The Exiled King

Chapter 16 - The Haelin Festival

"Your son?" Nicon muttered, uncertain if he had heard right, "How can he be your son?"

He helped her up carefully and led her to one of the unoccupied beds, where she sank down gratefully.

Dethemina Aegivyl had only one son—the winter prince. Her first marriage had not borne her any children.

Dethemina shuddered and her mouth opened although no sound was uttered.

She cleared her throat and spoke in a soft whisper, barely audible even to Nicon's ears.

"After Rylore's passing, I foolishly got into a relationship with a human, hoping it would ease the pain of Rylore's passing, and bore his child. Soon after he was born, Eran stole my son and fled. I found out he had a wife. That night, I lost everything again. I never thought I would see my beloved Taryn again—I had lost all hope, yet here he is. I am certain of it. Those blue eyes remind me so much of Eran. There is no mistaking it."

Eran, Nicon thought, The name of the human, I presume.

Out loud, he said, "Dethemina, this is monumental. However, wait with announcing his presence to everyone until after we grant him the purification ritual. His ears, at least, will change—he shall not be a half-blood after the ritual."

"Can we not... let him choose if he wants his human blood burned away?" Dethemina whispered.

Nicon shook his head, "He is the next winter king. We cannot allow human blood to taint our rulers. We may have a treaty in place, but our people will not easily forget the horrors we endured before."

She sighed, but accepted his judgement with a small nod.

"Regardless," He said, standing, "I will take my leave now. I must complete the preparations for the ritual of life and the festival afterwards. Please return to your place. I am certain it has been a great shock to you."

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They parted ways and Dethemina disappeared in a flash of magic, her thoughts in turmoil. She reappeared almost instantly in her home, situated at the bottom of a large tree. The courtyard of her home was built around the tree growing in the centre and the bone-white columns contrasted with the dark bark of the tree.

As she appeared, people crept out to greet her.

A young boy who looked no more than ten or eleven sprinted out and gave her a light hug, saying, "Welcome back mother! I missed you!"

She smiled softly and chuckled, "I wasn't gone for very long, Aranel."

She gently pulled out of her son's embrace and excused herself, telling them she was tired.

The truth was far from that, she mused, How am I to tell Aranel that he has an elder half-brother?

Her rooms were sparsely decorated but long, floor-length windows led to a terrace high enough to overlook the majority of the city. A light breeze laced in the scent of flowers left her long, silky curtains fluttering. She walked over to the terrace, admiring the sunset over the rooftops, painting the skies bright colours of gold and pink and ruby.

Dethemina did not know how long she stood like that, but the sky was streaked with inky, star filled darkness as night fell.

A knock sounded on her door and she heard a male voice from outside, asking for permission to enter. Sending a small tendril of her magic to the door, she turned the knob and let the door creak open.

She turned around to face him as he entered, an easy grin on his face. He had a long, reddish mane of hair swept to one side and braided down his back and he was dressed in a moss-green tunic and thigh-length boots. A silver circlet sat on his forehead, forged in the same style as Dethemina's.