Chapter Three

Demands

“Nalithor, do you have anything to add about the X’shmiran princess?” Lucifer questioned, narrowing his eyes at me. “Eyrian, Xander, and Azhar all reported that her desire for bloodshed isn’t like anything they’ve seen from a Human before. You had the opportunity to work with her for longer, so what are your observations?”

“‘X’shmiran’ princess, huh?” I leaned back in my seat and glanced at the ceiling for a moment. “I know neither of you believe that. Even for a second.”

Eyrian tensed, but Lucifer just continued to look at me with an expectant expression. I wanted nothing more than to leave our morning meeting and go find the princess in question, but I knew better than to shirk my duties. Sighing, I shifted in my seat to lean on one arm rest. Without a word, I summoned a barrier around the throne room and then settled my gaze on Lucifer, waiting.

“Leave us,” Lucifer spoke, turning to look at the members of the Imperial Guard who waited by the door. “Eyrian will inform you when you may return.”

“Nalithor?” Eyrian glanced at me, tilting his head slightly.

“Both of you can dispense with the ‘X’shmiran’ drivel.” I shot them both a look.

“You’re the one claiming she was a fake.” Eyrian snorted, crossing his arms at me.

“And yet she can speak to both Onyre and Aleri,” I reminded him. “And the Elders didn’t recognize her—not as her, not as a fake.”

“The Elders…” Lucifer muttered. “What do you mean the Elders didn’t recognize her? I know you aren’t so foolish as to bring her to them yourself.”

“They stopped us on our way to Ceilail, thinking that’d I’d decided on a Chosen without informing them.” I raised a hand to calm the fuming emperor. “They offered to find Djialkan a new ward… Needless to say, he didn’t take to it kindly. He told Arianna, who told me, that Djialkan didn’t ‘recognize these gods’. I’m to understand that he’s consulted Onyre and Aleri on the matter.

“To address your original question, Arianna is whirlwind of death. She lives and breathes for battle. Even when she was injured, or otherwise weakened, I had a difficult time convincing her to give herself time to rest and heal. Her bloodlust is something else entirely.”

“Weakened?” Eyrian frowned at me. “Even when we were children we rarely saw the princess ever truly weakened.”

I sighed, slumping back in my chair. Even if I didn’t want to do it, I had to let them know what happened with Ceilail—and the part Arianna had played in freeing the Lari’xan. It was unlike anything any of us had ever seen from her when she was a child in Dauthrmir.

That sort of power and blind instincts were something I would have expected out of…myself. I should have been able to sense that something that dangerous was out of balance, yet I’d been oblivious.

The next hour, to my displeasure, was spent giving them a detailed account of the past two weeks.

“Have the Oracles assign Arianna as my partner,” I spoke up after giving them time to process the information I’d given them about Ceilail. “No one else is—”

“You know damn well she should be my partner.” Eyrian growled, clenching his fists. “Had she not been taken by those bastards—”

“Eyrian would be in charge of Arianna’s personal army, while you would be in charge of the Imperial Guard, Nalithor.” Lucifer finished as Eyrian trailed off into a slew of curses. “Enough, both of you. I won’t have you brawling over my daughter in the throne room. You have both been like sons to me. I won’t have you tearing each other apart.

“Nalithor, you know as well as I do that the Oracles won’t just let you claim Arianna as your partner. They’re far too cross with you, and you’ve resisted a partner for decades. Nor are her results in. Be patient.

“Eyrian, you know that times have changed. Nalithor is bound by his status as a god—he can’t enter my service as a member of the Imperial Guard. That the Elders permitted him to remain a general is already a minor miracle. We shouldn’t push them further, especially knowing their…‘distaste’ for Arianna. Nalithor, at least, has a chance to protect her if the Elders move against her—the same cannot be said for you, Eyrian.”

“Oracles be damned,” I muttered, shaking my head. “There aren’t many Devillians who would be able to work with her, Lucifer. Eyrian stands a chance, perhaps, but I can’t think of anyone else who might be able to stand their ground against Arianna’s wrath.”

“What of other Adinvyr?” Eyrian shot me an odd look. “I know you said that she’s resistant to your power, but…”

“My concern is that other people won’t be able to resist her power.” I shook my head. “You felt her combined rage and excitement when we first went to Abrantia, yes? What she emitted upon sensing the beasts and slavers in Ceilail was many times that. Even I was almost swept away by her bloodlust—had I been, the slavers might have been able to slip away.

“She cleared the beasts out by herself in half an hour, perhaps less.”

“Her powers haven’t waned after all this time?” Lucifer murmured, stroking his chin. “I will speak with the Oracles and make sure they’re not planning to partner Arianna with someone weak. It wouldn’t do for her to enthrall anyone—even if temporary—and especially if the Oracles attempt to partner her with a Beshulthien.

“What of Darius? He is in several of yours classes, is he not?”

“Something strikes me as strange about the boy, but I can’t determine what,” I answered after a moment of thought. “He’s selfish, certainly, but I feel like we’re missing something. I struggle to believe that his experiences in X’shmir are solely responsible for his behavior or his fears.”

“It’s odd that his tests came back as worse,” Eyrian added, nodding his agreement. “Xander didn’t know what to make of it. He said that Darius felt powerful when they tested the boy’s power again, but the results the equipment gave them was far removed from how the boy made the Archmagi present feel.”

