Anais and the Broken War (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 5) (21 page)

“He wants you to marry Mediera now.”

“Thomas wants Mediera’s future husband on his side, and he’s gotten used to having me as an ally.”

Thomas and Clara rushed into the room, not giving Azriel and me the opportunity to separate. My bloody hand still clutched his arm.

Clara stared at me. “Why are you bleeding?”

“I cut myself. It was an accident.”

“I thought you said he wasn’t breathing?” Thomas asked.

“He wasn’t,” Clara said.

“False alarm,” Azriel said. “As you can see, I’m quite all right. Apparently the lamb didn’t agree with me, but it didn’t kill me.”

“Perhaps you should let go of his arm,” Clara said to me. “You’re getting him dirty. And clean yourself up.”

Azriel grabbed my arm before I could let him go. “There’s something I need to ask you, Thomas.”

“Okay,” Thomas said, uncertainly. “Ask.”

“I’d like your permission to ask Sister Anais for her hand in marriage. I realize she doesn’t have any family in residence, so I thought perhaps you would be the proper person to ask.”

“What!” Clara screeched. “You can’t marry her.”

“I rather think I can.”

“I’m not listening to this,” Clara hissed and rushed off in a huff.

Once Clara fled the room, Thomas rubbed his temple, and his mask of calm slipped just a little. My stomach twisted as I considered how to explain this situation to Thomas. But he started to speak before I could concoct a sensible story.

“It is possible…” Thomas hesitated. “Possible that you may have been bewitched, Azriel. Although it may sound mad, Sister Anais has the old magic. I know that it is illegal and that I should not condone such a thing, but she has been an asset to my family and to me. She is under my protection. However, I don’t wish you to rush foolishly into a marriage, as she may have unintentionally beguiled you…”

“He was poisoned,” I interrupted, not liking Thomas’s implications.

“Ah. Well, then perhaps she healed you.”

“Thomas,” Azriel said. “She did heal me…”

“Wait.” Thomas put up a hand. “Let me finish. If she healed you, then your feelings for her were likely induced by the magic. I, myself, have fallen prey to similar desires. But, it’s not real. It’s a fantasy.”

“Thomas. I know she’s a blood mage,” Azriel said.

“You know?” Thomas asked.

“Yes. I promise you I am well aware of Ani’s nature.”

Thomas looked at us in turn. “How is this possible? You only met tonight.”

Azriel shook his head. “We’ve known each other for a long time, my friend. I fear I’ve misled you in a few particulars regarding my past.”

“I can’t imagine how you came to be on familiar terms with a sister cloistered in Barriershire’s Abbey under the watch of the mothers.”

“Perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere more private,” Azriel said. “The walls have ears, you know.”

Once we cleaned ourselves up and made ourselves comfortable in the privacy of Thomas’s study, I started to talk. It seemed if we were going to tell Thomas everything, we might as well tell him everything.

“I wasn’t cloistered in the Abbey,” I admitted. “I was caught stealing in the arena, and I was taken or perhaps sold to a guild of assassins, called the skins.”

“I should never have allowed you to steal for us,” Thomas said. “What a coward I was, letting you shoulder the burdens of our family.”

“It’s not like there was another choice. We needed the money.”

“I suppose we did. Well, that explains why the sisters would never let Mediera see you. I had wondered about that. But it doesn’t explain why this group of assassins helped us. Since they already had you, they had no need to give us anything.”

“Gable, the leader of the skins, wanted me to be there voluntarily. He offered to arrange for you and Clara and Cedric to be welcomed back into the family if I agreed to stay. And he used his connections to the Abbey to arrange a convenient lie about my whereabouts.”

“Why were you so important to him?”

I shrugged. “My magic, I assume. There aren’t many blood mages in the world.”

Thomas looked at Azriel. “And you?” he asked. “Were you also trained to be a skin?”

Azriel nodded. “I was sick, Thomas. I ran away from home because I was turning into something unnatural, something evil. I was captured and sold to Gable. Ani and I were trained to be skins together. We fought together.”

