Adrin

It had been a long day, and Adrin was more than ready to go to bed, but he’d hoped to at least browse the reports from Yanset Bharsalli’s experiments on Esar Semfrey before he met with Naomi that night. But Sefoni had arrived in his study empty-handed, bringing only the news that those reports were nowhere to be found.

“I’m sorry, Adrin. I asked the librarians, I asked my husband, no luck. The papers are gone, and whoever took them didn’t sign them out via proper procedures.”

“So they were stolen?”

“Maybe.” Sefoni drew the word out thoughtfully, her expression pained. “Students are careless, sometimes. They take something from the shelf and don’t put it back where it belongs, or forget to sign the logbook, and files go missing. It doesn’t mean that the reports were deliberately stolen, but it doesn’t mean that they weren’t, either.”

Adrin ground his teeth. “Thank you for checking. I’m sorry for the trouble, but we’re going to have to keep following this. We need to track them down, one way or another.”

“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, Etherret is going to give you his personal notes once he gets them together. It was Yanset’s project, but he was her supervisor at the time.”

“Etherret Maisk?” Adrin hadn’t realized that Professor Maisk himself was involved in studying Esar.

“Yes . . . my husband,” Sefoni replied.

“Oh.” What a fool he’d been for not making the connection. Adrin had noticed that her last name was Maisk, and figured there might have been some kind of relation, but never gave it any more thought. He’d been so preoccupied with everything else that he’d never even asked Sefoni about her family.

He had to do better. Be more thoughtful, no matter who he was dealing with. “I . . . uh, I really appreciate it. All your help. Tell your husband I said thank you, too.”

“Oh, don’t sweat it. It’s my job, all right?” Sefoni laughed. “Besides, I like watching smart guys figure stuff out. That’s why I married Etherret.”

“How did you meet?” Adrin asked, using the question to deflect Sefoni’s uncomfortable joke. She had to be at least a decade younger than her husband, but surely she hadn’t been his student . . .

“It’s a long story. We can save it for another time.”

“Of course,” Adrin said. “I won’t keep you any longer. Good night, Sefoni.”

Once his assistant left, Adrin could finally get ready for bed and get some rest, if “rest” was the proper word for what his sleep had become. His body would still get its respite, even if his mind was no less active in his dreams than when he was awake.

He didn’t relish the thought of facing Naomi after the day’s awkward trip with Jocyanë, so it came as a relief that she wasn’t there when he fell asleep. Someday he and Jocyanë would be married. How were they supposed to make that work if they couldn’t get along with each other?

He could feel Zafrys’s presence nearby and called to her, and the younger version of the queen walked in through the door of his workshop.

“Did Vauscham and Noete love each other?” Adrin asked. Uncomfortable thoughts always bubbled to the surface in dreams unless you pushed back hard against them.

Zafrys raised her eyebrows, then nodded, as if it had taken her a moment to process the question. “Yes, I think they did. It depends on what you mean by ‘love,’ of course.”

“What do you mean by it?”

“It’s hard to say, with those two. They were partners, both in ruling the kingdom and in bringing up Svetrand, but it was more than that. I think they were quite fond of each other, just not in a romantic way.”

“How did that . . . work?” Adrin asked.

“Well, they both knew what they were getting into from the start. Irezan wasn’t the first heir that had everybody wringing their hands over the succession. ‘There must be a man and a woman on the throne! The Ocean requires balance! But the crown prince doesn’t have any interest in women, oh no, what shall we do? Well, the Ocean knew what she was about. She chose Noete as the Princess Ethereal. She had enough pride and honor of her own that it didn’t bother her that the marriage wasn’t a romantic match—and once she and Vauscham had secured the succession and Svetrand was born, there was no shortage of men willing to keep her company if her bed got too cold.”

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Adrin gaped. How could Zafrys speak so matter-of-factly about the queen who had preceded her flouting her marriage vows? There were extenuating circumstances, but still . . .

