Visniya leaned over and said softly, “You can ignore Roldem’s demands for quite a while after that gesture.”
“But you’ll need a strong hand to defend this realm,” Tal continued, “so I’m recommending you return command of your armies to Special Captain Quint, and name him along with my lords Visniya and Stolinko as a council of three to advise you until you decide whom you should wed. Put no fool or ambitious man on the throne beside you, m’lady, and good will come of this.”
She bowed, looking somewhat relieved. She turned to Quint and said, “Captain, I would be pleased if you would return to the service of your nation. I need you far more than my brother ever did.”
Quint bowed.
Pug, Magnus, and Nakor entered the room and took up positions behind Tal and his captains. Tal looked at them and nodded. Pug leaned forward and whispered to him, “Alysandra will live. We’ve taken her back to Sorcerer’s Isle. We can heal her flesh wounds, but as for the other things Varen did to her?” He shrugged. Louder, he said, “Finish this. We will talk afterward.”
Tal glanced around the room and declared, “Bring in the prisoner.”
A short while later, Kaspar was brought into the room. He had been stripped of his armor and wore only a black tunic and leggings. His feet were bare: Tal assumed that an enterprising soldier had discovered his feet were the same size as the Duke’s.
Kaspar’s wrists were in manacles and he was hobbled with leg irons, but he still appeared defiant. When he finally stopped in front of Tal, the younger man said, “Kaspar, what have you to say?”
Kaspar laughed. “You won and I lost. What else is there to say?”
“You’ve ordered the destruction of innocents and have murdered out of naked ambition. You’ve caused suffering you cannot begin to imagine. If I could contrive a way to have you live your life understanding that pain every day, I would. But alive you are a danger, so I must order you be hanged.”
“For revenge?” asked Kaspar. “Disguised as justice, it’s still revenge, Tal.”
Tal sat back. “I’m sick of killing, Kaspar. But there is no other way.”
From behind him, Pug said, “Perhaps there is.”
Tal looked over his shoulder and the magician stepped closer. “If you mean what you say, if you wish for Kaspar to be in a place where he can dwell on his crimes, yet not be a threat to anyone here, would you spare his life?”
“How can I?” said Tal. “Too many people have suffered at his hands. Why should I spare his life?”
Pug whispered, “Because you won’t be saving his life, Talon. You’ll be saving your own. You haven’t begun to deal with those things you’ve had to do, and when ghosts trouble you in the dark of the night, this one act of forgiveness may be the difference between your survival and your destruction.”
Tal felt a weight lift off his chest, and tears began to well up in his eyes. Fatigue and years of suffering threatened to overwhelm him. He remembered his family, laughing and alive, and knew that they would live on in his heart if he made room for them by casting out the hatred and anger. He thought of the things he had done, the people who had suffered and died at his hands, simply to reach this moment. What made him that different from Kaspar? He had no easy answer. At last he said, “Kaspar, I forgive you the wrongs done to me and my people. Dwell on that wherever you go. Do with him what you will, Pug.”
Pug went over to Magnus and whispered in his ear. They conferred for a long time, then Magnus nodded. He walked around the table and put his hand on Kaspar’s shoulder; then they both vanished, a slight puff of air being the only sign of their departure.
Tal rose up. “For this day, our business here is done.”
Those in the court moved away, and Tal turned to Quint, Visniya, and Stolinko. “Gentlemen, the fate of this nation is in your hands,” he said solemnly. “Treat her gently.”
Then he walked over to where Natalia waited. “I hope you can find some happiness in the future, m’lady.”
She smiled at him sadly. “And I hope that someday you find peace, Squire.”
Tal kissed her lightly on the cheek and turned away. He came to stand before Nakor and Pug, and said, “What are you doing with Kaspar?”
“I’ll explain later,” said Pug.
Nakor said, “I heard from the soldiers how you killed Varen. Very clever, throwing the ball at him.” He grinned. “Wish I had thought of that.”
“Actually, that merely broke his concentration and cut off his wind. I killed him by breaking his neck.” He looked at Pug. “Was it worth it? Did you find whatever it was that you feared Varen was doing?”
Pug looked unhappy. “It wasn’t the story we told the two kings. But it was something almost as bad.” Lowering his voice, Pug said, “Varen was trying to open a rift.”
“Rift?”