Voice of Life (The Spoken Mage Book 4) Read online

“Not here, remember,” she whispered at him.

  “How can I remember when you look so stunning?” he asked in a plaintive voice, and I laughed.

  He glanced over, noticing me for the first time.

  “Back me up here, Elena!”

  “No, you don’t,” said Coralie, zipping to my side. “Elena was my friend first. Plus, us girls need solidarity.”

  I shrugged apologetically at Finnian. “Sorry. She speaks only truth.”

  “Dance with me, at least,” he said to Coralie. “I’ll keep us away from anyone in my family, I promise.”

  I frowned at him as Coralie accepted his hand with a roll of her eyes. I was fairly certain he was genuinely trying to reassure her, but I suspected he would have done better to boldly announce he couldn’t wait another moment and was going to introduce her to his family immediately.

  My eyes strayed back to the royal family. Had it really only been months since I was contemplating the possibility of being introduced to them as future family? Those happy weeks were hard to remember now.

  “Sister.” Julian stepped up beside me, nodding his head in greeting.

  I held back a groan. Instead of royalty as family, I had gotten the twins and Julian.

  “Julian,” I said, not bothering to nod. “Don’t you have more important people to bother…uh, I mean, talk to?” I wasn’t in the mood for charged small talk, especially with him.

  Julian didn’t seem in the least put off by my lack of welcome.

  “Father pulled some strings for me, so here I am, repaying the favor.”

  I stared at him, my heart sinking.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” He didn’t look at me, his eyes on the royal family across the room.

  Something in his words reminded me of Jasper’s earlier pronouncement. My eyes followed Julian’s, latching onto Lucas. Did he know something I didn’t? I was too far away to read any subtle play of emotion across his face, though.

  “I’m starting to get the feeling there’s something big going on that I don’t know about,” I said to Julian.

  He smiled down at me. “Patience, young sister, all will be revealed soon enough.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “They’re making an announcement tonight? At the ball?”

  Julian’s smile widened. “Father told me you were perceptive. Perhaps I shouldn’t have listened to Natty when it came to you.”

  “Oh, haven’t you heard? Natalya and I have declared a truce. I think.”

  He laughed. “For all her protestations, at heart she’s as loyal to the family as her twin.” His eyes glinted mockingly. “She knows where her best interests lie.”

  “And you don’t?” I frowned as I examined his face, trying to understand what lay behind his mocking, wry manner.

  “Oh, my blood bleeds Devoras just like the rest of them,” he said lightly. “I’m here right now, aren’t I?”

  My frown deepened. “Yes, why was that again?”

  He grinned. “Nice try, sis, but you’ll just have to wait and hear with everyone else.”

  I frowned at him. If the royal family were making some sort of announcement tonight, I couldn’t see what it could have to do with me. Jasper certainly hadn’t given any indication that I should be nervous. And yet, Julian claimed he was here beside me under coercion.

  A deep chime sounded through the ballroom before I could consider it further, and the dancers slowly stilled, everyone turning to the platform inside the doorway. The double doors had been closed, and the royal family now stood there, Chen beside them.

  “Thank you all for sharing in our Midwinter celebrations,” said King Stellan in a booming voice. “And a special welcome to our Sekali guests.”

  He turned and bowed to Chen, although I noticed he didn’t bow as deeply as the Sekali did in return.

  “We are honored,” said Chen, his vowels less rounded than an Ardannian’s, but his words clearly heard on the other side of the ballroom.

  “A happy birthday, also, to our son, Prince Lucas, who will turn twenty-one at midnight.” He smiled and clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. Lucas’s expression didn’t change, but the crowd applauded for him, and he nodded in their direction.

  “As you all know,” King Stellan continued, “we are currently negotiating a potential treaty with the Sekalis, and toward that end, I would like to take this moment to make an announcement.”

  Julian smiled, and I tensed.

