“Look, there’s your father down there! He is ready to catch you. You’ll be all right,” the countess reassured the girl as she coaxed her into position. Down below the innkeeper jumped and waved, he was shouting something they couldn’t make out. Two other children stood by his side.
Ehmet glanced over at the remarkable Lady Hevva Tilevir, barefoot and clad only in her nighttime shift. She’d raced back into the inn—more than once, if he’d heard correctly—to rescue the innkeeper’s children. The flickering of flames around them grew brighter, fanned by a burst of summer breeze rising from the river. Firelight shone through her thin chemise, silhouetting her form in a way the gods should never have allowed for.
He gulped.
These weren’t even her people. She should have remained safe outside.
Muddled shouts rose up from below.
“See, your brother and sister are there too, they’re waiting for you.” The lady’s voice carried a softness he wouldn’t have thought possible given the harrowing situation.
The girl was off, whizzing down the king’s creation into the safety of her father’s arms. “After you, my lady.” Ehmet helped Hevva and the middle child onto his slide. She settled the boy between her legs,and they zipped away.
Then it was his turn. The tiny child in his arms was no longer wailing, instead it gazed entranced over Ehmet’s robust shoulder. Reflections of flames shone in the babe’s wide eyes. “Come along, little one,” he murmured as he sat down and zoomed away from the pursuing blaze.
Feet firm on the cobbled yard once again, Ehmet let the metallic escape route dissipate back into nothing. He remembered, and released, his makeshift blacksmith’s gloves as well. A frantic woman raced up to him. “My baby! My baby,” she shrieked, voice raw, as she grasped for the child in his arms. He handed off the babe and took a few steps away from the chaos.
The innkeeper and his wife were huddled together with their three children, all tears and arms, kisses and “I love yous.” Lord Kas and the woman with him had rushed to Hevva’s side and were holding her close. The lady rested her head atop her brother’s bony shoulder, her back heaving as she sought comfort in his arms.
Ehmet shivered, sweat-drenched skin puckering in the night breeze. Soot coated his damp shirt, and he coughed, eyes falling on his clean hands and the stark line where the gloves he’d worn ended. Slinking toward the stables, he located a clear patch of wall and leaned back against the solid, non-burning structure. He exhaled a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t long before the fire was contained and extinguished, thanks to the swift response of watercoursers. Both guests and staff had risen to the occasion. Lady Hevva was being praised for her heroics, and he could hear her trying to pass off some of the credit to him, as if she really didn’t want all the attention on herself. He nearly smiled but was far too drained from the frantic rescue. Parosh found him in the shadows beside the stable, near to where the lady emptied her stomach earlier in the night.She’s had an horrendous day.
“What would you like to do, Your Majesty?”
Ehmet tugged himself back to duty, straightened his back, set his metaphorical crown atop his head, and began issuing commands.
“Welcome to Hewran Hall,”he declared, gaze lingering on Hevva. He was impressed by her leadership during the crisis. That’s all.
The forty-some-odd displaced guests of the Elk & Heron stood within the entry hall, gazing up at him through exhaustion and a lot of soot. The entire inn would need to be rehomed for the remainder of the night while the building was aired out. A smaller subset of the group would stay longer due to the utter destruction of their rooms. It was the least he could do to provide some comfort amidst the chaos. “My staff will escort you to your chambers. Baths and meals are waiting for you there. Should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. And please, make yourselves at home.”
Murmurs of “thank you, Your Majesty” and “too kind, too kind” met his ears. He nodded tersely at the unexpected guests, then turned to stalk up the stairs.
By some stroke of luck, the fire at the inn had been contained to the family apartment on the upper floor and two guest rooms below. Ehmet readily agreed to take in the roomless guests, which included Lord Rithgar Nithim, the Baron of Turkhane and his lady friend, Roza (no surname), an older couple, Shilan and Teymour Gulan, and, as fate would have it, Lady Hevva Tilevir and Lord Kas Kahoth, along with the lady’s maid who he’d learned was named Aylin.
The baron hadn’t been displaced. His room was on the second floor of the establishment, but he’d offered to give it up for the innkeeper and his wife to use as temporary quarters. The couple needed to remain on site to keep the Elk & Heron running in spite of the disaster. It was too busy, with the symposium, to shut down even temporarily. Ehmet suspected Turkhane’s offer had less to do with altruism and more to do with being able to say he’d been a guest of the king. The man didn’t even like him, he was friends withYusuf,for fucks sake. Turkhane would have to cut his losses if he was hoping to spy for the Duke of Kashoorcih. Ehmet hadnothing to hide, and no desire to fuel that fire.
Oh, and there were the children. Ehmet had pulled the innkeeper and his distraught wife aside and offered to care for their five offspring over the coming days. He would happily keep them safe and entertained at Hewran Hall while the aftermath of the fire was handled. The couple were initially shocked by his offer, but wound up accepting the aid. It felt good to do something tangible, not just sign his name to scroll after scroll after scroll.
As the sun rose in earnest, Ehmet spent a few hours in his study, sending out missives to workers who would repair the Elk & Heron. The project, while imperative, only took up a morsel of his time. Left to his own devices he wandered the large and quiet hall.
Sure, he’d unexpectedly filled most of his guest chambers for the night. But the symposium attendees had not yet risen for the day. They’d need breakfast before heading down into town.Ah, breakfast.That gave him something else to focus on. He needed a distraction, considering his standard ongoing ruminations regarding the weight of the crown and all it entailed had gone on a surprising hiatus. That should be a relief, but unfortunately, it was not.
Sitting in his atrium as the sun rose above the hall, Ehmet watched it light the tops of the trees along the back of his property. A servant delivered a mug of spiced tea, and he sent them away with instructions for the morning meal. Left alone again, Ehmet sipped his drink while considering whether or not to return to his chamber and force a few more hours of rest in a proper bed. The last vestiges of anxious energy still pulsed through his system. It wouldn’t be worth it. Bed would have to wait for another night, for Ehmet’s mind remained obnoxiously busy.
The king sprawled out on a discreet sofa in his solar, like a cat in the morning sun. With his eyes closed, he willed a nap to come. A few more minutes of sleep would be grand. But through closed lids, as dappled light danced red on black, images of a figure silhouetted by roaring flames stood firmly in his line of sight.
six
Hevva communes with plants.
“Ithink you mightlike to explore the solar, my lady. Perhaps the grounds of the hall as well,” Aylin chatted as she styled the countess’s long wispy locks.
Hevva’s hair was the oddest shade of silver, not the translucent strands of someone who had gone gray with age, but a pure solid white. The trait was fairly uncommon in Selwas, but less so along the country’s border with Karova. It was thought to be a genetic holdout from a time long past when the two lands still interacted. At some point, thousands of years before, the mysterious country retreated, only allowing trade to occur between one designated tribe and two Selwassan families. Neither of the two favored families were members of the noble class, and while the Selwassan king was welcome to purchase imported goods along with the rest of the Selwassan people, he had no connection to Karova beyond that.
That must rankle him. I should ask his opinion, she thought, wondering how he might react to such a forward question, even from a member of the peerage. Would he draw together his thick dark brows? Glare at her from those mossy green eyes? Fold his well-muscled arms across his broad chest?
“Lady Hevva, have you heard a single thing I’ve said?” Aylin tugged at her elaborate braid.
