Talon sat on the uneven ground amid the destruction their fight had caused, his gaze was fixed on his beloved uncle’s lifeless body. The intensity of the battle had subsided, but the realization of what transpired hit him hard. The betrayal was hard to come to terms with. He could have been sitting there for hours or even days, lost in thought and struggling to understand what had happened.
His uncle looked peaceful despite his many wounds. It was hard to believe the man had tried to kill him. Talon wiped a tear away. He had shed enough tears today. It was going to be difficult for him to trust anyone now. If his uncle had tried to kill him, then why not Hectar? Alayna? Maybe even Corvin?
I looked up to you, Talon thought. We were so close. How could you want to kill me after all we’ve done together? Besurlde had trained him in sword fighting. Made him laugh when he was sad and kept his secrets when he snuck out of the palace to act like a commoner. He had got him out of trouble and helped people around the country. How could a man like that kill his brother and then try to kill his nephew?
Clouds blocked off the sun and the wind picked up. A storm was coming, and Talon welcomed it. Before long, rain began pouring and he didn’t move an inch. Perhaps he deserved this. Maybe his uncle was right when he had advised him to be ruthless. Giving aid to the other nations wasn’t helping. Despite the betrayal, Talon was thinking about how he could achieve his goals.
Malvarian’s rebels should be defeated or close to it by now. He wouldn’t be surprised if Dashan made an excuse not to meet. How would he deal with a liar?
It was time to return home. He stood up and took a few steps. Mud squelched under his boots and he looked at the sky one last time, the raining smack his face, relishing in his misery.
He opened a portal into his room but hesitated before stepping through. Talon walked toward his uncle, grabbed his arm, and dragged the body with him as he stepped through the portal and into his room. The portal winked out behind him.
Nobody was in his room. Talon wasn’t sure what he would have done if a servant or guard had been in there. He needed Qidan. He hid the body behind his bed, then moved toward the door. He couldn’t let anyone see his injuries. There would be too many questions and he didn’t want to have to fabricate a story.
Talon wished he had mastered the mirage technique. It would have allowed him to change his appearance. Instead, he would have to tell a guard to get his advisor. He opened the door slightly and heard one of the guards turn around in shock. The door was open enough for Talon to speak but no one could see him.
“Sire? When did you… can we help you?” Taipan asked.
“Tell Qidan to come to my room, alone, immediately,” Talon said.
“As you command,” Taipan replied.
Talon closed the door, then flopped down on his bed. His eyes grew heavy as sleep threatened to take him. He couldn’t sleep yet, not until Qidan had healed him. The bond was the only reason Talon trusted his mage advisor. There was nothing he could do to him, making him the most trustworthy person in the entire palace. He hadn’t bothered to learn healing, since it could be difficult and dangerous to heal yourself. If you pass out in the middle of healing yourself, you could inadvertently harm yourself and depending on the severity of the injury and how far the healing had gone, could result in death.
Minutes or hours could have passed, Talon couldn’t say, but eventually his door opened, admitting Qidan, who was wearing a blue robe. “You called for—” Qidan stopped when he saw Talon’s injuries and rushed forward. “What happened?”
Talon forced himself into a seated position. “My uncle tried to kill me,” he said softly and pointed to where the body was hidden.
Qidan quickly walked over and looked at Besurlde’s body with curiosity. He knelt and touched where the lightning had struck. “Did he try to kill you with the power?”
Talon nodded, and Qidan gasped. “Unbelievable. Both of you could use the power? Remarkable,” Qidan said and stood up. “Do you want me to heal you?”
Talon nodded. Qidan placed his hands on Talon’s shoulders and gathered the power. It was an odd feeling. The cuts and bruises reversed, healing themselves. It felt like a cold mist spread over Talon. He gasped for a moment because of the pleasure that radiated through him. The cold vanished, replaced with a tingling sensation that made him want to sleep, and then it was done. All the pain he had felt before was gone, replaced with exhaustion.
“Wow,” Talon gasped. The room was spinning and he desperately wanted to lie down once more. “That wasn’t what I expected.”
