'You are very kind,' Piro said, and he was, to notice a mere servant. She bowed, and they stepped down from the dais as other nobles claimed the elector's attention. Piro tore her gaze away from him.
'What is it, girl?' the mage asked. But before she could answer a beautiful middle-aged woman approached them.
'This is Comtissa Cera. Her husband, the Comtes, died last year and she fancies herself the next elector,' Mage Tsulamyth whispered to Isolt and Piro. 'Beware this cat. She has claws.'
'Mage Tsulamyth?' The comtissa bestowed a bow on him.
'Comtissa,' the mage greeted her with no more than a nod.
Comtissa Cera ignored Piro, who dragged in a ragged breath and tried to control her Affinity-induced sight. The world no longer shimmered.
'I hear your father grows weaker every day, my dear,' the comtissa said to Isolt. 'What will you do when he dies? You cannot let a barbarian duke claim the throne of Merofynia.'
Piro stiffened. But Isolt was used to dealing with this kind of courtier.
'Oh, Father is much better than he appears,' Isolt replied. 'It is the elector's health I fear for. What will Ostron Isle do when they lose him? With the Twin Isles in upheaval, Ostron Isle needs a strong leader.'
The comtissa's eyes narrowed.
Just then another group came over to meet Isolt and the mage introduced them. Comtes Abeillus began to pay Isolt extravagant compliments, which Piro knew would bore her silly.
Piro glanced out through the arches to the courtyard where a fountain played over a pool. Servants had poured oil on the pool's surface and lit it. Statues of wyverns frolicked in the flames as if frozen in stone. Such extravagance.
Behind her two old noblemen, who thought Piro could not understand their language, spoke frankly of Duke Palatyne. For all they cared he might conquer Rolencia and the Snow Bridge. They did not fear him, because of the logistics of attacking Ostron Isle. The Merofynian army would have to sail across the Stormy Sea and enter the Ring Sea. But they would never get that far because Ostron Isle had the greatest navy the world had ever seen and, as a last resort, they could tighten the chain across the entrance to the Ring Sea.
All around her the nobles jostled and jockeyed for position, shoring up alliances. They were like carrion birds waiting for the elector to die so they could pick over the bones.
Piro felt a touch on her back.
'We have been seen and discussed, we can go now. My bones are too old for these late nights.' The mage leant heavily on Isolt's arm. 'But first we must take formal leave of the elector.'
Due to the crowd, they had not moved more than a few steps from the edge of the dais. Piro looked over at the elector.
In a blink, her sight shifted to the Unseen world again. The elector was just a skull, bare bones, no skin, no life. With a start she realised this was one of the nexus points Tyro had spoken of and she had failed to heed her Affinity.
The elector was going to die tonight.
Piro slipped through the nobles, running lightly to the dais, where she dropped to her knees. The elector clutched his chest, straining to breathe. His eyes were frightened. His hand seized hers, squeezing so hard her bones hurt.
'Mage,' Piro cried, her high voice cutting through all conversation. 'The elector needs you!'
The musicians stopped mid-note. The elector's breath rattled in his throat. Once, twice, he gasped. Then no more. As his spirit left, Piro's sight returned to normal.
There was absolute silence and, though she hadn't known him, tears stung Piro's eyes.
Mage Tsulamyth knelt at her side to gently close the elector's eyes, smoothing the lines of pain from his face and placing his hands neatly on his chest.
A sob escaped Piro. She had not wept for her father and mother, or Lence. There had been no time. Now she wept for a man who had been kind to a maidservant, someone who could do him no favours.
'Murderer!' roared a voice.
Piro wiped tears from her eyes and spun to see Comtes Abeillus pointing an accusing finger at Tsulamyth.
'I saw the mage slip something into the elector's drink earlier,' Comtes Abeillus claimed. 'He killed the elector. Arrest him!'
'Rubbish.' Piro leapt to her feet, forgetting she was not supposed to understand Ostronite. 'The mage gave him nothing.'
Tsulamyth placed a restraining hand on Piro's arm, struggling to his feet with great dignity.
Comtes Abeillus ignored her, calling for his private swordsmen. A dozen armed men in emerald-green cloaks barged into the room with their weapons drawn.
'They came too quickly,' Isolt whispered as she joined Piro and the mage. 'This was planned.'
'I fear you are right,' Tsulamyth muttered. He raised his voice, suddenly finding strength. 'Comtissa Cinnamome. I am accused of murdering your kinsman. What do you say?'
'The accusations are false. My uncle died of natural causes.' The comtissa spun to face the other nobles. 'Abeillus only accuses Mage Tsulamyth because he seeks to discredit the mage. He knows Tsulamyth doesn't favour him and won't vote in his favour. The elector's death was a natural death and by law, I propose Comtissa Cera of Cerastus House as the new elector.'
'I accept.' The comtissa stepped forwards.
'I propose my uncle, Comtes Abeillus,' a youth announced. 'House Abeillus is due to hold the electorship.'
'It is not a child's game, to be taking turns. The position requires competence and reliability,' Comtissa Cinnamome snapped.
'What of Merulus House?' a youth with prematurely silver hair spoke up. 'I propose myself for the position. Cerastus House held the electorship before Cinnamome's.'
'Transport my uncle's body back to his chamber,' Comtissa Cinnamome ordered.
'No,' the youth from Abeillus House objected.
'Will you fight over my uncle's dead body?' The comtissa signalled the elector's swordsmen. 'Show some respect. Throw these buffoons out.'
The chamber erupted. Hired swordsmen clashed, tables overturned. People screamed and fled, others drew their own weapons and sought to settle old scores. The mage grabbed Piro and Isolt, displaying unexpected strength as he ran from the room. A single swordsman blocked the doorway, weapon drawn. Piro came to an abrupt stop, heart thundering.
'Do you want to live out the rest of your life unable to make love to your wife?' the mage asked, soft voice filled with menace.
The man stepped aside.
They ran down a corridor. Servants fled alongside them. Caped swordsmen ran in the opposite direction, as they went to aid their masters.
The mage hesitated at the courtyard to the city. The main gate was closed and around fifteen swordsmen waited, obviously ordered to stop anyone from leaving.
'Back this way.' Tsulamyth led them up a flight and down another corridor. At the end of this, they had to wait for a dozen caped swordsmen to settle what appeared to be a private dispute over a woman, before they went up another stair. An eerie howl rang through the palace, making Piro's skin prickle. Thrusting open carved double doors, the mage led them into a chamber. It was simply decorated by palace standards.
The Comtissas Cinnamome and Cera, and two others, had gathered around a bed. All of them turned at the intrusion. The howl came again, haunting and bereft.
'Comtissa Cinnamome,' Tsulamyth greeted her, hardly out of breath.
'We brought his body back here, to have a healer proclaim it is a natural death — ' Another howl cut her short. Stepping away from the bed, she revealed the dead elector and a young wyvern no bigger than a large wolf hound. The Affinity beast lifted its head and howled again, forelimbs on the elector's bed.
'Will someone get rid of this creature!' the comtissa demanded.
'Abeillus will claim you bribed the healer. The matter will have to go before the Council of Five,' Mage
