“Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I didn’t realize when we left Talisa in her husband’s care that I was condemning Adrial to death? Celieria is at war, and Dorian is barely holding together the opposing factions of his court. If his control snaps, there is no hope these people can defeat the Eld. No hope for any of us. No matter how my heart aches for Adrial and Talisa, I can’t allow that to happen.” Rain spread his hands. “I’m sorry, Ellysetta, but my answer must be the same as it was before. In this matter, my hands are tied.”
“Then what about Lord Barrial? Talisa is his daughter. Why can he not appeal to the king on her behalf? Then the Fey would not be involved and our enemies could not use this against us.”
“Ellysetta, Lord Barrial has enough on his plate. The Eld are coming—and his lands are directly in their path. He knows he’s likely to lose his entire estate—his whole family–before this war is through.”
“All the more reason for him to save Talisa now, while he still can.”
“At what cost? The Sebournes are his closest neighbor, and the largest military force in the area besides his own. If he alienates them, he runs the risk of losing their aid when he needs it most.” Rain sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the long dark strands into tousled disarray. “Bitter though the situation may be, Talisa made her choice when she wed diSebourne.”
“But—”
“But nothing. The joy of ashei’tanitsabond is a treasured gift, not a right. Many Fey die without ever hearing their truemate’s call. Many others die without completing their bond. Adrial and Talisa have found each other in this lifetime. Gods willing, they will find each other again in the next…and with a happier outcome.”
She took a half step forward. Why was it everyone around her had to suffer? Mama and Selianne dead, her family lost in the Mists, Rain banished. Could no one she loved find happiness? “Rain, please…”
He turned away. “There is nothing I can do, Ellysetta.”
“The Feyreisen is right, Ellsyetta.”
She looked up to find Rowan standing in the doorway, his face drawn with fatigue and sorrow, his dark eyes filled with grieved acceptance.
Rain turned to face him and squared his shoulders. “Rowan.Sieks’ta. You know this is not what I would choose.”
“I know,” Adrial’s older brother said softly.
“The best I can give him—could ever give him once Dorian upheld Talisa’s marriage—is this time to watch over and protect her until…”
Rain’s voice trailed off, but Ellysetta knew what he’d left unspoken. The madness caused by an unfulfilled matebond would eventually take hold of Adrial’s mind, as it did all Fey males who found their truemates but could not complete their bond. When that happened, Adrial would either commitsheisan’dahlein, the honor death, or Rowan would have to kill his brother—at the cost of his own soul.
“We are grateful for that much,” Rowan said. “Even though he cannot let her know he’s here, at least he can watch over her when she sleeps at night and keep her safe from harm. That brings him a measure of peace.”
Ellysetta’s heart ached. Rowan, the laughing prankster of her first quintet, had been drained of all humor and happiness. He was watching his brother die a slow and painful death, and she knew each terrible day killed a piece of his own soul.
“We must get back to the king,” Rain said. “Before we go, Rowan, you should know we think there are Mages at work in the city, possibly even inside the palace. Have you seen or heard anything suspicious since you’ve been here?”
“No hint of Azrahn, if that’s what you mean.”
“Do you know who is fostering the increased hostility towards the Fey?”
Rowan shrugged. “Talisa doesn’t come to the palace much. She spends most of her days in her father’s house in the company of her brothers, and we stay with her. From what little we’ve seen, most of the public discord comes from the same group as last time. Sebourne and his cronies. The queen. A few of the lesser lords looking to gain power.”
“Keep your eyes and ears open, and not just for that.” Rain told him quickly about Truthspeaking the Mage and what they’d learned. “Stay alert. If you see or hear anything suspicious, send a private weave to Bel straightaway. Don’t use the Warriors’ Path. In fact, you shouldn’t even use it amongst yourselves.”
“Understood.” Rowan bowed his head in acknowledgment of the command.
Rain glanced at the closed door to the bedroom where Adrial lay in his weave-induced sleep. “Tell Adrial I am sorry I did not have a chance to speak with him. As soon as we finish with the king, Ellysetta and I head for Danael and Elvia.”
“I will tell him.”
Rain held out a hand. “May we meet again in happier times,kem’chajeto.”
Rowan clasped his forearm. “Gods will it so, Rain.”
Bel and Gaelen bade Rowan their own farewells; then they and Rain exited the room. Rowan’s spine remained straight, his shoulders squared, as they filed out the door, and when they were gone, he drew a shaky breath and returned to the bedroom where his brother lay. “We should go, too.”
Ellysetta followed him. “Teska, let him sleep.” She stood with Rowan at the bedside, looked down at his sleeping brother. Adrial’s lashes lay thick and dark on his pale cheeks, and his hair spilled like a skein of black silk across the pillows. The tension had faded from his face, leaving tender, youthful beauty in place of his hard warrior’s mask. His hands lay across the chest that herlu’tanshad stripped of steel. “He looks so peaceful.”
Rowan murmured a wordless agreement. “It’s a shame he can’t just sleep like this until Talisa is free to complete their bond.”
