Talon came riding into Carhan to the sound of loud cheers. Why the people cheered, he didn’t know. He didn’t deserve the cheers. He had failed to win an important alliance. Vandalor refusing the treaty guaranteed the other nations would follow King Durran’s example. He glanced to the left and spotted his uncle, Besurlde, who bowed deeply once Talon stopped next to him. The crowd made it difficult to hear and the palace was still quite far. That was a surprise; his uncle had been against the meeting with Durran and there was no way he had received word of how it went.

“Your grace,” Besurlde said formally.

“Uncle,” Talon said with a slight nod. It was good to be back, though all he could think about was his failure. He wished his father was still alive. What would he have done next? He would have convinced Vandalor to join, he thought bitterly.

Talon got off his horse, and a stable boy rushed over and grabbed the reins. He was sore from riding. He would never admit it to Qidan, but he would have preferred to travel via portal. Once I figure out how to deal with the mages… Talon willed the thought away. There were more important matters.

“Durran refused to sign a treaty.” Talon watched his uncle’s reaction, but he didn’t look surprised.

“Durran is stubborn, like most kings,” Besurlde said and cleared his throat as he looked at Talon with a little smirk. “Are you convinced now that the other nations won’t sign this treaty of yours? Perhaps you will pull back the support we are giving the others?”

“No,” Talon said firmly. He didn’t miss the disappointment and anger in his uncle’s face. “We will continue the strategy for now.”

“I hope you realize the futility of these efforts before it’s too late,” Besurlde said. His right hand was clenched into a fist. “It’s all right to admit making a mistake.”

“Remember…” Talon said coldly, barely holding back his building rage. “I am the king. I’ve told you what I will do and that is that.”

Surprised by his nephew’s tone, Besurlde didn’t respond. Talon was fine with that. He loved his uncle. However, the constant nagging and trying to make him change course was getting on his nerves. It was the last thing he wanted to discuss after a failure.

“Did anything happen while I was away?” Talon asked as they walked down the street.

“Nothing of importance.” Besurlde followed right by his side and they entered the castle together. The two guards on duty straightened when they saw them. “Remember, all I want is what’s best for Azzellia.”

You won’t back off, will you? Talon had to take a few deep breaths to stop himself from yelling at Besurlde. By the time he was ready to say something, Besurlde had walked off. It was a relief. The last month had been trying. Shaking his head, Talon went toward his chambers. Sleep would do him good. Then he could think about the future.

He had barely walked into his room when a servant came by.

“Your grace, I was told to give these to you as soon as you arrived,” Amaya said and handed him three letters. “Is there anything I can get you?”

The letters were from three lords with much influence in Azzellia: Tybin, Lumin, and Purdan.

“No, you may leave,” Talon said without looking up. He opened the first letter and read through it quickly. It did nothing to improve his mood.

Sighing irritably, Talon opened the next one, read it, and then read the last one. Unable to hold his frustration, he used the power to burn the letters to ash in his hands. The lords had essentially repeated each other. They wanted him to pull back support to the other nations and focus on Azzellia. Tybin said he should withdraw support and use the money on his citizens. Lumin and Purdan warned him of the dangers of helping the other nations too much.

“Fools,” Talon muttered. He whirled as the doors opened behind him. “Qidan?” He hadn’t expected to see his advisor.

“I sensed…” Qidan stopped before continuing. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t in danger.”

Ah, sensing the power. Talon almost told his advisor to leave but thought better of it. “Have your contacts found out who might have killed my father?” he asked.

“Not yet. We did just get back; I might hear something soon,” Qidan said.

Talon didn’t expect Qidan to get any useful information about his father’s death. Whether it was on purpose or not he didn’t know. That’s what frustrated him the most. Nobody had spoken about wanting to kill his father. The only complaints were Lerin’s desire to help the other nations.

Talon had to address the council tomorrow and inform them of his various activities, especially what had happened with Vandalor. One of the council members had caused Lerin’s death, he was sure. But who?

“Leave me,” Talon commanded. Qidan closed the door and he was left alone once again. The room was eerily quiet now. He welcomed the silence. He took off his boots and set his sword aside, then climbed into bed. Thoughts of what he was going to say to the council and what to do about the other nations quickly faded as sleep took him.

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Talon was the last to join the meeting. Besurlde, Hectar, and Alayna were seated with fresh cups of wine poured out. Daermod was sipping his. Corvin was still in Eshil Domain.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” Talon stated. “Is there anything I need to be aware of?”

Daermod put his cup down and cleared his throat. “I have something, your grace.” He hesitated slightly before continuing. “Dabu is refusing to pay their taxes. They don’t want to fund the forces helping against the rebellions.”

That darkened his mood. Dabu was a city near the Shimmering Peaks, close to the Malvarian borders. Talon hoped the others didn’t report other places not paying their taxes.

Nobody else said anything and waited on Talon. Of course. Besurlde wants me to pull back and the others do as well. The only one he wasn’t sure of was Alayna. She did what was best for herself or her family and she knew Talon’s positions all too well.