“Healing can be extremely tiring, especially with how injured you were,” Qidan said and stepped back. “You might sleep for over twelve hours once you lay down.”
“Sleep can come later.” Talon shook his head to try to wake up. “Is there a way to test if someone can use the power? I want to make sure nobody else in my family can use the power without them knowing I’m checking.”
His family wasn’t large. Talon had a few cousins in Carhan and other distant relatives spread throughout the kingdom. Norman would be the first person he would want checked out. The others weren’t as involved in the kingdom, so he would do it next time he ran into them.
“There is,” Qidan said, taking one more glance at Besurlde’s body. “That’s assuming the person doesn’t know how to hide the power. If the person you’re testing is hiding the power, the test won’t be reliable.”
Talon didn’t know that was possible. It was something to discuss with his advisor later, but there were other priorities. “I need you to show me. My uncle didn’t know I could use the power, nor did I know he could. He would have killed me if he had been properly trained; he was stronger than me.”
“That makes sense,” Qidan said as he stroked his chin. “I imagine your uncle had been using the power for a couple of decades. His abilities should have outmatched yours. With the knowledge you possess, you must have a teacher, yet I haven’t seen anyone who could be training you. How do you know so much?”
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Talon didn’t answer. He would never tell the mage about the hidden archives. It was a good thing his father hadn’t told Besurlde. “Show me how to detect the power in someone else,” he insisted.
Qidan gathered the power and held out his left palm. “I’m doing this so you can see.” A thin misty line appeared in his hand. “This is usually invisible. Think of this as a probe.” The line moved toward Talon and then disappeared after touching him.
“I don’t feel anything,” Talon said, looking at the line touching his chest. If he hadn’t seen the line touching him, he wouldn’t have known.
“You shouldn’t,” Qidan said. “But I felt the power in you. If you couldn’t use the power, then I wouldn’t have felt anything at all.”
Qidan showed him how to create the line to where only Talon could see and nobody else. Despite his tiredness, Talon mastered the ability quickly. It was a simple technique and one he could use on his entire family.
“What should I do with the body?” Talon asked.
“Declare him a traitor and say he’s missing. Don’t tell anyone he could use the power. There would be too many questions about how he died,” Qidan said.
Good advice. Talon found himself surprised. There was no resistance from the mage. Perhaps his advisor was beginning to accept that Talon was in control. “All right.” Talon grabbed the power and created a portal to the spot where he’d fought his uncle. “Make sure nobody enters this room until I return.”
Talon picked up Besurlde’s body, and walked through the portal, trying to ignore his wobbling legs. He couldn’t use much more of the power in his current condition. Perhaps he could create two more portals. Luckily, all he needed was one more. The rain was drizzling compared to before, though the ground was muddier. He placed his uncle’s body on the ground.
“Rest in peace. You taught me one last lesson before you died,” Talon said, ignoring the sadness threatening to overwhelm him. Despite the betrayal, he still loved his uncle and was going to miss him. “I will never forgive you for killing my father. You are the reason I have this burden and now I have to make some tough choices. Nobody will know you almost killed me nor will your body ever be discovered. You’ll be wanted, despite you being dead.”
Talon burned Besurlde’s body with the power. He stayed until the fire died down and his uncle’s body was only ashes. Nobody would know who this was, even if they dug up the ground. With the power, Talon created a hole big enough to fit the ashes and placed them inside, then covered the area with mud.
He returned to his room. He wanted to sleep. His body was shutting down. The healing and fighting were nearly too much. Qidan was near the door, standing by, and glanced up when Talon returned.
“Thank you,” Talon said. Tomorrow, he would make a public declaration about his uncle and hang Daermod as a traitor. It would be a busy day. “You may leave me now.”
Qidan bowed slightly before leaving. Talon sighed and stripped his clothes, burning them with the power. If a servant or guard saw his clothes, they would ask him what happened and he didn’t know what he would say. Then he crawled under his covers, wishing he could have prevented what his uncle had done.
