“Really?” Evelyn said with a giggle. She was holding Talon's arm as they walked down the hall.

  To his surprise, Talon found himself comfortable with her hanging onto him. It was something she had started doing recently. “Yes, Qidan was quite shocked when I used the power. It could have ended badly for me.”

  “That’s so smart,” Evelyn said, staring at him with her big brown eyes. “I’m glad you succeeded. Things need to change, and you are the man we need.”

  Flattery or honesty? Talon wasn’t sure. He liked being complimented for a change. Many of the things he had done had resulted in more enemies or people being nervous around him, as if expecting him to blow up at any moment. Lately, he hadn’t even been holding the power as much, and his nightmares weren’t as bad.

  Clearing his throat, Talon unhooked his arm from hers. Despite her loyalty, he still wasn’t sure whether it was an act or not, and he couldn’t allow himself to be caught off guard, or it might cost him his life.

  Evelyn gave him a disappointed look. “How long until you trust me?”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Talon said, choosing each word carefully, as he didn’t want to upset her further. “I must be careful around everyone. I have so many enemies, and Elysian Fields showed me what happens when I get too arrogant.”

  “Take my hand,” Evelyn said and reached her left hand out. Hesitantly, Talon put his right hand in it. She clasped her right hand on top of Talon’s. “I am not your enemy. I’m not playing a game or trying to trick you. You are who we need in these times, and I trust you with my life.”

  Her eyes never left his. Talon also found himself believing her. He couldn’t see any sort of deception in her gaze. All he saw was fondness, but why? How could someone trust him after what he did to her father, forcing his loyalty with an oath-keeper?

  “I never agreed with my father on how he treated you. I read the treaty you offered, even though he told me not to, and all I saw was a genuine desire to work together. No matter what I said, he would ignore my advice and pushed toward war,” Evelyn continued. Her hand slightly tightened his. “What he did was unforgivable, and I am glad his plan failed.”

  “But why?” Talon found himself saying. “How could you want your father to fail, knowing it could have cost him his life? I almost killed him!”

  “Because he needed to be humbled,” Evelyn said and let go of his hand. “I’m glad you didn’t kill him, and I am not surprised you didn’t. You are a wise king, and it would have been much harder for you to get Eshil Domain to your side if you had killed the king.”

  She has no idea how close I was to killing him and some of the mages. Talon thought. Still, she trusted him. If she was lying, then she was the best liar he had ever seen. Her words were sincere, yet he hesitated. Was it a good idea for him to get close to her?

  He found himself staring awkwardly at her as Evelyn stepped closer, her body inches away from his. Talon couldn’t back up any further if he wanted to, as he found himself against the wall.

  “Your grace,”

  The sound of Roderick snapped them both back to reality, and Evelyn quickly backed up as the commander of the royal guards came up to them. “Apologies for the disruption,” he said.

  If there was any judgment, Roderick was hiding it well. Talon wondered what the commander of the royal guards thought of him, especially as of late. “It’s fine, what do you need?”

  “A member of the Whispering Mists is requesting a meeting, stating it is urgent,” Roderick said.

  I could tell them later; I have other things I could do. Talon thought. He was pretty sure he knew who this Whispering Mists member was. The memory of his father telling him about the importance of the Whispering Mists and how rare it was for them to speak to a king made him change his mind.

  Lerin had told him to never ignore a meeting with the Whispering Mists, for doing so could cause problems he wouldn’t want to deal with later. “Very well. Evelyn, I’ll be back,” he said.

  “You know where to find me,” Evelyn said and gave him a wide smile.

  Feeling his cheeks flushing, Talon turned heel and began walking down the corridor. Perhaps it was good to get a break from her, he had been spending an awful lot of time with her, training her to use the power and idle talk.

  Roderick walked with him to the throne room and opened the door for him. Talon walked through and was not surprised to see Jen Pentori standing in the middle of the room. The first thing he noticed was that Arturo wasn’t with her. That had to mean this matter wasn’t related to him, which was good at least.

  Without missing his stride, Talon walked and raised his hand when Roderick went to follow. He had nothing to worry about when it came to Jen, and his Ashtari guards were elsewhere for a change. It was kind of nice not having guards follow him, even if it was temporary.

  “How can I help you?” Talon asked. He didn’t want to deal with the pleasantries. There were things he needed to do. He hadn’t checked in with Corvin in a while; it might be good to see how he is doing with the army.