“Daermod, I want you to bring a host of soldiers to Dabu. I don’t want any violence. If any of them get unruly, arrest them. If they refuse to pay their taxes…” Talon paused for a moment. What should he do about that? Letting people avoid taxes would encourage other cities to do the same, yet he didn’t want to harm his people. “…arrest the mayor and install someone who will make sure they do. Avoid violence at all costs. We don’t want a rebellion forming here.”

Daermod paled and poured himself another glass. It was rare to send a council member to a city, let alone one on the edge of rebelling. “As you command,” he said and took a deep gulp of wine.

If the invaders were behind this unrest, was this the beginning of rebellions breaking out in Azzellia? Talon hoped not. A small spark could spread like wildfire and the last thing he needed was rebels here. “If you can get them to pay without arrests, the better. Listen to them and report what problems they are having. Perhaps we can assist them and ease the tension.”

“Admirable,” Besurlde said. “However, you’re being too soft. If you don’t nip this in the bud, more cities may take advantage of your generosity.”

“And if I’m too hard, that will spark other cities into defying me,” Talon responded. How could his uncle not see that? “Are there any other areas not paying their taxes?”

“None that we know of,” Alayna said. “I do have some good news. The rebels in Malvarian have been wiped out and our forces are returning home.”

“That is excellent news.” Talon’s mood lightened significantly.

“However,” Alayna continued, “a group of rogue power users attempted to kidnap a mage councilor.”

“What?” Talon leaned forward. That wasn’t bad news, at least not to him. If the mages were distracted… the possibilities ran through his mind. “Do you have any details?”

“Unfortunately not. The mages aren’t very forthcoming and I was lucky one of my informants heard. All I know is that there were eight rogues and a mage was severely wounded but will recover.”

It made Talon wonder if the rogue power users were paid to go after the mages or were part of something bigger. Someone using the power for their own benefit was one thing but to pursue a mage was dangerous. The mages would hunt them down if one of their own was hurt, let alone captured or killed.

“Interesting. But that isn’t a problem we have to worry about,” Talon said.

“I do have one last bit of good news,” Alayna said. “Skahad was able to stop their rebels before they grew into a problem. We shouldn’t need to aid them.”

All that leaves is Azzellia. Talon was glad Skahad didn’t need his help. Azzellia’s resources were going to be spread too thin if he helped them out. The invaders had to be behind these rebellions. Why were they waiting so long to attack? Over two years and the rebellions were almost wiped out. A part of him doubted the invaders existed. The past year would have been the perfect time to attack.

“I think recent events have caused people to become unruly, hence these silly rebellions,” Besurlde said.

“You don’t believe the invaders exist?” Talon asked.

“No, I don’t,” Besurlde said. “If these invaders existed, why haven’t they attacked yet? I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the same question.”

“I have,” Talon admitted begrudgingly. Giving ground to his uncle felt like admitting defeat. “Uncle, I have a task for you. Start investigating nearby towns. Listen carefully and see if there are any signs of unrest or talks of rebelling. If there are, take them, alive.”

“Why not have someone else do this? I have—”

“Because I said so,” Talon insisted.

Hectar, Alayna, and Daermod watched the exchange closely. Talon didn’t like arguing with his uncle in public, but Besurlde was skirting a fine line. He needed to stop that before it became a bigger problem. He was no longer a child.

“Everyone leave,” Talon said. “Except you two,” he pointed at Alayna and Hectar. Daermod and Besurlde didn’t know, but these two had asked to speak with him privately.

Once the others were out of the room, Talon turned his attention to the pair. “Why did you want to speak with me privately?”

“We’ve received reports from lords who are very upset with you,” Hectar said.

“This is nothing new,” Talon said.

Hectar twiddled his thumbs at his cold tone and straightened before speaking. “Nobody has given you details. We have them.”

“Both of our sources were able to confirm that Lord Ivan was planning to assassinate you,” Alayna said softly. “Hectar tried to get him arrested but he disappeared before the guards arrived.”

“Why is this being hidden from the other councilors?” Talon asked. Perhaps Ivan had killed his father and the council members were innocent.

“We believe that Ivan was getting help from someone on the council,” Hectar said slowly. “The attempt was delayed because you left to speak with King Durran.”

Closing his eyes, Talon wished he hadn’t left. An assassin could never kill him, not even while he was sleeping thanks to his wards. It would have been the perfect opportunity to capture the villain. He might have been able to learn more about the plot against him and his father.

Were Alayna and Hectar on his side, or were they using this news to throw him off their trail? Besurlde couldn’t be behind this. His uncle loved his family far too much to have poisoned his father. That left Daermod, though Talon didn’t see what he would gain by killing Lerin.

“You did well to tell me privately,” Talon said and stood up. “I’ll find a way to identify the traitor.”

The two councilors stood up at the same time. “We won’t tell a soul, not even our spouses,” Alayna said.

Hectar nodded.

“Good. Anything else?” Talon hoped there wasn’t.

“No,” Hectar said.

“Then I have work to do,” Talon said, and left the chambers.

He focused on the bond he had created with Qidan. It was useful, being able to track the mage wherever he went. Now it was time to make use of him.