Chapter 27

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Loren stooped down, smelling the new flowers so recently planted, trying not to think too much of what was taking place in the guest wing. She didn’t want to think about Dynan, proposing marriage to Danetha Targon, but only because she knew how difficult it would be for him. No matter what face he chose to wear for everyone else, she knew that inside it was tearing him apart. Fear of discovery with the fear that he would lose his Kingdom, dogged her footsteps. Even the growing beauty around her couldn’t make her forget. From this, there was no escape. She was very tired of always being afraid.

Near her, her guard, Eyron suddenly snapped to attention, and when she looked, saw the King of Rynald approaching. Loren turned her back to him. She didn’t want to talk to Creal, holding him equally responsible for Dynan’s predicament. He’d done nothing to stop Alexia, when he should have.

“My Lady.” Creal nodded as he joined her. “If solace can be found, then this would be the place to come.”

“I take solace wherever I can find it.” She leaned down to pick an offensive weed from among the flowers, yanking it sharply.

“I’m sorry that there’s a need for it,” he said.

“I have a difficult time believing that you’re sorry for anything.” She straightened and turned to face him. “You would have done something to prevent it from occurring in the first place if your regret were genuine.”

“You hold me responsible?” he asked, mildly surprised by the accusation. “How, when it’s been the actions of your Prince that precipitated this situation? They are his mistakes, his rashness, and finally his cowardice that brought him to this end. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Cowardice! How dare you say that Dynan is a coward. How dare you even imply it. You are the coward. When you could have helped him, you were too afraid to do anything, too afraid to challenge Alexia yourself, and now you dare to hide from your lack of action by accusing Dynan of cowardice. You had just as much to do with this as Alexia.”

“I helped him as much as I could, on Trea during our negotiations, and again when he meant to leave the Palace alone to come after you. Yes, I know all about it. I helped stop him from making what surely would have been a fatal mistake by urging Alexia to accept the change in plans. When he left anyway, I again convinced her to continue her support.”

“I suppose you convinced her to attack the Murians too.”

“I didn’t need to. I already knew that she would.”

“But only if he agreed to marry Danetha, and you knew that too. You didn’t do anything to keep that from happening.”

“Loren, by then, it was too late. Dynan never should have agreed to deal with the Murians in the space of a week. Failing to keep that promise allowed Alexia to arrive in just the position she needed. His mistake, not mine.”

“You act as though he had a choice. She never would have agreed to help him at all if he hadn’t made that promise. Again, you did nothing to keep the situation from occurring. What’s worse is you nearly convinced Dynan that you would, by acting as his friend.”

“I never did any such thing. I’ve never professed to be a great friend of Dynan Telaerin, Loren, never. I’d hoped he would find the courage to defeat Alexia’s schemes, and he didn’t. Again, his failing, and not mine.”

“You say Dynan lacks courage because he didn’t stand up to Alexia. Well, what of you, a King? When have you challenged her? Ever? No, you caved in to her just as the others have. At least Dynan had courage enough to try. You never did.”

She turned from him and saw Eyron’s shocked expression as she moved away. He started after her, but she stopped short, gasping when she saw Maralt appear directly in front of her. Eyron yanked her back behind him, and drew his sword.

“No, Eyron,” she said and stopped him from attacking. “Don’t touch him. No! You can’t do anything to hurt him.”

“You should listen to her, Lieutenant,” Maralt said, smiling mildly at them. “Really Loren, I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“What do you want?” she demanded as Creal moved to her side.

“Your Majesty.” Maralt nodded to him. “I don’t want anything, except to see you again. I so miss your company.”

“You miss controlling events and lives,” she said. “You’re nothing but an apparition, lifeless and wandering, still searching for victims you lack the power to gain. You’re dead, Maralt. Why don’t you start acting that way.”

She moved by him without hesitating, even though her heart was pounding so loudly she couldn’t hear. Maralt didn’t make any overt move toward her, but it seemed to her that he reached for her, and it took all her will not to run from him. Eyron was beside her then and took her by the arm. Creal followed more slowly, and when she next looked, Maralt was gone.

She sat on the nearest bench, hating that she had to, wishing she could disguise how terrified she was. Her body shook, and she held herself to still it.

