No, no, he wouldn’t believe it. His suspicions sprang from the last thousand years of living as adahl’reisen, which he’d survived by suspecting a trap in every gift and seeking the enemy in every shadow.
She’d restored his soul, and he was bloodsworn to her service, bound to protect her above all others in life and in death. She was an innocent, a miraculous gift from the gods.
«What’s wrong, Gaelen?»Marissya’s concern swept across him.
He secured his wayward thoughts and emotions behind the barriers of his mind, where she could not access them except through forceful Truthspeaking. «I do not like the sound of these Eld attacks.»That was truth enough to reassure her.
“What is the Well of Souls?” Ellysetta asked.
“Celierians call it the Underworld,” Rain answered. “It’s the home of unborn souls and the dead who haven’t yet earned passage to the next world. It’s also the home of demons.”
“The Eld have long used Azrahn andselkahrcrystals to summon demons from the Well,” Gaelen added, “but in the last few years, they’ve learned how to open a physical doorway between the Well of Souls and the living world.” He felt the weight of every Fey’s sudden, penetrating stare. They had not known about this new Eld accomplishment, then. “They use it to travel, and they’re completely undetectable unless they use Azrahn to open the doorway. If the rift that opened behind the Feyreisa was such a gateway, it’s possible the Spirit weave directing her could have guided her through the Well directly to the High Mage himself.”
Rain dropped a hand to the hilt of themeichaat his hips. “Can they open a doorway anywhere? Into this room, for instance?”
“Nei. From what we’ve seen, either a third party must open the endpoint for them, or there must be aselkahrcrystal bespelled to open the portal at a given time. I tried once or twice to open a doorway on my own, so I could learn more about the process, but the results were... rather alarming. What guards the Well of Souls doesn’t like to be disturbed.”
“You think the Eld will use these... doorways... to attack us here in the city?”
“Wouldn’t you? Eld armies are massing along the border. If there are Mage-claimed in the city—and considering the attacks on the Feyreisa, there must be—the High Mage could use them to open enough portals to deliver an invasion force to Dorian’s doorstep without warning.”
“If that were the case, why wouldn’t he already have done so?” Ellysetta asked.
“Perhaps he was not yet ready,kem’falla. Perhaps discovering your presence here in Celieria City has prompted him to act soonerthan he would like. Or perhaps he postponed his planned attack to give his envoys time to capture you.”
Gaelen turned back to Rain. “If the Eld sent a demon for the Feyreisa, they’ll be back, and most likely in force. The High Mage doesn’t tip his hand so boldly. He doesn’t want to remind anyone what the Eld are capable of. He’s been very careful to keep the Mages quiet, to project a friendly face to the world. And all the while, he’s been rebuilding Eld power since the Mage Wars. He has spies and emissaries in every king’s court around the world.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because I have spies and emissaries in every king’s court as well. While the Fey have spent the last thousand years hiding behind the Faering Mists, licking their wounds from the Mage Wars, the rest of the world has taken the opportunity to rebuild, to grow strong again, to forge alliances that don’t include the Fey.”
Rain’s lips thinned. “If you’re trying to tell me I’ve been a bad king, save your breath. I know it all too well.”
“That’s not true,” Marissya objected. “You’ve no right to judge him, Gaelen. You know nothing of what it’s been like, of what he’s been through, of what a triumph it was just to reach the first day when he could cling to sanity without the help of everyshei’dalinin the Fading Lands. We haven’t hidden behind the Faering Mists only to lick our wounds. We caged ourselves there to protect the world, too.”
“Marissya, the Fey are weak. Their enemies are strong. The reasons don’t matter. A wounded champion and an unarmed boy die just the same when the blade falls on their necks.”
“Setah,” Rain snapped. “We return to the Fading Lands tomorrow. Ellysetta and I speak our Celierian marriage vows after the Council vote. You will come with us, Gaelen. I want to know everything you know about the Eld and their plans. It is time for the Defender of the Fey to actually start defending them again. Until then, Ellysetta must stay here, safe in the palace under constant guard.” Rain nodded to Marissya, and her hand dropped back to her side.
“Is that it?” Kieran demanded incredulously. “The questioning is over?” He pointed a shaking finger at his infamous uncle. “Before you grant him passage through the Faering Mists and celebrate his return in the streets of Dharsa, won’t you at least make him tell you whether or not he and his ‘Brotherhood’ have been murdering Celierians?”
“Kieran,” Marissya murmured, frowning at her son.
“No, Mother. He needs to answer. Our alliance with Celieria is in danger of destruction thanks to rumors ofdahl’reisenmurdering villagers in the north. We need to know whether he did it or not.”
“Kieran is right,” Rain agreed. He nodded, and with obvious reluctance, Marissya put her hand back on her brother. “Answer his question, Gaelen.”
The formerdahl’reisenhesitated, as if weighing his words, then shrugged. “Aiyah, the Brotherhood and I have executed a number of Celierians.”
Marissya stifled a gasp. “Truth. Oh, Gaelen. Why?”
“They were Mage-claimed. We could not let them live to spread their evil.”
“How could you know they were Mage-claimed?” Kieran challenged. “Did you personally see these peasants in the company of Mages, carrying out their will? Because we all know there’s no way to tell who is in the service of the Mages until they act.”
“That’s not entirely true, youngjita’nos.”
“Yourdahl’reisenhave found a way to detect Mage-claiming?” Rain queried sharply. The secret, invisible power of Mage-claiming was one of the Eld’s most deadly weapons.
