The Immortal Prince (54 page)

Arkady took breakfast on the terrace the following morning, her eyes gritty from lack of sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, trying to think of a way to make things better between her and Stellan. All night she had lain awake trying to think of a way to expose Jaxyn—a moot point given that even if she told Stellan what his lover was, he'd never believe her.

And for much of the night she'd been trying not to think of Cayal.

In the end, Arkady had given up. Just on dawn she had come down to the terrace to watch the sunrise on the lake. As she was facing west, the sun climbed across the sky behind her, painting a golden path along the still waters, tinting the faint mist pink and gold as it rose off the rushes near the water's edge.

Nature's glory on display,
she thought,
while buried somewhere in a mine in the Shevron Mountains is one of her abominations. Another is chiselling her way through eternity looking for gold.

Yet another was living under Arkady's roof, trading on the credulity of a good and decent man with the misfortune to have been born with a nature that social convention deemed perverted.

“Did you want another pot of tea, your grace?”

Arkady glanced up, pulling her shawl a little closer against the cool morning. “Thank you, Tassie. That would be lovely.”

The canine hurried away to fetch a fresh pot of tea, leaving Arkady alone with her morose thoughts.

“You never used to be such an early riser, Arkady.”

Arkady sat up sharply, alarmed to find Declan Hawkes climbing the terrace steps. He was coming from the right, from the direction of the Crasii village. “Declan!”

He bowed politely. “Good morning, your grace.”

She forced a smile, although she certainly didn't feel like it, indicating the other side of the table. “Please, won't you join me? Tassie has just gone to fetch a fresh pot.”

“Breakfast on the terrace with the Duchess of Lebec, eh?” Declan lowered his tall frame into the chair and leaned back, admiring the view of the lake. “I'm honoured.”

“You accuse me of being an early riser,” Arkady remarked, ignoring his tone, more concerned about what he was doing roaming the estate so early in the morning. “And yet you've obviously been up for quite some time.”

“I like to stretch my legs in the mornings,” he explained. “It helps me think.”

“Well, I hope you enjoyed the gardens,” she replied. “They really are quite spectacular.” Arkady hesitated, and then added, “Why are you still here, Declan? Doesn't the king require your presence in Herino?”

“I have family here in Lebec,” he said. “And this friend of mine gave me a right ticking off the other day about my appallingly bad behaviour toward them, so I decided to take her advice.”

Arkady was shocked. Declan and Shalimar hadn't spoken in years, as far as she knew. “You've been to see your grandfather?”

“That I have.”

“How is he?”

“Very well, actually. He says you bring him food parcels.”

“Someone has to look after him.”

“And I do appreciate your efforts, Arkady, but truly, Pop isn't nearly as helpless as he likes to make you think.”

“You're just saying that to make yourself feel better for neglecting him. When are you leaving for Herino?”

“Your husband has kindly offered to let me join your party when you sail for the capital in a couple of days.”

“That was very thoughtful of him.”

“I thought so,” he agreed, smiling. He studied her closely for a moment. “Are you feeling better? After your harrowing ordeal.”

“Much, thank you.”

“Can't have been easy for you. I hear the Immortal Prince can be rather…trying. Arrogant, they say. A bit full of himself.”

Arkady smiled. She wasn't so foolish or tired that she would walk into such an obvious trap. “You're not buying this wild story about immortality and Tide Lords too, are you, Declan?”

“The Crasii believe the Tide Lords are real.”

“Do
you
?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.

Declan smiled. “I rather think, Arkady, it's more a question of whether or not
you
believe in them.”

She laughed dismissively. “What's my belief got to do with anything?”

“Not much,” he admitted. “Not while the Tide is out. But it's on the turn, so I'm told. We're about to have a world of trouble rain down on us and there's not many mortals in a position to appreciate what that means.”

Arkady stared at her oldest friend in shock. “What do you mean, the Tide is turning?”

