What is Lord Maloi doing here? Arturo thought. He found himself conflicted upon seeing the lord. He recalled the last time he saw Maloi, shortly before the raid on Arindall. Before the death of his family. Back when he was a different person. The old Arturo would have been overjoyed to see Maloi. Now, he didn’t know how to feel.

  “It’s great to see you again, Lord Maloi,” Jen said with a slight bow. If she was conflicted about seeing the lord again, she was doing a great job of hiding it.

  “It’s been a while,” Arturo said.

  “Little Jen, my, how you have grown!” Maloi said and gave her a hug. “By Tarmella’s graces, I can’t believe you’re both alive!” He broke his embrace with Jen and had the sense not to hug Arturo.

  “It hasn’t been easy. You look to be doing well. How’s Kartina?” Jen said.

  “She’s doing well. Visiting some family while I deal with some business,” Maloi said.

  “I’m glad to hear she’s doing well,” Jen said.

  “Please, join me for a walk. I would like to catch up, at least a bit. I have so many questions,” Maloi said.

  Arturo was thinking of an excuse not to go until Jen spoke up, “We’d love to,” she said with a smile.

  “Excellent!” Maloi started walking. With a quick movement of his hands, Maloi sent both guards further back. Arturo flanked the left side of the lord while Jen went to the right.

  Arturo wondered how he could get himself into this situation. The last thing he wanted to do was talk with Maloi, especially since Jen was about to ask him something about Tarmon. He wondered what she was going to ask about Tarmon. It must have been important, as Jen was hesitant to bring it up their entire walk! Now he had to deal with a lord.

  “First, I want to say how sorry I am for what happened at Arindall and my absence,” Maloi began, his voice cracking a little before returning to normal. “When I learned about the attack, I raced back as fast as I could. I helped rebuild, but the losses there broke my heart. Seeing all the destruction and the dead.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Jen said and patted the lord on the shoulder. “You were doing everything you could to protect Arindall. Father talked about how lucky we were to have your support.”

  “And yet it was for naught. I saw the graves of your parents and brothers. I had assumed you were killed as well or missing. I never expected to see either of you alive again,” Maloi said. “I heard rumors of a man with a large sword killing fifty men by himself. I had hopes Arturo might be alive, yet I didn’t truly believe it.”

  “Well, I’m alive,” Arturo said.

  Jen shook her head but ignored Arturo. “Thank you for rebuilding Arindall. I haven’t been back since the raid.”

  “I know,” Maloi said, glancing at Jen’s right shoulder which bore the insignia of the Whispering Mists. “I can’t imagine the Whispering Mists giving you a lot of time to visit your home.”

  Jen looked down at the ground. “That’s not it. A lot of people died, and I would feel ashamed that I wasn’t able to help rebuild.”

  “You wouldn’t recognize Arindall if you went back,” Maloi said. “King Talon has focused a lot on securing the villages near the unknown waters. He even has Ashtari patrolling the coasts. I don’t think a raid like that will happen again.”

  “You hope,” Arturo said. There was no way he would believe Arindall was safe from an attack. “A war is coming. If the Durmaddons send an entire army, there will be no way to protect any of the coast cities from the first attack.”

  “You’re wrong,” Maloi said and stopped. He raised his head to meet Arturo’s gaze. “There is an evacuation plan in place when the invaders attack. The Ashtari will get the citizens out.”

  Arturo wanted to believe it would work. But he knew better. Fighting for the Crystal Syndicate and in so many battles over the years had taught him that no matter how much you planned something out, something would always go wrong. Still, he didn’t want to argue and simply nodded.

  “From what I gather, a man with a large sword fought with someone who called himself Kyrad Durmaddon. That was you, wasn’t it?” Maloi asked.

  The name caused Arturo’s blood to boil. He couldn’t stop himself. The pain Kyrad had caused him was too much. He glanced down and noticed his hand had clenched into a tight fist and was shaking.

  “You remind me of your father,” Maloi said.

  Jen pursed her lips but said nothing. It was obvious to both of them that saying Kyrad had made Arturo angry.

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  “Listen to me, Arturo,” Maloi’s expression grew serious. “Your father wouldn’t want you to hunt this man down.”

  “How would you know?” Arturo said.

  “It’s a story I’ll tell you someday, but not here,” Maloi said.

  No story would stray Arturo from his path. He would kill Kyrad. The man had killed his brothers, John and Marcus. His brothers deserved justice. All his brothers had wanted was to live peaceful lives, and that was cut far too short.

  “Anyway, what are you both doing here?” Maloi asked.

  “We’re here to speak with the king. My brother is recruiting an army from all the nations,” Jen said.

  “Oh?” Maloi said. “Why recruit from all the nations?”

  “To show the nations that we can work together,” Arturo said. His earlier anger was simmering down. “I call it the Shields of Aidris. I only have Azzellia and Vandalor left.”

  “Don’t expect much from King Talon,” Maloi said.

  “Why do you say that?” Jen asked.

  Maloi closed his eyes for a moment as if deciding whether to elaborate. He looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “Since his captivity, he’s been erratic. His audiences end abruptly, and he cuts people off, not wanting to hear the full story. He’s thrown a few people out of the audiences, something he never did until recently.”

