Page 186 of Eldritch
Zevander had washed and dressed in the tunic and trousers that’d been left for him by one of Loyce’s servants. He stareddown at himself, trying to remember the last time he’d worn something so grand and clean. The silk tunic clung to his neck, the soft fabric catching on his scarred, rough skin. As much as he enjoyed stripping away the things that identified him as a slave, his new clothing felt suffocating in other ways.
“You clean up nicely.” Theron’s voice broke into his musings, and Zevander turned to see the other slave step inside the observatory. “Congratulations on your freedom.”
Lips pressed together, Zevander nodded. “I’ve yet to learn the nature behind it.”
“You seem troubled.” Theron tilted his head, studying Zevander, who shrugged and adjusted that suffocating tunic a bit more.
“No cause to be troubled. It’s not every day a king requests the company of a slave.”
“You’re wary.”
“Wouldn’t you be wary in my position?”
“Perhaps. But what is it that concerns you?”
Zevander shook his head, not daring to voice it aloud, for fear that it might be true. “It’s not important.”
“Anything that manages to hinder a man’s excitement for freedom seems fairly significant, if you ask me. Surely, the promise of leaving this hell hole would lift your spirits.”
“I’m not certain …” Zevander smiled, staring down at his fidgeting hands. Perhaps he was being too cautious in his hesitation.
“Are we no longer friends now that you’re a free man?” Theron narrowed his eyes and pushed himself off the wall.
“I’m not free yet. There’s been no pardon from the king.”
“Well, as you said, a king doesn’t request the company of a slave for nothing.”
“That wasn’t quite what I said, but close enough, I suppose.”
“Then, tell me.” It was Theron who lowered his gaze that time. “This is the closest I’ll ever get to freedom. I’m curious to know what plagues a man’s mind before his shackles are torn away.” There was a sadness in his tone. The kind of acquiescence Zevander had struggled to grasp, even decades later.
“Why?” he found himself admitting. “Why me? Why now?”
“That was the great secret you were clinging to?” Theron chuckled and shook his head. “I expected something a little more…justifiable.”
“You heard the general. King Sagaerin made quite an offer for my release.”
“And you’re not elated?”
Say it, his head urged. After all, maybe it was better to throw the words he feared out into the universe. “I’m cautious. He loved my mother. I suspect he blames my father and me for her death.”
The humor on Theron’s face shriveled to a more serious expression. “You think he wishes to kill you?”
Zevander strode toward the open stretch of the observatory, trying to imagine the world beyond the walls. The vastness of a landscape he hadn’t seen since he was a boy. He couldn’t. “Why would a king trouble himself for a slave, if not to punish him? I see no reason that he would release me. I’m the son of a man accused of treachery and betrayal.”
“Do you intend to share these concerns with King Jeret?” Theron asked, as he approached from behind. “Or decline the offer, as General Loyce advised? She promised you a life of comfort.”
A bitter amusement twisted Zevander’s lips into a cross between a laugh and a look of disgust. “Her promises are lies. Even if Sagaerin chooses to kill me, death is better than remaining her slave.” His words seemed to trouble Theron, who frowned and looked away.
“Zevander Rydainn,” an unfamiliar voice called out from the doorway, and he turned to find a Solassion soldier standing there. “Come with me.”
Zevander nodded and glanced back at Theron.
“May the gods be merciful and kind,” Theron said quickly, before turning back to the view.
Zevander clenched his hands to tight fists at his side to keep them from trembling, his head bowed as a show of respect. Damn the gods for his rattled nerves.
Dressed head to toe in white silk with regal, gold accents, King Jeret tapped his jewel-clad finger against the arm of his throne. “Seems your king is quite persistent. This is the third time he’s asked for your release. Of course, I declined the prior offers. I found them insulting.”
