“It’s sad that the borders were closed,” Rye said. “Dyraien says it’s for the best, but I think it will only cause more tension between the countries.”
Tahki took a breath. Rye didn’t know where he was from, or he would have said something.
They sat down next to each other on a stone wall. “It was well-built. I can tell by the condition of the roof,” Tahki said.
Rye didn’t look at him. “Do you know why I brought you here?”
“Since you don’t have a pistol, I assume my ‘shoot me’ guess was wrong.”
Rye didn’t roll his eyes, but his mouth twitched upward in a slightly exasperated way. “I wanted to show you this place because I know how overwhelming the castle can be. When I first came here, I felt like the castle was watching me. But that’s just the isolation playing games with you.” He glanced at Tahki. “The first day I started renovations on the castle, I knocked out the wrong wall. One of the inner supports collapsed. I’d never made a mistake like that before in my life. Lucky for me, Dyraien found it amusing.” Tahki sat still, shocked at Rye’s sudden openness. “The castle is not a home.”
“And this place is?” Tahki said.
“No, but it feels real here. A reminder that there’s a world out there. Coming here helps me clear my head.”
“So you brought me here because you want me to clear my head?”
Rye nodded. “You’ve shut yourself in your room for the last week. That kind of seclusion fogs your judgment.” They sat so close their hands almost touched.
“Why did you lie to Dyraien?” Tahki said. “I went against your word. I thought you’d love the opportunity to humiliate me.”
Rye signed. “Your designs are good, Tahki.”
“Then why did you say they weren’t?”
Rye slouched a little. “You have talent. Your designs, I can’t really put a name to what they are. At first, I thought they were ridiculous, but after seeing your design today, I realize you might be the only person who can give Dyraien what he wants.”
“But you rejected that design.”
“Of course. It looked too influenced by something already done. But it had potential. A kind of intuitiveness this project needs.” Rye ran a hand through his hair. When Tahki messed up his hair, it looked like a rat’s nest, but Rye managed to make his look intentionally good-messy. “I want you to come here, to this temple. I want you to walk here or take a gingoat the next time you think up a design. Get away from the castle. Get it out of your head. Sit here, think about the design.”
Tahki massaged his wrist. “I’m sorry Dyraien blamed you for my mistake.”
“He won’t stay mad long.”
“He seems to really trust you,” Tahki said.
Rye shrugged. “Dyraien saved me from a bad situation. I came to live with him when I was fourteen, just after the queen fell ill. He gave me a home, an education.”
Tahki didn’t know what to say. He knew Rye came from the lower cities but couldn’t imagine a prince inviting someone from the slums to live with him. Maybe their relationship was romantic. But he’d never seen them kiss or go to bed together.
“We lived in the capital a few years after the sickness took hold. The queen was still able to make appearances for a time. She acted normal enough, only she’d say odd things that just didn’t make sense. I mean, they sort of made sense, it was just an odd way to say something, like she saw the world different. You probably have no idea what I’m talking about.”
Tahki did know and worried Sornjia might suffer from a similar illness. But Sornjia had spoken that way all his life.
“Her health continued to deteriorate slowly, and then rapidly, until she couldn’t remember who she was. We moved to this castle for privacy, traveling back and forth as needed. A few years after living here, the queen forgot her own son, and it was then Dyraien dredged up this plan to turn the castle into a weapon. Dyraien hired a weapons expert before Gale, but he wasn’t right for the job. We tried for years, different plans, different designs. But nothing ever satisfied Dyraien.”
Tahki inched closer. “But the castle seems like so much effort for not a lot of gain.”
Rye shrugged a stiff shoulder. “Dyraien is the kind of person who needs to be needed. Who needs people to owe him things. I think this castle will prove him to be a capable leader, show he can defend his country while advancing it technologically.”
Tahki bit his lip. Too many questions dodged in and out of his mind. “You said he saved you from a bad situation. What kind of bad situation?”
“You don’t have many boundaries when it comes to asking personal questions, do you?”
“Sorry.” Tahki found a stick and drew circles in the dirt.
“Everyone has something about them they’d prefer to keep private. I bet even you have some secrets you don’t want me to know about.”
Tahki glanced at Rye, and for the briefest moment he considered telling him who he was and where he was from. But it didn’t seem worth the risk. Rye had finally opened up a little. Confessing might ruin the moment.
“Rye, do you know what’s behind the black gates?”
“The black gates?”
“I was wandering around the castle and found two large gates, but they were locked.”
Rye frowned. “You mean the gates in the basement?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve never been down there?”
“Once, when the river flooded. But I never saw what’s behind them.” Rye thought a moment. “Dyraien said it was something his ancestors built and that I was to leave it alone in my renovations. I think he used to take his mother there
