Jovari the Blue

Chapter 5: The Forest's Magic

Kastali Dun

Reyr stared into the fire, sipping his wine. He should have poured something stronger, but it wasn't wise. This way, at least he could drink and keep his wits. The keep was quiet, the hour creeping well past midnight. Still, he was not abed.

How did Talon do it, all those hundreds of years. Day in and day out. Balancing the cares of the kingdom in one hand, and his life in the other. Reyr had never truly understood until now. No wonder the king had such a temper. He was impressed Talon wasn't fully insane—

"Something's happened." Koldis's voice interrupted his silence. Immediately, his body went on full alert, muscles tensing. "Taylynn's just arrived with Fright. She won't tell me what's going on. Can we call a meeting?"

"At three o'clock in the morning?" he demanded.

But that was the way of it, wasn't it? They'd instituted an unspoken rule, made it a point to gather together whenever anything serious needed discussing, or decisions needed making. Whoever was present, at least.

Saffra had been gone for weeks, so the rest of them were carrying on as best they could.

"It seems serious," Koldis warned him. "And you know Taylynn isn't one to overreact."

"Yes, fine. Gather them."

He pushed aside his worry—his fear. Talon and Claire had been gone months. His stomach ached just thinking about it. Yet, they'd expected this. Planned for it, even, in the form of a body-double.

His mind went back to those days after Cyrus had gone missing. When one month had stretched into another, and then another. When Talon had been worried sick, more temperamental than ever. He'd sent three of his own shields to search for Cyrus when he could no longer risk the uncertainty. When was too long long enough? When should he make the same call, to send someone after Talon and Jovari. After Claire. With Bedelth gone, there were only four of them here. He couldn't risk it.

He took a long gulp of wine and considered. Cyrus had been gone more than half a year, seven or eight months. He frowned, considering. How long had he been with Claire? A week? He swore under his breath, surging to his feet—

Koldis strode in, hand in hand with the sprite princess.

"Time is different there," he blurted, voicing his realization. "We never questioned it because we were too fraught over Cyrus's death. Too caught up in what was happening to Claire when we reached the capital. But he was gone for months, even if he was only in her company for days."

Koldis blinked, frowning at him. "What's this about, now?"

"Time—in Claire's world!" he said, exasperated. Koldis wasn't keeping up. He looked at Taylynn. "Did you know?"

Her brows rose. "About time? Yes."

He swore again, louder this time, then hurled his goblet into the fireplace. The wine exploded out of it, metal thudding against the logs, causing one to split. An eruption of sparks and embers followed.

"Gods, man, get yourself together." Koldis gripped his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

Reyr took a deep, steadying breath, then ran a hand through his hair, trying to pick at the snarls. It was a wonder it hadn't all fallen out. "We should have known," he scoffed. "We should have known when Talon went through the gate. Should have known it would take an age for him to return to us. I never would have agreed—"

Koldis snorted at the same time Taylynn said, "You know that is not true. You would have done whatever your king asked of you, no matter the situation."