He eyed her carefully, cautiously, as if he was testing her. “I think you know.”

Arkady shivered, certain it wasn't the cool breeze coming off the lake that prickled her skin with goose bumps. “Has Jaxyn accused me of something?”

“If he had, Arkady, I'd not be paying it any mind. I'm under no illusions about Lord Aranville.”

He knows,
Arkady thought, her heart in her mouth.
Tides! He knows about Stellan and Jaxyn.

“Well,” she said, trying to sound as light-hearted as possible. “I know why
I
don't like him. What's your problem with him?”

Declan wasn't smiling. “Same problem I've got with all the immortals.”

Arkady stared at him for a long time. Finally she forced a smile she didn't feel and shook her head dismissively. “I'm sorry; my hearing must be failing me. I thought you just said Jaxyn was an immortal.”

Declan was watching her closely. “There's nothing wrong with your hearing, Arkady.”

“Then there is clearly something wrong with your mind, Declan Hawkes.”

He studied her for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “You fear I'm trying to trap you into saying something I can use against you.”

“I can't imagine
why
you'd be looking for something to use against me,” she replied, “but I think it's a reasonable fear, given you're the King's Spymaster now.”

“I beg to differ,” he replied. “I think, if I was planning to bring you down, I could have done it long before now.”

Arkady frowned. “You swore to me you'd never say a word about Fillion Rybank to anybody.”

“Nor have I,” he assured her. “Your father went to his grave in ignorance of what was done to you, just as you requested. I promised I wouldn't reveal your secret, and I've had no reason to break my vow.”

“So you say…”

He smiled. “How do you think the man who murdered Rybank knew where and when to find the old pederast indulging his sick fantasies with his assistant's thirteen-year-old son?”

Arkady stared at him in surprise. “Rybank was killed by one of his junior colleagues the year after I was married.” She shook her head, wondering why she'd never suspected Declan had a hand in his demise. “Tides, I just thought it luck that he was finally caught. I never imagined it was your doing.”

“I told you I'd kill the monstrous bastard.” His smile widened and he was looking more than a little smug. “Sometimes, it's very useful being me.”

Almost faint with relief, Arkady smiled weakly. “You promised me you wouldn't do anything foolish.”

He leant back in his seat and smiled. “Nor did I. In fact I think I managed the whole affair rather nicely. Unfortunately, I wasn't the spymaster back them, so I didn't have the power to countermand an arrest order issued by a Prefect and have your father released, but rest assured, your father died believing you were safe and innocent and would be taken care of, regardless of what might happen to him.”

“Would that the messenger carrying his pardon had ridden a little faster,” Arkady lamented. “He might also have died a free man.” She drained the last of her tea and smiled at him. “I am grateful for your silence, Declan,” she said. “And that you were able to put an end to Rybank. Truly, I'd help you if I could. But do you really expect me to admit I believe in magic and Tide Lords and all that nonsense?”

“You and I both know it's not nonsense,” he said softly, and then he sat a little straighter in his seat as Tassie appeared with the fresh pot of tea they were waiting on.

“We do, do we?” Arkady asked in a noncommittal tone.

“Ask your canine here, who her real lord is,” Declan suggested. “I'm quite sure you won't like the answer.”

Arkady stared at him for a moment and then turned to Tassie. “You heard Master Hawkes, Tassie. Who is lord here in Lebec?”

“Duke Stellan, of course,” she answered.

Arkady gave Declan an “I told you so” look, rather relieved by the answer.

“But who is your
master
?” Declan asked.

“Lord Jaxyn,” the Crasii replied without hesitating. “Was that all, your grace?”

“You may go,” Declan told the Crasii before Arkady could say a word. Once they were alone again, he turned to Arkady. “You see?”

“That proves nothing.” She shrugged. “Jaxyn has been Kennel Master for almost a year. It's only natural they think of him that way.”

“Arkady, please don't play games with me,” Declan warned, a little impatiently. “My job is hard enough, without people like you actively working against me.”

