“Our father expected me to rule, and I have. That is what the Light demanded of me when I was created.”
Val-Theris met his gaze, unflinching. “If this is what the Light now demands, then it has gone blind.”
“Perhaps that is why you and I were given foresight, brother. To fill in the blind spots where His Light cannot reach.”
“I don’t think our father intended for us to wage a war against each other,” Val-Theris said quietly.
But his brother was no longer listening, busying himself with his wives, and Val-Theris had not the heart to push knowing how far Korvath had fallen under his brother’s rule.
That night, he stood on the balcony of his guest chamber. The capital burned below him with the white-hot sear of humiliation and cruelty.
Rohannes approached quietly, stopping a few paces behind him. “Majesty,” he said. “You’ve seen enough?”
Val-Theris didn’t turn. “More than enough.”
Rohannes exhaled, his jaw tight. “Korvath isn’t a kingdom. It’s a tomb.”
Val-Theris nodded slowly. “You’re right. Korvath must be freed. But I don’t know how to help them.”
He said it not as a ruler, but as a man who every day grieved the loss of what his brother could have been.
Rohannes hesitated. “And Val-Oros?”
Val-Theris closed his eyes. The vision came like lightning. He saw Val-Oros beaten and bloody. He saw his own hand wrapped around the sword buried in his brother’s chest. He staggered back, gasping, his hand clutching the balcony rail as Rohannes held him steady. The vision lingered for a moment too long, the taste of bloody iron on his tongue, the sound of his brother’s laugh ending with a crude, harsh breath of pain.
Rohannes reached for him, alarmed. “My king–”
Val-Theris straightened, forcing air into his lungs, forcing calm into his body. But his eyes were distant, already haunted by what was to come.
“I came here to see how he rules,” Val-Theris said after a long silence. “And I have.” He looked toward Solmiris. “The brother I once stood beside no longer exists,” he whispered, the ache in his throat too agonizing to say more.
When Val-Theris returned to Solmiris,his bones were filled with unease and uncertainty. There was much to do: sessions toattend, guard to command, strategies to form. But he had one singular need, and he knew he would be unable to complete any task before this one.
Still in his gear from traveling, he handed off his horse to Rohannes and stepped into the refugee quarter. The Lunarethians parted for him, lowering their eyes and stepping out of his path.
His eyes scanned the small crowds of people for her, and she was where it would have been most obvious to look for her: among the sick. Jesenia held a wet rag to an elderly woman’s forehead with a small child on her hip that had a cough.
Val-Theris waited patiently for her to stand, and when she did, her eyes found his instantly. She shifted the child to the opposite hip and quietly approached him.
“Your Majesty,” she greeted with a small curtsey, her voice careful. For a moment, her voice eased his shame and the ache in his chest, but it returned like a predictable, steady tide.
Her linen dress was filthy at the bottom, but she stood next to him like she belonged there, as if whatever she said, she knew he would listen.
“You look tired,” she said gently. “The people say you traveled to Korvath.”
“I did,” Val-Theris confirmed. “And that is why I have come. But first–”
He held out a folded piece of cloth to her, in a familiar deep blue. Jesenia handed the child to another woman and then took the cloth from him with a tremble in her hands. She unfolded it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
When it was fully opened, Jesenia’s eyes filled with tears. It was a banner of Lunareth. It was scorched and dirty, but it did not matter, for Jesenia’s heart cracked with joy at the sight of something from her home.
“I visited Lunareth on the way to Korvath. I saw what my brother had done to your home, and I’m sorry it took seeing it with my own eyes to understand that devastation. There was…not much left, but I could not leave this behind. I hope you and your people find comfort in this relic and know that Lunareth is not lost.”
Jesenia’s face was wet when she met his eyes. “This means more to me than I can properly express.”
Val-Theris slightly shook his head. “It’s alright, I can see it in your eyes. I hope…I’d like to speak with you if you have a moment.”
“We are speaking, aren’t we?” she asked as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
