“Aye,” I said simply. “I am.”
45
TERRAN
“How do we find ourselves here?” my brother asked.
We stood on and watched Mev and Lyra as they spoke to Eirion. Two suns had risen since Mevlida had become Queen of Aetheria, and tonight, her father would go through the Gate. It had been a brief training, but Mev had reassured Galfrid there were many around her she could trust to continue aiding in her transition. Just as importantly, she wanted him to get through before her mother left England.
“What would Mother say?” I asked in answer to his question, one that eluded me.
Kael sighed. “She would be little pleased by our actions, but maybe she would understand too.”
It was more of a question than an answer.
“I suppose it matters more what we do with his legacy. If we serve Elydor well, what more can we accomplish?”
“Father thought he served it well.” Kael smiled as Mev and Lyra laughed at something Eirion said. Such a short time ago, I’d not have been able to understand a love like his and Mev’s, but now, I understood better than I did how to govern a bloodthirsty clan who were proving stubborn. Though no incidents required my immediate presence yet, that was not to say they all had been quiet south of us.
“The difference between him and us is that we will lead with tolerance and an attempt at understanding what we’d previously put aside. In the end, Father led with intolerance and division which served no one. Not even him.”
Kael didn’t seem completely convinced. Assuaging him of his guilt would be no easy task. It would take many years, I suspected, for us both.
“Lyra,” Kael said, clearly pleased. “I’d not have named her as your partner of all the women in Elydor, but she clearly makes you happy. I’ve not seen you smile so much since we were young ones.”
“She does,” I said, his statement true, though oversimplified.
More than happy, Lyra made me want to be better.
“I hope she will be happy in Gyoria. Lyra was made for the sky.”
“And has lived here for many years. How often have we said what an adventure it might be living among another clan for a spell?”
“Something that will be possible now,” I said. “Or soon, at least.”
“Though more difficult for us. A king. My brother”—he slapped me on the shoulder—“a king.”
“And mine.” I didn’t miss a beat. “The partner of a queen.”
Kael smirked. “A good enough title for me. I care little for such things.”
We remained there, in compatible silence, until Mev and Lyra walked back into the palace.
“An Elydor without Balthor,” Kael mused as we began to follow. “I could not have conceived of such a thing.”
“And soon, without Galfrid. Many times, I’ve wished for such a thing, but now that the day is upon us…”
The words for what I was feeling eluded me.
“He has been an enemy to Gyoria for many years. At least,” Kael said as more than one head turned as we strolled toward the palace together, “we thought as much. I do not believe he ever was, and our blindness to the fact weakened our clan.” My brother smiled. “I leave it to you to rectify.”
“Your presence here.” I waved a hand. “Will do much to aid me in that.”
We stopped before entering the Aetherian palace, likely thinking the same thing. Though it was not a place either of us expected to find ourselves—on the precipice of bidding adieu to the most powerful ruler Elydor had seen during our lifetimes—it was also an exciting, if not daunting, place to be.
The palace loomed quiet around us, as if it too held its breath. Soon the silence would break at the Gate where a farewell, centuries in the making, awaited.
* * *
