Chapter Thirty-Nine

After breakfast, Eliot followed Aridai to the garden as he and Arodi made their way out the door at the end of the kitchen.

“Sela wishes for you and Renard to stay at least another day,” said Aridai. “They would all like you to stay. But I wish to be done with my trip to Mariosha, to bring that thief to Aiqos.”

Nodding, Eliot said, “I was going to ask if you’d mind us staying another day.” He stopped when he caught sight of the cat trotting up to them.

Reuven rubbed up against Arodi then Aridai.

Crouching down, Eliot held out his hand and Reuven went to him, rubbing his head against Eliot’s hand, purring, before he lay on his side for Eliot to continue stroking him.

“We spoke of this last night,” said Aridai, “Arodi and I, how comfortable Reuven is with you. Was he like this in your home?”

“At first, he didn’t let anyone near him, but by the next day, he seemed to trust me enough to allow me to touch him. I didn’t want him to be kept in the cage–”

“Cage?” Arodi’s tone reflected his displeasure.

Eliot looked up. “The cage he’d been put in after he’d been taken. When I let him roam my chambers, he seemed content enough, and he also spent time in a secluded part of the garden.”

“Reuven has never taken to strangers,” said Aridai, “especially those who are not tall-folk, yet he does not mind you.”

“We wonder if there might be a chance he senses you are his son,” said Arodi quietly.

Eliot’s eyes widened before his brows drew together. “But he didn’t respond the same way to Mother. He only tolerated her and Lina touching him if I was there.”

“Ah.” Arodi’s shoulders slumped.

“Then, it will remain a mystery,” said Aridai, his disappointment clear in his expression.

Eliot struggled to look into the cat’s eyes, his father’s eyes, as the cat fixed his half-closed gaze on the young man. Blinking back tears, he pushed himself to his feet. “I want to stay,” he said hurriedly, keeping his gaze on the ground. “Renard does too, but after thinking on it last night, we should leave as soon as possible. There’s something you need to know.”

Feeling more in control of his emotions, Eliot told his uncles of Climence’s involvement with Garlon, of their connection with the Anti-Giant faction, and, finally, of Tulash. “His master was the one who did this to father, his name was Kashar. Mother remembered him from his time at court, Master Bertran also. But Mother didn’t know of the, friendship Climence had with him.”

The sudden pointed look Aridai and Arodi exchanged didn’t go unnoticed by Eliot, and his gaze flicked from one to the other, sure they were keeping something from him. But neither spoke, and Eliot forced himself to continue. “According to Kashar’s journals, he’d helped Climence with some plan she’d concocted. She claimed it was trivial but refused to speak of it.”

Rubbing the scar on his chin, Eliot stared into the distance. “What I kept thinking of last night.” His gaze swivelled to his uncles before he finished his sentence. “Did Climence’s plan involve my father?”

This time, the brothers didn’t look at one another, but their pained, anguished expressions told Eliot all he needed to know.

“You know something,” he said, taking a step closer to them. “Tell me.”

Aridai seemed to struggle to look Eliot in the eye. “It does not–”

“You know, I know you do. When you were recounting what the guard said, you started to say something that sounded like Climence’s name, I’m sure of it. Did she tell Kashar to do this to my father?”

“No,” said Arodi, laying his hand on Eliot’s shoulder. “That was not her plan.” He looked at his brother who, after a moment’s hesitation, nodded. “The guard had originally been in Climence’s pay. She wanted the bandits to take Ruvane to Salmarin, to sell him to traders to be taken far away across the sea, to somehow make it impossible for him to return. It would appear those were the arrangements Kashar helped her with, but he’d paid the guard more to make sure the bandits brought Ruvane to him instead.”

Silence enshrouded them, the tall-folk brothers, the young man of mixed blood, and the dozing cat that was his father.

Eliot kept clenching and unclenching his hands, fighting to keep his rage at bay. “I didn’t think it was possible to hate someone as much as I hate that woman,” he said, breathing heavily. “She didn’t care that Mother would be without a husband, that my father would be taken from me. When I see her–”

“You will do nothing,” said Aridai firmly.

Eliot glared at him. “She needs to pay for what she’s done. It’s not right that she’s gotten away with it for this long.”

“No,” said Aridai, “what she did is not right. And it set in motion unthinkable events. But how will you make her pay? You will accuse her to her face? What of Marcelin? What good will it do her to know that her own mother had planned on pulling apart her family?”

Recognising the truth of his words but still railing against them, Eliot walked stiffly away. He wanted to scream his frustration and anger across the valley. Instead, he scrunched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth so hard, his jaw ached. He wouldn’t say anything to Climence while Marcelin was near, but he would make sure the woman would know that he knew, even if he had to write to her. And he had to be satisfied with that.

For now, there were more pressing matters that still needed to be addressed. Grateful that his uncles had afforded him space to calm himself, he made his way back to them. “Tulash is the one who wants Reuven, to study him, he said. Once Garlon learns Reuven is back here, I’m worried they’ll try to take him again.”

“Yet another reason why we must leave today,” said Aridai. “To report Garlon to the authorities, tell them what his dealings with the Anti-Giant faction have led to.”

The hopeful thought that Garlon might well implicate Climence was overshadowed by another concern. “We still don’t how Jack got here. Despite the regular patrols, none of the guards reported seeing him anywhere near the path leading up the mountain.”

“That has puzzled us no end,” said Arodi before straightening, shoulders back. “No matter. Let them come, they will not find us easy targets. With my sword, I will have a mighty reach. And I doubt any will come close enough to land a blow,” he finished, grinning.

Despite his worries, Eliot couldn’t help but smile.