The Shadow's heir

“Hmm?”

Laela stared at her lap. “I can’t help but wonder what yeh said to that lady-Saeddryn. Yeh don’t have t’tell me, Sire,” she added hastily.

The King shrugged. “I told her you were my new mistress.”

Laela choked. “What? I mean. . what, Sire?”

He reached for another piece of bread. “I hope that didn’t offend you, but it felt like the simplest explanation. Why else would I have an attractive young woman staying with me?”

Why indeed, Laela thought. “Uh. . Sire. . yeh don’t. . want t’make it like. . real, do yeh?”

He started. “What? No, Laela. I’ve had enough lovers over the years. I don’t need another one. But you do like staying here, don’t you?”

Laela scratched her ear. “I ain’t been here long, Sire, but I dunno where else I’d go. I ain’t got anyone who’d take care of me, an’ I ain’t got no money.”

Arenadd looked pleased. “Then I have an offer for you.”

“What is it, Sire?”

“Laela, would you like to live in the North forever?”

She looked him in the eye. “Yeah. I would, Sire.”

“Would you like to become a citizen of my Kingdom?”

Laela started. “Uh. . what would I have t’do, Sire?”

“Oh, not much. You’d get everything every child of the North gets-you’ll be taught how to read and write, how to speak our language. And you’ll be taught about the Night God, of course. And once you were done with your education, you’d go through the womanhood ceremony in the Moon Temple.”

Outwardly, Laela was expressionless. Inside, she was thinking furiously.

Part of her was filled with fear and disgust. Live here, forever? Worship the Night God-worship darkness? Let the Dark Lord be my ruler?

But another part-a secret part of her, the part filled with anger and bitterness, whispered a different kind of wisdom. Do it, it said. Go along with it. You ain’t never had it so good as yeh do here, girl-see sense! He ain’t no Dark Lord-he’s just another man. He’s a drunk, obviously, an’ a nutter, too. He’s taken a likin’ to yeh for whatever reason-who cares why? He’s offerin’ yeh everythin’ yeh need. . everythin’ yeh want. Who cares if yeh start worshippin’ the Night God? When did Gryphus ever answer any of yer prayers, anyway?

Very slowly, she nodded. “I’ll do it, Sire. If yeh want me to, I’ll live here an’. . be a darkwoman.”

She felt a secret thrill as she said those words.

Arenadd sat back. “I shall be proud to have you as one of my subjects, Laela.”

Laela smiled at him. “It’s nice t’be wanted, Sire.”

The next day, Laela was escorted to a large room in the tower, not too far from the spot where she had encountered Saeddryn. It was lined with bookshelves.

There was a young man waiting there for her.

Laela regarded him cautiously. “Hullo.”

The man stood up and smiled at her. “Ye’re Laela?”

“Yeah, I am. Who are yeh?”

The man was perhaps a little younger than her, his black hair cropped close to his skull. But he had a nice, easy smile. “I’d be Yorath, son of Yorath. Pleased t’meet ye, Laela.”

Laela smiled back at him. “Pleased t’meet you, too, Yorath Yorathson.”

Yorath grinned. “The King’s asked me t’be yer teacher in readin’ an’ writin’ an’ speakin’ our language. So if ye’d like t’sit down, we can get started.”

Laela sat down at a table with him. “I dunno if I can do it. I never studied other languages before, like, an’ I can’t even really read much in Cymrian.”

“Don’t worry, I can help ye,” said Yorath. “I’ve done this before. That’s why they asked me t’do it.”

“Really?” said Laela. “Who’d yeh teach before?”

“Children,” said Yorath. “I work in the Eyrie school. I help the teachers-one day, maybe I’ll be one of ’em. An’ I say, if five-year-old children can learn, so can ye!”

“I’ll do me best,” said Laela, liking him.

“I trust ye,” said Yorath. “Now then, let’s start with the basics. .”

The first lesson began, and Laela paid careful attention as her new tutor showed her how to draw the sharp Northern runes, one by one. He started with just the first few, and made her copy them over and over again until she knew them by heart. After that, he taught her a few simple words in the Northern language-“The ‘dark tongue,’ some call it.”

Laela worked her hardest, and thanks to Yorath’s patience and good nature, it was easier than she had expected. She still felt like a child for not knowing it already, but her teacher didn’t criticise her, and she let herself relax.

“There!” he said, after a good chunk of time had passed. “Ye’re gettin’ the idea already.”

“They’re nice-lookin’, them runes,” said Laela, looking over the pages she had filled. “It’s sorta weird, though, t’think they can mean words.”

“It’s odd, yeah, when ye think about it,” Yorath conceded. “But it serves us well enough, eh?”

“I s’pose.”

“Well, it’s lunchtime now, an’ ye’ve probably done enough for one day,” said Yorath, sitting back. “Take some paper with ye an’ practise the runes I taught ye today. Tomorrow, ye can show me how well ye remember them.”

“I will,” said Laela. She paused. “How long d’yeh think it’ll take for me t’learn all this?”

“Hard to say,” said Yorath. “The basics shouldn’t take too long, but it’ll be years before ye’re really fluent in our language, an’ our writin’. . well, that’ll take a while, too.”

She sighed. “Yeh gotta start somewhere, I s’pose.”

“Ye’re not in a hurry t’go somewhere else, are ye?”

“Doubt it,” said Laela.

“There’s no hurry then, is there? Now, I’d better be goin’.”

He left the library, and she went, too, carrying her precious paper. She thought quickly of talking to him some more-finding some reason they could have lunch together-but he left before she could think of anything, and she went her own way, feeling very slightly depressed.

When she arrived at the dining hall, where she’d been told to go for lunch, she found Arenadd waiting for her.

“Sire.”

He got up from his seat and came toward her. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to stay too long. How did your first lesson go?”

“Good. I learned some runes. Some words, too.”

Arenadd nodded. “Good, good. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble learning. I came by here because I had some news for you.”

“What is it, Sire?”

“Your friend from the street,” said Arenadd. “You may remember him-his name is Aled.”

Laela tensed. “Yeah?”

“Last night my guards caught up with him. He’s been assaulting women all over the city, it seems. Last night, he made the mistake of trying it behind a tavern where someone saw him and called the guard. He’s in prison as we speak.”

Laela felt sick. “Oh.”

Arenadd reached into his robe and brought out a small bag. “They searched his house after the arrest-I think you might recognise this.”

Laela grabbed it. “My money!”

“I think most of it is still there. As for Aled. . tomorrow night is the Blood Moon.”