I laugh. “They look down on me for being female. Yet their own lineage is so diluted and corrupted by petty commerce and backroom deals, I doubt any of them could tell me who their great-grandfathers polished their knee pads for to worm their way onto the king’s council in the first place.”

  Torsten snorts with suppressed laughter, “You’re not far off, but they’re still powerful.”

  I shake my head, “That power is a hollow shell and easier to crack than an egg. If they force my hand, I’ll crack it for them.”

  Torsten considers this and nods, “And what do you make of Oskar?”

  “That gilded paperweight?” I reply, “He struts around like a peacock, but all I see is a plucked chicken with delusions of grandeur. He has to rely on all the pomp and ceremony of the court to prop himself up and maintain his rule. He’s a weak king who should spend more time focusing on ruling and less time chasing after newly married women. I suspect that the dukes arrange for the lower-ranked lords to get married at regular intervals to keep Oskar distracted.”

  “I hadn’t considered that,” Torsten admits, “You might be right. He’s always after the newest bride. Oskar’s tendencies are why I haven’t been to court since Inga and I got married. King or not, I’d shove him into a barrel of pickled fish if he tried to touch my Inga.”

  Hmm… I hadn’t thought about pickling him… I wonder if that would make him easier to get rid of. Meh. Probably not.

  Torsten nudges me out of my thoughts. “What are you thinking? I can tell it’s something.”

  I smirk, “I was wondering if pickling might improve the flavor. I’m almost certain that if I have to kill Oskar, I’ll be forced to turn cannibal to dispose of the body without getting caught.”

  Torsten howls with laughter, “By the gods, you’re a bloodthirsty little thing. Inga and Klara are going to adore you.”

  I turn to face him, “Pickling might improve the texture, though. It does tend to firm up slimy things.”

  Torsten laughs again, “I see why Kenric chose you. Here you are, with the king and the dukes circling you like sharks waiting to scent blood, and you joke about it.”

  I smile and keep my thoughts to myself. “Hrmph! If he only knew how serious I am,” I think. Instead, I ask him about his brother. “Tell me about Kenric’s father, Othmar.”

  Torsten nods. “I knew that’d come up. What did you want to know?”

  “What was he like? As a man, as your brother, as Kenric’s father.”

  Torsten nods slowly and deliberately. “Othmar was a good man. Stern, but fair. He had a way of making you want to stand straighter and do better just by walking into a room. Didn’t waste words, but when he spoke, you listened.”

  “I see that in Kenric,” I reply, “I think I catch echoes of him in Kenric. The way Kenric carries burdens, the way he listens before he acts. Was Othmar always so steady?”

  Torsten, watching his sons spar, nods and gives me a faint smile. “Not always. When we were young, he was as wild as a spring river. Got into more trouble than sense would allow. But war and loss shape a man. His wife's illness, then the loss of our other brother… it carved the laughter out of him, left only the iron. He poured what was left of himself into Kenric.”

  Now, more of Kenric starts to make sense to me. "Kenric sometimes fears he’ll never live up to Othmar’s memory. That he’ll fail the people who depend on him."

  Torsten’s gaze sharpens. “Othmar never wanted Kenric to be a copy of himself. He wanted a son who could think on his own, who’d protect his own. Kenric’s got his father’s stubbornness, but he has more kindness than Othmar ever let himself show. That’s no failing. That’s a gift."

  I smile at Torsten and nod. “I met Lord Eldert briefly. I’m glad that Lord Eldert got to see who Kenric has become. I wish Othmar had that opportunity. Kenric’s braver than he knows.”

  Torsten smiles, “I’m sure Eldert was proud of him. Othmar would have been. I know that I am. I wanted to take Kenric when Othmar died, but my first wife, Corinna, had just died. My children were reeling. When Eldert said that he’d had an arrangement with Othmar to take Kenric, I let him. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but it seems to have worked out.”

  “I think so,” I reply. “I know for a fact that Eldert loved Kenric. It was clear in every word and gesture. Family is more than just blood. Who you’re born to is simply luck of the draw. Who you choose to pull toward you and who pulls you to them is a matter of choice, not chance. I don’t think you should feel bad about that. When we arrived in Dobile, Eldert, sick as he was, came to court to spend time with Kenric. They spent Eldert’s last days staying up late, talking, and playing cards.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Torsten gives me a sideways look. “That was your doing, wasn’t it?”

  I nod.

  Torsten sighs. “I’m glad Kenric has you at his side. Othmar always said a wise man listens to those who see the world differently. You keep him honest, Fey or not.”

  I grin at him briefly, a quick flash of teeth, so not a threat. “I’ll do my best to keep him out of trouble. Or at least, make sure he survives it.”

  Torsten laughs. “That’s all any of us could ask for.”

  I stand for a moment, look around, and place a tag here.

  Tagging a place with my magic lets me return quickly. It’s far enough from everything that I can come here to pass messages to Torsten and Ulrick.

  Torsten interrupts my thoughts, “Why don’t you and Kenric come to the house tomorrow? I’ll send Luka, and they can talk about Luka managing Kenric’s holdings until Oskar’s willing to release the two of you.”

