Page 53 of Aubade Rising
At this, the King halts the conversation and brings the meeting to a close.
“I would like to speak to my Verax and Alchemist alone. Almanac – you should hear this too.” Dervla stiffens, her attention pulled back from the reflection pool in the centre.
The rest of the Concord file out of the room, disgruntled and clearly dallying in the hope of catching a scrap of conversation between the King, Dervla and us.
Once the doors are firmly closed, with no chance of being overheard, the King turns to us sharply. “Explain. The last message we received was from you alerting us that Lord Bal might be in residence in Cathair. I sent Dervla there immediately but you were nowhere to be found. You’ve been gone for nearly two months.”
I share a look with Eskar, unsettled at the cold reaction before I turn to the King.
“We were captured by the rebels. They are using the mining tunnels under the Haag as a base. Eskar was tortured. We escaped and then their leader, Kitto, triggered another explosion in Cathair which drained the aqueducts in retaliation.”
Nobody moves or even breathes at my revelation. Dervla’s face is frozen, her hands grip the edge of the table and her body sways slightly. The King watches her, looking to her to speak first. When she can’t, or won’t, he clarifies.
“You’ve been with Kevren Gwir this whole time?”
“Not willingly. We were their prisoners. We just managed to escape.” How dare he assume we didn’t take this mission seriously.
Dervla regains her composure enough to interrupt before I argue further with the King and asks in a quiet voice, sounding unlike herself, “The aqueduct. What happened with the aqueduct?”
Eskar’s voice holds so much sorrow at the destruction of his home city. “About a week ago, the morning after we arrived, Sage and I woke to an explosion that rocked the whole city. The flooding was underway by the time we reached the city quay to escape.”
The King looks at Dervla confused before schooling his features to a nonchalance that makes me want to punch his chiselled jaw. “But surely, we would have heard if there was a problem. The aqueduct levels would have dropped, merchants travelling backfrom Cathair would have reported the disruption?”
Dervla considers him closely. “Not necessarily… The aqueduct levels always drop in early summer, as the glacier melt recedes. If it’s been a week then perhaps the city watch hasn’t noticed anything too unusual. And if Sage and Eskar left immediately and sailed straight here, they’re the first people out of the city. Anyone travelling by road will be at least a week behind them.”
“What does this mean?” The King’s impatience cracks through his mask of indifference; he hasn’t grasped the consequences fully. Yet the air of desperation from the rest of us is palpable.
“In Cathair, hundreds will have lost their homes, their livelihoods – many even their lives.” Eskar’s voice is hollow and cracked and I think of his housekeeper and the kind carriage driver we left behind. I hope they made it to safety.
“But we face a bigger problem. The cities and villages inland depend on the aqueducts for fresh water in the summer months, as do the farms. Cathair is the central hub; the whole of Trevesiga will be affected. Without access to fresh water, the crops will die and without a good harvest, we’ll all suffer come winter.” Dervla’s mouth is set in a grim line, her face pale. The impacts of Kitto’s treasonous act will be far-reaching. The weight of this revelation seems to finally hit the King; he reaches for his chair and sinks into it before I continue.
“And the rebels are organised. They have weapons, they have serpentine and who knows what their plan is now. We need to act.”
Dervla turns to me sharply. “The best thing you can do for Trevesiga, Sage, is to finish your research. If you want to take on the rebels, that is your answer.” The King doesn’t react to her statement so I presume he finally knows what I’ve actually been up to in my islet laboratory.
“But we have details about their base, their activities. We know how to find them.” My voice is weaker than I’d like, petulant.The King and Dervla share a glance.
“You may leave now. I need to discuss this with my Almanac.” Dismissing both Eskar and I, the King’s voice is quiet, his focus is on the reflection pool which has gone still.
Outside the Concord chamber, I turn to Eskar, about to vent about the King’s lack of action when I see Haelyn lurking in the corridor, out of breath.
She rushes towards me and envelops me in a hug. “I came as soon as I heard. I’m so relieved you’re okay. We’ve been so worried.”
I laugh, a brittle sound, but it does feel good to be back home. “We?”
“Cedar. I stopped by a few times to make sure he knew what was going on after we lost track of you in Cathair. When we stopped getting any news, I thought he might have heard something. He’s been worried sick about you, we both have. But then…”
She stops, and awkwardly looks at Eskar before continuing.
“It’s okay, I trust him.” I place my hand on her arm reassuringly.
“Cedar’s gone.” She bites her lip, eyes wide. “I went to check on him last night and his apartment was empty. Just a bag of what I assume could be serpentine left behind with a note that had your name on it.” Her face pulls into a frown as she looks between Eskar and me.
Ice shoots through my veins; Kitto’s retribution didn’t end at the aqueduct. She stole my brother and left me a calling card so I’d know it was her.
“Where is the serpentine now?” I reach for Haelyn’s arm, tugging her towards me.
“I took it to your laboratory on the islet. I thought it would be safest there.” She chews her lip, eyes carefully tracking my reaction.
