He wondered if those really were Nerian’s orders. Cerny wouldn’t dare threaten his family without the King’s blessing, would he? Stefan found it hard to fathom. None of it sounded like the man who’d helped raise him and taught him what he knew, being there more than his own father. Yet, the meeting with Nerian gave him pause and clouded his mind with doubt. Somewhere deep inside, he knew one thing. He would not hesitate to kill either Cerny or Nerian if they touched his family.
“We could run away,” Stefan said into the silky, perfumed tresses of his wife’s hair. “We could go to Granadia.”
It took a few sniffles before Thania answered. “The house is watched. Who knows what he’ll do if we tried to escape and were captured. What I used to produce the image is the extent of power any Matii can Forge within the city. Somehow, the King has found a way to dampen our Forgings here. It’s enough to train with but not near enough to Materialize us away from here.”
“Besides,” a female voice said from the sitting room’s direction, “you are needed here. It is more important than ever that you make sure your children are safe.”
Stefan slid his hand to his sword hilt. He eased a step from Thania and the children to face the voice.
High Ashishin Galiana Calestis stood in the open doorway. Stefan squinted. Or was she High Alzari? Or both. The same chiseled face, ember hair, and golden stare from when she left twelve years ago greeted him. Dressed in green and gold robes, hair in a tight bun, she kept her gaze focused on him. Twelve years and still the woman did not appear to have aged a day from when she mentored him. Her complexion was a little pale as if she’d spent too much time out of the sun, but that was to be expected when one visited Granadia, even more so when the visit meant an extended stay at the Tribunal’s Iluminus.
Galiana’s brow quirked as her gaze shifted from his face to his sword hand then back to meet his eyes once more. “What a way to greet your old teacher and wet nurse.”
“Is that all you are?” Hand still on his hilt, Stefan shifted, placing himself between his family and Galiana.
A pained expression crossed Galiana’s face. “I should paddle your bottom.”
Stefan ignored the quip. “According to Nerian you were key in setting him on his current path.” He kept his tone conversational despite the angry heat inside. “A path that may yet cost me my family, my happiness, and hundreds of thousands if not millions of Setian lives.”
“He said that?”
“Not in so many words, but you provided him with information you gained in your infiltration of the Tribunal.”
Galiana’s lips twitched into a smile, but her eyes were frozen pinpoints. “Have you ever killed for your King, Stefan?”
“Of course I have.”
“Have you ever disobeyed your King’s orders?”
“How dare you? Never!”
The smile wilted from Galiana’s face. Her lips became a tight slit. “Good. The same for me. Until now.”
“What?”
A change came across her then. Galiana’s shoulders slumped, and she appeared tired, older, lines of worry about her eyes. “I gave King Nerian copies of several tomes the Tribunal kept in the Iluminus’ most guarded libraries. The tomes of the Chronicles. You remember those, correct? Written by philosophers and fortune-tellers countless years ago, they tell of things in the past and of events to come. Events that occurred since the Chronicles were written.”
“Are the stories really true?”
Galiana shrugged. “Apparently, they are. According to the Iluminus’ researchers, the people who wrote the tomes were the Eztezians and their direct descendants.”
Stefan frowned. The Eztezians were great warriors, the most powerful Matii to grace Denestia. Said to be a part of the gods’ lineage, they were tasked with protecting Denestia from the shade. And from itself. Driven mad by their overuse of Mater however, they almost destroyed the world. Eventually, they created the Great Divide, which brought about the shade’s defeat. Then they turned on their masters, sealing the gods in the Nether to prevent future wars and the creation of more creatures like the shadelings. Stefan could not picture such men and women sitting down to write anything. If they did, what else had they included in such texts?
“I see you understand the importance,” Galiana said.
“And you gave them to the King. Why?” Stefan asked.
“The Tribunal has been using The Chronicles for years to maintain their empire. It is how they can tell who would be their greatest threats and eliminate them beforehand. Seti is one of those threats. In fact, the Chronicles state Seti will overthrow the Tribunal’s rule but not how. That part is written in ancient Seti, a language several millennia old. No one knew how to read it.”
Stefan eased his hand from his sword and began to pace. Some things began to make sense to him now. What Galiana said would explain why of all the kingdoms, the Tribunal had chosen Seti to be its main ally in Ostania. He stopped and faced her. “Does King Nerian know how to read it?”
Galiana hung her head for a moment and then raised it to meet his gaze once more. “He found a way.”
“And he’s using it to bring the words to pass even if it means sacrificing his own,” Stefan concluded.
“I swear to you, I did not know. When I found out about the tomes and how the Tribunal used them, I saw this as a threat to our survival. I did what you would do. I made sure to manipulate events to see we would outlast whatever they intended. My loyalty is to our people first. When Nerian brought forward his plan for Everland and the Great Divide, I realized the chance to secure power beyond the Tribunal’s had corrupted him.” She squeezed her eyes tight. “Stefan.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “I saw Nerian’s translations. If he stays on this course, the Setian as we know them will perish.”
Mind whirling, Stefan glanced over to Anton, Celina and Thania. His wife did not appear at all surprised by Galiana’s news. “She discussed this with you already.”
Thania nodded. “It’s why I wasn’t at the celebrations.”
“So what do we do?” He began pacing again. “What can we do?” Even as he asked the question, he wondered if he could trust Galiana. Everything she said so far was based on translations only she knew. But what if they were true? What if this was Kalvor’s warning?
“Well, for the first question,” Galiana said. “You will have to do as Nerian says and lead his armies. For now, it is the only way to keep your family safe.”
Stefan stopped pacing, his hand sliding to his sword. “I could gather the men loyal to me-”
“I know what you are thinking,” Galiana said. “You cannot flee and you cannot fight him right now. You need to give me time to devise a plan.”
“What if none of this is his doing?” Stefan found it hard to believe Nerian could have changed this much even from the conversation he had with the King. There had to be another catalyst. “I have my suspicions concerning Cerny. The way the man has come into power and the fact he’s an Alzari.”
“I had my people inquire after him years ago,” Galiana answered. “They came up with nothing out of the ordinary. Which leaves Nerian.”
“You believe you can find a way to stop him?”
“To stop him? No. To limit the damage he does … Yes.”
“How?”
“The Chronicles lay out many possible futures. They also hint at events not within the books. The possibility for change is endless if caught before a certain point.”
Again, possibilities revealed by Galiana alone. Stefan mulled the information over. If he was to act, he needed confirmation. Finding a way to draw it out of the King may be the only way to be sure. Galiana may have been his mentor, but Nerian had been like a father. “If changes can occur, we can save our people.”
“Not exactly. The tome foretells that once Nerian received his copy of the Chronicles, that the Setian are doomed. There was talk of a remnant being able to survive.”