“I’ve heard of the skins. Not a lot about them, to be sure, but enough.” Thomas sighed heavily. “I suppose it was easy to fall in love in the midst of a war. Desperate times…”

Azriel nodded while clasping my hand.

“Why did you return to Courtshire?”

“Gable ordered me to kill Mediera. Ani stopped me, but it seemed best to leave and avoid Cedric’s wrath.”

Thomas rubbed his temples. “Kill Mediera? I feel like I’m missing pieces to this story.”

“You are my friend. It’s late, though, and I ought to see to my brother. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Wait. Are you still going to give up your position as your father’s heir?” he asked Azriel.

Azriel nodded. “I’ll let Justin take up the helm, as planned. I have no need of a title, and apparently Justin is willing to kill for it.”
 

“Did he poison you? Is that what happened?”

“I think so. Younger brothers–whatever will we do with them…”

“An endless nuisance, to be sure.” Thomas smirked. “But, if you’re not going to keep your seat, you have to marry an heiress. Otherwise, you’ll have no money. I appreciate that the two of you have a history, but neither of you have any sort of wealth to speak of. Anais will also need to marry someone with a position if she is to marry at all.”

“I have two silvers a week from the Abbey,” I said.

“See, do you hear that Thomas,” Azriel said. “Two silvers a week. We’ll be fine.”

“No. No you will not be fine,” Thomas sputtered. “Two silvers a week will hardly support a household.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t stay here and live like the gentry,” I interrupted. “I have to go back to the front. When I was on the wall with Fynn during the battle, I was able to use my magic to hold the furies down to the ground while the soldiers fought. I think it helped a little. Not enough. But a little. I have to go back.”

Azriel nodded. “I figured as much. We’ll go together. Just give me three weeks until Justin turns eighteen. And then we’ll go.”

“I can wait three weeks,” I offered.

Thomas took a long breath. “I’d also like you to wait until Merdin returns. He should be back soon. He might have other plans for you. He knows you can do magic. He is trying to find others who can too.”

“If he returns in time, I’ll talk to him. But, I don’t want to wait, and I don’t trust Merdin.”

“We haven’t even decided to send the soldiers…” Thomas said. “It seems too soon for you to go.”

“Look, I’d like to stay here and discuss the particulars,” Azriel interrupted. “But, I really think I ought to go and let Justin know that I’m still alive. I’ll come by tomorrow morning, first thing, I promise. Ani, do you mind staying here tonight? I think Justin and I need some time alone to talk.”

I nodded while wondering what he was implying. Did he mean for me to live with him now? I wasn’t quite ready for that. It was so real.
 

“You’ll tell Justin that you plan to give him your position, I expect.” Thomas said. “It would be a shame if he tried to poison you again.”

“I’ll tell him. It was foolish of me to keep secrets. They have a way of tearing everything apart.”

C
HAPTER
19

SOPHIE SHOOK MY shoulder.

“Mm,” I murmured. “I’m sleeping.”

“Madam, Lord Thomas wishes to see you in his study.”

“But it’s so early,” I moaned.

“It’s mid-afternoon, madam,” she countered.

“Okay,” I said with a groan. The previous evening had been utterly exhausting. All I wanted to do was to stay curled up under the thick velvet lined duvet and lose myself in my dreams. But it seemed I would not be allowed that luxury.
 

She dressed me in a simple black dress that she pulled out of the trunk and then pushed me out the door. I yawned as I pulled my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck. Then I stumbled down the stairs, my head throbbing. Once I reached the threshold to Thomas’s study, he opened the door and ushered me inside.

“Did they serve breakfast already?” I asked, my stomach grumbling.

“Hours ago.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate. I’m so hungry.” I paused. “Wait, is Cedric still here?” I asked, remembering Cedric’s promise to leave in the morning.

“I’m afraid you missed his departure. It was quite dramatic. Probably best that you didn’t have to endure it. Mediera was quite distraught.”

