They made it back to the palace at dusk, reassuring a number of other knights, soldiers, and even Gemini mercs that they were in fact returning and that everything was okay. From the entryway to the palace he activated his Eyes of Love to follow a thread of loyalty from one guard to King Marlo’s man Bren, who was standing in a hallway leading to a single door.

  “I need to talk to the King,” he said.

  Bren nodded, catching the serious tone in Michael’s voice almost immediately.

  “I’ll let him know. He’s in a meeting with Bayle right now, making final preparations for your trip to Stent.”

  “Let him know I need to speak to him alone.”

  Bren nodded. “I shall, Paladin.”

  The bodyguard walked down the hall, carefully opening the door behind him and walking through. Michael heard nothing after Bren entered the room, it was likely protected by a muffling spell of some kind, and after a few minutes he exited with Bayle in tow.

  Bayle didn’t look upset by the interruption, but he didn’t bother hiding the curiosity on his face as he passed Michael.

  “Everything alright?” he asked.

  “No,” responded Michael simply. Offering no other details.

  Bayle raised an eyebrow, but gave a professional bow of goodbye. “Count Mann,” he said as he did so and walked off, a different guard quickly falling in line behind the Stent spymaster to keep an eye on him. Bayle had, in many ways, been a reasonable person to Michael, but he was also a spy from a country that had branded him and was planning an assassination. Michael didn’t want to give him any more information than he absolutely had to.

  Bren gestured for Michael to go into the room. He’d gone above and beyond to be respectful to Michael since he’d healed the king and his family.

  Michael walked back through the door. The room was a study with a wall lined in black leatherbound books and a desk at the far end behind which was a large window overlooking the docks. King Marlo was seated at the desk waiting for him. He wore his usual simple tunic and a slim gold crown. He seemed a bit wan, likely from the exertion of the parade, but was still much healthier than he’d been when Michael had first met him.

  King Marlo waited until the door was sealed and then casually cast a powerful muffling spell over the room. Michael wasn’t sure, but he’d guess the man was a powerful mage from his titles alone, probably even stronger since being healed.

  He took a deep breath before speaking. “When you went on your run I had a quick investigation and chat with the Herald.” He leaned forward in his chair placing his hands in a pyramid shape in front of his face. “You believe the King of Burndan to be your son?”

  Michael frowned. He hadn’t necessarily wanted to reveal that part to King Marlo. He was hoping he could get by on explaining a tenuous connection and telling him the information that Pyotr had given him. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the king to be a good and righteous man, he did, but he also knew that he was the type to use any advantage to help his kingdom.

  “I know he is.”

  “The gods?”

  Michael nodded.

  “And were you coming to resign your knighthood? To leave us and pursue him?”

  “No. I came to ask for your help.”

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  Marlo let out a breath. “Good.” He let his hands drop from their pyramid formation and relaxed his posture a few degrees. “I know what it is to love one’s children. I’d trade Hume for mine. I was worried you might doom it for the same.”

  “Acting rashly would damn both him and the world. No, I need a plan to get to him, an excuse to meet with him. Perhaps under the guise of requesting his support?”

  “For what purpose? The urgency with which you’re speaking makes me believe he is in danger of some kind?”

  “He has been given a control brand by the dowager queen. I’m certain that he is suffering.”

  Marlo’s brow furrowed as he absorbed that information. “And do you think you could actually get support from him? Or is that just a distraction? A way to get close so that you could help him?”

  “I may be able to. I’d like to say that my son would be willing to help me, but that was a lifetime ago for him. I don’t know what responsibilities he bears or what goals he has now aside from a desire to be free of his brand. Even if he did agree to provide support, he’d need to move troops through Swandia and I don’t know that I see them letting that happen.”

  “There are other forms of support. Mercenaries, money, supplies,” he paused. “I’m sorry, I understand we may have differing priorities. You just heard that your son has travelled to an entirely new world and is in danger.” He shook his head.

  “And you just heard of another advantage you can use to help your people. I don’t fault you for that. If you can arrange a meeting somehow with my son, I will do everything I can to try and obtain his support in whatever form he can manage. I’m on the side of Hume too.”

  Marlo nodded. “You haven’t given me any reason to doubt.” He pushed himself out of his chair and began running one of his hands over the spines of the books on the shelves. “I think I can make it happen. Old Hume has been called to mediate conflicts in the past, and I may be able to get Swandia and Burndan to agree to it. Burndan needs time to consolidate their victories and move their forces anyway, and Swandia will want more time to fortify their borders. It would be a way to buy time for both of them, but for our purposes it won’t matter.” He removed his hand from the bookshelf and looked to Michael. “Of course, it will take time.”

  Michael nodded. “I know.”

  “And you told me we have a year, perhaps less until the great rift in the south opens.” King Marlo frowned, his brow furrowed in concentration. “If I send my swiftest messengers, offer old artifacts from the vault as an incentive for the meeting… The travel to and from Stent is by ship which will take only a week and a week and two days on the return...”

  Michael watched as the gears turned behind the king’s eyes. He could imagine the pressure of having a kingdom on your shoulders. After all, he felt the world on his.

  “The timing is tight, and I wish the gods could give you a more exact timeframe, but we can do it. Obviously we should focus on our deal with the Stent rebels first, but by the time that’s resolved or not resolved,” he shook his head as if that consideration was a worthless thing. If that failed, they all failed. “Assuming everything goes perfectly, we should have everything set up that you need and still have time to start concentrating forces in the south, ferrying over Penitents and mercs. Not much for you and the others to really focus on aside from rift closures until then and with the lull and the experienced rift sealers from your friends…” Marlo nodded. “You focus on Stent. I’ll make sure that you get your meeting with your son.”

  “I won’t forget your generosity,” said Michael bowing.

  Marlo laughed. “You saved a city of my people, gave me my health, and have selflessly worked to aid any way you can. My concerns in this matter are in regard to time and other responsibilities. If you had asked me this favor at a time when there was not an apocalypse incoming, a kingly assassination to be done, and a myriad of other problems then I would move mountains for you without hesitation.”

  “Well don’t do that, you’ll throw out your back.”

  King Marlo smiled.

  “May I ask you another favor?”

  The King nodded.

  “Can you ensure that the King of Burndan’s relationship to me is kept secret? I don’t know what kind of enemies he has, or what my own may do with that information. It needs to be handled delicately.”

  “Of course. I’ve already given Ernst strict orders to keep that information to himself and put a guard on him just in case anyone else put things together the way I did. I believe I have every possible hole plugged, but Bayle… that man makes me nervous. He seems to know things no one told him and appears just outside places he shouldn’t be.”

  “It’s probably wise to be wary of him,” agreed Michael.

  Marlo nodded and moved back to sit at his desk, his body settling wearily into it. “The ship to Stent will leave in only two days. The last minute preparations are completed. Before you go I was hoping you’d work with our cartographers to identify any open rifts not just here in Hume, but all across our old territories. I’m hoping to be able to help them, even if they’ve been less than helpful to us.”

  Michael nodded. “I’d be glad to help.”

  Marlo smiled “You’re one of the few men I believe when you say that.”