  “He was tortured during his captivity,” Arturo said. Talon may have wanted that to remain hidden, no king wanted to admit to being tortured, but word had spread around, and he had seen how Talon looked upon his rescue.

  “I know,” Maloi said with a sigh. “It doesn’t change the fact that he’s not his usual self. He needs more time to heal, though he won’t give himself that. He’s far too worried about the invaders to give himself a break.”

  “He’s the only king who’s doing what needs to be done,” Arturo said. The other kings were being dragged like children into this affair. If not for the assassination of King Durran, Vandalor would never have allied with Azzellia. King Harold had been forced to submit when Talon and his Ashtari slaughtered a portion of Harold’s army. The other two nations would be harder now that the mages knew about the Ashtari.

  “Besides, Arturo helped rescue him. I’m sure Talon won’t forget about that,” Jen said.

  “Really?” Maloi said with awe and let out a chuckle. “Perhaps you do have a chance. However, you’ll want to be careful. Be as respectful as you can. He’s a bit paranoid about his enemies.”

  “How do you know this?” Jen said.

  “I have my sources,” Maloi said.

  Arturo knew the lord wasn’t going to elaborate. He avoided politics; he hated what people did for power, but he wasn’t naive enough not to know what went on. He imagined all the lords had spies. It would be fine if the spies were being used against the enemy, yet they were being used against the same people these lords should be protecting!

  “What do you think of the Ashtari?” Jen asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Maloi said and continued walking. Arturo and Jen matched his pace. “If this Kyrad Durmaddon truly has an army at his side, there’s a good chance he has power users as well. If that is the case, then we’ll need the Ashtari.”

  Sounds like I shouldn’t wait and see Talon sooner rather than later. Arturo thought. If Talon was erratic and meeting people weeks after his capture, then a few days wouldn’t make a difference. If Talon decided not to grant him troops, then he would go and recruit from nearby towns. It would be better if Talon cooperated, but he couldn’t have an army that didn’t include Azzellia or Vandalor. Otherwise, his army wouldn’t make the point it should. How could he call his army the Shields of Aidris if one of the nations had no soldiers?

  “It’s been good to see you,” Arturo lied. “I’ve got some things to do before it gets too late.”

  “Oh, all right,” Maloi said. “Do you mind if I see you again?”

  “Sure,” Arturo said, wishing he had just said no. He saw Jen’s relief and wondered why she cared if he saw Maloi again or not. He turned to leave.

  “One more thing,” Maloi said, stopping Arturo and Jen in their tracks. “You should remember the blacksmith from Arindall, Ulrich Dalanois; he has his own shop. You should see him.”

  Ulrich Dalanois was the man who had crafted Arturo’s sword. Arturo allowed himself a smile. It would be great to see the blacksmith again, and he was sure the man would love to look at his sword. He maintained his blade, but no one could do better than Ulrich himself. “I will,” Arturo said and continued walking without looking back.

  Jen and Arturo walked for a few minutes, not saying a word to each other. People passed, and then Jen stopped and looked up at her brother. “Why did you treat Lord Maloi so poorly?” she asked.

  “I don’t trust any lords or kings. I don’t see why anyone does. All they want is power while people like us suffer. Arindall showed us that,” Arturo said.

  “Maloi isn’t like that!” Jen protested. “He did all he could to protect Arindall. There’s no way he could have predicted what was going to happen. Nobody knew these invaders existed!”

  “He is!” Arturo said. He wanted to yell but stopped himself. There was no point in causing a scene in the middle of a street. “I’ve met lords who acted like him! Showing their fake emotions about how they care and then they stab you in the back.”

  “Arturo…” Jen began.

  Arturo raised his hand to stop her, “Listen to me. In my first year with the Crystal Syndicate, I met a man by the name of Lord Duro. He reminded me a lot of Maloi, and I trusted him. But his kindness came at a cost. All he wanted to do was use my strength. He followed me for a couple of months, providing me with advice, food, and support. Until he wanted his repayment. He told me to kill a lord because they had insulted his family. A petty thing, and when I refused, he threatened me with expulsion from the Crystal Syndicate and promised my life would be miserable. Still, I refused.” The memories were flooding in fast. Arturo wanted to punch something. How anyone could act like a lord made him angry.

  “And?” Jen asked when Arturo remained silent.

  Memories of men coming at him and dying flashed through Arturo’s mind. “He tried and failed in getting me kicked out of the Crystal Syndicate. When he realized Veldahar wouldn’t kick me out, he wanted me dead and sent five assassins. It didn’t take much for me to deal with the assassins, and with the help of Veldahar, I was able to bring justice to the lord.”

  Jen said nothing and waited until the silence became uncomfortable, and it was clear Arturo was done speaking. “That doesn’t mean all lords are like that. I have met kind nobles who helped people and asked nothing in return. Judging a group of people by the actions of a few is naive.”

  “Perhaps,” Arturo admitted and continued walking. He didn’t bother to look and see if his sister was following. “But I will never trust a noble or king.” Of course, he was going to be meeting with the king himself and hope he granted his request for skilled warriors. He hoped it went well.