Alliance

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3That afternoon, Lothaire grew hungry. He was impersonating the phoenix in a meeting with King Arro, the phoenix’s scumbag father; Grand Prince Laddiv; a few Avadierish advisers; and Royal Advisers of the Phoenix. The scent of every mortal around him was making Lothaire salivate. Could he sneak off and snack on someone?

He was trying very hard to remind himself that the phoenix would not be a satisfying snack. She would certainly be an easy one, but she’d also ensure that his immortal life would be cut short.

I’m in control, I’m in control, he thought as he eyed the neck of the serving girl who was offering him wine.

He took in a breath and smiled sweetly at her. “Thank you. I’m not thirsty.”

Suddenly, a messenger ran into the room. “Your Majesty! News from Whisperwind Bay!”

Lothaire stiffened—Whisperwind Bay was the town closest to the fight that had broken out last night.

An Avadierish messenger arrived moments later. “Your Imperial Highness! News of your fleet!”

“Servants and all non-essential staff are dismissed,” the king said. The heavy golden crown on his head and the sapphires and rubies in his beard glinted fiercely in the sunlight.

Most of the servants bowed and left the room. Lothaire tried not to look too longingly at their necks as they left.

King Arro nodded to his messenger.

“There was an epic battle out to sea last night, Your Majesty—”

“We already know about the dragon,” the king said impatiently.

“Did you know that the sea was boiled?” asked the messenger. “Dead sea creatures have been washing ashore all morning and … giant tentacles, as thick as battleships and as long as three battleships.”

Lothaire stared. What had happened last night? The sea had boiled? That must have been Milorth’s doing—he was a sea dragon, after all, and boiling the sea came naturally to sea dragons. But giant tentacles? Any number of immortal creatures had giant tentacles.

“Did any of our fleet survive?” asked the grand prince sharply, his blue eyes piercing the messenger. “Did any survivors wash ashore?”

“I’m afraid not, Your Imperial Highness.”

“What else can you tell us about what happened? What of the other fleet? Do we know who it was?” asked the king.

“A Bucansian flag washed up this morning, too.”

Everyone went pale.

“This was the result of a Bucansian assault?” Lothaire ventured. “Whatever for? And, for that matter, how?”

The messenger shook his head. “I do not know, Your Highness. All I know is that there were ten times more dead sharks than there were other sea creatures. Far too many sharks for that area.”

Lothaire furrowed his brow. “Are you saying that … A kraken attacked the Avadierish fleet?”

There was a pause.

“How do you know it’s a kraken, Crown Princess?” asked the grand prince carefully.

Lothaire realised his mistake, but it was too late. He’d been so caught up in figuring out what had gone on last night that he’d forgotten the phoenix shouldn’t know what a kraken was or how to identify one—she’d made it clear to everyone at the border keep and at her palace that she’d never studied immortals.

He did some quick thinking. “My mother is a phoenix, Grand Prince. I have always been curious about my immortal heritage and I needed to know why my phoenix has never risen.”

His lie seemed to pass muster—there were nods of understanding around the table.

Lothaire continued. “As a result, I have studied all I could get my hands on about phoenixes—which really isn’t a lot—and immortals in general. I’ve learnt that krakens are massive immortals who live in the ocean, and whenever they attack, lots of sharks are involved.”

“Well,” replied the grand prince, “I did figure out recently that you are surprisingly fun to debate academia with and are vastly more intelligent than I first thought. And that the library is your favourite place in this castle.”

Lothaire gave the prince a dirty look.

The messenger cleared his throat. “Judging by how many Bucansian flags we found, the …”—he looked briefly at Lothaire before continuing—“the kraken didn’t discriminate as to which fleet it attacked.”

So, that was why the phoenix had almost died last night. The boiling ocean, the kraken and rescuing the delicious-smelling General Tullica would have been a strain for any land-dwelling immortal, let alone a young one who had just come into her power.

“So,” said an Avadierish adviser, “our fleet was completely destroyed?”

“What of General Tullica?” asked King Arro.

The phoenix wouldn’t have returned unless Tullica was safe, thought Lothaire.

“We believe he was either lost or perished with the Avadierish fleet, Your Majesty.”

A muscle feathered in the king’s jaw. “Then our deal is off. The marriage between my daughter and the grand prince will not be held this evening.”

Shocked silence cloaked the room.

“But Your Majesty—”

“The deal was that you would hand over General Tullica on the day of the wedding to the Phoenix Princess. He is not here to hand over, so you will not marry her today.”

Lothaire breathed an inner sigh of relief—the phoenix’s plan had worked.

“But what of this dragon, Your Majesty? You will need the might of the Avadierish Empire behind you if Bucansi has allied with an immortal,” said an obsequious Avadierish adviser.

The king rested a hand on Lothaire’s shoulder and smiled. “We already have an immortal on our side.”