  “It would be easier if we had a time frame, but it will be when the next new bride shows up. Who knows when that will happen?”

  Torsten watches everyone practicing and grins at me. “Is this how you plan to spend your honeymoon?”

  “It’s not my first choice, but Kenric and his men need the drills, so yes, we’ll be doing this every morning,” I reply. “I don’t dare do this at the palace, and who knows when I’ll get a chance like this again?”

  Torsten nods and chuckles.

  “What’s your opinion of Duke Jellema?” I ask.

  Torsten looks thoughtful. “He’s one of the richest. He’s made some outstanding investments and is probably in the best position, out of all the dukes, to challenge Oskar. He’s got some royal blood himself.”

  “I know that he owns most of the ships, the coaching inns, and the wagons in Centis,” I reply. “He gave me away at my wedding since my father couldn’t come from Imelenora. He’s thoughtful and foresighted. I don’t trust any of these dukes, but I’d come the closest to trusting him."

  Torsten eyes me. “What are you up to?”

  "Wondering if we’d all be better off if he were king instead of Oskar,” I say with a shrug. “I can’t see him chasing me around the palace."

  Torsten laughs. “No, that isn’t his style at all, but power changes people, too.”

  Getting him to overthrow Oskar might be enough to stop whatever Ellisar is planning, especially if he makes some special deals with Ellisar that tie Centis as a client kingdom. One thing I know Ellisar would require is an end to all these cults that burn magic users. It could work, but only if he’s willing. I suppose I’ll see what Ina has to say when we get back to Dobile.

  I smile at Torsten. "Shall I tell you what I think of the other dukes?"

  Torsten nods.

  "Nelis Doerr is Vellam’s liege and an even bigger snake than Vellam. Keimpe De Boer stalks me like a deer, but he’s allied with Duke Jellema. Aart Lindeman sits apart from the other dukes but secretly wants to be king. Basten Pleiter is thick as thieves with Nelis Doerr and just as much of a snake."

  “For someone who’s not from Centis, that’s a remarkably good read of them,” Torsten replies.

  Torsten turns to face me. “What are you planning?”

  I smile and shrug. “I’m not sure yet. I need to watch them a bit longer.”

  “Don’t wait too long, or they’ll decide for you,” Torsten advises.

  “If they try anything, they won’t live long enough to regret it. The only reason Oskar’s still alive is that he keeps a check on them and distracts them,” I reply.

  Torsten stares at me. “I don’t know if I should be glad or afraid.”

  “I’m very single-minded when it comes to Kenric,” I reply.

  Torsten smirks for a moment at the double entendre. I give him a nod and explain, “Kenric has been a balm for every bent, broken, and twisted bit of my soul. I will keep him for as long as he lasts, and I will not yield a second of that time to anyone. I’m Fey, so I’ll likely outlive him by quite a bit, and that’s going to hurt. Do you understand?”

  Torsten nods slowly.

  I pat him on the arm and smile, “I am far from home. My only kin here are Kenric’s kin. I have a few friends here. Kenric has a few more. Aside from Kenric himself and that select group, Centis can burn for all I care.”

  Torsten frowns at me. “If Centis burns, what happens to the rest of us?”

  “I’ll take you back to Imelenora and teach you how to act like a Fey,” I grin.

  “And how do Fey act?” Torsten asks.

  “We drink, we dance, we sing, and sometimes we fight. I suspect you’d fit right in. Just be careful of what you drink. Some things that don’t affect us much can cause humans to hallucinate,” I say with a wink. I can’t tell him that Centis will burn because Ellisar will see to it. All I can do is try to keep Kenric’s family out of the fire.

  Even if I manage to install Jellema as king, Centis will still be destroyed. Jellema probably knows about Oskar’s plans but hasn’t told me. Ellisar will eliminate the nobility. I doubt I can save him or Ina. I hate that. I’ll try, but I don’t think he’d want to live as a duke in exile under watchful Fey eyes for the rest of his days. Ellisar is clever enough not to accept him as a puppet king, either. I’ve heard from Ina how hard he worked to build up his duchy.

  Hedde’s father was a gambler, and the duchy was nearly bankrupt when Hedde inherited it. Ina had a large dowry because her father, an earl, wanted Ina to marry well. Hedde paid off some debts, but he invested the rest of Ina’s dowry. Now it’s one of the wealthiest duchies in Centis. The improvements to the port of Varpua, the coaching inns, the wagon routes, the dyes, the medicines, and the metals all contribute to its prosperity. All in all, he’s quite progressive and far more open-minded than his peers.

  He tries to be paternal with me, but it’s awkward at best. I think I’m so far outside his experience that he doesn’t know what to make of me. Women, in his world, are for dowries and making babies. We might do a little embroidery or flower arranging. We do not read. We do not understand finance or power. We do not negotiate trade contracts. We are not the diplomatic representatives of our kings. We do not carry swords and fight.

  Have you ever pickled anything? If so, what? I usually do cucumbers. They grow well here. Let me know in the comments...