“What, exactly, was the pretext made for casting him out?”
“That, sadly, is none of your business. He will not make it clear to even Annarion. Perhaps the Consort can answer your question—but, Kaylin,do notask her at dinner.”
Kaylin was silent for a beat, but she wasn’t finished. “Fine. So: Annarion is the heir, right. The direct heir.”
“He is heir to Solanace, yes. But, Kaylin, he is considered the last of his line.”
“But you said his uncle—” Kaylin stopped.
“His uncle is Karellan. When Nightshade was made outcaste, Karellan approached the High Seat and prostrated himself and offered the High Lord of the time the penitence due him for the treachery of Calarnenne—this much was public. But in great sorrow, he offered the High Lord theexistenceof Solanace itself.”
Kaylin frowned.
Mandoran said—out loud, “I told you.”
Annarion lifted his head, his eyes blue and narrow. “He did not kill what remained of his family; I believe there were two ‘accidents,’ but the High Lord did not require the death of every member of our family. What he required was the loss of the family name. Karellan, my former uncle, is not An’Solanace. No one is. I am the last of the line who bears that name.
“If the former High Lord ruled the High Court, I would not survive the Test of Name. My uncle is the first of his name; he is Karellan Coravalle. But all of his lands are the ancestral lands of my line.”
“What happened to the rest of your line? The other cousins?”
“They relinquished the Solanace name, and joined my uncle. They are Coravalle dependents.” His eyes were almost indigo, but that color softened. “Some may have chosen that over death.
“But I did not relinquish my name. I am the last of my line. IamSolanace.”
And this, she thought, was why his anger at Nightshade was so intense. It wasn’t just his own life that he had abandoned in his search for some way to free his younger brother—it was all of their lives. Their history. She frowned. No, she thought, the history was immutable. It existed no matter what.
Teela cleared her throat and lifted her chin, and Annarion cast her a grateful glance. “Karellan has a place of minor import in the High Court. He supported the High Lord of the time in Nightshade’s removal, but his influence did not increase; it decreased. Although the gambit was understood by the High Court it was nonetheless distasteful; Solanace was an old lineage, and a worthy one. To enrich himself, Karellan destroyed it.”
“I don’t understand why he didn’t just keep the line.”
“Nightshade’s removal was political. Had he been hunted as outcaste—had he perished—Karellan would have taken the name. But Nightshade failed to die. If he did not suspect his eventual fate—and I believe he must have been informed of the High Lord’s decision before it was handed down publicly—he was nonetheless a power to be reckoned with, on a purely personal level. Those who went to prove themselves against him never returned.
“And eventually he became fieflord, and the High Court could not touch him. We understand the function of the Towers,” she added softly. “And we do not interfere with them.”
“But—but—”
“Yes?”
“He can’t leave the fief.”
“He can, obviously. Has he not visited his brother here?”
“So Karellan was afraid he’d come back.”
“So we believe. He wished to—what is the phrase now?—salt the earth? The name An’Solanace had been stripped from him by the High Lord and the High Court, and Karellan relinquished all claim to any such name so as not to be associated with his disgrace. There was, therefore, no Solanace to come home to, because there were none who remained of Solanace.
“But Annarion is Solanace. He has not, and will not, give over that name; he does not intend to be the last of his line.
“Karellan is not Nightshade’s equal, but underestimating him at this juncture could prove fatal—to Annarion. Karellan would never be foolish enough to attack Nightshade; he’s been bold enough to demand the return ofMeliannos, Nightshade’s sword, but the sword was earned by Nightshade, and he holds it until his death.”
“Even if he’s outcaste?”
“What would you bet on your chances of retrieving it from him if he doesn’t want to return it?” Her question was Barrani; her grin was Hawkish. “But his sword is a bargaining point should he ever wish to return to Court. And you understand why, while he is Lord of Castle Nightshade, he will never surrender it.
“Annarion, however, as Solanace, has the legal right to make claims to the lands which went, wholesale, to Coravalle. And the High Lord that rulesnowwould, I believe, have some sympathy. Coravalle supported the previous High Lord, but he did not support the current one, when it appeared there would be contention for the High Seat.”
“So...he tried to support the current Lord of the West March?”
