50. Declan

Chapter 50

Declan

C ooks raced between boiling pots and sizzling pans as they prepared the royal household’s noon meal. Heavenly aromas of herbs and fresh-baked bread hung in the air. The Royal Chef, leader of the brigade, kept a watchful eye each time a cook added ingredients or seasoning. He wore a perpetual scowl as he dipped one of the dozen clean tasting spoons from the pocket on his sleeve, then thrust a taste into his mouth. Most of the time, his scowl turned into a relieved grin, and he would nod appreciatively to the cook.

So absorbed in his work was the man that he had failed to notice Atikus and me suddenly appear where one of his white-coated cooks had stood only seconds before.

The Chef nearly jumped out of his puffy hat.

The smallest cook, who looked more than fourteen years old, ran out of the room screaming, “Guards!” at the top of her lungs.

“You would have to land in the kitchen of all places.” I turned to Atikus with a smirk and an eye roll.

Atikus wiggled brows above twinkling eyes. “It is lunchtime. If I remember correctly—and you know I do—the Palace has the best chefs on the continent. Just smell that bread! Of course I landed us in here.”

The Chef ventured a nervous step forward, baffled by our banter almost as much as our sudden appearance. “Uh . . . hello?”

Atikus smiled broadly and offered a shallow bow. “Please forgive our rude arrival. We did not mean to startle you. I am Arch Mage Atikus Dani, and this is Declan Rea. I am not quite sure what title he has now. We are here to see your Queen and her guest, Guardsman Keelan Rea, but . . . would you mind if we tasted a bite of that hot bread before we bother Her Majesty?”

I couldn’t cover my mouth fast enough to stifle the laugh that tumbled out.

Silver-plated guards arrived as Atikus finished his first roll.

He was still licking the butter off his fingers when sword points appeared at his collar. We were ushered into a small room that looked strikingly similar to the study back at the Saltstone Guild. Atikus flopped into a leather chair, kicked off his shoes, and poured a glass of liquor from a nearby decanter.

I shook my head. “Really? Make yourself at home. Think I should ask one of the guards outside to bring us a pillow for your feet?”

“That would be wonderful,” Atikus said, wriggling his toes through stockings that showed more bare skin than fabric. He held up the decanter. “They wouldn’t put this here if they didn’t want us to enjoy, now would they?”

I chuckled and shook my head, then tossed myself into a chair across from my insufferable traveling companion.

A moment later, the door flew open, and Keelan barged in.

When he saw Atikus, his entire face lit up—and then he saw me.

He stumbled into a side table.

My big brother’s discomfort made me flinch. “I know. They’re weird, and everybody’s scared of me now.”

My head drooped.

Keelan closed the gap between us in two strides and lifted me out of the chair, wrapping me in a tight hug and lifting me off the ground so my feet dangled like I was seven years old again.

“You’ll have to do better than swirling eyes of death to scare me away, you puffy-headed idiot. You should know better.”

I didn’t fight the embrace the way I had when we were children. Instead, I wrapped my arms around Keelan and buried my head in his shoulder.

“It’s so good to see you, Kee. You’ve got no idea how much.” The beginning of a sob shuddered through my chest. Keelan started to release me, but I clung to him as a desperate man clings to a life raft in the ocean.

That’s what Keelan had always been for me: a beacon in every storm. I’d just been too wrapped up in my own insecurities to see it.

I knew he would be there for me no matter what.

Keelan’s arms were the safest place in the world. They always were.

Even now, as a twenty-year-old with immensely powerful magic, I found comfort in my brother’s embrace.

Keelan pulled back to find my face streaked. “Dec, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Atikus stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Our mother is dead,” I blurted out. “I mean . . . I lost her. Kee, I tried so hard . . . but her fingers . . . I couldn’t . . .” I began sobbing uncontrollably.

Atikus guided me to one of the chairs, while he took the other. Keelan kneeled beside me and gripped my arm.

For what felt like an eternity, no one spoke.

Keelan watched me as I mourned. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how few tears I’d shed over my mother’s loss—over all of our losses, really. Everyone expected me to be strong, to use my magic to fix all of their problems and set the world to rights.

Who was supposed to do that for me?

I might’ve turned into a powerful Mage, but the small boy who smarted at the slights of others and never grasped his own worth still battled within my soul.

Atikus, racked with his own sudden grief, stared with pooled eyes into the dwindling fire in the hearth.