Lothaire tried not to gape at him. “Father, you must know that my phoenix hasn’t risen—”

“But Bucansi doesn’t know this,” he interrupted.

“If even the Avadierish—who come from the other side of the world—know about my lack of magic, then surely Bucansi should know too?”

“Your mother is a phoenix. That means you should be able to rise when the occasion presents itself.”

Lothaire stood. “You put too much on my shoulders, Father.”

“I put only what is necessary on your shoulders. Besides, the mere threat of your phoenix should be enough to make them hesitate.”

Lothaire exhaled sharply and swept from the room. He waited outside the door for a moment, listening to the Avadierish continue trying to convince the king of his need to protect the Land of the Phoenix and not rely on the princess, just in case she could never access her phoenix.

Lothaire went into the royal gardens and stared at the phoenix form statue of Queen Eos, the phoenix’s mother. He knew this was what the princess did whenever she wanted to connect to her inner phoenix.

It wasn’t long before the grand prince came to join him. “So,” he said after a moment. “You’ve studied immortals?”

“It’s not night time, Grand Prince. If you continue sitting here, I will start monologuing about the history of the fork and deliver it in a monotone.”

The grand prince chuckled. “And here I was thinking that I’d come to comfort you.”

Lothaire wrinkled his brow. “Comfort me? Last I heard, you enjoy irritating me.”

The grand prince was silent for a moment. “That was before we started our nightly debates.” He shrugged. “Now I think you’re just tolerable enough to worry about.”

Lothaire suppressed a smile at this gentle verbal joust, wishing that the phoenix deigned to banter with him like this. Instead, he glowered at the prince. “If you’ve come to insult me, you can leave. I have enough to deal with without you adding to it.”

The grand prince pulled a face. “No, I didn’t come to insult you … Like I said, I came to comfort you.”

“Well, you’re not doing a very good job.”

The prince grinned. “I suppose I’m not.” They contemplated the phoenix statue in silence.

“You never speak about your mother.”

“You never speak about your family.”

“You never asked.”

“Neither did you.”

“Well—would you like to speak about your mother?”

No, Lothaire wanted to feast on the grand prince’s blood. But sunset was still an hour away. “No, I don’t want to.”

“Good, because I don’t want to speak about my family either.”

Lothaire’s lips twitched. “Perhaps I should speak about my mother, then.”

The grand prince laughed. “I’d much rather speak about what you know of immortals.”

“You don’t know about immortals?”

“Not as much as you, apparently.”

Lothaire rolled his eyes.

“For instance, what do you know of dragons?”

“Well, considering krakens fight using sharks, dragons must be able to boil the sea.”

The grand prince nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. And what can you tell me of phoenixes?”

“Only that my mother is one.” They both looked at the statue of Queen Eos again. “Other than that, I don’t know.”

“Well, you must know that they command fire, and when they die, they are reborn in fire.”

Lothaire was keenly aware of this, considering how his day had started.

“If a phoenix and a dragon battled it out, who would win?” asked the prince.

Lothaire had wondered about that back at the Bucansian border keep. The phoenix’s command of fire was absolute—even able to control Milorth’s fiery breath. But if they battled in the water, he suspected that Milorth would win.

He frowned at the prince. “No, I do not know.”

“I’m just trying to gauge a phoenix’s power, that’s all. King Arro seems to think that you’d be able to defend this country if a dragon invaded along with the Bucansians.”

Lothaire stood up and smoothed his skirts. “As my phoenix has never risen, this is a moot point.” He started explaining the history of forks and the grand prince rose hastily, holding up his hands in surrender.

“If you wanted to be alone, all you had to do was ask, Crown Princess.”

“May I have some solitude?”

The grand prince bowed, then did as he was told.

But what did it mean, Lothaire wondered, that he’d come to comfort the phoenix? Maybe it was a ploy to gain her trust and ask her about her immortal powers. Maybe it was to gain firmer footing in her court by building a better relationship with her. But maybe, just maybe, he was genuinely worried about her.

Lothaire huffed and sat back down, staring at the statue again. What would her blood taste like? He contemplated this as the sun inched slowly—far too slowly for his liking—towards the horizon.

***

After dinner, Lothaire determinedly stayed away from the phoenix’s rooms and knocked on the grand prince’s door instead.

“You’re here early.”

“It’s after dark.”

“But you normally come when the castle is asleep.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to debate with me tonight?”

The prince tilted his head back. “Not at all, Your Highness. Please come inside. I have some snacks prepared already.”

Lothaire tried not to smile as he entered. Within moments, he’d mesmerised the prince and taken a deep drink of his blood. Lothaire’s eyes rolled up in his head as he feasted. I’m glad I’m pretending to be the phoenix, he thought. I would have to work harder to get my meal otherwise.