No book that Cormal could ever remember reading had ever mentioned anything even remotely similar to what was afflicting the Prince, but maybe he just hadn’t found it yet. Cormal wouldn’t rest until they found a solution, even as he feared that they’d been set an impossible task.
Chapter Four
Cormal
In retrospect, Cormal should probably not have taken the grumblings as more than people expressing a bit of frustration. But he was responsible for these Mage Warriors, and hearing that disrespect had been infuriating.
“I don’t care if it’s boring and you think you have better things to do!” Cormal roared at the collected group of Mage Warriorswho were supposed to be searching for a cure for the Prince. They all goggled at him, wide-eyed.
“You’re Mage Warriors, and it’s your duty to protect the royal family and the country. We have never had a more clear duty, so you will just have to deal with the fact it’s not as exciting as a demon attack! I don’t care if you need to brush up on your Old Tongue or if it’s giving you a headache or if you never want to read a page of any book ever again. You will read these books in every spare minute that you have, do you understand me?”
“You’re not speaking in the Old Tongue like these long-winded books, so I’m pretty sure they all understood you, yes.”
Cormal whirled on Molun, who was standing there, leaning on his cane, looking slightly amused.
Molun addressed the others. “It sounds to me like we’re all a little out of sorts and could use some food. Why don’t you take a short break?”
The other Mage Warriors instantly took the excuse to flee, and as soon as the room was empty, Cormal whirled on Molun, “Don’t you ever do that in front of the other Mage Warriors again!”
“What,” Molun asked, still sounding amused, “calm down a situation?”
“Undermine me!” Cormal snapped. “You’re supposed to be my Secundus. Don’t you forget it!”
Molun’s expression went flat, his voice tight. “If you think I can forget for a single second that I’m your Secundus, then you’re not paying attention.”
Cormal had just enough presence of mind to turn and walk away instead of lighting the man on fire.
Cormal raged to Delana about it when she came to see him after dinner. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk and crossed her long legs leisurely, like he wasn’t spitting mad.
“Does no one understand what we’re trying to do? Does making jokes make everyone take the situation more seriously?”
Dryly, she said, “Well I don’t think threatening to light them on fire has been helping, so maybe Molun was trying something different.”
Cormal whirled on her. “It’s not funny! They wanted to give up searching for a solution for the Prince. What, it’s too much of an inconvenience to need to do more reading than normal when the man hasn’t been able to touch anything in seven years? When for more than six years, he couldn’t speak to or be seen by anyone but his sister? I’m sorry, but I will absolutely not tolerate anyone suggesting for so much as an instant that they can’t sit on their asses and read every single book that we have in the whole entire castle, is that clear?”
“Very clear,” Delana said, eying him with an expression he couldn’t figure out. “Do you really think that any of them were suggesting giving up? Or were they simply expressing frustration for a difficult task?”
“I’m frustrated, too!” Cormal snapped.
“And of all the possible reactions to this frustration, I think Molun’s is the most useful so far. You know, they all went back to reading once they’d had a snack. They’re all doing exactly what they need to be doing, Cormal.”
“What?” he snarled. “And it’s just me who’s behaving badly?”
“Well, I can’t truthfully say that I’ve seen you behaving well recently.”
This hurt more than he expected it to, and he snapped, “I’m trying! It’s a lot to ask of anyone.”
“I know it is,” she agreed.
“I just want some support,” he groaned. “Is that so much to ask?”
“You have a lot of people who support the cause of protecting the royal family and the country. If you’re feeling thatyouaren’t very supported right now, then perhaps you should be asking yourself why that is.”
“Because I can’t seduce people the way he could?”
Delana rose smoothly to her feet, her expression exasperated. “You know, Cormal, I think this might all go a little easier if you at least didn’t lie to yourself, even if you insist on lying to everyone else.”
And then she left before Cormal could come up with a snappy comeback. There was nothing worse than being left to stew like this. Even if he came up with something to say now, it wasn’t like he could go yell it at Delana an hour later.
