Tahki stepped forward. “But your bloodline has ruled for centuries.”
Dyraien smiled. “It was my mother’s idea.”
It seemed cruel for a mother to deny her only child a chance at the throne. “But your family has done so much for this country by introducing modernism into their lives. I’m sure they’ll want you to rule them.”
Dyraien rested a hand on Tahki’s shoulder. “You’re very kind. Unfortunately, I’ve not been around the capital much. All my time has been spent tending to mother and running the country in secret. I’m not a familiar face among my people. Even you didn’t recognize me.”
Tahki bowed his head.
“It’s all right,” Dyraien said. “I’ve come to terms with it. I only care about my country’s future. So long as it’s safe and in good hands, I can rest easy. Which is where you and this castle come into play.”
Tahki looked up at him, into his blue eyes. The drumming of his heart quickened.
“Tahki, this castle is a gift to my country. I need you to change it.”
“Change it?”
Dyraien drew him close. “I need you to turn this castle into a weapon.”
Tahki waited for further explanation. When none came, he said, “Do you mean I should order and install cannons or something?”
Dyraien shook his head. “I don’t want you to buy weapons and equip them. I want this castle to be a weapon. Not like a warship, not like an armory. A complete weapon.”
Tahki tried to understand. “The entire castle. A weapon.”
“I need you to think of this castle as a living, breathing thing. A great and powerful force. Something the world has never seen. A machine that could destroy an army in a single assault.”
A machine. Tahki had read about a surge of mechanical inventions. Newspapers were calling this an age of enlightenment. From machines that spun cotton to engines that pumped water from mines. But he’d never heard of anyone turning an entire castle into a machine. It didn’t seem possible. He said, “What kind of energy could power something this large?”
Dyraien let his hand fall away. “There is a river below this castle that produces tremendous energy. Use the water, and turn my castle into a war machine. I want this to be a prototype. When my family is relieved from its duty, I’d like to give this castle to the council as a gift.”
Too many thoughts weaved through Tahki’s mind. He couldn’t wrap his head around what was expected of him. He’d never drawn a complete blank before when it came to architecture. Was this even architecture? Or was it invention? But wasn’t all architecture invention? Hadn’t his mother always pushed the functions of existing objects to make something new and exciting? Something surprising and innovative?
“I want to help. I really do. But I’m no weapons expert,” Tahki said. He didn’t want to lose this job, his first job. But getting in over his head wouldn’t benefit him, either.
“I’ve already tried a weapons expert. He proved inadequate. But it made me realize that I need a creative mind for this special project.”
Tahki scratched his left wrist. “Why can’t you just return to the capital city and gain the people’s favor? I’m sure there’s someone who will watch over your mother.” It seemed like an easier solution.
Dyraien’s face darkened. “I didn’t bring you here to give me advice on how to rule my country.”
Tahki’s hands dropped to his side. “Of course not. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”
“I like people to owe me things. I like control. This castle is to assure I still have some standing in the eyes of the council. I need them to need me, and I need you to do this for me, Tahki. Everyone else has been a disappointment, to say the least. You are my last chance to leave behind a legacy. Please, tell me you’ll try?”
His eyes looked so intense, so pleading.
“All right,” Tahki said. “If the castle can be made into a machine, I’ll find a way.”
Dyraien broke into a handsome grin. “If you do this for me, I promise you’ll be the most famous architect ever known. Every country around the world will know your name.”
They were the words he’d always wanted to hear, yet excitement eluded him. Not only did he feel unqualified for this, but something about Dyraien’s explanation didn’t add up. Dyraien didn’t strike him as the kind of person to simply give up his rule without a fight. Also, if the castle was to be a gift, why build it out in the middle of nowhere? Maybe Dyraien planned on threatening the council, but that didn’t explain why he built it all the way out here.
Still, Tahki had been hired to do a job, and he planned to do it well. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to become the most famous architect. Everything he’d ever wanted had just been handed to him. He’d be a fool to abandon it.
Dyraien finished the tour in a larger room on the second floor close to his bedchamber. “This will be your workroom. I’ll pick up a drafting table when I go to Edgewater. That’s the town nearest to here where I conduct my business when I’m away from the capital. Until then, try to make the room your own. You’ll be working here for the next few months. I want you to be comfortable.” And then he said his goodbyes and headed off.
Tahki stood alone in the room. He could feel the weight of the castle walls pressing in around him. A part of him felt the need to stand close to the door so he could run, like the walls somehow wanted to trap him. But that was only nerves from his bad dream last night. He could easily fit several tables in here. Though the castle walls absorbed light, the windows gave him more than
