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It was June now, and every day brought a royal messenger asking when Edwin and his party would be vacating the Pradivani Palace. Pallavi and Lady Rada were optimistic that a personal appeal to the Sahasran king might work, but Caedmon wasn’t so sure. And Edwin was starting to think that there was no point staying in a place where they weren’t wanted.
Then on Thursday, Vittoria and her fellow agent, Callista, arrived in town with a formal offer from the Immani Emperor, Tullius Ursicanus, and his wife, Empress Vita. Edwin and Elwyn were invited to come stay in the Empire. They could have a villa all to themselves and a generous stipend for servants and living expenses.
Callista also had a letter from Edwin’s mother, Queen Rohesia. She told him about the house in Terminium she was living in with his younger sister, Alice, and his little cousin, Helena Swithin. It sounded very nice, and she mentioned that there were a number of spare bedrooms still available.
In the past five years, Edwin had seen his mother and Alice only once, during his ill-fated northern mission. That was more than two years ago now, and he’d only been with them for a few minutes before he and Caedmon had been forced to run for their lives. Alice would be 13 now—practically a lady. She was older now than he had been when Leornian had fallen and Uncle Lawrence had taken him and Elwyn into exile. He had no idea what Alice was like; she might be a completely different person.
Suddenly he wanted to see her and his mother more than he’d ever wanted anything. His throat tightened, and he blinked away tears.
“Awfully dusty in here,” observed Vittoria politely.
“Must be from our riding cloaks,” agreed Callista, handing Edwin a handkerchief. “My apologies, your majesty.”
“I think maybe I will go with you to the Empire,” said Edwin. “But I’d like to talk to Caedmon and Elwyn first.”
“Oh, naturally,” said Vittoria. “Take all the time you need.”
He found Caedmon in the garden, on a bench under one of the jacarandas, discussing spell theory with Pallavi and Lady Rada. When Edwin explained the Immani proposal, Caedmon nodded.
“I confess I was expecting something along these lines. My...friends in the Empire had indicated there might be a place for you there, but I did not wish to mention it until a formal offer came from the emperor himself.”
Pallavi smiled. “Oh, of course Faustinus and Moira were the ones who arranged this!” She turned to Edwin. “Give them my best if you see them, will you?”
Rada looked grim. “I was rather hoping we wouldn’t have to go to the Empire. But if we must, we must.” She took off her magysk ring and held it out to Pallavi. “I’m afraid I’ll have to resign from the Vizierate now. My place is with Edwin and Elwyn.”
Pallavi waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, keep it, dear. I can make more anytime I like. Besides, who knows what dangers you might face on the road? It will make me sleep better to know you’ve got one of my rings with you to protect everyone.”
“And Caedmon will be with us, too,” said Edwin.
“Only as far as Cruedrua,” said Caedmon. “I will need to return to Diernemynster and consult with the Freagast.” Diernemynster was the mountain retreat where hillichmagnars went to get away from the world—a bit like a convent or a monastery. The Freagast was like their abbot.
“So it’s settled, then,” said Pallavi. “Oh, I will miss you all so much.” She stood and gave Edwin a crushing hug.
“Well, actually, I’d better talk to Elwyn first,” he said, patting her on the back until she released him.
Upstairs, he found his older sister’s door ajar, though partially blocked by several empty bottles of wine. Two and a half weeks after hearing of Hildred’s death, Elwyn was still dealing poorly with the news. Frankly, Edwin was sick of it. He pushed the door open, knocking over a few of the bottles.
“Elwyn?” he called out. There was no response.
He slipped through the door into the darkened room and wrinkled his nose as the smell hit him—a mixture of wine and sweat and lavender oil and sex and a privy.
His eyes adjusted to the light, and he spotted Elwyn. She was stark naked and sprawled on her bed between two much larger forms—the Sahasran guards from the gate, Edwin guessed. Averting his eyes, he went and picked up a blanket and tossed it over her.
“I shouldn’t have to put up with this,” he thought angrily. “I shouldn’t know what my sister looks like naked. I shouldn’t know what she smells like after a drunken orgy.”
Elwyn stirred as the blanket brushed her face. She blinked a few times, winced, and then her eyes found Edwin at the foot of her bed. “Oh. It’s you.” She sounded annoyed to see him. “Did you need something?”
“Can I have a word with you?” He glanced at the two men. “Alone, perhaps?”
