Scars of Gold

Chapter Twenty Four

"Why are you suddenly getting invited to council meetings again?" I asked Ash as we walked towards the council chamber together. The corridors in this part of the palace were quieter than most, but I kept my voice down and my eyes ahead, so that our conversation wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

"And - more to the point - why are you allowed to come with me?" Ash guessed the real motivation behind my questioning at once. "I think it's more that they needed to invite me and it would be strange if I arrived without a guard. I guess you're going to get the update on Etealia you were hoping for first hand."

The council chamber was only slightly smaller than the informal dining room and no less imposing. Dark walls were lit by a line of candles. The table in the centre of the room was trimmed in gold, with a surface of polished gemstones that sparkled in the candlelight.

It was only half full when we arrived. Evanthe was seated, her features pale and drawn. Next to her sat the chancellor, Helena, a comforting hand placed on Evanthe's.

"Ah, Asher, so good of you to join us." The King smiled at Ash as he took his seat, but it didn't quite reach his eyes as they passed over to me, where I stood against the wall. "I hear you had quite the morning; taking domestic affairs upon yourself, with the result that the palace now has five more Etealians to accommodate." The smile remained fixed as Ash opened his mouth to reply, but the king continued before he could, switching his focus to Evanthe. "Now, now, Evanthe. We'll get a handle on this Etealian problem soon enough, there's no need to worry."

"Ilarianna will pull through," Helena added with another comforting pat.

My stomach churned with guilt; it was my fault Ilarianna had been injured. My intel that had allowed the twins to ambush the Lathrians.

Before Evanthe could respond, the doors opened once more and Lord Balmorez rushed in, accompanied by the rest of the council.

"Balmorez, it's about time," the king said, frowning as Balmorez took his seat. He looked nervous under the king's stare. "Tell us what happened," he insisted.

"The vis ambushed us."

"One Etealian altora carried out a large-scale ambush against trained Lathrian fighters including three of our best altorae?" The king raised an eyebrow. Despite my lingering guilt, I was pleased that Balmorez had been humiliated by my brothers, and even more thrilled that the Etealians had all escaped.

"No, that's not what I meant - there were three dozen of them, at least, according to my scouts, but the vis was their main advantage. They surrounded my men on all sides, pinning them in, then he unleashed his powers."

"His? Do you have confirmation that it was one of the twins?" the king asked. He had pressed his fingertips together in an arch on the table.

"If it wasn't, that means there's more than one vis in the Etealian rebellion."

The king nodded, "Go on."

"It was chaos: he tore the ground in two, separating our people from the Etealians. The Etealians freed their people while the altorae among them caused chaos for our soldiers."

"And what of our altorae?" the king snapped, losing his patience. "Were they no match for a few Etealian escapees?"

Balmorez floundered. His face had grown red and he was clenching and unclenching his hands. "I-" he began before Evanthe cut him off.

"Three of our best were accompanying the group, but they were outnumbered and the terrain worked against them - they haven't trained for guerrilla warfare. It was dark, cold and icy. And it's difficult to defend against a powerful vis."

"Sounds like you could have done with a cor..." Helena said, with a pointed glance in Ash's direction.

"The crown prince will not be seeing active service as an altora," Evanthe replied. "Especially not in enemy territory, outnumbered and at night-"

"We calculated the risks!" Balmorez protested at the same time the king growled:

"It's not enemy territory. It's my territory." His eyes flicked towards me as he spoke. My blood boiled, but my grip on my powers was now strong enough that the group's aura remained steady. "And I will have it back under proper Lathrian control. This chaos cannot be allowed to continue. It's making us look weak and the last thing we want is to draw the attention of the Xandanians. Not unless we want to lose our own land along with Etealia."

I repressed a shudder at the thought of the Xandanians on Etealian soil. With harbourmaster's words from earlier ringing in my ears, I didn't think for a second a Xandanian invasion would be good for Etealians.

"Your Majesty, if you would let me go to Etealia-" Evanthe started, before the king cut her off.

"No, Evanthe. I have heard your case already and my decision remains the same. Active service or not, Ash's training needs to be your main priority at the moment. I expect to start hearing about a marked improvement soon. Fallas will be upon us again before we know it; the people are expecting to see his progress." His eyes met mine once more. His meaning was clear: I was running out of time to prove my usefulness. 

"Come in," I called out and the door opened to reveal an enormous bouquet of flowers that completely hide the person carrying them. "Aleela? Is that you?"

"Yes," came the muffled reply from behind the bouquet. It was an explosion of orange buds, the colour of an emendas sunset, contained in a giant glass vase.

"What are they?"

"Flowers!" Aleela relieved herself of her burden in the middle of the table.

"Well, yes, I can see that, but who are they from? Why have you brought them in here?"

"They're for you. An apology, from Mari."

When I raised my eyebrows at her she continued. "A forced apology - I think. She's probably trying to get in Evanthe and Ash's good books again." That made more sense. I turned my attention back to the buds, running my fingers across a delicate petal; I'd never been sent anything so beautiful. "Speaking of Ash..." Aleela trailed off in a way that made me look up from the flowers.

"The kitchens are full of gossip about what Ash did at the harbour," she told me, the words spilling out of her mouth in a rush. "Everyone's asking why the prince is showing so much concern for Etealians. I can't say anything - but I know it's your influence, isn't it?"

"Maybe? I don't really know, Aleela." I sunk down into a chair, running my hands through my hair. "His decision at the port shocked me as much as anyone. I don't know where it came from. But it's a good thing."

Aleela shook her head. "It's a dangerous thing. Everyone's talking about it, and what it might mean. It's going to get you and Ash into trouble if you're not careful."

She left before I could ask her to explain.

With a last look at the flowers, I turned my attention back to the book I'd borrowed from Ash about Xandania.