Duty-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book II ]

68

The first few years of the Blood-Bound Sovereigns' reign passed, and Karelin rebuilt. In splendor, it did not yet surpass the Holy City over which Korvan had ruled, but the dreams of a people unleashed from the bondage of their bloodlines gave energy to a new era of industry and invention. Schools, hospitals, and businesses rose up in the Arcborn quarter, nurtured with laws and support from the highest tier, and Arcborn voices on the Integrated Council ensured that the marked had a hand in the shaping of the world of tomorrow.

Matei and Mhera could participate in the building of this new world, but they could do little to change what was in the hearts of the people. Theirs was a world that had been built on a society of caste division, suspicion, and inequality. It would take more than a generation to unmake the patterns Emperor Worien had lain when he raised his family's lot and cast the line of the Blessed Sovereigns into shadow.

Neither Matei nor Mhera shrank from the work, and they made progress together...but nowhere were the challenges yet facing the Blood-Bound Sovereigns more apparent than in heightening tensions with the subject nation of Narr.

Queen Coratse Ja'alla's demands had been clear. She had declared independence from Penrua, but hers was not the only voice in Narr, and there were many kingdoms in that nation standing loyal to the Penruan Empire. After months of diplomatic missives and a tense, heavily-guarded convention in Tuamach, Matei and Mhera had yet to grant independence to the subject nation. Allegiances changed by the day, with great houses first aligning with Coratse and then with their history of loyalty to the higher throne, and it was a challenge to keep straight by the day who was "winning" a war yet undeclared.

The matter of Narrian independence was not a simple question, for Coratse was harboring Koren and the archmage. Were they to grant Narr independence, the Blood-Bound Sovereigns might bring an end to the conflicts that had yet to escalate into all-out war. They might refine the terms of their separation from Narr and ensure that trade would not suffer. But the one request Matei and Mhera had—for Coratse to turn Koren and the archmage over to Penruan justice—had been flatly denied.

The Blood-Bound Sovereigns were loath to risk granting the nation independence with the festering sore of the renegade prince unhealed.

Queen Coratse had granted him refuge, but how long would he content?

***

The sound of a high-pitched giggle punctuated the somber atmosphere of Matei's parlor. Mhera watched as Uarria scampered past her chair, chasing the huge, shadowy shape of Farra. The little girl's chestnut curls were Matei's mark in her, her mirthful, gray-blue eyes an echo of Mhera—but her restless energy was something all her own.

The hulking cat turned, lowering herself onto her forelegs and swishing her tail, her ears lain back and her whiskers playfully trembling. Uarria spread her arms, dashing forward and lunging for the cat. Farra gave a rumbling purr and leapt to her feet, darting past Uarria, who flung herself over Farra's back. She managed to cling to the shadowcat's back and was carried for a moment like a bundle over the back of a horse before she slipped off, nearly crying with laughter.

Matei and Mhera exchanged glances, both of them doing their best not to smile.

"I wish she wouldn't," Mhera murmured, clasping her hands. She still did not trust Uachi's shadowcat, although Farra had never so much as scowled at Uarria. Ever since the child had been born, the enormous cat had been like a second nursemaid. She usually accompanied Uarria's nurse when she came to collect the princess at bedtime and would sleep curled up on the rug in Uarria's room, her ears alert for any disturbances.

"Don't be like that," said Matei, finally giving in to laughter at the sound of Uarria's ear-piercing squeal. Farra had taken the four-year-old princess firmly between her forelegs and now curled up on the rug, bathing Uarria's cheek and chestnut hair with her massive, rough tongue.