  “I just got back from Vandalor,” Jen said and reached into her pocket and took out a letter. She reached out. “When speaking with Queen Misha, she asked me to hand deliver this to you the moment I got back.”

  “Oh?” Talon took the letter. “Did she say what she wanted?”

  “No, she only told me to give it to you,” Jen said.

  Talon had his ideas on what the queen wanted. He opened the letter and was about to read it when he saw Jen hadn’t moved. “Anything else?”

  Jen looked like she wanted to say something. “No, that’s all I had. Thank you for your time, Your Grace,” she said with a bow and walked off.

  He wondered what she wanted to say but changed her mind about. No matter, I have enough problems to deal with. Talon thought, and looked at the letter.

  Dear Talon,

  It has been quite some time since you visited, and I know you got my previous letters. We need to talk. I don’t want another excuse for why you can’t visit. You will come here as soon as possible, or our alliance will be terminated. What we have to discuss is important. Heed these words.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Queen Misha

  Talon stuffed the letter in his pocket. It was only a matter of time. He had been avoiding her as he didn’t want to lie to her once more. He couldn’t lose her support, and delaying much longer would create strife. Misha was an early supporter of his, and she would go through with her threat and probably assume he had killed her husband.

  “Commander!” Talon yelled, and the doors opened. Rickard came in, looked around, and saw no immediate threat and calmly walked over.

  “Yes, Your Grace?”

  “I need you to grab the Ashtari. Tell them to come here immediately,” Talon said.

  “As you command,” Rickard said and hurried off.

  He waited for twenty minutes. The Ashtari all came at once. Aurora, Dorvan, Afflon, Lewis, Chesmarn, Khaldia, and Tol'Solie. Talon wasn’t going to go to Vandalor without his Ashtari. Misha would never betray him, at least not unless she knew he had killed Durran, but he wouldn’t risk it.

  “We’re heading to Vandalor,” Talon began. Each of the Ashtari stood at attention like the trained power users they were. “I don’t expect any danger, however, you are to be on high alert. If you sense power users, don’t hesitate to act. Any questions?”

  As expected, there were none. The Ashtari knew what they had to do. Talon summoned the power, and his Ashtari did the same. Good, they were taking this trip seriously. He stretched out his hand and created a portal. Misha might not like his entrance, but he couldn’t risk being seen traveling to Vandalor. Besides, she knew he had the power and should expect something like this.

  He was the first to enter. Behind him came Aurora, then Dorvan and the others. “What? Intruders!” a guard said and pulled down his spear.

  Talon waved his hand, and the spear went flying out of the guard's hand. The other guards quickly surrounded them. “Who are you?” One of the guards said, his staff was shaking as he looked at each intruder.

  “I am Talon Astero. Fetch the queen; she should be expecting me,” he said.

  “We’ll see if she’s available,” another guard said and scuttled off.

  Talon had arrived right outside the palace gates. He wasn’t going to be rude and enter Misha’s palace without her permission. Perhaps he should have arrived in the city as he might have caused a bit more of a fuss than intended. The other Ashtari looked at ease, and all of them were looking in different directions. He didn’t sense any other power users, though that didn’t mean there weren’t any mages. He was positive there were mage spies everywhere, even in Carhan.

  He found himself growing impatient as quite some time passed. This shouldn’t be taking so long. His foot was tapping the ground, and the guards were looking a tad nervous. Even here, the guards expected him to do something with the power.

  Thankfully, the Ashtari were used to waiting for periods of time and didn’t do much other than fidget and speak a bit amongst themselves. A door opened and out came the guard who had gone to check on the queen.

  About time. Talon thought. He had to tell himself that Misha wanted to be prepared.

  “The queen is ready for you if you would follow me.”

  Talon followed the guard, and his Ashtari came along, their heads looking all around. Even in the palace, he sensed no power users. Not even the mage advisor that should be here. After walking for a couple of minutes, they arrived at a giant room with six big pillars and a golden throne. Sitting with her head held high was Queen Misha. She was wearing a green gown and wore the red crown. Her hair was in a bun. She looked at him with a cold expression.

  Curiously enough, her son, Rishmar, wasn’t here this day. Talon could guess why. Misha was going to ask about Durran’s death and when he said no, she didn’t want Rishmar to assume he was behind his murder.

  There were a few guards and servants, but nothing out of the ordinary. Despite that, Talon didn’t let go of the power. He would not have a repeat of Elysian Fields, not ever again. He bowed as a courtesy, “you requested my presence,” Talon said. The Ashtari spread out a little but remained close to him.

