"I just… needed you to know."
"And I'm supposed to believe you?"
Corvis felt as though he'd been slapped; the chair literally rocked back beneath him as he flinched. "You-I… Tyannon, I've never lied to-"
"Don't you dare!" Even Irrial, off to the side, cringed from the venom in Tyannon's voice.
"I didn't," Corvis insisted, his own tone pleading. "I promised you an end to it, and I meant it! It wasn't the same-"
"Magic? Charms? Mind control, Cerris? It's exactly the same thing!
It-"
"No, I-"
Irrial coughed, deliberately, just once. It cut through the argument like an assassin's dagger.
"I'm sorry," she said, "and I truly don't wish to be rude. But I have to guess that this particular disagreement is one you've had before, and I don't think we've the time to try to settle it now."
The glares Tyannon and Corvis hurled her way were identical, a tiny indication of how close they'd once been.
"She's right, you know," Corvis admitted grudgingly.
"Probably. Are you two-together?"
"Absolutely not!"
Irrial's vehement denial, though painful, saved Corvis the trouble of coming up with his own, far more complicated answer. He was, at the very least, heartened to note a swift flash of what might just have been relief cross Tyannon's expression.
'You're a fool. You know that you're a fool, right? I'm sure I must have mentioned it a time or two…'
"But I can assure you," the baroness continued, far more calmly, "that he's telling you the truth. Cerris was in Rahariem, aiding our fight against the Cephiran occupiers. He's not behind these murders."
Tyannon nodded slowly. "I owe you an apology, Cerris. I'm sorry.
"And I'm sorry for your loss," she said to Irrial, perhaps having abruptly made the family connection with Duke Halmon.
"Thank you."
Again the trio sat, none quite looking directly at any other, silent save for the constant commentary in Corvis's head.
"What's happening in Mecepheum?" Tyannon asked finally.
He shrugged. "Same as always. Everyone's running around like a two-assed dog chasing both tails, and nothing's getting done."
She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "What happened, Cerris? Why didn't it work?"
Why did you throw your family away on a gambit that failed?
Corvis sighed, absently fidgeting with the finger that once wore a ring. "Those damn Guilds… I knew they'd fight, but I had no idea they'd…
"I pushed too hard, too fast," he acknowledged finally. "I thought that once I had my people near the top, once I'd arranged for the ascension of a regent who'd make the right decisions, held the right beliefs-"
Irrial inhaled sharply but chose not to interrupt.
"-I thought that'd be it."
Tyannon grimaced. "But the Guilds didn't bend, did they?"
"No. I thought with the amount of pressure I was putting on them, from the nobles and from some of their own members, they'd have no choice. I never thought they could replace so many of their own people, so quickly. I certainly never thought they'd use their economic influence to force Halmon to abdicate." He grinned, a rictus without a trace of mirth, a sickly echo of the helm he'd once worn. "I always thought of the Guilds as weak. I guess, when it came to defending themselves, I underestimated them."
Irrial apparently couldn't keep silent any longer. "You arranged for my cousin to become regent? How much power did you have?"
Corvis shrugged. "Not enough, obviously."
'There's no such thing. You should have learned that long ago.'
"I don't understand. If you hate the Guilds so much, what were you doing as 'Cerris the Merchant'?"
"I couldn't just leave things the way they were," he told her. "Imphallion was in worse shape than ever, and part of that was my fault. But another military campaign wasn't an option. I'm getting too old for that, and besides…" Here he glanced sidelong across the table. "I gave Tyannon my word that the Terror of the East was dead. Maybe she doesn't believe me, but it's a promise I intend to keep."
His heart skipped a beat as, clearly despite herself, Tyannon smiled.
"So I thought," he continued, "that maybe I could change things from within. There were too many people who might recognize me in Mecepheum, but Rahariem was far enough away while still being economically important. I figured if I could gain power in the Merchants' Guild there, maybe I could use that influence to steer the Guilds."
"But how could you be sure you'd-?" Understanding finally dawned, and Irrial's face purpled. "You forced Danrien to sell you his businesses! You used that same damn spell, didn't you?"
"He got a fair price," Corvis protested.
The women shook their heads in unison.
"So what now?" Tyannon asked.
"Now we find out who's been murdering people in my name," he said simply. "Maybe then we can figure out a way to get the government moving while there's still an Imphallion left to defend."
Tyannon chewed the inside of her cheek, clearly struggling with some decision. "Jassion's hunting you," she said finally.
"What?"
"He was here, looking for you, just a few weeks ago."
Corvis shivered. Despite the intervening years, despite the mystical healing that had dragged him between death's jaws, he occasionally ached where bones had broken, still felt the chafe of manacles on his wrists.
No, he'd sooner die than allow the Baron of Braetlyn to take him alive a second time.
'Pansy.'
"What did you tell him, Tyannon?"
"What could I tell him? I might have helped if I could-I thought you were running around murdering people, remember?-but I didn't know anything."
"How many men does he have?"
"He-just one, I think. His name's Kaleb."
It meant nothing to Corvis. "Well," he said, trying for a lightness he didn't feel, "we'll just have to avoid him, won't we? It's a big kingdom, shouldn't be too hard."
Unsure of what else to say, he rose to his feet. Irrial and Tyannon followed.
"Tyannon, I…" He shook his head. "You won't even tell the kids I was here, will you?"
"No," she said softly. "I don't think so."
"If you change your mind…" His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. The room was starting to blur. "If you change your mind, tell them I love them. And tell them-tell them I really thought I was making the world better for them."
He spun, chair clattering to the floor in his wake, and was gone. TYANNON WATCHED the man she'd loved-or the man she'd thought had become a man she could love-flee the room. The house quivered as he threw the front door open. The other woman, Irrial, bowed swiftly, offered what Tyannon assumed was meant to be a kindly smile, and followed.
Only when she heard the door click shut did Tyannon collapse to the table. Her entire body shook, her shoulders heaved, but now that she finally needed them, the tears wouldn't come.
She'd trained them too well, these past five years.
"Mom?"
She jolted upright. Lilander stood beside her, one hand reaching out as though he didn't really know what to do with it.
"I thought I told you to wait in your room," she said without much weight. She couldn't bring herself to be angry, not now, not with him.
"I couldn't." He sat beside her, not even trying to dissemble-truly a strange state of affairs for a boy his age. "It was all I could do not to come in, Mom. But I had to listen. I had to hear his voice again."
Tyannon's brow creased in worry. Eventually, he'd ask about what he heard, and she'd need an explanation. Eventually-but not now.
"Why didn't you tell him about Mellorin? Maybe he could have gone looking for her."
"That wouldn't have been a good idea, sweetheart."
"Why?"
Because I know damn well she's gone with my brother. And as long as she's with him, I don't want Jassion and your father anywhere near each other.