“Why didn’t they wake me? I wanted to say goodbye, at least. He was my friend once…”

“After you healed me you were comatose for over a week. I figured you might need some recovery time after healing Azriel. I would have let you sleep longer, but I thought you might need something to eat. It’s not healthy to go too long without food.”

He motioned to a tray of muffins and scones that were sitting enticingly on his desk. I grabbed a muffin and greedily devoured it.

“Don’t worry too much about Cedric. He’ll likely be safer than we are if he does indeed find a way to cross the sea,” Thomas reassured me as he spread out a map of the Seven Shires across the surface of the desk.
 

 
The Barrier Mountains separated the continent into two parts. The eastern half, consisting of a much smaller portion of land, held Barriershire to the north and Brightshire to the South. A squiggly line represented the border between Brightshire and the Southlands. To the west of the mountains lay Laishire, Kinshire, Ellshire, Courtshire, and Farshire. Courtshire bordered the mountains directly across from Barriershire. A large lake was visible in the center of the Courtshire district, providing a source of water, but Courtshire did not touch the sea. To the south of Courtshire lay landlocked Kinshire, which was cradled by the mountains to the south and east and bordered by Laishire to the north. Laishire bordered Courtshire on its western front. To the west of Laishire lay the sea, and to the north of Laishire stood Ellshire, which spanned all the way across to the mountains. Ellshire was directly north of both of both Laishire and Courtshire. The mountains intersected with the sea at the northeastern tip of Ellshire. The country of Candel bordered Ellshire to the northeast and Farshire bordered Ellshire to the northwest. Farshire bordered the sea to the north and west, Ellshire to the south, and Candel to the east. To the north of Candel was an island named the Barrials, its own sovereign country. The island of Weavren, also its own sovereign country, lay to the west of Farshire.
 

“While Colin Pendragon was alive, I had four out of seven votes.” Thomas pointed to the map and secured four pegs into place. “Brightshire, Barriershire, Ellshire, and Laishire. At that point, my goal was to assemble men and send them east. It was Mediera’s marriage to Colin and my courtship of Evie that made it possible. Four out of seven and we had the votes to secure and train men and to send those men across the mountains to fight.” He removed the pegs from Ellshire and Barriershire. “Once Colin was reported dead, Lord Pendragon of Ellshire became difficult, and with no one to vote for Barriershire, I lost the count. The lords’ council decided it was an Eastern problem, and we stopped recruiting new soldiers, and then the lords’ council started to call for the return of the captains. I thought all was lost.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked him.

“Let me finish first. Azriel showed up a week or so after Colin disappeared, and his father made him ambassador and fled back to Farshire.” Thomas stuck the peg into Farshire. “Azriel became my ally. Thanks to you, perhaps. And we had a tie. I couldn’t have more men recruited or send any men across the mountains, but at least I could prevent the men we did have from being sent back to their homes.” He stuck a peg into Barriershire. “When Mediera returned, she was able to name an ambassador to vote for her, which gave me Barriershire.” Thomas stuck a peg into Barriershire on the map. “But with Mediera, came Cedric. And the Lord of Kinshire was not happy that Robert Seve’s son was on this side of the mountains, posing a threat to his line. He’s been difficult. However, it didn’t matter. I still had the count.”

“Why was the Lord of Kinshire so angry? Cedric can’t possibly inherit the Kinshire seat.”

“Ah, but he can. I had to give up my claim along with any claim from my heirs. Clara is my only heir. Even though Cedric is my brother, because Brightshire comes to me on my mother’s side, I cannot name Cedric as my heir. So
I
can’t relinquish Cedric’s claim on Kinshire. Everett, the Lord of Kinshire, had a son who died this year. His wife is long dead, and he does not wish to remarry and beget more children. His heir would be his brother Robert, my father, who should have given up his claim when he married my mother. But my father did not officially give up his claim, as at the time it seemed unlikely that he would inherit. My father can’t give up his claim now because he is very likely dead. Everett’s youngest brother, George, has remained loyal to him and has a stable of children. Everett wants George to inherit, but Cedric stands in the way.”