Requiem for a King [MxM]

Clairvoyance

"It was my third night on the ship," Jaredeth said. "I was going over the last of the proposals. The weather was rough, but I wasn't worried. The Valkyrie had survived worst. The guard came in to bring my dinner, and after eating it, I remember feeling exhausted. As soon as I got up to go to bed, I fell over. I couldn't move and I was in and out of consciousness."

Jaredeth swallowed as he remembered the terror he'd felt in that moment. His struggle to call for help. "I'm not sure how long I was on the ground, but after a while, I heard this thumping... like footsteps. And Daniel came into my room. He tossed me over his shoulder, took me up to the deck and..."

"Why didn't your guards help you?" Quintus asked. He held the map open in front of him, his bottom lip pinched between thumb and forefinger. They'd stopped in a clearing a few hours south of Ewell to plan out their path to Avaly.

Trees stretched up around them and framed the cloud-dotted, midday sky. The tall grass cushioned his body and his bag cushioned his head. A brisk wind rustled the leaves and made the dot of light dappling his body shift. It smelled of salt and rain, even though they were a-ways from the sea. Their horses grazed nearby, snorting periodically.

Jaredeth raked a hand through his hair. "They were out of commission, too."

"Mm..." he hummed. "So the Priest tied you up and threw you in the ocean and..."

Jaredeth pulled up the sleeve on his shirt to expose his bracer. He felt around the bottom, hit the button, and the blade sprung free. "I cut myself free. My mother was right in her misgivings. She was never fond of the high priest, to put it mildly, though I don't know what he did to invoke her ire."

Quintus nodded, and they fell into silence for the first time in hours. Jaredeth felt empty, as though he bared his soul and left it on the winding road that led them to this point. Quintus, to his credit, had listened attentively, only stopping Jaredeth when he had a question or to clear up a misunderstanding.

Still, Jaredeth didn't know what caused his change of heart. Quintus had called Avaly The Forbidden City, a place where necromancers shouldn't go. And yet here he was, ready to storm the gates with the would-be dead King. On one hand, Jaredeth wanted to know his reasoning, on the other, he wanted to tread lightly so Quintus wouldn't abandon him, especially when he wasn't sure if he had any allies left in Avaly..

"Alright." Quintus closed the map. "I have a few questions."

"And I have more than a few answers. Ask away." He'd do whatever it took to get back into Quintus' good graces.

"What kind of position does the High Priest currently hold within Avaly? Does he sit on a Council, act as an ambassador, anything like that?"

"He served as an advisor for my father, but I was King for only a week before the... attempted assassination, so he never got to do the same for me. And to be honest, I was unsure if I wanted him to serve in any capacity during my reign. There was too much contention between him and my mother."

Quintus nodded. "Was there any time in Avaly's history when he did hold a higher position?"

Jaredeth rubbed the back of his neck and recalled his studies. "Not Lazarus, but his predecessor. He served on my grandfather's council. For whatever reason, when he retired, that practice was discontinued." He actually partially knew the reason, but he didn't want to disclose that to Quintus just yet. Perhaps save it for a moment of desperation.

"I'm guessing the ban on necromancy was enacted on the advice of the Divine City, yes?"

"You guess correctly," he said. "Do you think they did this because I wouldn't throw that child in prison? Would they stoop so low over petty politics?"

"This is the Divine City we're talking about. Lower your standards." Quintus stood and brushed the grass from his pants. "I believe you sparing the necromancer was part of it. Avaly can't maintain its reputation as the Forbidden City if its King starts going soft on the filthy necromancers."

Jaredeth winced at the vitriolic words. "And the other part?"

"If the Divine City wants to maintain a strong foothold in this region, they need two things: a powerful city, rich with resources and a leader they can control. Not only did you make a decision that directly contradicts their principles, you stood your ground when faced with opposition. That sets quite the precedent."

He scowled and took the reins of his horse. "You sound like Elaine."

"Your wife?" Do you think she was involved? You said she was quite close with the High Priest."

Jaredeth swallowed as he remembered the morning he left. The way she looked at him, didn't kiss him. Didn't even wave him off. "She's too enamored with the idea of being Queen," his mother had said. Perhaps her judgment on that had been correct, too. But to think she'd conspire to kill him, rob their daughter of her father and a throne of its King?

Perhaps Lazarus had manipulated her, somehow. That had to be it. Elaine wouldn't go that far. Jaredeth shook his head. "I don't know. I..." He swallowed the tears threatening to well up again. "I'm not sure if I can go back there and face this. I never wanted to be King and perhaps fate allowed this to happen to offer me an escape."

Quintus mounted his horse. "You're forgetting something important, Gavrael. Or someone rather. Who is next in line for the throne?"

The question made Jaredeth's blood run cold. "Jaliah." The person he promised to return to. The person he promised to never give the burden of the crown.

"If you leave her at the Divine City's mercy, they're going to do to her what they couldn't do to you," Quintus said. "Turn her into the monster they need. Someone who'll have no qualms with chopping off a few necromancer heads herself. A puppet, essentially."

Jaredeth stood and mounted his horse, his uncertainty and fear melting away. His path was clearer now. He had to go home. He had to take his throne back.

For Jaliah. For Avaly.

And for himself.