Except for you.You aren't caught up in the politics of the city, and I know I can trust you both without question.Yes, even Alaric.
I smile, knowing how hot the rivalry between Alaric and Rowan has run in the past.
I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't have to, but I need you here.I need you by my side to help me solve the problems of the city.If Aetheria fails, then all the lands around it are affected.Without you I fear that it might.Please come as soon as you're able.
Rowan (First Senator of Aetheria)
“I like the inclusion of the formal title,” Alaric says.“It makes him sound so much more important.”
The messenger looks shocked, as if he can't believe that anyone would talk about Rowan without suitable respect.He really hasn't heard about Alaric, then.
“Alaric,” I say.“You need to take this seriously.”
“Do I?Taking things seriously has never worked for me in the past.And this… this is clearly a joke.Anything where Rowan calls me his dear friend and one of the only people he can trust must be.”
The messenger only looks more shocked.I realize this isn't a conversation we can have in front of him.
“Can you wait here for a minute?”I say.“I assume you're waiting for a response?”
He nods.“Of course.The first senator said I was to bring back news when I knew you were coming.”
“You could be waiting a while,” Alaric replies.
“Alaric,” I say, taking his arm.“Can we talk about this inside?”
He looks from me to the messenger, and for a moment I think he might refuse, but then he nods.
“All right, although I'm not sure what there is to talk about.”
We go into our home.There was a time when it felt like a comfortable place, filled with our love.Now it mostly contains the memories of our arguments.I suspect that we were about to add one more to their number.
“There's plenty to talk about, Alaric,” I say.“You read the message.”
“I did,” Alaric replies.“And it still reads like a joke.Or would, if I thought that big, stone shaping commoner were capable of making jokes.”
Rowan’s magical gift is for working with stone and earth.He's common born, like me, and unlike Alaric.For a long time, he was also a rival for my affections.The two were never going to be friends in Ironhold.
“I don't see anything funny about it,” I say.“Rowan’s message is clear: things are going wrong back in Aetheria.People are trying to bring back the games.”
“And that has nothing to do with either of us,” Alaric retorts.He takes me in his arms, kissing me with surprising force.
I pull back from him, caught off guard.“What was that?”
“A reminder,” Alaric says.He looks hurt.“I want you to remember what it was like for us when we first left Aetheria.I want you to remember howfreewe were.And maybe I want you to remember why you chose me, not him.”
There's a note of jealousy in his voice that I haven't heard in a while.But then, I haven't been around anyone Alaric considers a threat for a while.
“Do you think this is about Rowan?”I ask him.
“Isn't it?”Alaric counters.“He sends you one message and now… I assume you’re thinking of just going running to him.”
“Not to him,” I say.“To Aetheria.He says it's in trouble.”
“And again, what does that have to do with us?”Alaric counters.
I can't believe he's being this selfish.Alaric has always put on a facade of being the self-centered nobleman, but when it comes to it, he's been there for me, he's done the right thing.Now it seems he wants to ignore Rowan’s call for help.
“We helped to save the city,” I point out.“We helped to free it from the emperor and his madness.”