After what felt like forever, I spoke, sounding very much like that small boy Atikus had first met seventeen years ago. “I know you never got to know her, Kee, but she was so strong. And Spirits, she was beautiful, inside and out. There were so many times I thought about just staying on the island with her and never coming back, but she knew what was at stake. She gave me strength and taught me to believe in myself for the first time. Imagine that. The mother we never knew did the most motherly thing possible just before—”

Another wave of sobs overcame whatever I was going to say.

Atikus pulled himself out of his own thoughts and leaned forward. “Declan, she was proud of you—of both of you. I cannot imagine a greater gift a son could give his mother than the time you spent with her. On the island, it was, what, a year?”

I tried to steady myself. “More like a year and a half, the way we counted it. It wasn’t enough. Dammit, it wasn’t enough.”

Atikus reached over and patted my hand. “If it had been a hundred years, it wouldn’t have been enough. Take that from someone who’s lived a very long time.”

Keelan released my arm and leaned back against Atikus’s chair. “What happened? Are you okay talking about it?”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Guess we’ll see.”

I walked Keelan through everything, starting with órla’s first warning about Atikus being attacked through my own arrival in the cavern at the base of the Silver Mountains earlier that day. Somehow, I managed to get through the whole thing without breaking down again.

“I still don’t understand.” Keelan turned to Atikus. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but how did you get here? Everyone else’s Gifts fell silent weeks ago.”

“The Gifts are part of the reason we are here, but first we need to find Irina’s spirit and send her where she belongs—to the void. If she is allowed to continue roaming free, there is no telling what kind of havoc she will cause. We fear she may also have the same unrestricted use of magic Declan and I now share.”

“Unlimited magic? What are you talking about?” Keelan looked between us with wide eyes.

I tried to smile, but a grimace was all I could manage. “Let’s just say we don’t have Gifts; we have magic. It isn’t unlimited, but it’s . . . a lot. Remember the old stories of the original Mages and how they could do almost anything? Back before Irina?”

Keelan nodded. “Yeah, I remember tales about that. Never believed any of it.”

“Well, it was all true. Turns out, several of those Mages sacrificed themselves to cast a spell that stripped the others of their magic and gave it as a Gift to normal people around the world. The spell had to be performed at the Well, the same Well our mother was the Keeper of.”

“Holy Spirits,” Keelan whispered.

“Literally.” Atikus chuckled despite the somber mood in the room.

“Anyway”—I shot the old man a scowl—“when Irina took over Larinda’s body and did whatever she did to the Well, she shattered the spell. Gifts ceased to exist. We believe we received our magical abilities because we happened to be the only people in the room at the time of Irina’s attack. If she hadn’t fallen into the Well, Kels? might’ve had the same powers, too.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why you popped up out of nowhere to scare the schnitzel out of my kitchen staff.”

Our three heads whirled.

The Queen stood in the doorway.

It seemed none of us had heard her enter.

I scrambled to my feet. Atikus followed suit as quickly as his old knees allowed. Unsure how to greet a monarch, I fumbled an awkward bow, then extended a hand as if to shake hers.

Keelan reached up and gently lowered my hand with his own.

“A bow is fine.” He exchanged an amused smirk with Jess. “Gentlemen, may I preset Her Royal Majesty, Jessia Vester, Queen of the Spires.”

“Oh, stop that.” She stepped forward and waved a hand like she was swatting a fly. “It is just us here. There is no need for bowing and scraping, though I do rather enjoy it when Keelan shows deference to me, as he should .”

Keelan reddened.

Jess chuckled.

Atikus looked from Keelan to Jess, then back to Keelan. His eyes widened, and he turned and poured another glass of amber liquid. This time, he handed it to me. “Here, you’re going to need this.”

Befuddled, I took the glass, shrugged at Keelan, and downed the liquor in one shot.

Jess cleared her throat. “Declan, it is nice to meet you. Keelan can be tough to pry conversation out of, but when he opens up, it is usually with some story about you.”

“Really?” I was genuinely surprised.

Jess nodded. “Declan the Terrible, I believe was one of your first nicknames?”

“Jess . . .” Keelan tried to cut in.

“Do not interrupt a Queen in her Palace,” she snapped, then tossed him a wink.

“Great, thanks a lot.” I jabbed Keelan with an elbow.

Atikus stepped forward. “Your Majesty, it is good to see you again, too. You look much better than the road-worn girl I recall.”

