the crown. In fact, your only chance at escaping the gilded cage that entraps your grandfather is for you to marry my niece. You could become the Prince Consort of Helosunde and have greater bargaining power over your position.”
Keles sighed. “The problem being that your niece already has a husband. While I’m sure Prince Pyrust will be thankful that I’ve built this fortress back up, the troops coming after me have razed his capital. I think that might anger him.”
Tyressa smiled. “There cannot be enough discomforts in Prince Pyrust’s life.” She dried Keles’ hands and applied unguents to the abrasions. He’d broken them in frustration at his inability to save those who had followed him from Felarati when the Eyeless Ones came searching for him. He’d had an odd dream prior to the invaders’ arrival, which suggested they’d been sent by Qiro Anturasi, his grandfather. Yet that was impossible, because creatures like the Eyeless Ones and their allies simply did not exist anywhere in the world. But even as he tried to take comfort in that, reality melded with the dream and made him think they had come from his grandfather.
And only my sister knew I was in Felarati. I dreamed of walking with her in a strange land. Was it a dream, or . . .
He hissed as Tyressa began cocooning his hands in silken bandages. “My hands are throbbing.”
“They will for a while, but should heal well.” She gently knotted a bandage off at his wrist. “Keep them clean and dry, if you can.”
“I’ll try.” Keles sighed. “What are we going to do?”
“About what?”
“This place. These people.” At the height of a storm, as the short, savage Eyeless Ones had closed on the ruined fortress, Keles had not only rebuilt the fortress, but had transformed the refugees. The eldest shed years, and children pulled them on. Armor and weapons had materialized, and the garrison could have fended off another assault. But they had no supplies. They could easily be starved out of the fortress.
“You should have filled the storerooms with rice and wine while you were rebuilding.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You jest.”
“I do, but I was also hopeful.” She tied off the other bandage. “Could you not do that now?”
Keles shrugged. “I could if I knew what I had done. Rekarafi says this was the second time I did something like that. The first time I moved the cavern in Ixyll, but I have no real memory of that. Last night I felt urgency and frustration, and yet . . . ”
“And yet, because it was not the same in Ixyll, you doubt that emotion has anything to do with it?”
He nodded. “I know of jaedunto . Moraven Tolo was a Mystic swordsman. The few times I saw him fight, he was almost emotionless. Since what I did last night required magic, I have to assume I reached a level of jaedun . In Ixyll that made sense: I drew a map because I’m a cartographer. But, last night? True, I had been working as an engineer in Felarati, but I have no significant formal training.”
Tyressa dumped the bowl of water she’d used to clean his hands. “Not knowing what you did makes it difficult to repeat.”
“There have to be common elements between the two
Keles frowned, but Tyressa did not let him ask the question forming in his mind. Instead, she took one of his broken and bruised hands and again began to wash away encrusted blood. “Keles, you have to understand the impossibility of any love between us. I am bound in service to the crown of Nalenyr. You are bound in service to your family, and they are likewise bound to the crown. In fact, your only chance at escaping the gilded cage that entraps your grandfather is for you to marry my niece. You could become the Prince Consort of Helosunde and have greater bargaining power over your position.”
Keles sighed. “The problem being that your niece already has a husband. While I’m sure Prince Pyrust will be thankful that I’ve built this fortress back up, the troops coming after me have razed his capital. I think that might anger him.”
Tyressa smiled. “There cannot be enough discomforts in Prince Pyrust’s life.” She dried Keles’ hands and applied unguents to the abrasions. He’d broken them in frustration at his inability to save those who had followed him from Felarati when the Eyeless Ones came searching for him. He’d had an odd dream prior to the invaders’ arrival, which suggested they’d been sent by Qiro Anturasi, his grandfather. Yet that was impossible, because creatures like the Eyeless Ones and their allies simply did not exist anywhere in the world. But even as he tried to take comfort in that, reality melded with the dream and made him think they had come from his grandfather.
And only my sister knew I was in Felarati. I dreamed of walking with her in a strange land. Was it a dream, or . . .
He hissed as Tyressa began cocooning his hands in silken bandages. “My hands are throbbing.”
“They will for a while, but should heal well.” She gently knotted a bandage off at his wrist. “Keep them clean and dry, if you can.”
“I’ll try.” Keles sighed. “What are we going to do?”
“About what?”
“This place. These people.” At the height of a storm, as the short, savage Eyeless Ones had closed on the ruined fortress, Keles had not only rebuilt the fortress, but had transformed the refugees. The eldest shed years, and children pulled them on. Armor and weapons had materialized, and the garrison could have fended off another assault. But they had no supplies. They could easily be starved out of the fortress.
“You should have filled the storerooms with rice and wine while you were rebuilding.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You jest.”
“I do, but I was also hopeful.” She tied off the other bandage. “Could you not do that now?”
Keles shrugged. “I could if I knew what I had done. Rekarafi says this was the second time I did something like that. The first time I moved the cavern in Ixyll, but I have no real memory of that. Last night I felt urgency and frustration, and yet . . . ”
“And yet, because it was not the same in Ixyll, you doubt that emotion has anything to do with it?”
He nodded. “I know of jaedunto . Moraven Tolo was a Mystic swordsman. The few times I saw him fight, he was almost emotionless. Since what I did last night required magic, I have to assume I reached a level of jaedun . In Ixyll that made sense: I drew a map because I’m a cartographer. But, last night? True, I had been working as an engineer in Felarati, but I have no significant formal training.”
Tyressa dumped the bowl of water she’d used to clean his hands. “Not knowing what you did makes it difficult to repeat.”
“There have to be common elements between the two
Similar Books
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Louise Erdrich
The Void War (Empire Rising Book 1)
D. J. Holmes
A Sprite's Tale (novella)
Lexxie Couper
2 Unhitched
E.L. Sarnoff
A Theft: My Con Man
Hanif Kureishi
August in Paris
Marion Winik
Project
Gary Paulsen
062 Easy Marks
Carolyn Keene
Four Fish
Paul Greenberg
Bound to Surrender (South Jersey Bound Series)
Tess Lamont