After Kairos had taken a seat at the table, Arell picked up a flask from the buffet and brought it and two chalices to his chair. He pushed one cup toward Kairos.

“Your name? So, I might address you as something more than ‘Wizard’?”

“Kairos, Vasil.”

Arell held the flask up and offered to fill the cup for Kairos. “Tellwater Valley Vineyards,” he announced. “The best wine in your kingdom. A fine commodity and a reason our regions have had such lucrative commerce.”

“Thank you. Vasil.” Kairos’ words came out slowly as he held his cup forward and Arell poured and then filled his own chalice. He took his seat at the table, giving Silas a cordial nod. The chief never drank. Arell lifted a toast to Kairos.

“May our profits continue.”

Their flasks touched, their eyes met, but no friendly greeting transpired. No doubt the wizard mistrusted Arell as much as Arell suspected him. When Arell set his flask down, he cleared his throat, taking a petite sandwich from the platter and offering the tray to Kairos.

“You work for King Tobias?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve been his magician for a long while?” Arell tried to make his questioning sound like small talk, but Kairos’ wary glances proved he was failing.

“Yes.”

“What sort of…projects…if I may be so bold to ask.”

Kairos regarded Arell and Silas’ both. He paused before he spoke, crumbs of his bread falling out of his hand. He brushed them off his lap. “King Tobias requested that I find a spell to kill the skura.”

“Ah yes, the dark lord and his minions. Did you?”

“Yes.”

Arell raised his brow in surprise and then nodded. Interesting. Perhaps the news would be helpful at a later date. He hesitated before asking his next question. Such a sensitive issue. He didn’t want to rush the interrogation, and yet urgency drove him. He had already spoiled his chances with the princess.

“Skura were the beasts that my father and his warriors went to fight alongside your king’s army. Were you there in the valley the day my father died?”

“No, I wasn’t, Vasil.”

Arell took a sip of wine to conceal his disappointment. He had hoped Kairos had been a witness.

“Maybe if I were there, I could have prevented some…things from happening,” Kairos added, glancing up at Arell. He had a sympathetic look about him, and Arell frowned. The sun at that moment leaked into the room, shining on the flasks, and sending a ray of light across the table.

“You mean the death of my father?” Arell asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Skura didn’t kill him.”

“No. They didn’t.”

Arell exchanged an anxious look with Silas. “Do you know what happened, then?”

“Only rumor.”

“Which is?”

Kairos looked up from his food and shook his head. His hands trembled and so he dropped his cake on the plate and put them on his lap.

“I want nothing to do with politics. I’m just a lowly wizard who barely knows a spell or two. I didn’t mean to be here, but her highness had her mind set to come and so I had to follow to protect her. I’m in trouble with the king as it is. I have little to say that you don’t know already. Please. Lend me a boat and let me go home. I’ll deliver any missives you might have for King Tobias, or anyone else. If you’re keeping Erika as ransom, I can tell her father. I can reason with him. Please?”

An unexpected response! In it, the wizard revealed more than he probably meant to. The princess came on her own free will. And because the wizard traveled with her, the king would punish him? That also interested Arell. Why did she decide to come and claim the throne for her father when she didn’t have her father’s permission? Arell thought for a moment, considering Kairos and how he might use the wizard’s fragile character as leverage.

“So, you know what happened.”

“No. Only rumors.”

“What rumors are being spread in your kingdom?”

Kairos bit his lip and looked at Arell. Would he tell the truth or make something up on the spot? Arell waited while the wizard fidgeted with the crumbs on the table, sweeping them into a pile, brushing them into his hand, and then onto his plate. Finally, the man spoke slowly, weighing each word.

“The rumor is that the king of Cho Nisi’s death was an accident.”

Arell breathed in deeply. “I see. I suppose I will have to accept that’s all the information I am offered from anyone. Perhaps someday someone will tender me an apology.” His stomach churned, and his cheeks burned. Why did so many people know what happened, and no one had the courage to come forward and tell him?

This was his father, for bones’ sake!

He looked out the window. Should he press the man further? Would he get the truth, or would this wizard play games, telling half-truths to disguise a conspiracy?

