Page 86 of His Realm

“That makes sense,” he agreed. “Let’s go see.”

We had no other option. The only way out of Ophir was to speak to Ødger. I was guessing he’d placed us in a home as far away from him as possible to allow us to make our way to him and basically have us take our own tour of his home. It was smart because he didn’t have to wait on us or threaten us, simply receive us when we eventually arrived.

Along the thoroughfare, we passed by beautiful homes behind high gates. Oddly, there were no trees, no animals of any kind that I could see, and the carriages that passed us by were all drawn by men, like the rickshaws I’d seen tourists ride in Kyoto when I was there years ago. I didn’t see any of the bicycle-style ones driven all over the French Quarter.

“I bet you these people, even the nobles, have never seen a motorcycle or a car,” Cirillo mused.

“Could be. But maybe they saw the helicopter when Varic’s guards came to announce our wedding.”

“How do you know that’s what they used?”

He was nitpicking and it was stupid. “I don’t. I’m just assuming that there’s no landing strip out on the ice, yeah?”

“Probably not. No. The point is, we’re going to be walking all night at this rate.”

“Do you think Ødger will wait that long?”

He shrugged. “What’s interesting is that even if we had a phone, it wouldn’t work here. Look at all this rock.”

Something occurred to me. “I’m feeling better, more clearheaded, less sluggish, so I think whatever was in the darts we were hit with is wearing off fast now.”

“I figured it had to be a tranquilizer even though I never saw anything. One second I was running after you, and the next, I could barely move.”

I nodded.

He turned to look at me. “I have to tell you something.”

I waited.

“I’m scared. This. All of this,” he said, waving his hand around, “is scaring me to death. I haven’t spoken to my family for a couple of months, and I’m terrified that whatever unloving way I was on the phone will be the last they ever hear from me.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“No? How do you know?”

“Because we’re both smart men and we’ll figure a way out. Plus, I can feel this isn’t either of our ends.”

He’d been looking at the ground, but at that, his head snapped up and his eyes met mine.

“I refuse to believe that you, who’ve traveled and met so many people, aren’t supposed to be here to help end whatever injustice is happening.”

“But weren’t you and Varic coming here anyway?”

“Yeah, but the chances of me and Varic leaving the castle, having this same walkabout that you and I are currently taking, would have been very small. This is a huge place, and this way, we’re getting a completely different angle on it all.”

“Why?”

“Well, if you never see things from another point of view, how can you ever imagine change?”

“Like what?”

“How things could be done, of course,” I explained. “Or should be for the greater good.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We need to see all these people and all these things to be able to report back to Varic when he arrives about what is wrong, as well as what needs keeping and protecting.”

“You have great faith in Varic.”