“I wasn't aware that I
was
working against you, Declan.”

“If you're going to sit here pretending you know nothing about the Tide Lords then that's exactly what you're doing,” he informed her. “I've spent a lifetime tracking these bastards down. You had one in your grasp, and you let him go.”

“Kyle Lakesh escaped,” she insisted, still not convinced this wasn't an elaborate trap for some nefarious purpose of his own that Arkady couldn't fathom. “That's all there is to it.”

Declan shook his head. “Tides, Arkady! You stopped at Clyden's Inn and let a prisoner talk to your Crasii. You may have permitted it, just to satisfy your own curiosity, or it may have been a mistake, but you let him talk to them and they changed sides faster than you could blink.”

Arkady didn't reply, not sure what she could say. At the same time, a glimmer of hope began to awaken in her. It was possible Declan knew of the Tide Lords. He was the King's Spymaster, after all. If anybody in Glaeba knew the immortals were real, it might be her old friend. She hesitated for a moment longer and then nodded slowly. If she couldn't trust Declan Hawkes, she couldn't trust anyone. “I witnessed Jaxyn order Chelby to kill himself for no better reason than to prove a point to me.”

Declan seemed unsurprised. “Then imagine what will happen if he starts to order all the Crasii around. Our entire civilisation is built on the backs of their race. If they were to change allegiance, at best we'd face economic ruin, at worst he might order them to turn on their human masters and massacre every one of us.”

Arkady nodded, as he gave voice to the nameless fears that had kept her awake since returning to Lebec last night.

“You know they're real,” Arkady said flatly.

“I've always known, Arkady,” he replied.

“Who else knows?”

“Besides the Crasii?” he asked. “Maybe a handful of people in all of Glaeba and not much more beyond. Many Torlenians believe in them still, but it's mostly wishful thinking on their part. They have no proof the Tide Lords still exist, although the new Imperator seems to be quite keen on reviving their worship, which may prove problematic when you get there. The Caelish are like us, they've either forgotten the Tide Lords or believe they're nothing more than a fanciful myth. Most of the nations in the north believe the same. The Senestrans don't remember them at all, probably because the only Crasii they have in any great numbers are the amphibians and they don't tend to mingle much with the human population.”

“And how is it that you know?” she asked.

He shrugged evasively. “My family has a long history of protecting the truth about the Tide Lords.”

“Then your grandfather knows about them, too?”

“Yes.”

“How many others?”

“There are pockets of believers all over the world, but few who know for certain outside of the Crasii.”

“I mean how many other people that
I
know?”

He looked at her oddly. “You want names? Why?”

“You're asking me to believe you've known about the Tide Lords all along, Declan. I've known you all my life. Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“Oh, yes, what a good idea,” he agreed. “Confess to Arkady the Academic that I believe in magic. There's a plan.”

Arkady shook her head, feeling a little winded. “Tides, you think you know someone all your life and they turn out to be quite the opposite of what you thought. It's frightening.”

He frowned. “I remember thinking the same thing the day you told me you were getting married.”

Arkady glared at him. “Don't try to get out of this by changing the subject.”

“I don't want to change the subject,” he assured her. “I want to know if you're willing to help.”

“Help who, exactly?”

“Me. And a few others who want to protect humanity from the next High Tide.” When he could see she still wasn't convinced, he added, “Tilly's one of us.”

“Tilly Ponting?”

He nodded. “You were foolish to scoff at the Tarot, you know. Tilly knows more about it—and the Tide Lords—than anyone else alive.”

“
Tilly
is a part of your…?” She stopped, remembering something Cayal had told her, and how oddly protective of the Tarot Tilly had been.
Some of us go to a great deal of trouble to ensure this record of the true nature of the Tide Lords never fades from memory,
Tilly had told her that day she went to Tilly's house to learn about the Tarot.
It's a solemn trust that we take very seriously.