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He raised his hands helplessly. “But what am I supposed to do? Argue on their behalf when I’m not even one of them?”
Merletta looked out toward the ocean, considering his words in silence. “So you’re part of the royal family,” she said, the direction of her thoughts taking him by surprise.
“Not really,” he said quickly. His status was another thing he’d avoided mentioning. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, after hearing just how disadvantaged she was. “We’re too far removed from the king to really be considered royal.”
“But your grandparents are a prince and princess, and your father is a duke.” She didn’t wait for Heath’s nod of acknowledgment, turning to look at him. “Should I be calling you Lord, or something?”
“Of course not!” said Heath, squirming uncomfortably. “I would hate it if you did.”
Merletta was silent for another long moment, then her gaze returned to the horizon again. “It doesn’t seem likely that you would be the only one not to inherit power,” she said at last. “I suspect that Reka is right, that you have some kind of magic, but haven’t yet fully identified what it is.”
Heath waited, but she fell silent, apparently having nothing more to add.
“That’s it?” he protested, eyebrows raised. “You looked so pensive, I thought for sure you were going to give me some helpful advice!”
“Advice?” Merletta repeated, giving a humorless laugh. “How can I give you advice? I can barely navigate my own world, let alone yours, which I know absolutely nothing about.”
She frowned. “But I will say that I find it strange you think your ability to advocate for the power-wielders is lessened by you—supposedly—not being one of them. I’ve often thought those of us in Tilssted would be taken more seriously in our struggles if someone from outside were to speak up on our behalf. No one listens when we do it.” She sighed. “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to join the program at the Center. But it quickly became clear that my position as a trainee makes little difference on that matter. I’ll always be from Tilssted, as far as they’re concerned.”
Heath mulled it over for a moment. “So you think I should speak up? Get involved?”
Merletta shrugged. “I’m not going to tell you what I think you should do. That’s up to you.” She considered him thoughtfully. “If you did decide to get involved, what would you do?”
It was Heath’s turn to shrug. “No idea. There was a meeting a few months ago, where the king invited input from his court on the issue. All the power-wielders went. I didn’t go because…” he glanced sideways at her, “well, I didn’t go. And Percival’s been in a bit of a huff with me ever since, to be honest.”
“What did the king decide?” Merletta asked curiously.
“He hasn’t yet,” said Heath. “He’s obviously conflicted about it, and both camps are annoyed that he’s not instantly siding with them.”
“And you feel caught in the middle,” Merletta guessed.
“I side with my family, of course,” he said quickly.
Merletta gave him a look. “That’s not an answer. Don’t get me wrong, I understand your loyalty. If I had a family, I’d do anything to protect them. But I was asking what you actually think.”
Heath sighed. “I don’t want to see anyone put under restrictions,” he said. “But—even though I don’t think I could ever admit it to Percival—I can kind of see the other side. I mean, it’s not exactly fair to have someone with the strength of five men competing in a tournament against normal competitors, is it? And although I would never be afraid of anything my family might do, because I trust them, people who don’t know them so well…”
Merletta nodded. “It is a problem.” She stared off into the distance for another prolonged moment, then turned back to him, a cheeky grin crossing her features and breaking the moment. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s kind of a relief to hear that your mythical human society is beset by problems just as complicated as ours.”
“Thanks for the support,” laughed Heath, sending a generous splash of water in her direction.
* * *
For all the joking, the conversation stayed with Heath. Merletta’s words—if I had a family, I’d do anything to protect them—circled throughout his mind as Reka flew homeward. She had spoken them without judgment, but they shamed him nevertheless.
Merletta had grown up an orphan, with almost no one to even care what became of her. And yet she had applied for her position partly with the hope of helping the plight of others from her city. He had been taking his family, and their support, for granted. He was giving them less loyalty than they deserved by trying to stay on the sidelines in a fight that affected their very selves. It was time for him to stop avoiding involvement.
He said goodbye to Reka on the clifftop, steeling himself as he walked toward the manor. Like he had told Merletta, he had no idea what he was going to do. But he was determined to do something.
He was shivering by the time he entered the gates, his clothes still not fully dry from a day spent mostly in the water. It had been fine in the temperate air surrounding Vazula, but in the bite of a Valorian winter, it was brutal. He’d have to start taking a change of clothes. Although, he thought with a dry chuckle, he might have to be creative in finding an opportunity to change. Merletta probably wouldn’t realize that she should give him privacy, and would instead be fascinated by the opportunity to watch a human replace his “coverings”.
“Decided to return, did you?”
Heath turned quickly, the laugh dying in his eyes as he took in his brother’s sulky expression. He sighed. Percival was becoming difficult to live with.
“Yes, Reka just dropped me off.”
“I saw.” His brother regarded him for a moment, eyebrows raised. “Have you been swimming? In winter?”
