AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Each of the messages was just as cryptic as the last. Each one written in that funny little code a group of kids had invented.
With my brother dead and the emperor still out there, hidden among the stars, it could only be the maid’s small son. He lived in Muhtix, the next town. Was he planning something?
And now there was a new one, sitting there in the messages tray. I broke the seal—itself a mystery with the dried tree sap used in place of ancient wax.
It read:
SOON
I tossed it in the fireplace and watched it burn. Was it a trap? Someone trying to get me to admit my allegiance?
I would ignore it, I decided. I would ignore it and, if questioned, say I thought it was a joke. The important thing was not to act on it.
Even if I was desperate to.
Changelings could be tricky beasts. It was best not to anger them. Not unless it was absolutely necessary.
I turned to the only piece of artwork that belonged to me on the walls. It was the portrait of my departed wife, Jeyell.
So serene, so calm, so graceful.
Sometimes I spoke to her. She never responded, but it made me feel good to think she was still there, within reach.
“She’s not her, you know.”
My sister stood in the doorway. She scratched Niik on the head and he let her pass. She joined me at the portrait.
“She does look like her though,” Emana said. “More than a passing resemblance. But she’s not her.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” I barked.
Emana didn’t bat so much as an eyelid.
“Sorry I snapped at you,” I said. “It was a… long trip.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
She tutted and unwound the tie from my neck.
“Why do you always let Zes do your ties?” she said. “Have you seen the state of him? He’s incapable of dressing himself, never mind someone else.”
I couldn’t even bring myself to smile. I just looked at the portrait.
“I miss her,” I said.
“I know you do,” Emana said. “We all do. But replacing her with someone else… It’s not fair on either of them. Or you.”
“I know.”
Emana tossed the tie on the desk.
“What did you plan on doing with her?” she said.
My sister, as always, had hit the nail on the head. When she wasn’t being ditzy and scatterbrained, she could be one of the smartest people I knew.
“I’m not sure yet,” I said. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought.”
Emana pursed her lips. I wasn’t sure if she believed me or not.
