Edric stands and holds his own goblet out. “And to my son, Edmon, Lord of the Isle of Bone.” He pauses as the crowd waits on his next words. If there’s condescension in his tone, I don’t hear it. “I am proud of you, my son.”
I’m stunned. This is the last thing I expect. Edric Leontes has forever been a shadow in my life casting fear and doubt. Tyrant and fiend. Monster. Those are the names I think to describe him. He’s a ruthless killer who has sought his own advancement at the expense of those around him, including his own family. Even so, to hear him say he is proud of me touches something within I didn’t even know was there. I’ve longed to hear him say those words, in spite of all he has done. I’m not sure I ever realized it until this moment.
“Thank you, Father,” I respond. “With your blessing, there is another I must toast.” The crowd hushes as I stand in the center of the circle. I take Nadia’s hand in mine and kneel before her. “Nadia, my love, you are my heart. You are my song. With the eyes of witnesses before us, from the Island of Bone and the Pantheon of Tao, will you make me your husband for all time?”
She brings a hand to her mouth, and though we’ve been together for years, though we have a child to be born, I see the tears well in her eyes. She nods yes. I stand and pull her into my embrace. I whisper, “I will always love you, Nadia.”
I glance at my father. His smile fades for a split second and then returns. I have sealed our agreement before all present. It may not be what he originally intended, but it is the bargain we have made. I nod, and he returns the gesture.
The revelry continues into the evening. Musicians play. Dancers dance. We eat and drink. Nadia does not leave my side. I’m in bliss.
“Edmon,” she says, pulling me from the dizziness of feeling like everything in my life is on the perfect path.
“What?” I ask, carefree, absent.
“You aren’t here,” she muses. “Where are you?”
“Oh.” I smile. “I was thinking that for the first time in my life, I’m happy. That’s all.”
“No, we are happy,” she corrects. She places my hand on her belly. We kiss. Then she pulls back for a moment. “Can you trust him?”
“I trust him to maintain his own best interests. No more, no less. Our union gives him leverage to ply Old Wusong to allow the princess to marry my brother. That will buy us time. Beyond that, we will have to see.”
“Then what?”
“One step at a time, my love.”
“Edmon.” A hand touches my shoulder. Edgaard’s square face and pale eyes loom over me. “Our father would like to have words with you.” Edgaard stands a hair taller than me, though he is lanky, not bearing the full muscle of adulthood yet. I gesture for him to lead the way.
I jest to Nadia, “Perhaps there will be more surprises from Edric the Compassionate?”
She intertwines her arm in mine and whispers, “He’s still dangerous, Edmon. Be careful.”
“I know better than most, wife,” I reply, trying out the word. She rolls her eyes at me.
We follow Edgaard to the table. My father stands, his ice-blue eyes locking onto mine.
“You would like to speak with me?” I ask.
“Not here.” His eyes flick to Nadia. “I would speak with you. Alone.”
I take Nadia’s hand in mine. “Anything you can say to me can be said to her as well.” Anger flares in his eyes at my defiance. I try to soften it with a conciliatory tone. “You’re right, Father,” I say. Calling him that name sounds strange to my ears. I’ve used it so little. “Privacy would be best.”
He smiles, tight-lipped. I lead them from the hall with Nadia on my arm.
The screamer-skiff cruises the calm of the harbor. I point her toward the open Southern Sea with a gentle howl. Nadia and I stand on the prow. Spray hits our faces, cooling our skin against the heat of the never-setting sun. I turn the yoke and bank off a rising wave to grab more spray.
“Edmon!” she shouts in mock anger. “You’ll upset the guests.”
I glance back at Edric, Alberich, and Edgaard, all looking stern. Their dark robes and armor glint in the light, making them look fierce and dour.
“I’m not sure they could be any more upset,” I whisper jokingly. She playfully hits me on the arm, and I acquiesce. “All right, all right.” I level the skiff into a gentle angle. I slow the speed and dip her hull to rest where we bob on the blue-green brine.
I turn to the cadre of men. Their visages range from furtive to glowering.
“I want to begin by thanking you.” I hope to break the tension. “By visiting Bone with respect, it goes a long way toward mending relations with Meridian.”
“You’re almost a man now, Edmon, and so I will treat you as such,” my father growls. He addresses me politely, but somehow I don’t think what he says can be good. “There has been a shift on Tao. Not in just the political climate, but in the physical climate, the emotional climate.”
I nod. “I’m aware.”
In truth, I’ve not been entirely informed of the news from Meridian. The embargo has been almost total. We receive no goods, nor supplies, nor information. My time at House Julii, however, has not been forgotten, either. Phaestion intimated my father had been maneuvering to take hold of the Synod. Phaestion had his own plans to the contrary. The common people were caught in between. Inevitably, there would be a reckoning. It’s something I want no part of.
“The people are restless,” Edric says. “They’ve lost faith in the government. The economy is depressed. Protests and crime have risen.”
His eyes cast blame. He believes I play some part in this unrest?
“Meridian is a powder keg. If the dissidents are not controlled, if chaos reigns, it will trigger a long spiral into darkness. It will be an end to our civilization.”
He, like the others, truly believes the Pantheon is the greatest human accomplishment in the universe? What a joke!
I can’t help but laugh.
“Edmon, reconsider your choices.” His tone is pained. It costs him to ask, and it is unlike him to ask.
I look at Nadia. “Reconsider what?” I feel my anger rising.
“Marry Lady Miranda Wusong. Secure the Leontes name to the ruling house of Tao.”
His request is now a command. Now, that’s the father I know. I take Nadia’s hand in mine. I’ll not leave her, and she’ll not leave me, either. “I will not.” I’m no longer a boy to be bullied. I can fight him now.
He moves more quickly than I would have thought possible. He shoves me aside. I hit the deck of the skiff, hard. I scramble, but Alberich plants a knee in my back, holding me down. Edgaard grabs my flailing arms. I try to get up, but someone yanks my head and slams it to the deck. My skin splits, and blood from my scalp streams into my eyes. Through the haze, I see Edric grab hold of Nadia. She screams, but the sound is cut off almost before it starts. With a quick twist of his hands, Edric breaks her neck. Bones snap. She goes limp in his arms.
“No!” I scream, my voice raw.
Edric lifts Nadia’s lifeless body and gently rolls her over the railing. She tumbles into the sea. With a splash, she is gone.