The remaining members of their group-Kiln, Lukel, and Shudenwere gathered atop the house. watching as Raoden focused his Aon spyglass on the funeral pyres being built in the palace courtyard.
Baron Shuden sat morosely on the stone roof, shaking his head in disbelief. Sarene held the young Jindo's hand in an attempt to provide comfort, painfully aware of how difficult the last few days must have been for him. His future father-in-law had turned out to be a traitor, Torena had reportedly disappeared, and now his best friend was dead.
'He was a brave man.' Kiin said, standing beside Raoden.
'That was never in question,' Raoden said. 'His actions were foolish nonetheless.'
'He did it for honor, Raoden,' Sarene said, looking up from the despondent Shuden. 'Telrii murdered a great man last night-Eondel acted to avenge the duke.'
Raoden shook his head. 'Revenge is always a foolish motivation, Sarene. Now we have lost not only Roial, but Eondel as well. The p.sople are left with their second dead king in the space of a few weeks.'
Sarene let the matter drop. Raoden spoke as a ruler, not as a friend. He couldn't afford to give Eondel leeway, even in death, because of the situation the count had created.
The soldiers did not wait on ceremony to immolate the fallen men. They simply lit the pyre. then saluted en masse as the bodies burned away. Whatever else could be said about the Guard, they performed this one duty with solemnity and honor.
'There,' Raoden said. pointing his Aon at a detachment of about fifty soldiers who left the pyre and galloped toward Kiin's house. All wore the brown capes that marked them as officers in the Elantris City Guard.
'This could be bad,' Kiin said.
'Or it could be good,' Raoden said.
Kiin shook his head. 'We should collapse the entryway. Let them try to break down my door with a ton of stone behind it.'
'No,' Raoden said. 'Trapping us inside won't do any good. I want to meet with them.'
'There are other ways out of the building.' Kiin said.
'Still, wait for my command to collapse your entryway, Kiin,' Raoden said. 'That is an order.'
Kiin ground his teeth for a moment, then nodded. 'All right. Raoden, but not because you order it-but because I trust you. My son may call you king, but I accept the rule of no man.'
Sarene regarded her uncle with a look of shocked surprise. She had never seen him speak in such a manner he was usually so jovial, like a happy circus bear. Now his face was flat and grim, covered with whiskers he had allowed to start growing the moment Iadon was found dead. Gone was the brusque but compliant chef, and in his place was a man who seemed more like a grizzled admiral from her father's navy.
'Thank you, Kiin,' Raoden said.
Her uncle nodded. The horsemen approached quickly, fanning out to surround Kiin's hilltop fortress, Noticing Raoden on the roof, one of the soldiers urged his horse a few steps closer.
'We have heard rumors that Lord Raoden, crown prince of Arelon. still lives,' the man announced. 'If there is truth to this, let him come forward. Our country has need of a king.'
Kiin untensed visibly, and Raoden let out a quiet sigh. The Guard officers stood in a row, still mounted, and even from the short distance, Raoden could see their faces. They were harried, confused, yet hopeful.
'We have to move quickly, before that gyorn can respond,' Raoden said to his friends. 'Send messengers to the nobility-I plan to hold my coronation within the hour.'
Raoden strode into the palace throne room. Beside the throne dais stood Sarene and the young-looking patriarch of the Korathi religion. Raoden had only just met the man, but Sarene's description of him had been accurate. Long golden hair, a smile that claimed to know things it didn't, and a self-important air were his most striking features. However, Raoden needed him. The statement made by choosing the patriarch of Shu-Korath to crown him was an important precedent.
Sarene smiled encouragingly as Raoden approached. It amazed him how much she had to give, considering what she had been through recently. He joined her on the dais, then turned to regard the nobility of Arelon.
He recognized most of the faces. Many of them had supported him before his exile. Now most were simply confused. His appearance had been sudden, as had Telrii's death. Rumors were widespread that Raoden had been behind the assassination, but most of the people didn't seem to care. Their eyes were dull from the shock, and they were beginning to show the wearied signs of extended stress.
It will change now. Raoden promised them silently. No more questioning. No more uncertainly. We will put forth a united front, with Teod and face Fjorden.
'My lords and ladies,' Raoden said. 'People of Arelon. Our poor kingdom has suffered too much over the last ten years. Let us set it at right once again. With this crown, I promise-'
He froze. He felt… a power. At first, he thought the Dor was attacking. However, he realized this was something else-something he had never experienced before. Something external.
Someone else was manipulating the Dor.
He searched through the crowd, masking his surprise. His eyes fell on a small red-robed form almost invisible among the noblemen. The power was coming from him.
A Derethi priest? Raoden thought incredulously. The man was smiling, and his hair was blond beneath his hood. What?
The mood of the congregation changed. Several people fainted immediately, but most simply stared. Dumbfounded. Shocked. Yet somehow unsurprised. They had been beaten down so much, they had expected something horrible to happen. Without checking. Raoden knew that his illusion had fallen.
The patriarch gasped, dropping the crown as he stumbled away. Raoden looked back to the crowd, his stomach sick. He had been so close…
A voice came at his side. 'Look at him, nobles of Arelon!' Sarene declared. 'Look at the man who would have been your king. Look at his dark skin and his Elantrian face! Then, tell me. Does it really matter?'
The crowd was quiet.
'Ten years you were ruled by a tyrant because you rejected Elantris,' Sarene said. 'You were the privileged, the wealthy. but in a way you were the most oppressed, for you could never be secure. Were your titles worth your freedom?
'This is the man who loved you when all others sought to steal your pride. I ask you this: Can being an Elantrian make him any worse a king than Iadon or Telrii?'
She knelt before him. 'I, for one, accept his rule.'
Raoden watched the crowd tensely. Then, one at a time, they began to kneel. It began with Shuden and Lukel, who stood near the front of the crowd, but it soon spread to the others. Like a wave, the forms knelt-some in a stupor, others with resignation. Some, however, dared to be happy.
Sarene reached down and snatched up the fallen crown. It was a simple
thing-no more than a hastily constructed gold band-but it represented so mueh. With Seinalan stunned. the princess of Teod took his duty upon herself and, reaching up, placed the crown on Raoden's head.
'Behold, your king!' she exclaimed.
Some of the people actually started cheering.
ON E man was not cheering, but hissing. Dilaf looked as if he wanted to claw his way through the crowd and rip Raoden apart with his bare hands. The people, whose cheers increased from a few scattered yells to a generaI exclamation of approval. kept him back. The priest looked around him with loathing, then forced his way through the crowd and escaped through the doors, out into a darkening city.
Sarene ignored the priest, instead looking over at Raoden. 'Congratulations, Your Majesty,' she said, kissing him lightly.
'I can't believe they accepted me,' Raoden said with wonder.
'Ten years ago they rejected the Elantrians,' Sarene said, 'and found that a man could be a monster no matter what he looked like. They're finally ready to accept a ruler not because he's a god or because he has money, but because they know lie will lead them well.'
Raoden smiled. 'Of course, it helps when that ruler has a wife who can deliver a moving speech at precisely the right moment.'
'True.'
Raoden turned, looking out over the crowd toward the fleeing Dilaf. 'Who was that?'
