“Right then. Tell me; what does the Merrow King know of battlefields?”
That conversation was not much better, but it would have been strange to refuse, and he was actively tryingnotto be strange, or intimidating.
He leaned against the opposite edge of the window and affected a thoughtful expression as he looked up at her, biding time while he decided how to approach this. When he spoke, it was carefully, slowly, as though he had to stop and think of the details of so long ago - when in actuality his memories were as perfectly preserved as his body. Perhaps another side effect of the ice prison.
“Before my father died, he and the old King Beira, your ancestor, were allies. It was in the interest of the Merrow to defend Eisalaan, so we manned the rivers that pour into Lake Laune, kept watch for enemy fleets that might try to sail into our waters. And they came eventually, of course.”
Though the true enemy needn’t sail into our waters when they could simply wade right in from the lake’s edge.
Adeline was rapt, waiting silently even as he paused to think; he wondered again how much of this history was covered in the volume at his side. Not much, judging by her captive attention.
“When I was eighteen,” he went on, “my father thought it was time I joined the ranks of our waterside defence. I trained with the Merrow men who patrolled the nearby rivers and streams. We used –”
This was the difficulty – one of them, at least. It was his magic that ultimately tangled him into the dangerous web of the Beira monarchy to begin with. But then Adeline surely knew that Merrow possessed certain powers. Oroncepossessed powers, before the well of their power was eternally frozen.
“We used our connection to the water as our main defence,” he edged. “But we knew that any land-dwelling enemies would approach with blades and weapons, so we worked on wielding those, too.”
She nodded, urging him on. If she noticed his sidestepping the topic of Water Wielding, she did not mention it.
“All was peaceful for a few years, but territorial disagreements with Caldbon escalated slowly until –”
“That part I do know,” she cut in. “About the battle anyway. There’s peace now, but it wasn’t the last time we went to war with Caldbon. I never knew about any Merrow involvement, though. I suppose the historians couldn’t record accounts they had no access to.”
A thoughtful silence passed between them.
“You fought against Caldbon?”
Kai shook his head. He would have to say this next part quick, before his face or his voice could catch up with his words.
“When it came to it, my father would not allow me on the battlefield. He died in that battle, and I was crowned shortly thereafter.”
Adeline’s brow pitched up. Her eyes became too round and knowing, and she reached across the books to grab his hand where it rested on the brick sill. Her fingers were lightly calloused but her palm over the back of his hand was soft and warm. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”
“It was a long time ago. Hundreds of years.”
“Not for you it wasn’t.”
She was sincere. Perhaps it was written on his face, but somehow she understood that the loss of his father was not erased by the passing of time and the icy embrace of the lake. He turned his hand over and grasped hers, one quick squeeze.
“Thank you, Adeline.”
Adeline was unreadable, but her eyes darted down to his fingers wrapped around her own. They both lingered just a split second longer, and Kai knew he should pull away. He really should pull away. But then Adeline drew her hand back and briskly hopped down from the window.
There was colour high in her cheeks, and he told himself it was heat from the sun streaming through the window. Just the heat.
“Right,” she said. “We need a plan.”
Ultimately, they came to the agreement that Kai would show Adeline all he knew, and she would research as much as she could to fill the gaps for them both. Though Adeline made Kai promise he would read through the stack of books himself. She helped him pile them into his arms, and as she did she outlined each book so succinctly he wasn’t sure he’d have any need of them.
“And this is just what was available last night! There’ll be more whenever the Gard trainees return their borrowed books to the archives.”
“The archives?”
Adeline’s tired eyes lit up.
“Haven’t you been? It’s a wonder, you really should visit.” She paused and her spine straightened, eyes widening. “Oh! You reallyshouldvisit. It would be such a help to you, you’d have all the context of the last few centuries in one place. It’s not just books either, there’s historical records of the Kingdom, volumes of ancestry, even ancient artefacts and old weapons dug up from before the Frost. All the overflow from the public exhibitions; it’s like a private museum. I’m not really selling it, am I?”
She laughed her warm, rippling laugh but for once, Kai barely heard her.
