We emerged from the shrine to find that Malshaki had used the time to go and inform the duke of our presence. He stood by the entrance, blinking in the fading light, a guard of six men surrounding him and eyeing Vaenahma with suspicion. I have always liked Khuldara Sarangbau. He is a kind, solicitous man, with a solid, rectangular face and an eye disease that causes him to blink ceaselessly and wipe at a small discharge that pools on the bridge of his nose. He is King Poritifahr’s youngest brother, and also a second cousin in some complicated way. All the royals are tangled in a web of intermarriage that I have never found it very pleasant to contemplate. But I thought that Duke Khuldara was the best of them, although he had none of his son Setrabohst’s talents, and tended to leap at decisive action before all of the factors were known.

  He came forward as soon as he saw the princess and wrapped her in his arms. “Good uncle,” she breathed into his chest.

  “Sweet girl,” he said. “How do you come here?”

  “We fled, Uncle. When Rahasabahst Shrine was attacked. Prince Chahsaeda…it seemed better that he not get trapped in the shrine with his father.”

  “And he took you with him? Into the woods?” There was shock in the duke’s voice, and I knew that he himself would never make such a choice. He would bundle the women into some defensible place and stand in front of them with his sword drawn. Or, simply, place them near the king and let the King’s Guard take care of them.

  “There was no time to discuss it. And it meant that the Guard of the Courtly Palaces came with us.” She nodded to me and Vaenahma.

  The duke regarded us with consternation. We got along well, and I knew that he didn’t disparage me, but still, I could see he thought that I was a poor choice for protector. “How many have fallen on the way?”

  “Most were lost at the shrine,” I said, to cover the ensuing awkwardness. “Only the two of us are left.”

  “And where is the prince?”

  Another awkwardness. “We encountered bandits in the woods,” I said. “The prince convinced them to march south to relieve the shrine. We journeyed on to warn you.”

  It was suitably heroic and the duke accepted it. We were standing on a little path beside the river. It was dusk, and autumn, and warm sunlight caught at the leaf dust that floated over the river. It speckled the water’s surface with silver. At that moment a small flotilla came into sight, the boats flying the banners of Taokeihla. I saw them and the duke followed my gaze.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “We are already warned,” he said. “We are assembling our forces now.”

  “Setrabohst?” I asked.

  He blinked and dabbed at the bridge of his nose. “No. Have you seen him? Do you know what has happened to my son?”

  “He was making for Rahasabahst. But there were enemy calvary on the road.”

  The duke took it as a blow. But since he was such a sturdy man it barely rocked him. “Who are they, captain? Who has plotted this?”

  “My husband,” Iyedraeka said, looking down. There was a note of finality in her voice. As if this was the moment in which she’d chosen to end her dreams of marital bliss.

  “He has allies among one of the bandit crews,” I said, so that she wouldn’t have to. “They’ve seized the palace in Rahasabahst, but it’s to be hoped that the city is against them. They failed to assassinate the king, and they haven’t been able to capture him. They can be broken easily.” His expression turned inward and I could almost see the plans forming on his face. I risked being presumptuous. “Your Grace,” I said, “Doefrit’s Bend should be your first target. But first, you must ensure the safety of Nhadtereyba.”

  “Nhadtereyba? What about Nhadtereyba? There are no rebels here.”

  “There are,” I told him. “As we were coming through the city, I saw one of the rebel leaders in…” I paused. My gaze strayed to the six guards who were standing idly around us. The Duke glanced at them.

  “We will return to the castle,” he said. “Three in front and three in back, please.”

  In a place like Nhadtereyba the First Families have wormed their way into everything, and it’s safe to assume that every member of the guard is taking a little coin from one patriarch or another, spying and selling their loyalties so that you can’t tell whether they’re guarding the ducal family or the interests of their patrons. So I kept my voice down as we turned to walk up the path. Vaenahma had drifted to my side, as if to emphasize my words with their presence. “We saw a ranger named Pertrahn in the Jahnadee’s compound,” I told the duke. “He was standing right out in the open, issuing orders in their courtyard. He was among those who attacked us at Rahasabahst Shrine.”

  The duke’s face became somehow both slack and intense. A trick he has, a kind of camouflage, like a deer in a forest that’s become suddenly wary. “Laesehn Jahnadee is in my courtyard right now,” he said. “I was going to give him command of the rearguard. I need his sixteen boats.”

  “When were you planning to embark?”

  “At dawn.”

  I nodded. “And tonight?”

  His expression told me that he hadn’t given the evening any thought. He was assembling a force and had planned to leave them to their own devices until the morning. Which meant that there would be hours of delay as soldiers were roused from the dockyard taverns and brothels at first light. “My brother Ibansarjae is on the boats that just went by,” he said lamely. “The force from Taokeihla.”

  “Throw a banquet for them. It will keep all of your forces together in one place. It will build cohesion in the ranks.” I sounded like a wily old commander, which made me a fraud. “Make sure that the First Families are there, with their clients. Particularly Laesehn Jahnadee.”

  He was thoughtful for a moment. His blinks seemed to keep pace with his heartbeat. “And what will you do?”

  “I’ll deal with Pertrahn.”

  “You alone?”

  “Me and my lieutenant.”

  He glanced towards the river. At that moment a heron glided across it, giving its cracking cry. He nodded. “Very well,” he said.

  Copyright KPB Stevens, 2025.

  The King's Tears

  From Reports of the Alchemist’s Procurers, entry dated 1702