She got up and wrapped herself in the blanket. Neither of the men moved; they were passed out cold. They probably didn’t have her tolerance for alcohol.
“Fine. Let’s go next door.”
There was a little parlor that connected Elwyn’s room to Rada’s, and that was where Edwin told her about the emperor’s offer. She sat on a little blue couch, clutching the blanket closed in a belated gesture of modesty, while he stood on the carpet, facing her.
“I think it’s a good opportunity,” he told her. “But if we go, I would like it to be a new start for us. I don’t want us to keep making the same mistakes over and over.”
“‘Us’?” she snarled. “You mean me, don’t you?”
“I was trying to be polite, but yes.”
Her face fell. In a softer tone, she said, “Maybe you should go without me, Edwin. Everything I do turns to shit.”
“Don’t be absurd. You’re coming with the rest of us.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Her voice was hard again. “I’m too valuable a prize to leave behind, aren’t I?”
Edwin rubbed his forehead. “Elwyn, go get dressed, will you? We’ve got to start packing for the journey.”
She went back to her room, and he paced the hallway for a little while, trying to calm down. He was 16, for Earstien’s sake, and in a saner world he would still be at Atherton playing football and flirting with girls. But he was the head of the royal family now, and Elwyn could at least try not to make his life more difficult.
Vittoria came upstairs after a few minutes. “So does the princess agree to our plan?” she asked brightly.
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure I care,” grumbled Edwin. “We’re going whether she likes it or not.”
A long, low moan drifted out of Elwyn’s bedroom. Edwin felt the blush creep up his cheeks. He went to knock on her door, but before he could get there, Vittoria intercepted him, looping her arm through his and practically dragging him down the hall and into the upper drawing room.
“Your majesty, if I might give you some advice,” said Vittoria, “you should try to be a little more indulgent of your sister’s whims.”
“You’d know all about that, I suppose,” said Edwin bitterly. “I bet you’ve indulged her whims plenty of times.”
Vittoria tilted her head to one side, frowning. “Your majesty, perhaps you’ve been misinformed, but your sister and I have never slept together.”
“Really? I mean...seriously? What about during that ride from Hagansburg to Jilsby? I assumed....”
“You assumed incorrectly. Your sister and I talked about her love life, though. Do you know what she told me?”
Edwin was feeling a bit sheepish now. “Um...what?”
“She hadn’t been with anyone for two years—since Lady Hildred, in fact. She said she was trying to turn over a new leaf. She said she was hoping you would be proud of her.” Vittoria arched an eyebrow. “Apparently she’s gotten over that now.”
“I didn’t know,” said Edwin.
“You were busy fighting a war, your majesty. The fault isn’t entirely yours.”
“What do you think I should do with her?”
Vittoria looked pensive. “Your majesty, I don’t really know what it’s like to have a family. I was born in a brothel, and my mother died when I was 6.”
“That’s awful! You never talk about yourself.”
“Yes, and for good reason. In any case, I’m not the person to ask about family issues. But it seems to me that you have an older sister who loves you and would die to protect you. I should think that was worth putting up with a great deal of embarrassing behavior from her.” Vittoria bowed. “But that’s just my opinion.”
“You’re right.” Edwin slumped into a chair. “I should go apologize to her.”
“I would wait a little while,” said Vittoria. “She seems to be enjoying herself at the moment.”
Edwin tried apologizing the next morning, when everyone was packed and they were about to start on their journey. But Elwyn wouldn’t talk to him. That evening, when they made camp, he followed her down to the river to have a private word.
“I’m very sorry,” he said.
She bit her lip and clenched her fists, apparently weighing whether she would respond or not. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry, too.”
“I just want you to be happy,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” she sighed. “Sometimes I think I might have been happy if Alfred Estnor had lived, or if I had been able to run off with Lily Serrana. But other times, I’m pretty sure I would simply have made them miserable. I’m not a very good person, when it comes right down to it.”
Edwin tried to think of a reply that would be truthful but also wouldn’t start another fight. “Vittoria told me you tried to turn over a new leaf in Myrcia. I’m proud of you for trying.”
Her shoulders sagged. “And yet, I failed in the end.” She turned and took his hand. “Don’t worry, though. You’ve still got another sister. I’m sure Alice will be much easier to get along with than I am. She couldn’t be more difficult.”
“Surely not,” he said with a smile. “But I bet she isn’t half as interesting.”