Page 102 of A Crown of Lies

She reached her father’s door and didn’t even bother to knock, instead bursting through it, shouting, “Father!”

Rixxis faltered when she saw him pale and covered in sweat, sitting up in his bed, his skin as ashen as the elf’s.

He rolled his head toward her, eyes barely focused. “Celeste? I’m sorry… I’m not feeling… so well.”

“No,” she gasped and rushed to his side, taking his hand and falling to her knees. “No, no, no!” She touched his face and found it cool and clammy as if the life was already leaving him. “I’ll get a healer! I’ll get… someone! Anyone!”

But when she turned back to the door, Tofi was already there, and Ieduin appeared, panting a few seconds later.

Rixxis grabbed Tofi by the tunic and lifted him. “Tell me you can save him!”

Tofi lowered his eyes, saying nothing.

She let the necromancer go and turned to Ieduin. “We can’t just let him die! Not after everything he went through! We just found each other again! Please, there must be something!” She glanced back and forth between the men, desperate for something, anything, to give her a sliver of hope.

Rixxis swallowed. Her voice was weak, words frantic. “It’s a curse, right? That means it's magic. The Brotherhood can destroy magic, right? We just need to get word to Ostovan, bring Isaac here and—”

“Celeste.” Her father’s tone was weak, but firm, prompting her to turn around and look at him. He shook his head. “Ostovan is days away. I don’t think… I’ll last the hour.” He let out a wet cough.

Rixxis sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand. “We can’t just give up. You must let me try.”

“Rixxis,” Ieduin said with a sigh, “even if we sent a rider to Ostovan, it would leave Eris virtually unprotected, and delay the march here. We could lose Greymark and Brucia. We can’t afford it.”

Her expression hardened. “My father’s life is more important—”

“Than the thousands of lives in Greymark and Brucia?” Ieduin finished and shook his head. “And we don’t even know if that would work, Rixxis.”

She swallowed and lowered her head, knowing deep down that he was right. They all were. It was too late. There was nothing anybody could do for him now.

“But Father…” She couldn’t finish, instead burying her face against his chest and weeping. “You can’t go. Not now. Not when we’ve just been reunited again after so long!”

“Hush, girl. Don’t cry for me.” He patted her shoulders before tapping her chin to lift it. Her father smiled down at her weakly. “You have given me the greatest joy these old bones could ever know. I got to see you again. And what’s more, I got to see youhappy.”

He coughed suddenly and Rixxis stiffened, afraid his moment had come already. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much they hadn’t gotten to do, places she had hoped they would see together. Even when he recovered with wheezing breaths, she could sense that it wouldn’t be for long.

Her father turned his head to the door, wheezing. “Before I go, I should like to speak with the king.”

Ieduin nodded and rushed out the door.

Tofi took a step forward. He put a gentle hand on Rixxis’s shoulder and nodded down at her.

Ieduin had said his job was to assist the dying, at least in elven culture. He’d been there to reassure Ellisar. Maybe there was something he could say or do to make it easier for her father, too. She pushed away her tears and sat up, making room for Tofi to stand a little closer.

“Tofi is not a priest of your gods,” said the necromancer to her father gently, “but Tofi knows death and dying well. Tofi has counseled humans before, held their hands when they prayed. Tofi knows of your Judge, and that many men fear his verdict upon death. They fear death without confession of past sins. Tofi has heard human confessions before and relayed them to the human priests. If you would like, Tofi can hear yours.”

Her father looked at her, took her hand and squeezed it. “I have but one regret in this life, and it was that I ever bartered with my daughter’s happiness. I should have allowed you to be free, to be who you have always meant to be. In my heart, you will always be my greatest accomplishment… Rixxis Amaranth of the Crows.”

A tear slipped out, and she wiped it away. “It’s all right if you want to call me Celeste.”

He smiled and patted her hand. “But that’s not who you are anymore. You’ve been… reborn as someone new. Someone greater than I could have ever imagined. I’m so proud of all you’ve accomplished and honored to have been your father.”

Rowan appeared in the doorway as Rixxis was wiping away more tears. “Captain Leopold?”

Her father waved him closer, and Rowan came, kneeling at his side. Leopold took Rowan’s hand and Rixxis’s, putting them together. “I want… to make it… clear,” he wheezed. “You have my blessing. Take care of her for me?”

Rowan nodded. “She will want for nothing.”

Her father looked at her and swallowed. It seemed to be painful, as if he were forcing the motion all the way down. “Look out for this one. He’s going to be… to be trou…”

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