Geran answered his friend with a smile and took Mirya’s hand, admiring the dress she wore-an elegant gown of a soft rose hue with beautiful embroidery and delicate patterns of tiny white pearls. Where she’d found something like that in Hulburg, he couldn’t fathom, but she looked lovelier than he’d ever imagined in it. She read the unspoken compliment in his gaze and smiled softly for him.
“The realm’s in good keeping,” she said. “And this time I think it will stay that way. You’ve done right by your uncle.”
“I hope so.” Geran turned to Sarth, gripping the tiefling by the shoulder. The tiefling still leaned on a cane, but Geran guessed that he wouldn’t need it for much longer. “You’re looking well, Sarth. I’m glad that you’re here.”
“It is a great day for your family. I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Sarth replied.
“You’re staying, then?” Mirya asked him.
“I believe I am.” Sarth nodded at the people filling the hall. “Hulburg is one of the few places I’ve been where my deeds seem to outweigh my appearance. In fact, Kara has asked me to assume the title of master mage; I find that I like my prospects.”
“I, on the other hand, have decided that I can’t bear the prospect of another summer in a land where it never gets warm enough to kick off your shoes, or lie in the sun, or think about jumping into a nice, cool lake,” Hamil said. He gave a dramatic shiver. “I think I’ll be returning to Tantras soon. The Red Sails have been without my attention for far too long. If I stay away much longer, I might find that I am no longer a man of means, and that would be truly tragic.”
“You’ll visit soon, I hope,” said Mirya. “Selsha thinks the sun rises and sets on you, you know.”
“Well, I certainly can’t trust Geran to look after Red Sail business here by himself. I’ll be back at least once before the end of the summer to see to a few things. Maybe more than once, if Geran gets himself in some trouble that I have to fix.”
Kara appeared at Geran’s elbow, having briefly escaped from her well-wishers. She leaned forward to embrace Sarth, then Hamil, and then Mirya as well. “Thank you all for coming,” she said. “And my thanks to each of you for what you’ve done for us. Without your help, Maroth Marstel would still reign in this castle. We couldn’t have set things right without you.”
Mirya curtsied, and Sarth bowed his head. “It was our pleasure,” Hamil replied with a bow of his own. “And the right thing to do, Lady Regent.”
“Enough of that nonsense, Hamil,” Kara replied. “And you too, Sarth, Mirya. Kara is my name, and I’ll be sore if you don’t use it. Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to have a word with Geran. I promise to return him soon.”
Geran looked at Mirya and his comrades, and shrugged. “Please, excuse us.”
“Let’s find some fresh air for a moment,” Kara said. She led him to the stairs and threaded her arm through his. Together they climbed up to the balcony overlooking the hall and the upper courtyard beyond, the traditional dividing line between Griffonwatch’s public chambers and the personal residence of the Hulmasters. The sun was bright and the day promised to be warm for Tarsakh, but the shadows still held a chill; spring in Hulburg was never all that warm.
“Did I do the right thing by Natali?” Geran asked Kara as they walked. “I feel that I’ve stolen the rest of her childhood by what I’ve done today.”
“At times it will be hard for her, but you shouldn’t worry for Natali. I can shelter her for some time yet, and she’ll have all of us to keep an eye on her. No one will expect her to be anything other than a lively young girl for a few years, except maybe once in a while when she has to dress up for some banquet or ceremony.”
He paused to look down at her. “Thank you, Kara. That eases my conscience.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Geran. I’m not through with you. You owe me something for chaining me to the throne for the next ten years.”
“Owe you?”
“Yes, you owe me. You mean to stay near Hulburg, I presume?”
Geran thought of Mirya and Selsha. No, he wasn’t going anywhere for a while-and he didn’t want to, either. Hulburg was where he meant to be, and he’d fight to stay here. “I think you know that I’m finally home to stay.”