She smiled. “That was . . . a very different time. I will never be able to thank you for rescuing me and helping me return home.”

No one quite knew what to say after that, so everyone stood and stared at the floor or their hands.

“So,” Jess leaped into the conversation void. “We are all glad you are here, but you still have not answered why you scared the life out of my cooks.”

I barked a laugh. “Because Atikus’s first thought would be of food if the continent were sinking into the sea.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I am a tad hungry,” the Mage said seriously.

“I think we’re more curious what drove you to visit.” Keelan chuckled and saved Jess from pressing her question a third time.

“Ah, right. I suppose lunch can wait a few moments longer,” Atikus said. “We did a scrying in search of Irina’s spirit. We know from the vision that she is here in your capital, but neither Declan nor any of our Mages recognized the building. We thought one of the Queen’s Constables or staff might be able to help. Declan and I have a plan to banish her, but we have to locate her first.”

Jess nodded. “Of course my people will help. I will summon the High Sheriff and Mage Ernest to join us for lunch. They know this city as well as anyone and will be able to coordinate assistance, should you need it.”

Atikus offered a shallow bow. “Lunch would be most welcome—oh, and the assistance, too.”

As we were finishing the last of our meal, Sheriff Cribbs, Mage Ernest, and High Chancellor Marks entered. Each paid their respects with deep bows and quick introductions.

“Gentlemen, come join us. We need your help on a critical matter,” Jess said. “Are you hungry? We were just finishing, but the staff can bring you whatever you like.”

They thanked her but declined more than water and tea as they took their seats. Marks studied me intently, his eyes returning several times to the golden tunic poking up from beneath my cloak. When his gaze traveled to my eyes, I could hardly tell curiosity from terror.

“There is a person of interest hiding in a building here in the capital,” Jess threw pleasantries aside and aimed straight for the point. “Mage Dani and Ranger Rea need your help to identify the location they saw in a scrying. Once determined, I need you to provide them whatever assistance they may need to deal with the culprit.”

“My Constables will help any way we can, Majesty, but may we know more about this person? What they’ve done? Who they are?” Cribbs asked. “Why two Melucians appeared in our capital in pursuit of this person?”

Jess looked to Atikus and me and lifted a questioning brow.

Atikus thought a moment, then nodded. “Of course. We are looking for Irina’s spirit. She is currently inhabiting an elderly woman from the island of Rea Utu, a mystic of great value to their people. We saw her walking around a darkened shop or warehouse filled with candles. That is all the information we have.”

Cribbs whistled as Marks sat back, his eyes wide.

“Irina’s spirit? Really?” Marks asked. “And you’re sure she’s here?”

Jess nodded once.

“We are certain she was here roughly two hours before we arrived. Whether she is still in that building, or even in the capital, we do not know,” Atikus said.

Marks leaned forward again. “Speaking of your arrival, I’ve heard some fantastic rumors today. Care to share how you made it from Saltstone to Fontaine so quickly?”

“Later, Chancellor,” Jess said.

“There are only a couple places that could be,” Cribbs said. “We supply most of the candles for both the Kingdom, Melucia, and some of your neighbors to the east, too. There’s a large factory on the southern edge of town that handles most of the manufacturing, but there’s also a large shop that makes and sells sticks only a few blocks from the Palace. Do you have any idea why she would want to go to a candle factory?”

Atikus shrugged. “No clue.”

“All right, it will take a little time to gather the men and get them there. I can have teams in both locations in an hour or so. Would that work?”

Atikus looked to me.

“I think so. But Sheriff, tell your men not to enter either building. We believe she has an overwhelming arsenal of magic at her disposal. If we’re right, she could kill your men with barely a thought,” I said.

Cribbs nodded. “Meet me at the constabulary in thirty minutes. We can go over the plan and ride to the buildings together.”

“Excellent. I have other meetings this afternoon. Declan, Atikus, please let Chancellor Marks know if you need anything else. The Kingdom is at your disposal.” Jess stood.

Marks and Cribbs rose, bowed, and left.

Jess gave Keelan a peck on the cheek and left to begin receiving her afternoon audiences.

Atikus and I stared openmouthed at Keelan.

“The Queen just kissed you!” I blurted.

Keelan chuckled. “She does that a lot these days. You’ll get used to it.”

Then he winked at Atikus.

“This just gets stranger by the moment,” I said.

Atikus grunted.