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Chapter 46 – Out Cold
Metheus
I suspected Ari was planning something along the lines of what Luella just confirmed. From the beginning, he had never hidden his tendency to take on many lovers and pursue even married ones. We did not have any problems before, because I had never met Luella then. I thought that Ari was simply spoiled, a duke who took what he felt was due to him.
How could he hate me so? Even if he found Luella desirable, he would have taken a step back for me. Would he not?
Something niggled at me – a possible truth that had been there all along. Knocking. Making itself known through the visions and the many times in the past that I had tried to hold on to our tenuous connection.
Could it be?
Luella and I switched roles for a moment, with her soothing me from my burst of anger. Even my men seemed a little apprehensive, watchful, and thoughtful when I passed by them in the courtyard. They had never seen me furious beyond fighting. Even then, it was about survival.
Could Ari have anything to do with my father’s death? But wouldn’t he benefit more if he had not requested the switch? Luella would have been a young widow, and he would have made his move – not that she would have him.
Still heated, I trained my guards and the Prozeus citizens who wanted to be part of the anticipated war. To my own surprise, my arrows hit the target more fiercely, and my sword applied more pressure. I could trounce human enemies, at least that was what that afternoon’s training seemed to assure me. I wanted Ari at the receiving end of my sword, the target for my arrows.
My arrows were faster, zipping through the air and digging into the target. I urged my men to do the same. Feeling the anger coursing through my veins, they did their best with whatever fury they could hold on to. The people of Prozeus had always been peaceful. There was not much for them to be mad about, with all that they needed right there for them.
However, the storm that the Ninurta had unleashed on us changed that. Many people had lost their crops, and plants that other Arrowspear kingdoms coveted. Our temperatures were closer to Leiderman than Tarkus because of the changes my birth had said to have made on the land. I did not think much of it then, but we realized that the continents relied on a fragile balance. The death of one ancient witch had caused chaos. The same death had led me to Luella. We only needed to stop this hungry god and the Touch that controlled it once and for all.
“Your Majesty, it is getting late,” one of the guards reminded me nervously.
It was dark. We should have gone back inside the palace perhaps an hour ago. Nobody was brave enough to remind him that the sun was setting. However, as darkness had fallen, one had made it his role to tell him.
I could have told them they needed to master fighting in the dark. I would have been justified. However, I could see how exhausted some of them were.
“You may go and get your rest. I will stay here for just a few more moments,” I said.
“I will stay with you, Your Majesty,” Leevar said firmly. “You cannot be alone here outside.”
I nodded in agreement. There was no sense in arguing because I knew Leevar was right. It would be folly to stay outside unguarded, even when I felt stronger than usual. Grateful, the other men proceeded to return to their homes. The guards would be retreating to the servants’ and guards’ houses at the back of the palace.
“Leevar, how was the training, do you think?”
“You were fierce, Your Majesty. I am not simply saying that because you are the one who gives me my salary but because it was true. It was different from the last time you practiced your swordplay and target. What brought about this new passion?”
“I would not call it passion. It was more like a means to let out my fury.”
“Oh. Duke Ari, you mean?” Leevar murmured, nodding sagely. The large man sat on a rock, seemingly tired from all the activities. Suddenly, I was struck with the possibility that I might feel all the aches and pains later on after my surge of energy was gone.
“How did you know that?”
“Oh, I heard from that guard who assisted Her Majesty the Queen with Cesar,” Leevar said, matter-of-factly.
“So, word would have already spread that I know about what Ari had tried to do in the kitchen?” I racked my brain for anything else that Luella said. I did not think that anyone else knew about Ari’s attempt to force her, well, except for Francilia.
“Yes. Most of my men would gladly kill His Grace on sight. They were loyal to your father, King Doro. They would gladly die for him.”
“No. Ari is mine. Make sure that they move away from him. He is my target and nobody else’s.”
“Your Majesty, I understand your fury. He may have a hand in your father’s murder. We will not disobey you, but let us help you when the time comes.”
“Has anyone arrived on the northern shores of Arrowspear?”
“No. Not that we know of, but Ari and whoever he is with could easily enter the continent in the dead of night.”
He could already be here, and the talk about him would have already made him wary about meeting with me. We needed to be more cautious. I needed to be more cautious. Ari choosing my father to die over me was not guaranteed that he did not want me dead. However, the tremendous anger he had toward my father made me question everything about my relationship with the duke.