“Are you all right?” Creal asked. He kept looking back to the space Maralt had occupied. “Loren?”

“Just leave me alone.”

“That, I will not do.” He turned to her guard. “Shouldn’t you inform someone of this?”

“Yes, but we should leave the arbor together. Where are your guards, Your Majesty?”

“I left them at the door. Now, go inform your superiors. I’ll stay with Lady Loren.”

She stood, shaking her head. It didn’t feel like she could make her legs work, but she wasn’t going to stay with Creal. “We’ll all go, Eyron, and there’s little point in creating a stir over this. The danger has come and gone. I’m sure that those who can do something about Maralt are well aware of this appearance.”

The arbor door crashed open. Loren knew it was Dynan, and when he called for her, his voice so filled with panic, she knew Maralt had sent him to her. She knew why too, and couldn’t do anything to stop him.

“Your Highness, we’re here,” Eyron called out, and moved down the walkway. “We’re all right.”

Eyron’s assurances came too late for Dynan to hide how afraid he was. He and Dain, followed by their guards, raced around the far bend of the walk. Dynan stopped abruptly when he saw Creal, but he couldn’t disguise his fear or sudden relief, along with the acute awareness that Creal could see the array of emotions that shouldn’t have been there.

Creal Nyant, who had witnessed the agreement with Alexia, now had the power to crush the slim lifeline of hope they clung to, just by telling her what he’d seen. Alexia would certainly expect him to, and Loren didn’t doubt that he would.

“I guess we’ll see what kind of courage you have,” Loren barely managed to whisper when Creal looked at her, a nearly stunned look on his face as he took it all in. “Won’t we?”

She turned from him, turned from them all, but especially from Dynan and the growing desperation in his eyes. She couldn’t bear to face the death of hope she saw reflected there. She shook her head at Eyron, who almost reached for her. He looked back at Dynan and Dain in uncertainty before he followed her.

Creal Nyant was never more amazed by a single revelation before. Dynan had not given up, and neither had Loren. Contrary to what they wanted everyone to believe, they both carried alive the hope that Alexia could be stopped. That Dynan had to have some sort of plan, a very complex one, surprised Creal tremendously. Until just that moment, there hadn’t been any hint of deception, none that he had noticed. This moment, Creal thought, precipitated by the appearance of Maralt Adaeryn. That led him to think that Maralt was aware of Dynan’s plans, and sought to destroy them.

Creal frowned at that. He was being used, and he didn’t like the idea any more than he liked being used by Alexia. That was something he’d allowed to go on for far too long. An alliance, he thought, whose time had come for a parting of ways.

He looked at Dynan. That he didn’t know what to do was evident. It wasn’t a pleasant thing, to witness a man’s destruction of will, and Dynan had endured more than his fair share of that. He was so convinced that he looked on an enemy. Creal knew there had been, especially with the Murian attack, far too many actions and inaction’s on his part that made the Prince so sure of it. Creal couldn’t blame him for that.

He could do something to allay his obvious fear. Dynan fully expected him to go to Alexia and carry out the terms of the agreement as a witness, as it was plain that he didn’t mean to honor it. That’s all it would take, just Creal’s word that he suspected the Prince’s intentions, and Alexia would begin an investigation. Such scrutiny would allow her to expose everything he’d done, and keep him off the Throne. By Council law, Creal was duty bound to do just that.

For a moment, fear threatened to keep Creal from acting. He remembered well the last time he’d felt that way, both in the presence of Dynan Telaerin. Instead of Kamien, it was now Alexia, and the feeling was the same. Kamien’s Star Destroyer had been an effective deterrent to offering Dynan aid when he most needed it. Alexia’s weapon was no less potent; a threat of economic ruin for Rynald. If she discovered his lack of compliance, she could make her displeasure immediately felt and his system would suffer because of it.

Creal watched Dynan struggling to bury all that fear and watched him succeed to a measure. Creal found himself surprised again. He kept one of his guards, dismissing the others, which only meant they spread out, moving from earshot, but never from sight. Dain stayed near as well, but didn’t approach, sending his own guard down the path after Loren.

Dynan’s first question surprised Creal, when he fully expected to be asked to forget what he’d seen, which would be asking him to break Council law. That Dynan didn’t do so changed Creal’s estimation of his character.