“If you are both comfortable with Arianna’s intentions, and ability to protect herself, I think it’s time we have our spies shift to look after Darius.” Lucifer shifted in his seat, looking between Eyrian and I. “We are agreed that we should keep their identities quiet for now?”

“Of course,” Eyrian replied, nodding. “We still need to wait before Nalithor can make good on his promise to conquer X’shmir. Considering the Elders’ strange behavior, and past actions, it’s best we keep this information to ourselves for now.

“Are we certain we shouldn’t assign Her Highness a protective detail? At the very least—”

“She’d probably slay them herself if we tried.” I laughed, shaking my head. “I want to keep her safe as well, Eyrian, but she’s even more headstrong than we remember. Arianna has acted as a solitary huntress for too long. It will take some work before we can convince her to accept a partner, I feel, let alone help her relax enough to make friends.”

“Make friends?” Eyrian arched an eyebrow at me. “You sure you aren’t plotting to keep her away from everyone? Again?”

“Give me some credit.” I shot him a glare. “She needs people in her life. You’ve seen her at dinner twice now—she doesn’t know what to do with herself when she’s in pleasant company.”

“She’s been alone for too long.” Lucifer sighed, his expression one of sadness. “I expect the two of you to keep an eye on her. We may not be able to move against X’shmir yet, but at the very least we can make sure there aren’t too many prying eyes around Arianna. I’ll make sure Xander understands he isn’t to say anything to the Beshulthiens about Arianna’s identity.”

After I finished regaling Lucifer and Eyrian both with the details of my extended stay in Abrantia, I made my way through the palace with the Draekin alongside. I could already sense Arianna’s presence moving around in the Sapphire Quarter, along with her growing irritation, but it didn’t look like Eyrian was done with me yet.

“What changed your mind?” Eyrian nudged me. “You seemed unmovable, yet now you’re just…accepting it?”

“Wouldn’t it be more foolish for me to accept it without question?” I countered, coming to a stop. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. Suffice to say… I can’t bring myself to try fooling myself any longer. If we’re somehow wrong…”

“Tch, it’d be kinda impressive if we’re wrong.” Eyrian ran a hand back through his hair. “That bloodlust is unmistakable, but I never thought I’d see the day where she turned it against her brother.”

“I can agree with you there,” I murmured, crossing my arms. “You’re going to go give the spies their new orders?”

“Aye. Lucifer is right—we need to keep an eye on him.” Eyrian nodded, grimacing. “He just…doesn’t make sense. There haven’t been any further assassination attempts, but I get the feeling it has more to do with Arianna’s absence than anything. Those blubbering fools still haven’t talked aside from ranting about how ‘the Evil Mage must die’.”

“Wonderful.” I snorted. “Keep me informed.”

“You’re going to go hunt the princess?” Eyrian narrowed his eyes at me, tensing.

“Learning more about the beasts should serve as a good excuse to keep an eye on her, no?” I smirked when he growled at me. “Times have changed, Eyrian. You are bound by duty to serve and guard Lucifer directly, unless he finds some other task for you. I’m better suited to keep an eye on her.”

“Is that what your ‘date’ was? An excuse to ‘keep an eye on her’?” Eyrian demanded, baring his fangs. “I haven’t seen you put that much effort into your appearance in ages—and by the gods her dress. If you’re leading her along, I swear to the gods I will—”

“Do you really think I would do that to her?” I snapped, grabbing Eyrian by the front of his robes. “Even if we disregard all that she did for me in Ceilail, do you truly think that I—”

Eyrian’s fist connected with my jaw, causing me to stagger back into the wall. The seething Draekin didn’t make another move to hit me, but his tail thrashed behind him. Electricity crackled around his arms as he struggled to calm himself. After a few deep breaths, Eyrian’s magic subsided and he released a sigh.

“Promise me that you won’t try to shelter or isolate her like you did when we were kids,” Eyrian spoke in a defeated tone. “I know we were just kids back then, Nalithor, but you always made it difficult for anyone else to come near her. Our families scarcely remember that I was affected by her…‘death’…too.”

“I know, Eyrian, I know.” I sighed, grabbing my friend by the shoulders. “I’m not the foolish child I once was. You, of all people, should know that. My reluctance to believe in her identity was…a means to protect myself. Surely you can understand how her existence is…frightening, at times.

“She seems to know nothing of our past. We must all get to know her again but… Even before I accepted who she is…”

“You’re a dolt.” Eyrian smacked me lightly upside the head, shooting me a look. “What would Erist and Arom say if someone happened to let them know you’ve been such an idiot about a woman, hmmm? I can just hear them now, they—”

“Don’t you dare!” I shook him by his shoulders. “I’ll skin you if you say a word to either of them!”

“We both have work to do, right?” Eyrian laughed, brushing me off. “You should go find and question the girl before she gets any angrier. Contact me if you think of any additional orders for our spies.

“As you said, times have changed. It’s going to take both of us to keep her safe.”

The Draekin turned and dispersed into the wind and out of view, leaving me alone in the palace hallway. I stared after him for a moment then sighed, slumping back against a windowsill. Eyrian hadn’t hit me that hard in a while, but I deserved it.

When wallowing in self-pity it was easy to forget that Eyrian had been close to Arianna too, and that he had also witnessed her ‘death’. That I had attempted to keep most people our age away from Arianna back then only worsened my guilt. ‘Why did I always feel like keeping others away from her was the only way to protect her? Was I truly that foolish or…have I forgotten something?’

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