Talon was sleeping so deeply that he didn’t realize his ward had gone off. Someone was shaking him.
“Wha—?” Talon mumbled and stopped when he realized it was Sellie.
“Are you sick?” Sellie asked.
“I was just tired,” Talon said. He could tell she didn’t believe him.
“Very well. You know you have an important matter later today?”
“Yes, I know,” Talon said. He felt heavy. All he wanted to do was curl up and fall back asleep. “I’ll get up in a moment,” he added.
He shut his eyes for a moment and opened them again once Sellie had left. He was thankful she hadn’t pried any further and he wondered if that was because he was king now. Sellie was never one to let him off easily.
Ten hours of sleep wasn’t enough; he almost fell back asleep before forcing himself up. He had to see to the announcement about his uncle and the execution of Daermod.
Talon forced himself up and got dressed. He used the power to give himself a little boost of energy. There was a danger in using the power this way. Though he felt awake now, in reality his body was still exhausted. Using the power to keep himself awake could cause him to pass out if he pushed himself too far, though usually happened if he kept going for days instead of a few hours. According to the hidden archives, it wasn’t uncommon for mages to do this and accidentally push themselves too far, at least back when the mages fought in wars.
The royal guards followed him to the execution. Word had spread throughout Carhan of a council member being sent to their death. A noble, let alone a council member, being executed was rare. They moved to the center of Carhan, where it was easy for people to gather. Some of the commoners called this area the ‘execution center’ for that was what it was used for, mainly. There was a yearly feast given to the common folk in this area as a way to keep up morale.
A crowd had already formed. Thousands of people were squashed together, each trying to see what was going to happen. Daermod was by the gallows, his face pale and his body visibly shaking. Talon wished he could have killed Daermod quietly and been done with it. People were yelling out questions, asking what crime Daermod had committed.
Talon ignored the shouts and stood at the edge of the platform, looking over the people, who fell quiet when they realized he was about to speak. Fifty guards were on the ground in front of the platform. Another fifty guards were behind and twenty guards were on the platform itself, all holding either spears or swords and shields.
The executioner was standing by the side with an axe in his hand. He would be the one to cut the rope that would release the platform holding Daermod up. The rope was tight around the traitor’s throat.
Talon spoke quietly to Daermod, telling him that his family was safe and the threat was over. Daermod asked him how he knew but he didn’t respond.
Talon cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Citizens of Azzellia. I have come here today with great sadness. Councilmen Daermod has betrayed our great nation.”
The audience erupted with anger and called for the traitor’s head, but their yelling subsided when Talon raised his hand.
“There is more. Daermod is not the only one. Under the orders of my uncle, Besurlde Astero, Daermod had my father, your king, poisoned. They also sent an assassin after me. It is with great regret that I must announce Besurlde escaped before he could be brought to justice.”
Yells erupted from the crowd again. Talon didn’t try quieting them down; there was no point. He had stoked them up enough to cause an uproar. A few people tried to move past the guards and were shoved back. Thankfully, nobody tried to attack the guards. The last thing Talon wanted was blood to be spilt.
Alayna and Hectar looked shaken. Talon had been watching them closely and this confirmed to him that they weren’t involved in the plot. For whatever reason, Besurlde hadn’t gone after them. That was good; the last thing he wanted was to replace the entire council.
Be ruthless. The last words his uncle had spoken echoed through his head. With the audience only getting louder, Talon gave the signal, and the executioner cut the rope. Daermod gasped one last time before the platform opened and his feet dangled as the life was throttled out of him. Daermod struggled in vain, his eyes bulging as his face turned purple and his entire body thrashing.
Talon never took his eyes off Daermod’s face, not even when he stopped moving. This was a lesson he needed. He didn’t want it to be easy to sentence someone to death. He didn’t want to watch, but this was necessary. Once he was positive the lord was dead, Talon looked away. There would be more executions in the future and he would try to watch them all if he could.
With the execution over, Talon walked off the stage. All of the guards moved into position and followed along. The crowd was still screaming. Now came the next part of his plan. It was time to visit two of his old friends.