“That was you? All those nights when we camped?” Hadrian looked shocked.
Arista put her arms around the thief and hugged him tight. Royce squeezed her back, then looked into her eyes for a long moment. “He’s a very lucky man.”
She smiled and kissed him goodbye.
Hadrian grabbed him next, hugging him and clapping him on the back. “Be careful out there, pal.”
“I’m always careful. Oh, and do me a favor. See that Magnus gets this.” Royce handed him Alverstone. “Wait until I’m gone, and tell him—tell him the maker said he should have it.”
Modina, Amilia, and Nimbus came out of the palace with the two girls and Mr. Rings, who Amilia held awkwardly in her arms. The empress was wiping tears from her cheeks and struggling to keep her lips from shaking. When she got to the steps, she bent down and hugged Mercedes, holding her for several minutes before letting her go. When she did, the little girl ran down the steps and pointed. “Is that my pony?”
Royce nodded and Hadrian threw her up onto it.
“Bye-bye, Allie!” she shouted, petting the pony’s mane. “I am off to become a fairy princess.” Amilia handed up the raccoon.
Nimbus was dressed in traveling clothes, a small pack on his back and his familiar leather satchel at his side.
“You’re leaving now as well?” Amilia hugged Nimbus.
“I regret to say I must be off, Your Ladyship. It is time to go.”
“I am sure your family in Vernes will be happy to see you return.”
He smiled and, dipping his head, removed his chain of office and placed it in her hands.
“Where’s your horse?” Hadrian asked.
“I don’t need one,” Nimbus replied.
“I think the empire can spare at least that much,” Modina told him.
“I am certain it can, Your Eminence, but I honestly prefer walking.”
It took another round of hugs, kisses, waves, and wishes of safe travels before Royce, Mercedes, and Nimbus actually started down the slope. Allie ran alongside all the way to the trees and then waved madly before turning and running back to Modina.
Nimbus walked with them and Royce was careful to keep a slow, even pace.
They entered the forest and soon lost all sight of the palace, the city, and the hill. They traveled in silence, listening to the morning symphony of birdsongs and honeybees. Mercedes was mesmerized by her new pet.
“What’s my pony’s name?” she asked.
“I don’t think it has one yet. Would you like to name it?”
“Oh yes… Let me see… What’s yours called, Daddy?”
“Mine is Mouse. The empress gave her that name.”
Mercedes crinkled her nose. “I don’t like that. Is mine a boy or a girl?”
“Boy,” Royce told her.
“Boy… okay, hmm.” She tapped her lips with a perplexed expression, then furrowed her brow in serious thought.
“How about Elias?” Nimbus suggested. “Or perhaps Sterling.”
Royce stared at the ex-chancellor, who smiled pleasantly in return.
“Sterling is nice,” Mercedes said.
The forest thinned and they reached the open field where the old road crossed the new ones, freshly pressed by holiday travelers, leading west to Ratibor and north to Colnora. A short distance away a group of riders in gold and blue on white mounts waited.
“This is where we part,” Nimbus told them.
Royce stared at the thin man in the wig. “Who are you really?”
Nimbus smiled. “You already know that.”
“If it hadn’t been for you…” Royce paused. “I’ve always regretted that I never said thank you.”
“And I wish to thank you as well, Royce.”
He was puzzled. “For what?”
“For reminding me that anyone, no matter what they’ve done, can find redemption if they seek it.”
The thin man turned and walked down the road toward Ratibor. Royce watched him go, then turned to his daughter. “Let’s go visit the elves, shall we?” he asked. Just then, thunder cracked from overhead, shaking the ground and rustling the leaves on the trees.
Royce looked up at the clear blue sky, confused.
“Look!” Mercedes said, pointing down the road.
Royce turned to see Nimbus standing still, his head bent back, his eyes looking up.
A white feather drifted downward. It swirled, blowing on a gentle breeze until it was close enough that the tall spindly man in the white powdered wig reached up and caught it between his fingers. He kissed it gently, then slipped it into his leather pouch. He pulled the bag closed and continued on his way, whistling a merry tune, until he passed behind a hill and was gone.
extras
meet the author
Michael J. Sullivan
After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend’s house, MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: “It was a dark and stormy night, and a shot rang out.” He was just eight. Still, the desire to fill the blank page and see where the keys would take him next wouldn’t let go. For ten years Michael developed his craft for writing by reading and studying authors such as Stephen King, Ayn Rand, and John Steinbeck, to name a few. He wrote more than ten novels, and after finding no traction in publishing, he quit, vowing to never write creatively again.
His hiatus from writing lasted nearly ten years. The itch returned when he decided to write books for his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who was struggling in school because of dyslexia. Intrigued by the idea of a series with an overarching story line told through individual, self-contained episodes, he created the Riyria Revelations. While he wrote the series with no intention of publishing it, he was surprised that after presenting his book in manuscript form to his daughter, she declared that it had to be a “real” book, bound and formatted, in order for her to be able to read it.
So began his second adventure on the road to publication, which included drafting his wife to be his business manager, signing with a small independent press, and creating his own publishing company. He sold more than sixty thousand books as a self-published author and leveraged this success to achieve mainstream publication through Orbit (the fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group) as well as foreign translation rights for France, Spain, Russia, and the Czech Republic.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Michael presently lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with his wife and three children and continues to fill the blank pages with three projects under development: a modern fantasy novel, a literary fiction piece, and a prequel to his best-selling Riyria Revelations.
Find out more about the author at www.michaelsullivan-author.com.