She smiled at him. “In that case, you won’t mind taking a seat on the Harmach’s Council. I need someone to do for me what I did for Uncle Grigor, a family member I can trust with all my confidences, someone who can see to things I can’t see to as the harmach’s regent.”
“You want me to captain the Shieldsworn?” he said with a frown.
“Not unless you want to. If we need the Shieldsworn in campaign I’ll lead them myself, and if we don’t, then it’s a task that wouldn’t suit you very well. No, you seem better at improvising, breaking rules, taking action when others wouldn’t-things I’ve never done well.” Kara’s expression grew serious. “We have powerful enemies that bear watching: Mulmaster, the Crimson Chains, the tribes of Thar, and soon enough the Warlock Knights. I want you to watch them for me. Think of yourself as the royal spymaster if you like, but if I know you, I imagine you’ll rely on your own eyes and ears more than others. Do the things I can’t do from the harmach’s seat, and tell me what I need to know. Are you willing?”
Geran thought it over for a moment. In fact, he’d been a little worried about what he’d do with himself. He’d assumed he’d busy himself with looking after the Red Sail Coster’s affairs in the Moonsea … but as Hamil had told him more than once, he wasn’t much of a merchant. What Kara was asking him to do intrigued him, and wheels were already turning as he considered the first steps he might take to establish sources of information. There was no reason the harmach of Hulburg couldn’t be the best-informed ruler in the Moonsea, and that would be a potent tool to lay in Natali’s hands when it came time for her to take her throne.
“I’m willing,” he told Kara. “We won’t be surprised by our enemies again, that much I promise you.”
“Good!” she said. They returned to the stairs leading from the upper courtyard to the balcony overlooking the great hall. The sounds of music and laughter filled the room. “In that case, I think the Harmach’s Council is filled. Deren Ilkur’s agreed to resume his place as keeper of duties, and old Theron’s back as high magistrate. Sarth has agreed to assume the title of master mage, and Mirya should make a fine keeper of keys.”
“Mirya?” Geran asked, surprised.
“It was long past time for Wulreth Keltor to retire, especially since he didn’t seem to object to staying on in Marstel’s service when the rest of Uncle Grigor’s council was dismissed. Mirya’s got a sharp mind for accounts and she’s made a go of Erstenwold’s for years in the face of competition from the foreign costers. I think the Tower treasury could use someone exactly like her to put Hulburg’s finances in order.” Kara nudged him in the ribs. “And I must say that if you didn’t know that Mirya and I discussed the question this morning, you’re off to a very poor start as my secret spymaster.”
“That’s hardly a fair test!”
“So you say. In any event, I’m afraid I must return to our guests. I don’t doubt that there are a dozen people that I
Geran paused on the balcony, enjoying the sight of so many familiar faces in the room below-commonborn Hulburgans like Brun and Halla Osting, young Kardin Ilkur, Burkel Tresterfin and his family, and the militia captain Nils Wester, all proud heroes of the Restoration; the secretary Anton Quillon, Kolton, the old chamberlain Dostin Hillnor, and a dozen more retainers of the family Hulmaster; Kendurkkel Ironthane, nodding at the music as he smoked his pipe; Sarth dressed in resplendent robes, laughing softly with Nimessa Sokol as they shared some jest or another; Hamil, who held half-a-dozen children including Kirr and Selsha spellbound with some ridiculous tale as he winked at a lovely halfling woman Geran recognized as a lady-in-waiting to the Marmarathens of Thentia; and there, not far from Hamil and his captivated audience, Mirya Estenwold, her long black hair-unbraided, Geran observed-a river of midnight that fell past her shoulders. As if she sensed his eyes on her, she looked up over her shoulder, and their eyes met. She smiled up at him, a warm and open smile that he’d come to love more than the rising of the sun or the stars in the sky.
He straightened up from the rail and descended into the crowd, never taking his eyes from her, as she slipped through the crowd to meet him. When they met, he couldn’t help himself; he caught her by her shoulders and pulled