  “I would like to speak with you in private,” Misha said. “I’ll send my guards away, and you will have your... Ashtari wait outside, agreed?”

  “Very well,” Talon said and nodded at Aurora, who got the Ashtari together and left the palace. One of the guards, most likely the commander, walked up to Misha and whispered something in her ear. Misha waved him off, and the guards and servants left, leaving them alone.

  Silence filled the room for a few moments. Misha looked a bit stressed, though she was hiding it well. Talon waited for her to start the conversation; one she must have been dreading for some time now.

  “Let’s start this off with an easy question,” Misha said. She got up from her throne and walked over to Talon. “Why did you not come sooner?”

  “I apologize. I’ve been busy, especially with my recent captivity,” Talon said.

  “That is no excuse!” Misha said sharply. “You are my ally, and I believe you know why I’ve called you here. Once you showed off your Ashtari, you should have come here immediately.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Talon said. There was only one way to get Misha off his back after waiting so long. “During my captivity, I was tortured, and it has taken me longer than I would like to admit to get over it. You can ask the nobles in my kingdom, and they’ll tell you I’ve been off since my return.”

  Misha looked taken aback, as if not expecting an honest answer. “So, the rumors are true,” she said.

  Talon nodded and looked up at the ceiling. Even talking about his torture made him shudder. “I didn’t expect it to take me so long to recover. In truth, the nightmares still plague me but have dwindled as of late. That is why I haven’t come to visit. I apologize for the delay.”

  “Do you know why I’ve called you here?” Misha asked.

  “Unfortunately, I do,” Talon said and put both arms behind his back. He refocused his attention on the queen. The thought of lying to her made him sick to his stomach. Durran’s death had been necessary, though it didn’t make him feel any better. “You want to know if I killed your husband.”

  “Did you?”

  “No, I did not kill King Durran.”

  Misha looked at him, her eyes darting all over his face to find anything that gave away the lie. “I’m not sure I believe you,” she finally said and raised her hand when Talon went to respond. “I believed the invaders were behind his death until the moment you showed you could use the power. Now, I have many questions. Why would the invaders kill my husband but not attack other kings? Why would the invaders go for my husband when it could only benefit you?”

  Smart woman. Talon thought. Misha had thought of everything. He needed to convince her that he didn’t kill him. The only chance he had was to tug on her emotions.

  “I didn’t have your husband killed,” Talon said firmly. “My wish is to save Aidris from the invaders. Killing someone who disagrees with me goes against everything I am fighting for. How can I say I want to protect us all and kill someone who refused an alliance? It would make me a hypocrite.”

  Just saying those words made Talon’s stomach churn. How he was able to sound so convincing only made it worse.

  “That’s true,” Misha let out a sigh. “I know these are vile accusations. I’ll believe you because I want to believe you wouldn’t go that far. If you are trying to save all of Aidris like you say, then you’d not have killed him, which still gives me many unanswered questions.”

  “Trust me, I have as many questions,” Talon said. Relief flooded his body. There was no way she could find out the truth until he told her, and he would, someday, when the invaders were defeated. He would do everything he could to atone for his actions. “These are dark times, and we don’t know what these invaders are capable of. All we know is that they are led by the Durmaddon’s and seek to control these lands.”

  “I find it hard to believe the Durmaddon’s are alive. They were thrown and supposedly killed over a thousand years ago. How could any of them still be alive?”

  “We’ll get those answers in due time,” Talon said. Now it was time to leave, he hoped. “I apologize for being abrupt, but I do need to be going. Unless you need something else of me?”

  “No, that is all. I do ask, would you keep one of your Ashtari here? I would like to have a way to communicate with you quickly,” Misha said.

  “What about your mage advisor?”

  “He’s gone, fled shortly after Elysian Fields. I suspect he won’t be back unless I break our alliance,” Misha said.

  Is that a good or bad thing? Talon found himself wondering. With the mages under control, for now, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an Ashtari here. He had a feeling in his bones that the war he was waiting for was close and he would hate not to find out about an attack because a messenger needed to ride all the way to Carhan.

  “I’ll leave Lewis with you. He’s a gifted power user and can relay any messages,” Talon said.

  “Thank you,” Misha said.

  “I’ll be off then. I’ll be sure to be more available,” Talon said.

  “I would appreciate that,” Misha said.

  With a quick bow, Talon left. It was times like this that he wished he hadn’t been made king. He could justify the murder of King Durran all he wanted, and he doubted he would ever stop questioning himself. For now, he would look toward the future.