Of the many things Trill hadn’t expected with this journey, being on a first-name basis with royalty was right up there on the list. (The Prince had already told him to call him Kinan, but Trill was having trouble with that, too.)
The doctor came over to talk to Trill about his desire to heal, and Perian was soon drawn into the conversation as well. The Princess—Renny—came to ask questions, too, and while Trill couldn’t forget what was looming, it helped a bit as a distraction.
In fact, it must have helped more than he realized, because when the door banged open, he wasn’t the only one who jumped and yelled—even as he noticed that Renny immediately darted in front of them, just like she’d said she would.
Only it was Molun who’d burst into the room, a wide grin splitting his face. “We did it!”
Trill clapped a hand to his heart, and Perian scolded, “Don’t scare us like that!”
His smile didn’t even falter. “Sorry, sorry, butwe did it!”
Brannal, Cormal, and the Prince followed after Molun at a slightly less precipitous pace.
“We did it?” Perian asked.
Brannal came over to sweep Perian into his arms and kiss him. Molun bounced over to Trill and Arvus to do the same, peppering kisses over both their faces until Trill was laughing breathlessly.
Yannoma even kissed the doctor. Cormal and Prince Kinan exchanged glances and then kissed as well, though they’d been together this whole time.
Renny said, “I refuse to kiss anyone. Gross.”
They all laughed and, uh, disengaged.
“They made us step out at the end,” Cormal said, gesturing at himself, Molun, and Brannal. “It was obviously very clear where our loyalties lay, and I’m sure there were things they wanted to say that we couldn’t hear.”
He eyed the Prince, who grimaced. “There were things they said thatno oneneeded to hear.” Then he smiled. “But, despite the naysayers, Mother upheld her word, and forward-thinking heads prevailed. They’re going to give citizen rights and protections to children of two worlds and carnalions.”
Trill felt his knees go weak, and Arvus and Molun jumped to keep him upright and give him another hug. He let them support him, marveling for a moment at this outcome. He’d simply beenhoping to maybe meet a family member who didn’t hate him, and look at what had happened!
“It’s not going to be easy,” Brannal warned. “The majority vote was for this change, but there is resistance among some of the councilors, as I’m sure you noticed. And honestly, even if they’d been one hundred percent on board, we still have the general population to contend with. Changing the law is an essential step, and it offers a number of legal protections, but it will take time to change public opinion.”
This was undoubtedly true. People were afraid of things they didn’t understand—and things that were more powerful than they were. It was definitely going to take time and probably a lot of patience. But it was still so much more than they’d had before.
“A proclamation is being drawn up,” Brannal continued. “It will be delivered to all the watch stations, warden halls, and town centers. Warriors and Mage Warriors will be briefed thoroughly before being sent out, and we’ll be keeping our eye out for signs that they’re not invested in this new vision of the future. We’ll be adding a lecture for all Mage WarriorsandWarriors to help prevent the spread of misinformation. We know there will be a lot of questions, and some of them will be genuine ignorance or reasonable fear given our previous relations. Our goal is to educate and to be reasonable about reasonable doubts. As always, staff will have the option to retire if they wish, or to move to the Mages, although we’ll be in regular discussions with them, too. They’re a place of great learning, and we want to ensure that this new learning is disseminated.”
The doctor spoke up. “I’d be happy to volunteer a copy of the journal.” She eyed Yannoma. “Would you be willing to fully translate it? In the short term, I’m not sure how many people there might be who could understand it.”
Yannoma said, “Yes.” Her lip curled as she looked at the Prince. “I still think you are wildly optimistic, but it seems that perhaps that was exactly what we needed.”
The Prince grinned at her. “Thank you for sticking it out with us. I’m sure it can’t have been easy. But I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I won’t stay,” she warned. “Not for long.”
“That’s all right,” he said simply, no censure in his voice. “You’re here now, when we needed you.”
Brannal continued, “We saw the power of having Yannoma, Trill, and Perian speak directly to people. We don’t want to place anyone in danger, but we’ll be trying to maximize the in-person transmission of the message so that people have a real avenue to discuss their questions and fears. I expect there will be unrest, and unfortunately, the first carnalions and children of two worlds to present themselves will likely be the most at risk. We plan to set up a center here for them to be housed safely if they need a temporary stay. We’ll reach out to the Mages and see if they’re willing to do the same.”
Perian nudged Brannal. “You’re, uh, sounding an awful lot like you’re in charge.”
Brannal looked at him and then over at Cormal, who inclined his head.
Brannal admitted, “I did agree to be Summus again, as long as you were accepted at my side. In fact, pending your acceptance, the Queen would like to offer you the position of Royal Life Mage.”
Perian blinked. “What?”
Brannal nodded. “It would give you a defined position here. It makes it extremely plain that the crown values you, which should make it safer for you. Also, from a purely self-serving standpoint, it would secure a powerful Life Mage to the crown. Having someone here with your healing ability is an extremely wise decision on the Queen’s part.”
Perian still looked stunned. He turned to the doctor. “Would you mind?”
