Page 12 of Firstborn of the Sun
As he walked the sun path leading to the palace, he snuck past his home and the royal guards and crept into the crown heir’s room on the west side of the island. Avoiding the guards stationed at the main entrance, he walked through the false wall they’d both found when they were boys. One foot in, and there was a knife at his neck.
‘K?ni, it’s me. It’s Alawani,’ he said with his hands up. He didn’t have to see her face to know the knife belonged to Tofa’s twin sister and personal guard.
K?ni pulled him into the room and shut the wall as quietly as she could. ‘Let this be the last time you crawl through these walls,’ she said, turning to face him.
Alawani couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face. She did not acknowledge it. She stared blankly at him. Alawani had known K?ni as long as he’d known Tofa, and while she was nothing like the girl who’d chased him around the palace grounds playing games, that was exactly how Alawani saw her every time she looked at him with those large brown eyes. He felt the urge to hug her, to remind her that – She walked away, breaking his line of thought.
The birth of twins was a special blessing for every family in Oru – all except the family who had to bear an heir. Where there ought to be one, there were two. Tradition demanded the death of the spare heir at birth, but their father had fought for K?ni to live under certain conditions. One of which was never leaving her brother’s side.
‘What do you want?’ she said as she walked towards the window, checking for movement. Always on guard.
The large, gilded hall was twice the size of Alawani’s, and he eyed the closed doors in the middle of the reception that led to Tofa’s room. Alawani ran for the doors, and K?ni lunged after him, reaching him just as he cracked open the doors. She raised a blade to strike him, and he caught her hand midair and laughed. ‘I taught you that move.’
She stilled. She dropped the knife, waiting for his gaze to follow the drop to strike him with her other hand. He dodged it. ‘And that one too.’ He smiled and raised his hand when she awakened her agbára. He was no longer surrounded by people less powerful than he was. Under the right circumstances, K?ni and her brother could burn him to ash.
‘I just want to talk. Come on, let me in,’ he said with a wink and her stoic expression cracked.
‘What’s going on here?’ Tofa said, walking out of the inner room, his royal robes glistening in the candlelight. Then he noticed Alawani and paused.
This time, Alawani gave in to the urge to hug his friend and rushed towards Tofa, who welcomed him with open arms. ‘It’s been too long!’ Tofa said, as he held Alawani close.
You know why, Alawani thought as he remembered Tofa’s mother’s threats, promising to send his family out of the palace if their friendship continued. Since the king’s death, Alawani’s family had kept their home on the royal island and an allowance only at the pleasure of Lord Regent Babátúndé, and as the Regent’s Aya’ba, the crown heir’s mother had all the influence to destroy Alawani’s family’s life in a heartbeat. Although, it dawned on Alawani that without that separation, he may never have wandered outside the royal island and never have met L’?r?.
K?ni scoffed at them and rolled her eyes. ‘Close the doors behind you,’ she said, pointing towards the inner room. Thensaid to Alawani, forcing down a smile, ‘You have until the sun is up.’
Alawani watched as Tofa prepared a space for them at the foot of his bed, laying mats and wrappers and gourds of wine. He was treating him like a guest. They were brothers once, and the formal gesture stung more than Alawani was willing to admit.
His gaze roamed round the gilded room, intricately decorated with the best of everything their kingdom had to offer. Alawani had never been jealous of the crown heir. He’d always known that Tofa would inherit his father’s throne. Even though that was what the council had used to forbid their friendship, they’d have a few stolen moments together before reality caught up with them. Tofa was born heir to the throne of Oru, and his father, who had been the High Priest at the time of Alawani’s father’s death, rose to the station of Lord Regent, holding the crown for his son until he was old enough to rule. Tofa was now a few blood moons from his coronation, and Alawani could see in the way his old friend moved that he was, in his mind, already a king.
They both settled into the space, and Alawani waited until Tofa had drunk a cup of wine before saying, ‘I’m in trouble.’
‘I figured,’ Tofa said, smiling. ‘We haven’t seen you in more first suns than I can count, and then you come sneaking into my room. So who died?’
‘No, it’s nothing like that,’ Alawani said, trying to form the words in his mind and struggling to start the conversation. ‘I’ve been compelled into a decision I cannot escape, and I’m scared.’
‘You? Scared? You great prince of Oru,’ Tofa said, smiling. ‘What’s happened? Tell me, and I’ll fix it. Is it the Lord General? I heard he was forcing you to go back to the sixth ring. I know that royals are meant to train under him, but hedoesn’t care about anyone but himself. After my time there, and K?ni’s too, I wouldn’t send anyone I love into that man’s den. I’ll gladly redeploy you to the capital. Do you need me to intervene?’ And without waiting for a response, he continued, ‘I will speak to Command in the morning to keep your training in the capital. And once you win your final battle in the arena, I will declare you as the new Lord General. I promised you this a long time ago, and I haven’t forgotten. I know it’s been a long time, and much has happened, but I can still do this for you.’
Alawani squeezed his friend’s hand. ‘Thank you. But I don’t think even the word of a king can save me from the gods.’
‘The gods? Alawani, what have you done?’
Alawani opened his mouth to speak. Looking at his friend’s concerned face, he wondered what Tofa’s reaction would be if he were to tell him what he had come to say, and began to think better of it. His fingers rolled over the string of beads Milúà had attached to his wrist. And suddenly, his mouth went dry. He was so foolish to come here seeking restitution when this might be the thing to break their already strained friendship.
Alawani shook his head. ‘It’s nothing. I’m sure it’ll pass with the night. I might be overreacting,’ he said, rubbing his neck. ‘I should have asked, how do you feel just a few blood moons before your coronation?’
Tofa leaned close, ‘There is nothing you cannot tell me, Alawani. We grew up together within these walls. Your secrets are my secrets. Tell me what bothers you, brother.’
‘Ah, it’s nothing, I promise. It’s like you said – as Lord General, nothing should scare me,’ he said, patting Tofa on the shoulder.
‘I can command you to tell me the truth,’ Tofa said, smiling. ‘I just want to help.’
Alawani smiled back, but the reminder that his friend was really going to be his king and the realization that he could have put himself in serious danger by coming here alone on the night of his call made his heart beat faster in his chest. What if Tofa already knew and was playing along?
‘I should go,’ Alawani said, dropping his gourd, ‘before K?ni cuts my head off.’
‘Wait,’ Tofa said, rising to meet him. ‘It was good to see you, old friend. Come again.’
Alawani nodded, ‘Maybe.’
