Page 26 of The Moon Blessed King
‘My heir’s betrothed,’ Elician replies. ‘And as such, one whose voice holds much weight in my council. And even if he wasn’t, I would repeat the same. Alest is my husband, and Prince Consort of Soleb. He will not return to your cells now or in the future. Those terms were made explicit in our proposal.’
‘They were. But your husband is a citizen of Alelune first and foremost,’ Laure refutes. ‘He is the one who wishes to be our king. And if he truly believes he has that right, then he must accept his fate under our laws. All Reapers are to report to the cells. That is where they live, until the monarchy decides otherwise.’
‘If I am to live in the cells, then I must be alive enough to take your challenge,’ Cat argues.
‘It is a turn of phrase only. As a Reaper, our king has determined you arenotalive, and therefore there is no right to challenge.’
‘That is quite convenient for him.’
‘That is his decision. Will you refute your claim?’
‘I will not. The dead do not speak. I speak, therefore I am alive. I have a right to challenge for the throne, and I wish to exercise that right.’
Laure nods, as if she expected this response all along. She motions for the second box to be brought forward. This time, Marina intercedes. She takes it from the man before he can do more than make a vague attempt at passing it to Cat. She holds the box between her palms. It is smaller than the first one by a large margin, only perhaps half a metre in length, width and depth. A stack of books or perhaps something oblong could be placed inside but not much else.
Laure clears her throat. ‘It is my duty to report that my king wishes me to remind Alest of Alelune that monsterscanbe killed. It merely takes a long time to exhaust their ability to return.’
No.Elician’s hands spasm at his sides.
‘Open it,’ Cat murmurs. His voice is quiet. So quiet. But the room around them has been frozen in place, a diorama left listless without the will to move, a painting capturing a moment without the chaos that gives it life.
Marina hesitates, her expression grim.
‘You won’t see anything that you need to see,’ she argues.
‘I know,’ Cat tells her. ‘But I need to know who.’ Elician’s heart skips a beat. Pain slices through his body as his pulse scrambles to find its equilibrium. Marina takes her time. She adjusts her grip on the box. She tucks her fingers under the lid. She waits, as if Cat or Elician or anyone will stop her, but no one says a word. Slowly, she opens it. Just enough for Cat to peer inside, just enough for Elician to catch sight of the pale features of a woman he has only ever known to be kind.
A woman who refused to leave Alerae, because she believed with all her soul: her stello would save her.
Lio shifts. To look. To see. Elician throws a hand out to stop him,but it is too late. Marina doesn’t close the lid in time, and the moment Lio realizes who it is he lurches forward. Elician wraps his arms around his body, hauling him back. ‘Leave!’ he shouts at Laure. ‘Leave and tell yourmasterthat we will not recant our position. That Alestisthe rightful ruler of Alelune, and if we mustmarchthrough the whole of the country just to reach that damnable city – we will do so and face the gods thatheis too much of a coward to meet under a banner of truce. Tell him that the only monster in Alelune is Gillage himself!’
Laure has no final words for them. She and her men flee without so much as asking for the paperwork to confirm the conversation took place exactly as described.
Lio tears himself from Elician’s grasp. Adalei runs down from the dais. She calls his name, touches his arms, tries to speak to him, and Elician is torn between his dearest friend and – his husband.
Cat is frozen in place, his eyes locked on the box. Marina has brought it to him, but Elicianknowswhat it is to hold a loved one’s head in his arms. ‘Donot give it to him,’ he shouts. Marina recoils at the command, eyes flicking from him to Cat. Cat had been reaching for the box. To take it, to hold it. A child desperate for his mother’s embrace one final time, but it is not comfort he will find among the edges of harsh wood and broken dreams. ‘Don’t do it, Cat. Believe me. Please. Do not take it.’ He reaches for Cat’s hands, his shoulders. He doesn’t know where to touch. There are too many eyes on them both, but he wants to pull the smaller man to his chest, to hold him and to never let him go. ‘We’ll bury her, we’ll give her every honour in the world. But please. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to yourself.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Fen says, her voice as fragile as a dove. ‘What’s in the box?’
‘A head,’ Cat replies, not looking at anything save that box. The lid. The potential of seeing the face inside one more time.
‘Anslian’s?’
‘No.’ There are tears in Cat’s eyes. His shoulders shake. ‘Her namewas Brielle.’ Fen doesn’t know the name. She has heard no stories. She has felt none of Cat’s sorrow. He says, ‘She was like a mother to me.’ But that is not all she was. Teacher, friend and home. Brielle stayed by Cat’s side from the moment he was put in a cage next to hers until the moment he left Alerae for good. She taught him language and science. She took a terrified boy in the dark and guided him into a man with a heart so kind that when given the opportunity, his first reaction was not to make the entire world burn. He says, ‘I want to be alone,’ and pulls away from Elician, Marina – all of them. He leaves Marina with the head and its management, and Elician does not listen to him at all.
He pauses only to confirm Adalei and Lio will be all right. His cousin nods, firm and resolute. His friend cannot meet his eyes.
Then Elician follows his husband so that he willnotbe alone in his grief even if that is what he asked for. For he knows it is not truly what he wants.
What he wants is for Brielle to still be alive.
And she never will be again.
Celebrate the time we had
Celebrate the time you’ll have
From all that was good and bad