“What did he say to you?”

“Maralt? All he said to me was, Your Majesty, complete with that mocking, overly superior expression I remember him wearing throughout Kamien’s coronation. Didn’t like him then, and I like him less now. If you see him again tell him that I said I won’t be so easily or blatantly used.”

Creal glanced at him sidelong, watching how long it took for his meaning to be understood. Dynan wanted to doubt his first conclusion. Creal looked back down the walk in Loren’s direction, almost laughed at the Prince’s stunned expression and spared him from having to wait to tell Loren by turning to leave.

Dynan stopped him. “Don’t tell him that, Creal,” he said. “If you see him, he could just as easily kill you.”

“Then next time we meet, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

Marc’s escort whispered that Creal was approaching and reported the King’s movement’s, down to the twitch of his eyes, in a quiet dialogue that stopped before it would be noticed or heard. An astute man was Garth Shoup, though it was difficult to judge what Creal meant to do with what he’d just witnessed by a second party description of his expression. From Dain, Marc already knew what was said, along with the assurance that Maralt was gone again. From Dynan, he felt astonishment, fear, mistrust and relief; the latter being the strongest emotion by far. For him, it was the Throne Room all over again. Maralt intended he feel that way. Maralt meant for Creal to witness the aftermath. He knew Dynan’s plans, having taken that knowledge from Dain. Marc had to wonder if Alexia knew them too, but didn’t want to believe it, and especially didn’t want to have to say it to Dynan.

“My Lord Chancellor,” Creal said, stopping abreast of him.

“Your Majesty. I trust that you weren’t injured by our latest visitation.”

“Not at all.”

“Would you tell me what he said?” he asked, even though Dain had already told him.

“He said very little. Lady Loren did most of the talking.” He went on to describe the encounter, including what Loren had said, which Creal hadn’t reported to Dynan. Marc wasn’t surprised by Loren’s actions, but he could tell that Creal was impressed. “Quite a remarkable woman. Tell me though, how is it that the three of you knew that Maralt was with us?”

“All of us didn’t,” Marc said, wondering how much he should explain and why Creal wanted that particular bit of information. “I know when he appears. This time he told Dynan his intentions though, before going to you.”

“It didn’t seem he had any intention, except to frighten.”

Marc hesitated. “Maralt told Dynan he meant to take Lady Loren, which is another way of saying he meant to kill her. It’s difficult for any of us to ignore such a threat, which is why Dynan and Dain arrived the way they did.”

“Where was Dynan when this happened?”

“He was with the Queen.”

Creal hummed at that. “I suspect she’s wondering what happened. I should go assure her that we’re all safe. Your presence, I think, would go farther than mine in calming the Queen’s apprehension. She has expressed to me a certain uneasiness that you may better be able to assuage than I. Would you accompany me?”

Marc wasn’t sure what Creal was up to with this request, but he agreed. Garth turned with him, taking him back the way they’d just come.

“Drake tells us that you’re the only who, as he puts it, can save us from Maralt,” Creal said as they walked. “Is that true?”

Marc smiled a little. “I’m doing what I can, Your Majesty. It’s true to a degree. I expect I’ll have help.”

“From Dynan and Dain?”

“They do have a personal interest in seeing Maralt – all of him – destroyed.”

“You seem less worried about this than I expected,” Creal said, and they turned to climb the stairs.

“If I could convince you to leave, I would. I’m plenty worried, I.”

“I’ve heard rumor, here and there, of what he tried to do before we arrived, and the methods he employed. Is there a chance the same sort of situation could occur again?”

Marc was about to tell him he thought it could be worse, then thought better of it. “There are always possibilities, but between the three of us, I think we can keep that from happening.”

“And that answer is sufficiently vague enough to make me think you doubt your ability to succeed. Dynan said much the same thing. Always circumspect. Do any of you really understand what this is about, or are you guessing?”

“We’re learning more about it, every few minutes it seems.”

“But you’re not telling.”

He’d said it as a statement of fact, and Marc didn’t think contradicting the King would work. He also wasn’t going to allow himself to get drawn into telling Creal Nyant everything that was happening. He shook his head in the form of a denial, but he didn’t say anything.

