Page 41 of The Uncrowned Prince

Senaya sighed. Picked up the dagger from the floor, and set it on the table. “We might as well sit down,” she said, and crossed the room to lower herself into one of the two chairs, seeming somehow older than she had a moment ago. “It seems we have a fair bit of history to discuss.”

When Karreya moved to where she could see but did not sit, Senaya’s lips curved in a sad, bitter expression that could not be called a smile.

“Ah, that’s right,” she said. “How could I have forgotten? The Enclave teaches you not to sit unless you are alone.”

“What do you know of the Enclave?”

One of Senaya’s eyebrows raised slightly. “I spent two years there, learning the same craft as you.”

Odd. She didn’t move like an assassin. And once one entered the Enclave, there were few ways out other than death.

Few ways other than the options facing Karreya now.

“You are… family.”

Senaya nodded. “I am.”

And then Karreya knew. It should have been obvious. “You are my aunt,” she said quietly. “The one who disappeared before I was born. The one who chose exile over following in Grandmother’s footsteps.”

“As have you, or you would not be here.”

The words stung, but Karreya did not bother to deny that she had come without her grandmother’s blessing. “I do not intend to stay,” she insisted. “I will return when I have found my father and convinced him to take up his responsibilities. Our family name and lineage would be destroyed if I do as Grandmother asks.”

Senaya regarded her thoughtfully. “You don’t have her magic, do you?”

But Karreya remained stubbornly silent. She shared that truth with no one, let alone an aunt she barely remembered existed.

“You have your mother’s magic,” the older woman murmured softly. “Magic of the mind. A public life would be a torment for you, wouldn’t it?”

“I do not require your pity,” Karreya retorted coldly. “Only your aid. If your homeland and your family mean anything to you, help me find my father. Help me convince him to return. You probably know him better than I, and could remind him of his duty.”

Senaya let out a merciless chuckle. “I have not seen your father in over twenty-five years. And yet, even if I knew exactly where he was, I would still refuse to help you find him.”

The statement was as shocking in its intensity as in its certitude. “But… why?” Karreya tilted her head to regard her aunt with confusion. “What do you have against him?”

“What do you remember of your father?” Senaya asked abruptly. “Were the two of you close?”

“No.” That had nothing to do with the problem at hand. “He left me to be raised by servants. No one told me what his responsibilities were, but I assumed they were too great to be bothered with a daughter.”

Senaya pinned her beneath a stern, unwavering stare. “Before I say more, I would have your word, child, that you will speak to no one about my true identity. I know well the lessons you have been taught, and that you believe no torture will break you. And I also believe you possess your own particular sense of honor. So promise me, or I will reveal nothing further. Too many have already paid the price for my secrets.”

“I will tell no one who you are.” It was a promise easily given. Karreya had only one person she could reasonably tell, and this was not a secret she wanted him to learn.

“Then know this.” Senaya’s eyes sharpened as she leaned forward, her hands resting on her knees. “Your father is a man of great daring, but he has no principles whatsoever. He will always act in his own best interest, rather than the interests of his people, and will not hesitate to abandon those who bring him no benefit. His primary emotions are pride and jealousy, and all of his actions proceed from his fear of being surpassed. Going unnoticed. Dying in obscurity.”

Karreya could not contradict any of these assertions. She did not know her father well enough, and what little she did recall…

“In many men, these traits would have led to great accomplishments, even if they were for the wrong reasons. But your father is weak. He possesses neither great talent nor great charisma, either of which could have supported his ambitions. And so, since he lacked the means for advancement, he developed bitterness. He envied me my position as our mother’s heir, despite the fact that I did not desire it. And if I had to guess from the story you tell, the moment I disappeared, rather than being named heir in my place, he was required to produce a child to carry on the family name and honor.”

On the inside, Karreya reeled as if struck. Had that been his reason for ignoring her? For disappearing without a trace when she was only eleven?

“But then, why would he come here?” she insisted. “Even if you are correct, what does this place grant him that the Empire does not?”

Senaya exhaled wearily, and her hands clenched her knees as if that might give her strength.

“I have no certain answers, only suspicions, and those I am reluctant to share with you.”

“Why?” Karreya did not understand her reticence. “Why would you go to such lengths to hide, both yourself and him?” And how could she make her aunt see that this was theonly way?

---