“What about heirs?” demands Sammyl.
“What about them?” retorts Rhamuel. “I’ve only been duke a few eightdays, and brothers of a duke aren’t allowed to consort and have heirs unless they succeed. Besides, I haven’t consorted her. I haven’t even asked her. So talk of heirs will have to wait. All I said…” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Is there anything else? Good.” He looks to Lerial. “I understand the healer needs to talk to you about what you did. You can all go so that I can finish what I’m going to say at Mykel’s memorial tomorrow.”
“You’re going to speak?” asks Sammyl.
“He is … was my brother. The memorial is in the palace. Everyone who will be there already knows I broke my leg.” Rhamuel gestures.
Lerial immediately rises, nodding to the duke, then turns toward the door. The other three follow him. Norstaan is the last and closes the study door after he leaves.
“We’ll leave the anteroom to you and the healer,” Sammyl says.
In moments, Lerial and Emerya are alone. She walks to the window and looks out to the west. Not a hint of a breeze comes into the room, even though the window is full open.
Lerial waits.
“I never thought … and now…”
“And now … what?” he finally asks.
“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” The enigmatic expression vanishes as she looks directly at her nephew. “Did you do anything besides what you told me on the way to the palace?”
“I added a little more order, trying to reduce the chaos, later on, as I felt he might be able to receive it. That was all.”
“I think I can help him a little more. However you did what you did, it worked. He shouldn’t be able to feel anything much below his waist, but he does.”
“Enough to do most things … except for riding and walking?”
Emerya nods.
“What about his leg?”
“It will heal, but it will likely take longer because he can’t move the muscles around it.”
Lerial takes a deep breath, then faces his aunt.
“What is it?” A worried expression crosses Emerya’s face.
“You can’t return to Cigoerne.”
A bemused smile appears on her face. “You’re telling me where I can and can’t go? Your father couldn’t stop me from coming here, and…” Her smile broadens. “But that’s not what you meant, was it?”
Lerial shakes his head. “It would be wrong for you to leave him. Even I can see that. And it’s not because you’ll keep him strong so that he can put Afrit back together, either.” Although Lerial knows that Emerya’s presence will help Rhamuel in more ways than one.
“I know. Your father was likely most unhappy when he found I had left.”
“You didn’t tell him?”
“He would have forbidden it. I didn’t give him the choice. I’d already made arrangements with Fhastal’s people. They told me there was a message from you to your father. They also told me Rhamuel had been injured. I asked Kiedron what was in the message. Then, he had to tell me.”
“Because you’d know if he lied.”
“He wasn’t happy about that, either. He said he’d done enough in risking you. He wasn’t about to lose me, too. I didn’t argue. I just left. No one saw me.”
“A concealment?”
“What else?”
“Does Amaira know?”
“She begged me to go.”
Lerial can understand that. Amaira would know why her mother needed to go, and unlike many young people, Amaira feels well beyond herself. But then, even young healers do. Mostly. You didn’t.
After a moment of silence, he says, “We need to arrange for your quarters.”
“That might be for the best.”
Lerial understands that she doesn’t wish to say more. So he just leads the way to the door.
LVII