Michael gazed through frosted glass to the pavilion below. Duncan's form appeared pained as it stiffened with Ariana's approach and subsequent response.
He pressed the hinge so the pane gaped at the edge, just enough for him to hear the conversation, and found it disconcerting.
So far, she defied every assumption he'd made. Unruly, dangerously loose of tongue and a hair on the bitter side — her mannerisms supported his notion that Garren's mercy had been purposeful. As far as they understood, little infuriated the High Lord like rebelliousness, and he could not fathom her either begging for her life to be spared, or his offering her freedom willingly. Which meant only one thing. Garren knew whose blood he was relinquishing. But why?
Garren's own forces had obliterated Palingard — everything Ariana had ever known. Surely he couldn't fancy this would buy him an ally behind the divide?
Turning from the window, he started toward the hall of scrolls, grateful for the silence. Though there was little need for formal guard within their borders, he was still rarely unencumbered by the well-meaning populace he governed, often bombarded with those wishing to do everything for him from cleaning his weapons to lacing his tunics. He did at times enjoy the company, but more often than not, he regarded their intrusion with respectful silence. Since their return from Middengard, he'd insisted on his solitude — considering the Torradh had laid to rest a good many Adorians, his wishes went unchallenged.
For the remainder of the day, he left Ariana's care to Jenner and his wife and busied himself with re-reading Gabriel's journals, searching, hoping for something he might have missed. He lost count of the hours.
Sighing, he dropped the seventh leather-bound book onto the table, causing loose papers to fall into disarray about the floor, disappointed for once at his father's meticulous prudence. He rubbed his tired eyes, missing sorely the days when his bones felt less aged, and his spirit unbroken.
He jumped slightly as a knock echoed loudly through the room.
'My liege?'
'Approach.' Michael shook his head, more in frustration than displeasure for the interruption — but it apparently displayed the latter.
'Forgive me, my Lord. I mean not to bother you, particularly after…'
Michael hushed his prattling with a slight lift of his hand. 'Never mind all of that, you've not bothered me in the least. What is it?'
A man, bent over with age, stepped beyond the Adorian, genuflecting as he did so. Personable, he smiled politely at Michael, keeping his hands shyly clasped together at his stomach as he stood.
'My Lord, this is Bronach, a historian on loan from the House of Childress in Artesh. If it pleases my liege, he has been assigned by the Council of Elders to the restoration of the Saeculum.'
Michael nodded, vaguely recalling some business of the sort that he had delegated to several of the smaller provinces. 'I see the old ways are not totally forgotten. I imagine if the mythologies were real, Bronach might be pleased that you bear his name in such a profession. Tell me though, clearly you are human, were you raised here?'
Michael knew the remaining Braeden, if not by name, by face, and he had never seen this man before.
Bronach nodded. 'It is as you say, my Lord. I fear I have never known my birth name. I was brought here as a youngling.'
Michael gathered several of the journals into the crook of his arm, patting Bronach on the back as he brushed past. 'While you are here, you should acquaint yourself with Jenner. He finds the past absurdly titillating and would more than enjoy the company.'
He was almost to the door, having nodded his agreement with the arrangement, and had resigned himself to finding answers elsewhere, when Bronach spoke again.
'Am I to take it then, my Lord, that the past is of little interest to you?'
A smirk found its way to Michael's usually still features as he pivoted to face them. 'The present and the future concern me far more than the past, which I can no more change than live eternally.'
A peculiar grin lit up the historian's face, highlighting his bushy blonde brows and unsettling amber eyes. 'Well spoken, my liege,' he said warmly, 'If you find there arises the need for an old man such as this humble servant in any other ways, I believe you know where to seek me. My labor is yours, as my loyalty is to our great realm.'
The room was resplendent, far richer than anything she had ever seen — even the doorknobs were made of precious metal. At the northernmost corner of the castle, nestled into the side of the mountain, the view revealed a landscape she couldn't have conjured in her wildest dreams. Instead of the plain, earthen rock of Middengard, Adoria's white-stone mountains shimmered like crystals that had been thrown by a god onto the horizon.
The ceiling alone was over thirty feet high. Thick blue velvet curtains hung floor to ceiling and were pulled to the side of a wall that was made entirely of glass.
Past the threshold was a seating area that had been furnished with several finely fashioned chairs and a chaise, all facing a large fireplace in the center of the room. Ariana walked to it and bent down to get a better look, discovering that she could see through it to the other side. A smile lit up her face as she peered around the corner.
Behind the fireplace was a canopy bed made of gleaming silver. White linen curtains embroidered with delicate designs along the hems were hung along the canopy railing. Ariana ran her hands along the needlework, lightly fingering the elegant trim of the pillows.
'This room once belonged to my daughter, and Michael of course.'
Expecting Jenner's voice, Ariana was startled to hear a woman.
'Ariana, this is my wife, Lady Elspeth.'
Ariana couldn't recall how to curtsy, though Sara had taught her once, so she hugged her arms to her chest and did her best to look regal. 'Thank you for your kindness, Lady Elspeth. May I assume you are human because you do not have wings?'
'Please, call me Elizabeth.' She placed her hand on the small of Ariana's back and ushered her toward a tall wardrobe. 'It was my name in Dullanan. I am human, however, only Adorian men have wings. Perhaps Jenner will bore you with the story of our meeting another day.'
Jenner was older than his wife, though Ariana could not tell how much so. If she had to guess she would say twenty years, certainly enough to be considerable.
Though Ariana was still seething, infuriated with Duncan, she was engrossed with the events unfolding around her. Elizabeth opened the doors, revealing more clothes than most of the young women in Palingard had owned collectively.
'These were Genevieve's,' she said, touching a deep green dress with a scarlet cloak that hung beside it.
'Does she have no further use for them?' As the words tumbled thoughtlessly from her lips, Jenner's comment concerning Michael returned to her. 'Oh, forgive me,' she murmured.
Jenner smiled a small, sad smile. 'She died several years ago, but rest assured, she had a loving spirit, and would have delighted in your use of them. And do not concern yourself with Michael; it was he who suggested it.'
'Thank you,' she whispered, ashamed that she had been so involved in her own misery that she had failed to hear Jenner when he'd told her of Michael's loss — of their loss.
'Rest. Aulora will be up shortly to change the dressing on your wound.' He paused, smiling. 'Though I sense you will fight us on this, a chambermaid has been chosen for your service. Her room is connected to yours.' Jenner pointed to a plain wooden door to their left. 'Her name is Kaitlyn, and she's there should you need anything.'
Ariana looked down at Koen as soon as they were alone, her sentiments shifting from anger to gratitude to a deeper sorrow than she had ever known.
'He's really gone, then,' she murmured, her thoughts returning to her father. She sat down on the chaise closest to the fire's warmth, curling her legs beneath her. 'If it is so, then why does my heart fail to believe it?' Absently, she petted his head and neck and moved over when he settled his oversized frame next to her.
'I feel him now more than ever.' Again, the distinct feeling of betrayal edged too close and she pushed it