“And Edardes Sedner was always around too, of course. He was like a second father to Svetrand, and there were days when I felt like he was the only friend I had in the palace. Those first few years were terrible. I felt like I didn’t belong here.” She looked straight at Adrin, reading the concerns that had prompted him to ask about Vauscham and Noete. “Noete hated me, and Vauscham wasn’t much better. Poor Svetrand didn’t know what to make of this odd woman that the Ocean had stuck him with, and I wasn’t so sure what I was getting into, either. We could get into a fight over anything.”

“But . . . you learned to get along?” Even in the dream, Adrin couldn’t quite bring himself to say “to love each other.”

Zafrys laughed. “Get along? Where’s the fun in that? We fell in love and then kept on bickering because we both enjoyed it so much. I miss arguing with Svetrand more than almost anything else.”

Constant bickering didn’t sound like the foundation for a happy marriage to Adrin, but everyone was free to have their own predilections. He couldn’t imagine himself coming to enjoy the sort of arguments he had with Jocyanë, though.

“So what I’m trying to tell you is that you shouldn’t feel like you’re doomed to a loveless marriage just because Jocyanë hasn’t warmed up to you yet. The Ocean knows what she’s doing, even if it doesn’t make sense to you now. In fact, I was a little surprised that Gerimon and Irezan got on so well right from the start. That’s not at all the norm—that’s just Gerimon. He could say the right thing to anyone, make them feel valued, and just listen.”

She’s talking about him just like the other dead kings and queens. “We need him back,” Adrin said. “I can’t manage the assembly, I can’t do all of this—”

“We’ll find a way to bring him back,” Zafrys said. “You’ve got a project to work on, don’t you?”

“That’s right,” Adrin said. “But shouldn’t Naomi be here by now?”

“I’m here!” Naomi spoke suddenly from the doorway. “I—I have some bad news.”

Bad news was an understatement. She told them that Norsyff Yasoh had declared himself king of Nalla-Bidharac, reviving the old name for the kingdom of Galibasti. Adrin listened to her story with increasing horror and nearly forgot about King Gerimon for the moment. It had been bad enough with Lord Norsyff ruling the lakelands like his own personal fiefdom ever since Lady Tashar died, but Nalla-Bidharac had still been part of Elorhe. The petty lords chafed against Elorhan law, but their tenants still had the rights of free citizens. Now Norsyff’s flunkies were brutally retaliating against those who tried to stand up against his “rule.” Did they intend to turn back the clock four centuries and bring back serfdom as well?

“Vaclan and the army will put an end to this,” said Zafrys firmly.

“But how soon can they get here? They’re coming to the Sanctuary tomorrow, and Esar wants me to go far away while they’re negotiating. Not like I’d be able to do anything, anyway.” Naomi frowned. “I just—I just wish there was something I could do!”

“You told us this very important news. That’s something,” Zafrys said.

“I know, but—I want to protect people. Isn’t that why I’m here? Isn’t that why I exist?”

“You don’t exist to be a weapon!” Adrin said. How could she think of herself that way?

Naomi looked at him with a pained expression.

“You’re only human, Naomi. You can’t do everything,” said Zafrys.

“I’m not only human, though!” Naomi protested.

“You are human!” Adrin said. “I know you’re a Rispara, but you’re a human, too. Don’t forget that. And don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Naomi squeezed her eyes shut as if holding back tears. “It’s hard. Esar says it’s not my fight. But it’s your fight, and I want to help so bad, but there’s so much I don’t know . . .”

“I know it’s overwhelming,” Adrin said. “But just learning all you can—that’s important.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“Maybe it’s not enough yet, but it will be.” He smiled and repeated her own words back to her. “You’re doing a great job.”

Naomi vanished.

“Naomi!” Adrin cried out, jumping to his feet.

“Something just woke her up. There’s no need to panic.” Zafrys gave Adrin a piercing look.

“I know that,” he said. “But what? Are they really safe, where they are?”

There was a stern edge to Zafrys’s voice. “Whatever is going on in Rhadasy, there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

“We can send word to Vaclan, ready the army—”

“A few hours until morning won’t make a difference now. And what if your friend comes back?”

“Right,” Adrin said. Maybe he should have gotten back to work on a device to save Gerimon, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. Instead, he watched the door, waiting for Naomi’s return. He could only hope that whatever had awoken her suddenly hadn’t been dangerous.

Please be all right, he thought.