Icelin nodded. She related in a low voice what she’d seen in the Astral Sea. Mith Barak stared off into the distance, seemingly unaware of their presence. Joya and Garn stood on either side of him while Obrin looked on, fingering his axe helplessly.
“Did we do the right thing, forcing him to confront the past?” Icelin asked, staring at the king. “Or did we do more harm?” She addressed Joya, she who of all of them seemed closest to the king. “Did you know what had happened to him?”
“Parts of it,” Joya said. “I guessed the rest. My family-plus several others who are not here-knows what our king is. We know where he went, the dangers he faced.” She looked at Mith Barak with sorrow-filled eyes. “I thanked Moradin when he was restored to us, but I did not know how to heal his grief.”
Mith Barak stirred, blinked, and slowly pulled back from the vision that held him in its grip. He looked at Joya as if seeing her for the first time. “You’ve too much grief already, girl, to think so much of an old wreck like me.” He patted her hand. When his gaze rested next on Icelin, she instinctively dropped her eyes, embarrassed at having seen him so exposed. He was an ancient soul, and he’d given her glimpses of things beautiful and terrible. She hadn’t meant to pry into those memories. No human was meant to see such things.
“No, don’t look away,” Mith Barak said. “You deserved to know the truth as much as those gathered here. I would have used you without regard for the consequences.”
“You offered a fair bargain,” Icelin said.
“I was obsessed with knowing Zollgarza’s secrets.” With Garn and Joya’s aid, Mith Barak stood up. Silver light burned in his eyes. He stood straight and shook himself as if chasing away shadows. “I’d tried everything to break through that drow’s magic and uncover the truth of his purpose here. Then you arrived in the city like a gift from the gods. I thought you’d find the sphere and use the Silver Fire, succeeding where I couldn’t. I didn’t care if I put you in danger. I was still half-dead, broken.”
“I made the choice,” Icelin said. “You didn’t force me.”
“You showed courage when you confronted me in the library-courage that I lacked. It shamed me out of hiding, if only for a little while.”
“I would have hidden as well if I’d endured what you have,” Icelin said. “It’s enough to break most people.”
“I was supposed to be stronger than that,” Mith Barak said harshly. “I should never have let it happen in the first place.”
“You mean because of what you are?” Sull spoke up suddenly. “That’s a lot of rubbish.” All eyes turned to him, and he reddened. “I mean, all beings in Faerun feel pain, don’t they, whether they’re among the high and mighty or the lowliest creatures. They can be hurt, and they can be broken. It’s a sad truth, but it makes us all equal in somethin’, at least.”
Mith Barak stared silently at the butcher. Icelin thought she saw Garn nod in approval. Sull is right, she thought, though it gave her no comfort. We are equal in our ability to suffer-even Zollgarza suffered at the hands of his inner demons.
In the battle ahead, there was no such equality. The drow outnumbered them, but if their target was the Arcane Script Sphere, if it had been the artifact all along, and its purpose was tied to Zollgarza’s memory loss, then there was only one thing left for them to try, one way to give back Zollgarza’s identity and discover what the drow were plotting. She’d refused to do it for herself, but if it saved the dwarves …
Icelin stepped forward, addressing the king. “None of the drow know your secret, do they?”
“Not from what I’ve gathered from Zollgarza’s mind,” Mith Barak said. “What are you getting at?”
Joya raised an eyebrow. “I think she’s suggesting you meet the drow as you truly are.”
“As a dragon?” Sull whistled. “That’ll surprise them. You can be sure of that. What’ll your people think, though?”
“They’ll think their king is willing to do whatever it takes to save his people,” Ruen said. “Even reveal a secret that makes him vulnerable.”
Garn shook his head. “We’d never ask him to take such a risk.”
“And why not?” Mith Barak said sharply. “Earlier you said my people have shed blood for me, and you were right. How can I do less?”
Icelin nodded. “And while you fight, I’ll strip away the magic that cloaks Zollgarza.”
“No,” Mith Barak said immediately. “It’s too late anyway. There’s no time to find the sphere.”
“But I think I know where it is,” Icelin said.
“Where?” Mith Barak asked, sounding skeptical.
Icelin shook her head. “I want to be sure. I need to go to the library to speak with the seneschal.”
“Lass, are you sure about this?” Sull asked.
Icelin nodded. “Yes. I’m doing this because-” but she couldn’t finish. Her throat closed around the words.
“Because Iltkazar isn’t dead yet,” Ruen said. “The city can still be saved.”
“The city will be saved,” the king said, looking at Icelin. He nodded, as if coming to a decision. “Joya, Garn, Obrin-bring the master armswoman, the warmaster, and the regency council here. We have a lot to talk about and little time to do it. I want our scouts recalled as soon as possible. Collect all their information, their best guesses as to the strength of the drow force and where they’ll hit the city’s defenses first.”
“They won’t attack the doors,” Obrin said. “That much we know. They’ll hit us at our weakest points along the wall and try to breach it.”
“That’ll be perfect,” Mith Barak said, nodding. He pointed at Icelin. “Take yourself and your men to the library, but wait for me outside the doors. Do you hear? Don’t go in to Zollgarza unless I’m there with you. Whatever happens, I’ll do what I can to protect you.”
“You’re needed with your army,” Icelin protested. “I can do this-”
“You forget you’re arguing with a king,” Mith Barak said, “and a dragon. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that that’s not a wise thing to do?” His voice held a trace of humor, but his eyes were hard. “We do this my way or not at all, understand?”
Icelin nodded and bowed. “As you say, my king.”
Around her, the others bowed as well, and a chorus of “my king” echoed in the vast hall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ILTKAZAR, THE UNDERDARK
28 UKTAR
Icelin waited with Ruen and Sull outside the library doors. Nerves tossed about in her stomach, making her fidget and pace, until finally Ruen drew her near him and held both of her hands in his.
“You don’t have to do this,” he reminded her. “You can change your mind.”
“I’m not afraid for myself,” Icelin said. She squeezed his hand. “But I spoke for both of us back there. I never asked if … if you could accept it, if the worst happened.”
Ruen looked at their joined hands. “My scar makes me confront death-the thing I most want to deny. That being said, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure the worst doesn’t happen,” Ruen said firmly. “Do you have a plan?”
Icelin smiled crookedly at him. “Don’t I always have a plan?”
Ruen and Sull shared a groan. “Aye, but sometimes they’re lackin’ in wisdom,” Sull muttered.
Icelin made a face at him. “It’s the seneschal. I think she knows where the sphere is, she just doesn’t know that she knows.”
“Now I’m confused,” Sull said.
“Just trust me,” Icelin told him.
The door to the plaza opened, and Mith Barak and an escort of guards came down the hallway to meet them. Mith Barak’s eyes gleamed with an eager light. Color suffused his face, and everything about his movements suggested new life. Icelin wondered how much of his energy was a mask he wore for his people’s sake. They and she would likely never know what this cost him.
“Are you ready?” the king asked, pulling Icelin from her thoughts.
“I’m ready.”
Zollgarza sat in his customary place by the fire when they entered. When he saw them, he stood, putting his back to the wall as if expecting an attack. Icelin ignored him and called to the empty air. “Seneschal?”