“Very well, but one day, perhaps when it’s safer, I would like to hear it. We’re here,” he said and took his arm, leaving Marc’s escort at the door of Alexia’s rooms.

They were conducted to the Queen’s parlor, where Alexia sat with her daughter and ladies of her Court. This time, Marc couldn’t avoid Alvuen. She wore a certain perfume that he was able to identify as hers. There were other sounds of cloth rustling from movement. He was turned to face a certain way and Alexia spoke.

“My Lord, I trust you’ve graced us with your presence to offer some sort of explanation for Dynan’s behavior,” she said without bothering with any niceties.

“Actually, Alexia,” Creal said, “I asked him to walk with me after my encounter with Maralt Adaeryn. Dynan left you in such a rush because of that.” Creal went on to explain what had happened. He hardly mentioned Loren at all, except to say that she had been walking in the arbor at the same time. Creal made the entire encounter sound as though he was the target and not Dynan or Loren.

Alexia questioned Marc about what he intended to do to ensure their safety, most of which he didn’t have an answer for. The truth, that there wasn’t much he could do to keep Maralt away from them, couldn’t exactly be said quite so directly. He did his best to explain what was happening, being as vague as he could with the details.

“There is one thing that would go far to convince me that any of this is real,” she said, surprising him. “I’d like to see how you are holding this thing you have.”

The request startled him, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to tell her. He knew beyond any doubt that he shouldn’t do it. “I can’t.”

“Why not? I’ve heard that you can enter the mind of anyone, telepath or not, sometimes without their knowledge. Isn’t this true?”

“Not exactly. I don’t make it a habit to enter non-telepathic minds, unless there’s an urgent reason to do so. By that, I mean a life threatening situation.”

“Is there some danger?”

“No, not from me.”

“Then from Maralt? Could he suddenly escape you?”

“Under just the wrong circumstances I suppose that could happen. I’d rather not risk it, if you don’t mind.”

“Quite frankly, I do mind. I’ve heard a great deal about all of this, but haven’t seen anything that I could call proof. I have seen a lot of erratic behavior and far too many Palace alerts, but nothing else.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I won’t. Something tells me it wouldn’t be wise, and I’ve found that if I ignore those feelings, very bad things happen.”

Creal shook his head. “Alexia, what I saw just now is proof enough. I doubted it myself, but no longer. Maralt was there, appearing and vanishing before my eyes.”

Silence blanketed the room. Without being able to see, Marc couldn’t tell if Alexia accepted that, or if she was too angry to speak. A shiver climbed up his spine. A gown rustled close at hand. Behind him glasses clinked together. He realized Alexia must have gestured to Alvuen to serve them, which meant she wanted him to stay. He couldn’t do that either.

“Please sit down,” Alexia said, and while he hesitated, Creal took him by the arm.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay. I need to get back to my office, check in and then get ready for the ball.”

Another silence followed. He didn’t know what else to do. He expected an angry tirade in response, but to his surprise, Alexia dismissed him. “I expect to be kept informed,” she said, and he nodded. “More frequently than has been the case. If Maralt Adaeryn is a threat to us all, then as a member of High Council, I demand it. You may deliver that message to Prince Dynan, my Lord. You may go.”

Marc nodded, hating the need to rely on someone else to lead him from the room, and he doubted it would be Creal. Alvuen traded places with the King.

She waited for a moment though and he remembered to bow like he was supposed to, hating that too. He didn’t bother with Creal, and Alvuen pulled on him, not unlike a guard would when removing an unwanted guest. She didn’t speak to him. He didn’t exactly mind that, but it made it more difficult for him to navigate. She left him with Garth, and closed the door.

Marc wished Creal had come with him, fearing that he was now telling the Queen the real story of what he’d seen. He had Garth take him over to the stair rail, knowing they wouldn’t be able to stay very long, and explained that the guard should report if the King came out. Creal appeared before Marc could even finish, allaying most of his fears. The King hadn’t remained long enough to say much more than goodbye.

“We can go now, thank you,” Marc said, turning from the window he couldn’t see out of. “Is he heading for his rooms?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Good. I’ll go to mine, I think, change and then head to the office before I have to be back upstairs for dinner.”

“Yes, my Lord.”