Page 66 of Bearing Secrets
She nodded, realizing he must have meant the centuries-long conflict that had erupted between European settlers and the Indigenous Peoples already present in the US. “What happened next?”
“Next? Next we got stronger, established a power base here, and we struck back as publicly as we dared, trying to expose the mages. And we succeeded. The witch hunts worked fantastically.”
Natalia sat back in her chair, fascinated by all that she was learning, that wasn’t evident in any textbook she’d ever come across before.
“That’s amazing. So why were they here today? Are you still at war with one another?”
He shook his head. “No. A little over a century ago, peace was finally signed between us. The mages were on the losing end, and they knew it. So, they opted to give in to our demands, and since then things have been much better, or so I’m told.”
She smiled and reached across the table, resting her hand on top of his, smiling. She could see that Kirell had managed to shrug aside the black cloud hovering over him since she’d arrived. It wasn’t gone entirely, but it was a start.
Kirell didn’t move his hand, but he did look at hers for a long time. Just what was going through his head, she wondered. Their business arrangement had certainly taken a turn in a direction neither of them anticipated, but if they could just prevent it from derailing completely, they could finish what they’d started, and everyone would be happy.
“You don’t have to stay,” he said at last, offering her a way out.
“I didn’t have to come back either,” she pointed out. “I’m sure you could have found someone to come get the car. But I did. I’m here.”
Kirell nodded slowly. “Thank you. It’s…nice, to have you back.”
She looked around the cafeteria-style kitchen. “You know, I’ve kind of grown fond of this place. It’s so out of place in the modern world, it has its own charm.”
“It’s not always fights and killing and backstabbing politics. In fact, it’s usually not. You just happened to get dragged into it at a bad time.”
“I bet.” She almost pulled her hand back, but something stopped her. Not Kirell, but her own will. It felt nice to have contact with him. To be near him.
Moving slowly, probably so he didn’t scare her away, Kirell placed his other hand on top of hers, sandwiching it between his massive palms.
“I’m here,” she told him, verbally reinforcing what he could already see. “Tell me, what do you need from me? How can I help?”
“I’ll show you. Come on.”
30
“Last chance to bail,” he whispered, tilting his head down to the right so he could speak even lower.
“Don’t tempt me,” Natalia fired back. “I’m not big on ritual stuff like this. It’s so dry and boring.”
He grinned, looking straight ahead still, down the length of the Grand Hallway. “You were the one who said you liked the fact we were so out of place in the modern world. Sometimes that’s good. Other times it means we have to do all this pomp and circumstance bullshit that exactly nobody likes but that we absolutely refuse to change as well.”
“That’s absurd. If nobody wants it, then do away with it. Why keep it going?”
One of the Queen’s guards lining the hallway twitched, a sure sign that he’d heard the two of them speaking. Kirell dropped his voice another notch, hoping Natalia would get the hint. “It’s tradition. The older folks want us younger ones to suffer through it because they had to as well. Such is the circle of life.”
She covered her snicker well, but the bounce of her shoulders had certainly caught many an eye. Not that any of the Queen’s guards would speak to it, but they were supposed to stand there in perfect, comfortable silence with each other while in the Throne Room, the Queen spoke to the remaining Title Holders and all the assembled members of High House Ursa.
“How about you?” Natalia asked him several moments later. “How are you doing?”
It sounded to anyone who was eavesdropping that she was asking him how he felt about being appointed to Captain, but Natalia knew him better than that. It wasn’t the appointment that bothered him. Kirell hadn’t wanted it, nor asked for it, but his Queen thought he could do a good job of it, and so he would give it his all for her. He was comfortable with the idea of being in charge, even though he was nervous about screwing up, like anyone should be.
That wasn’t what Natalia was asking about. She knew the truth behind it all, she knew that it was a sham, of course, and because of that, she understood how stressed out he was about lying to the rest of his House. It wasn’t the position he was being appointed to that bothered him, it washowhe had been appointed. Under the pretense of a lie. A big lie that had required him to find someone to help fabricate it.
All of that sat wrong with him. Kirell wasn’t a shadow-walker. He preferred to walk the straight line, with right to one side and wrong to the other. No blurred lines. This waswrong, and he knew it, but yet… he also understood it had to be done. Once he and Natalia walked through those doors and the Queen spoke the appropriate words, he would be confirmed in his position, and that would be that. The dominos could begin to fall from here, and the House would slowly return to normal. Assuming he didn’t screw up in the next ten minutes.
“I’m good,” he said, trying to sound light and at ease. Instead, it came out like a frog’s croak.
“Are you sure about that?” Natalia pressed, stifling another giggle.
“Yes.”
