The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (14 page)

“They
are guilty,” he said. “They masterminded it.”

“And
that warrants death?”

“They
were rioting against us! Do you really expect me to beg father for mercy for
them?”

“They
are a product of an unjust kingdom.”

“I
can see your opinion of me is low,” he said. “I can only hope that one day you
will see things differently.”

She
locked eyes with him. “Me too.”

—

A
light drizzle had set in over the city as the crowd had gathered in the square
to watch the hanging. The crowd hissed as the monarchs arrived, heavily
surrounded by the Guard.

Tempani
had been unsure if she wanted to come today, but she knew she must. Their
deaths were her fault. And she would bear witness to them to make sure she remembered
that.

Rando
stood by her side, his watchful eyes scanning the crowd for any trouble.
Tilaw
was at her heel, licking her hand in support every
now and then.

One
man was led onto the dock, his shackled feet dragging. The crowd booed and
jeered as King Wimarc stepped forward.

“This
man stands guilty of murder. His crime is punishable by death.”

“Murder?”
Tempani hissed.

“He
confessed to killing two members of the Guard.”

She
looked up at Rando. “Since when?”

“Last
night,” Chae whispered as he joined them. “Nic stormed into the king’s room and
demanded a trial for the accused men.”

“What
about the other four men?” She asked.

“They’ve
been sent to join a working party in the north. Ten year sentence.”

“Why
didn’t the king just do that in the beginning? A working party is a harsh
punishment. Why did he jump straight to a hanging?”

“He
sees rioting as treason against the crown. That is punishable by death.”

Tempani
gulped. If she was ever caught this could be her fate. That could be her
standing up there. Or Keane. Or Lindow. The thought made her ill. She shook her
head, trying to push the thought from her mind.

She
looked up at the man and sighed. “So why change his mind now?”

“Nic.
He was adamant about giving them a trial,” said Chae. “It was the first time he
stood his ground and didn’t back down or try and bargain with the king. He told
him it was his duty as prince to fight for his people.”

“Turn
away, Tempani,” Rando urged as the noose was placed around the man’s neck.

“No,
I need to see this.”

“He’s
a murderer. What he did isn’t your fault,” he whispered. He gripped her face
and pulled her against him, shielding her from the view.

—

 “Emperor
Elin has demanded the three estates at the north-eastern border. He has
threatened to disperse his army if we refuse,” Duke Aubrey said as the Royal
Parliament’s session began.

“Kamara
does not surrender to misguided threats.” King Wimarc’s fist slammed the table
with such ferocity that it shook on its legs.

“He
has issued a threat of war, your Majesty. Surely we must think of the
consequences before we make any hasty decisions,” Aubrey objected.

“If
we give
Galiena
the estates we may as well hand over
ownership of our kingdom. If we succumb to just one of their demands, they will
continue to push until they have us under their thumb. If we are not careful,
they will squash us, and Kamara will once again be under foreign control,” said
Otto from his seat beside King Wimarc.

“I
see no possible way out of this. Whatever way we look at the situation, we will
be forced to go to war, whether it be now or in the long run.” Lord Darby
scratched his beard to hide his quivering hand.

“Well,
I suggest we act now then, before they get a strong hold on any of our
estates,” Aubrey said quietly as Otto nodded in agreement and placed a
reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder.

“There
is one solution,” Wimarc said as he looked at Nic. “I gave into your demands
for a trial for those men. Now you may give thought to a union with Princess
Naleeni
.”

“You
said you would give Tempani a chance!”

“She
has rejected you, son.”

Otto
shifted awkwardly in his seat.

“It’s
not a solution, your Majesty,” Darby interjected quickly. “You know my thoughts
on the matter. We cannot allow Nicolass to marry Princess
Naleeni
.
Not with the situation in the city. Our people fear the influence the Galen
Empire will have on us. I warn you, they will rise and fight this.”

“So
either we appease our people and face backlash from Emperor Elin or we consent
to the marriage and face more hardship within our kingdom. We are faced with
trouble from both solutions,” Otto said.

“We
cannot afford the Crown Prince to marry to settle a disagreement.”

“It’s
beyond a disagreement Darby! We are talking a full-scaled war. Kamara has not
fought since the days of the Grand War. We pride ourselves on maintaining peace
and harmony with our neighbors,” Aubrey said.

Darby
bit down on his tongue to stop himself from lashing out at the duke. He liked
the queen’s brother-in-law well enough, but he was as blind as the king when it
came to certain situations.

“Can
we reach out to
Tryphena’s
brother? Surely he will
offer
Euphemia’s
support,” said Otto.

The
king pressed his lips together, lost in thought for a moment. “Send ten units
of the King’s Guard to the border to show
Galiena
we
will not run scared. Send word to King Geordie in Euphemia and King Hendry in
Octivin and advise them of the situation,” he ordered Aubrey. “This will buy us
some time to gather our resources and strengthen our army. All knights are to
commence further combat training in the morning under your instruction, Otto. I
want them to work closely with the Guard and Raiders. Our army will work
together as one.” He took a breath. “Darby, I need you to start recruiting more
fighters. Go to the nobles. See if their sons are willing to fight with us.
Approach the merchants as well. If we are going to match
Galiena
,
we must build our army or we will be squashed within days.”

“What
about the commoners?” Darby asked.

King
Wimarc shook his head, his eyes dark. “We will not arm our commoners.”

“They
could be useful.”

