Page 90 of A Kingdom Restored

“Stable and secure?” Sage repeated, outraged. “You mean completely within your control. How can you dare to talk about the future of our civilization when your whole plan is to escape the dragons’ attack on the triple kingdoms by using the rest of the population as a decoy?”

“It is almost impossible to believe that either of you could reach the rank you hold while still remaining so naive,” snapped the Record Master. “Individual lives do not matter in the scheme of history. A record holder should understand that. Our civilization will continue—the loss of some of its members is hardly enough to forever cease its progress.”

“Some of its members?” repeated Merletta incredulously. “You mean most!”

“It is not my actions which have made the scale of the cull so drastic,” the Record Master told her angrily. “It is yours.”

Merletta glared at him out of narrowed eyes, hoping he couldn’t see the pang that went through her at the truth in his words. Because he didn’t deserve any exoneration.

“What do you meanthe scale of the cull?” she asked. “I’ve seen that word before, in an account in the restricted records about silencing dissenters. Just what were you planning before you found out about the threat of the dragons?”

The Record Master looked bored. “Nothing you need concern yourself with. Now, shall I send word to my associate to bring the vessel down the coast to our location?” the Record Master pressed.

“One of your guards is still in Valoria?” Merletta asked sharply. She glanced at Heath, who’d been listening silently to the whole conversation. “We should warn…someone.”

“How would you send him word?” Sage demanded. “And how did you correspond with the king? Surely you didn’t come all the way to Bryford every time you wanted to drop him a letter.”

“Hardly,” laughed the Record Master. “I have my ways.”

“He’s exaggerating for effect,” Heath interjected. “I’ve seen those letters now, remember? There weren’t as many as I was expecting. Just a few well-timed ones, I’d say. He probably did have one of his guards bring some of them to Valoria. Others were marked by the steward as coming via carrier bird. It’s not often used, but the castle does have a dovecote for the purpose.”

A glance at the Record Master showed him scowling at this prosaic demystifying of his methods. Merletta couldn’t help a little smirk.

“Nice try,” she told him, “but you’re not sending anything to anyone. We don’t need your assistance to get home.”

They were halfway into the copse now, and they stopped, shoving the Record Master down so he sat in a small dell. Sage stayed near, keeping a wary eye on him, and Merletta hurried over to Heath, who’d continued on several paces away and was looking upward through the branches.

“I hope Reka is here soon, or we’ll risk the guards finding us,” Merletta said by way of greeting.

Heath squinted, his eyes unfocused. “He’s on his way, I think. He’s certainly flying.” He glanced over at her. “I hesitate to add my voice to his, and I’m certainly not suggesting you trust him with the task, but howareyou going to get the Record Master back to the triple kingdoms, Merletta?”

She bit her lip. “As much as I hate to agree with him, the only solution I can think of is for us to hire a vessel. Sage and I can take turns propelling it, I suppose. When we get there, we’ll have to drag him down to the seabed.”

“That journey will take days,” Heath protested. “And it won’t be easy to find your way above the waterline like you can below it. So many things could go wrong in that time.”

“I know,” Merletta sighed. “But I don’t have any better ideas. If it was possible for Rekavidur to take us, of course I’d prefer it. But it’s more imperative than ever that we delay the dragons finding out where our cities are—now there’s actually a chance we can evacuate everyone.” She sighed. “Of course, Reka’s presence would also have been helpful when it came to convincing everyone of the Record Master’s crimes.”

“Speaking of which, don’t forget this,” Heath said, pulling a bundle of rolled up parchments from a pocket of his cloak. “You’ll have to figure out how to protect it from the water.”

Merletta nodded her thanks as she took it. “Will the king notice that someone has stolen some of the letters he received from the Record Master?”

Heath shrugged. “It’s safe to say he’s going to notice that someone’s stolen the Record Master himself, so I’m not sure what difference it makes.”

Merletta laid a hand on his arm. “How much trouble am I leaving you in, Heath?” she asked softly. “I know this was an outrageous thing to ask you to do. You shouldn’t have helped me, probably.”

“Probably not, but apparently I can’t say no to you.” Heath flashed her a grin as cheeky as Brody’s had been when he’d said the words.

Merletta didn’t laugh, a flush rising up her face instead. “He’s not wrong that I’m taking advantage. This brings you a lot of risk and no benefit.”

“I was joking, Merletta,” Heath said easily. He put a hand on her shoulder, his fingers kneading some of the tension out of the base of her neck. The pressure was warm and reassuring in the cold pre-dawn air. “Any benefit to youisbenefit to me. And I had as much of a hand as you did in exposing the triple kingdoms to the dragons. If there’s a chance we can help them escape, wehaveto try. It’s not a matter of taking advantage.”

Merletta was about to respond, but Heath suddenly stiffened, his eyes glazing over again as his magic clearly came into effect. She waited anxiously, but it was only a matter of seconds before he returned to her.

“It’s Reka,” he said grimly. “He’s almost here, and he has news. Very bad news.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The words had barely left Heath’s mouth when Merletta heard the rush of wind that always heralded the dragon’s arrival. Reka landed soundlessly amidst the trees, although Merletta couldn’t figure out how he’d navigated the trunks on his descent.

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