Page 109 of The Flame and the Forsaken

It was true before, and it was true still, and in the midst of so many lies and deceptions, it was the only truth that mattered.

Chapter24

The Remnants of His Tyranny

Neither Erran nor Mariel had slept overnight. She’d finally crashed at dawn, and though she’d made him promise not to let her sleep for long, it was clear she needed it, so he was going to have to break that promise.

The first things he’d noticed, when the chaos of the terrible evening disintegrated into a thoughtful quiet, were the sunken dark crescents under her eyes. Her languid movements lacked precision. Even her words were heavy and cloying, like she had no access to the right ones and stumbled instead through whatever her mind allowed. She slurred through her thoughts, only half finishing sentences.

She’d said enough for him to know what mattered. Where they stood. Their reunion was muted by their worry for Sessaly, but that was where his crazy idea had taken root. When he’d suggested it to Mariel, she’d nodded like it was obvious, like it wasn’t merely the right answer but the only one.

The problem was there was no way to get her out of the carriage house to see it through. His father’s guards circled its small perimeter, forming a tight, armed wall. He wondered how many knewwhythey were guarding Mariel and Destin—and if they’d even care.

Mariel wouldn’t approve of his choice to go without her, but there wasn’t another way around the problem of her restrictions. Obsidian Sky wouldn’t hurt Sessaly, but they weren’t the ones behind her kidnapping. Not all bandits had the same objectives or ethical limitations. There was nothing about the situation to be taken for granted.

Erran kissed Mariel on both temples. He tucked the coverlet around her shoulders, careful not to wake her. He wondered if he should leave a note, but decided not to. His absence would speak for him. His results would speak louder.

He found his father in the kitchen, hovering his spoon above a half-crusted bowl of porridge, which smelled much better than it looked.

“I’ll be out for a bit,” Erran said from the door. “I’m asking the guards to stand down and let me pass.”

Rylahn didn’t react.

Erran scoffed and turned to leave.

“Where?” His father dropped the spoon and looked up. “Going where?”

“To do what I can to fix this.”

“Leave that to me.”

“Do you have a plan?”

Rylahn pushed the bowl away. “My men are ready when I give the order.”

Erran couldn’t help laughing. “Ready forwhat? For whom? We don’t even know who is behind this.”

“Don’t we?”

“You’re the wisest man I know, Father, but you are being deliberately and unlawfully thickheaded about this because you’re embarrassed.” Erran stood tall in the face of his impertinence. He hadn’t spoken so out of turn with anyone in authority before, and definitely not to his own father, whom he feared and respected in equal measure.

But Rylahn just shook his head with a tired look at the hanging candelabra. “Your judgment is a mirror, son. You slept beside this woman for months. You were intimate with her. You say you... youloveher. From that, a man can draw but two conclusions: either you are blind and lacking the faculties to discern danger, or you were in on it with her. I’ve spent hours trying to decide which would be worse, and it might surprise you to learn I’d rather my son be a criminal than an imbecile.”

Erran would have made himself small at such admonishment before, but the accusation landed with only the softest thud. “Then it may surprise you further to learn I am neither. I’m not blind to what Mariel has done; I suspected something was off from the start and had just about confirmed it, just before the Banner mess. Then the island happened, and there was nothing to be done but listen to what she had to say about it all and try to make sense of it. The more she talked...” He shrugged. “Aye, the more I saw myself as she must have. If you truly believe you’ve done nothing wrong, then you’ll see no reason not to listen yourself.”

Rylahn’s mouth formed the faintest sneer. “To a criminal? Who lies?”

“To mywife.”

“Not for much longer.” Rylahn inched back from the bench. “I’ve asked my solicitor to file for an annulment.”

Erran snorted. Months of reflection had hardened him. “Then I’ll marry her again. I may do it anyway, for the first time was cheapened by your hastiness.”

Rylahn gaped at him. “Whathappenedto my son?” An animated hand followed his words through the air. “What has shedoneto you?”

“Opened my eyes.” Erran’s sadness returned. What could be worse than a man who had ordered or allowed the atrocities done in his father’s name? A man who stood by every one. “Just give the land back, Father! What does it really mean to you and the barons? How does it compare to what it means to the families who are now homeless? Whose children will starve and die? The lineages that will end just so you and your friends can be only slightly richer?”

“This isn’t about gold. You know it isn’t, even as you stand there and indict me. Laws are laws, Erran. When men cannot pay taxes, there must be consequence, or all men will see there is none, and there will be mayhem.”

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