“No!”
King Wimarc’s voice boomed. “And do not mention contacting the Shiasa,” he
spat. “The Kalaowins have killed far too many of our people to warrant
forgiveness on our part.”

“They
would add to our enforcements,” said Nic.

“And
will turn on us the moment our back is turned. Be mindful that Emperor Elin may
have already gone to them for an alliance, and we may be fighting inside forces
as well.”

Otto
held his tongue. If Wimarc actually cared to learn about the Kalaowins, he
would know that they would never enter a war that they did not believe in. Nor
would they join forces with anyone that wasn’t Kalaowin.

“Is
this really happening?” Nic asked Otto quietly as they left the meeting.

“Elin
will use any excuse to fight us. He’s wanted access to our mines for years. If
we get support from Euphemia and Octivin, he will back away as he has done in
the past,” he said. “These things you must understand, your Highness, if you
are going to rule this kingdom.”

—

Lindow
answered the knock at the door that evening and found a disheveled Prince
Nicolass. He informed him that Tempani was out with Prince Theodore, and he
wasn’t sure how long she would be.

“I’ll
wait then.”

Lindow
knew better than to refuse the man so he let him in and served him some wine.
He murmured his thanks and Lindow left him to his worries.

Nic
gladly took a seat and rubbed the back of his neck. His whole body felt the
toll of his concerns. His fears. He did not want to be the reason his people
went to war. But he also couldn’t consent to marry the princess. He still
believed he could win over Tempani. He would never forgive himself if he walked
away from her now.

But
he also wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if his friends died because of him.
The thought of marrying the princess filled him with so much dread, but if he
couldn’t have the woman he wanted then it didn’t matter to him who he wed.

And
if it would solve the issue with
Galiena
then why
not? Would his people really rebel the union? Would they not be happy that a
peace treaty had been signed between the two kingdoms? Just as it had with
Euphemia when his parents married.

Zadi
was left undisturbed in the corner of the drawing room, mending another of
Tempani’s dresses. She had managed to rip the hem when she was out helping
Colbert with his visits. Zadi was losing count of the number of garments
Tempani had nearly ruined. If not for the slave’s skill at sewing, Tempani
would have nothing left to wear.

Tempani
bounced through the door an hour before dinner, smiling as she yelled farewell
to Teddy. As soon as the door was closed she removed the wrap from her head and
shook out her hair, letting it fall free of the pins Zadi had to force into her
hair each day.

Her
smile disappeared when she saw Nic sitting in the fading light, drumming his
fingers on his knee.

“This
is a surprise,” she said glaring at Zadi. The older girl shrugged and
disappeared up the stairs.

“I
needed to talk to someone.”

Tempani
was shocked by the sound of his voice. He seemed so close to tears that her
heart felt for him. She sat beside him as he rehashed the discussion from
Parliament.

“Darby’s
right,” she said when he finished. “I spend every other day in the city. I see
the state of our commoners, and I hear their whispers. They are angry Nic. And
a divided kingdom will not last long.”

“But
if I marry her, then there will be no war.”

“Walk
the streets of the city, Nic. You’re already at war!” She cried. “Your first
duty is to your people. They have been neglected for too long, and they are fed
up. The Parliament needs to do something about that first.”

“This
is all my fault,” he moaned.

“None
of this is your fault,” she said bitterly. “A marriage to the Galen princess
will push your people over the edge. You’re right to resist it. The emperor
will back off when he sees the foreign support we have.”

“You’re
right,” he whispered. “I know you’re right, but I can’t help blaming myself for
it. I try to think of a solution, but as your father said, we are in a no-win
situation.”

“And
your father can handle the emperor,” she said and patted his hand.

He
stared down at her soft hand now resting on his. “Could there be any other
reason you don’t want me to marry the princess?”

“Nic,”
she sighed and took her hand off his.

“You
didn’t even give us a chance.”

She
lifted her head and met his eyes. “Too much has happened.”

“I’m
sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for everything.” He laughed sadly, shaking his
head. “Gods, I spend more time apologizing to you than anything. You have such
high standards for people that it’s impossible for anyone to live up to them.”

Tempani
was taken aback. “That’s not true.”

“I’ve
made mistakes, yes I know it, but so have a lot of people. And I spend so much
of my time trying to work out the best way to make amends with you, but it’s
all for nothing. You will be kind to me, let me think there’s hope and then you
snatch it away. Well, not anymore.”

He
stood up and ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the ends. “Gods! I
begged my father to give you a chance. You could have been my queen. We could
have changed things.”

She
watched him leave, tears swimming in her eyes. Why couldn’t she just let go of
her anger and pride and be happy? She did think he could make her happy. But he
also aggravated her, and her joy could turn to anger in mere moments. She was
terrified that if she gave in to him she may end up hating him one day. What if
he became his father? What if it all ended in heartbreak? She had seen what
losing Hamalia had done to Otto. She didn’t want to end up like that.

Tempani
ran through a lush, green meadow that was full of flowers of every color
imaginable. The sun beamed above her, its rays touching everything in the
meadow. Birds flew around her, weaving under her raised arms and whipping
around her head. Beautiful, white unicorns ran alongside her. She laughed and
kept on running in her white cotton dress, her feet bare, the white ribbons in
her hair flying behind her.

“Stop
running sweetheart. Come and sit with me,” a soft voice called out in Kalaowin.
She recognized the voice but from where?

She
spun around searching for the woman. “Where are you?” She ran.