“So, you say that you’re friends enough with King Tobias that you could return and speak on our behalf—even if we imprisoned the king’s daughter? Even if the king will punish you for having come here with her?”

Kairos’ eyes widened as he glanced at both him and Silas. The chief sat rigidly.

“I’m…” he paused, swallowed his food, and wiped his mouth. Sweat dripped from his forehead. The confrontation bothered the wizard greatly, but Arell couldn’t afford to relent.

“I’m …I have a relationship with his daughter. Erika’s sister. Even if King Tobias were angry about Erika, he’d listen to me. I think. Perhaps.”

“I see,” Arell eyed Silas, who nodded. “I hold no hostilities toward you, Kairos, though I wish you’d be more transparent. I’m looking for truth. I don’t want to start a war, but a war is an option if King Tobias does not meet my demands.”

“What are your demands?” Kairos swallowed. “I mean if you don’t mind telling me.”

“I demand to know what events led to my father’s death. All details—who, how, and why.”

Kairos paled and stared into his cup.

“I also would like to know more about this hot-headed young princess who’s now in my charge. Why did she think she could rob my throne from me?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that question myself,” Kairos sipped his wine, licked his lips, and took another sip.

Arell raised a brow. “Why is she so…violent?”

“She has problems. I don’t know. A deprived child. Youngest of four. Mother died having her. Made a…” he stopped himself, striking Arell’s curiosity. “She makes mistakes more often than not.”

“What sort of mistakes?”

Kairos shook his head. “Coming here evidently.” He set his chalice on the table and stared at it, perhaps to avoid looking at Arell.

“Why did she come here? Had her father banished her? Rebuked her somehow? Did she run away?” Considering her temperament, Arell would understand, though he never knew a king to exile his own daughter.

“No. She came on her own cheerfully. She wanted to prove herself?” He threw up his arms. “You must ask her. I cannot speak for the woman. She’s wild! No one can predict what she does or why.”

“What do you think King Tobias will do when he finds out she’s a prisoner?”

“He’s a father. What else would a father do? He’d come with men-at-arms and try to rescue her. She’s always causing trouble, that girl. I’m sorry this happened to you. Just her being here has put your island in jeopardy.”

“Had Cho Nisi been in jeopardy before she came?” Arell asked. The wizard walked right into that. His answer would confirm whether Cho Nisi and the Potamian kingdom were still allies or not.

“Yes, I suppose.”

Arell stood abruptly, knocking the table so that the chalices shook, and wine spilled. He walked to the window—the weight of Silas’ gaze followed him. The room held the air captive as Arell struggled with whether to ask the last question. But he didn’t ask it. He doubted Kairos would give an honest answer.

“You’re dismissed,” he told the wizard. He crossed his arms and kept his gaze on the garden outside. How did this happen? His father had gone off to do a good deed and came back a corpse. War now brews between Cho Nisi, and a kingdom known for great military power. What went wrong?

After the sentries led Kairos away, Silas approached Arell.

“He seemed to suggest that our nations are no longer allies.”

“It sounded that way.” Arell fingered a button on his doublet while still observing the garden. The elders would expect him to declare war. Arell had no desire to do so, nor did he think it wise.

“What are you going to do, Arell?”

The room had grown chilly. Arell rubbed his hands together and spun abruptly toward the chief.

“Why does one turn their back on a friend?”

Chief Silas held his gaze for a long moment.

“These things do not happen in Cho Nisi. You know that. Perhaps your father’s people can answer. It is unheard of with us.”

The confrontation with the princess, having to consider the mighty kingdom of Potama an enemy, and the death of his father still so raw inside—overwhelmed him.

“My father would never have done wrong to his allies. He learned Cho Nisi ways, Silas.”

“I believe that Arell. I’m sorry such questions haunt you. But you must remember the bargain you made with the elders. You must find this man who killed your father, and you must find out if he acted according to the king’s orders.”

Silas took hold of his arm with a firm hand as he looked into Arell’s eyes.

“That is the only way you’ll find freedom for your soul. And for your people.”

Arell nodded solemnly. He could not back down now.

“I’m going to interrogate the princess again. Sing your chants for me, Silas. Ask for the Creator’s help.”