  “Prince Lucas will be part of an Ardannian delegation which will travel to the Sekali Empire to finish negotiating and seal the alliance. They will leave in a matter of weeks. We look forward to news of their success, and a bright future for both Ardann and the Empire.”

  No. No no no no no. We had until the end of the year. We were supposed to have until the end of the year!

  King Stellan bowed again to Chen, who bowed back, lower than ever. The hiss of many whispers had broken out across the room at the king’s words, but when the two men straightened, a small cheer replaced it.

  Both of them smiled and nodded, their eyes roving over the crowd. I watched them, my mind reeling. Both of them looked pleased, although I didn’t know either of them well enough to guess what might lie behind their expressions.

  Chen’s eyes seemed to meet mine across the room, lingering for a second. But then they moved on, and I concluded it was a trick of the distance. I was tucked away in a far corner of the room.

  Chills raced through me, panic chasing them around my body. The king had said weeks. Weeks, and then Lucas would disappear.

  I turned slowly to Julian.

  “And there you have it,” he said.

  My mind focused in on him. “You knew about this.” It wasn’t a question. “And let me guess—the strings the general pulled were to get you on the delegation.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Perceptive, indeed.”

  “Not perceptive enough to know what any of it has to do with me,” I muttered.

  He said nothing.

  “Why do you want to go?” I asked.

  He gave me a surprised look. “A chance to see the fabled Sekali Empire whose border has been closed to us for hundreds of years? Wouldn’t you want to?”

  I shook my head. “I have quite enough problems here in Ardann. I don’t need to deal with an empire on top of them.” I didn’t add that the proposed marriage alliance had killed any desire I might have had to connect with the Sekalis.

  “But what an opportunity,” Julian said. “The one previous delegation—from the year before you started at the Academy—is the only contact anyone has had with the Sekalis in generations. Who knows how much similarity their land still bears to the ancient records we have from before they closed their borders? We know so little about them.”

  He seemed to warm to his topic. “Who knows what power and profit might be waiting for us? When this alliance goes through, those present scoping the situation and making connections will have a decided advantage.”

  “That sounds like very Devoras reasoning,” I said. “I would have thought your father would be fully behind you rather than your having to call in a favor.”

  Julian’s face tightened slightly. “Oh, Father wants someone in the family along, certainly. But who said I would be his first choice?”

  He looked behind me.

  “Ah, Father. There you are.”

  “Greetings, my boy,” said General Griffith cheerfully. “And to you, Elena. You look lovely. I must remember to congratulate Natalya.”

  I took a deep breath and refrained from telling him that Natalya had barely tolerated my choice of material and design—finding them boring and unimaginative, even if acceptable for the family honor. A wild notion that perhaps he could stop this delegation flitted through my mind, but I equally quickly discarded it.

  The general’s face only confirmed Julian’s words. The members of Devoras saw great opportunity in this development. And I could only imagine the gen
eral’s glee if this alliance succeeded in giving us access to the Sekali armies.

  “General. Spoken Mage.” A foreign voice behind us made me turn to see Chen bowing to us.

  Where had he come from? He must have hurried straight from the platform to here. An uneasy feeling swirled in my stomach. Could he have been looking at me after all?

  “Greetings, Ambassador.” I bowed, as did Julian and the general.

  Julian, at least, made the gesture with ease. Had he been practicing in preparation for his trip to the Empire?

  “I was hoping to have a chance to speak with you tonight, Spoken Mage,” Chen said.

  I wanted to blurt out, You were? But I managed to hold onto the words. He continued, not seeming to take offense at my silence.

  “Word of your unique abilities has made it even as far as our illustrious capital. And His Imperial Majesty, the emperor himself, has expressed interest in seeing a demonstration of your power such as the one I was fortunate enough to witness at your Academy.”

  “Oh,” I said, “that is very kind.”

  Over his shoulder I caught a glimpse of Queen Verena talking furiously to Lorcan and looking in my direction. But what was I supposed to do? The ambassador had sought me out. I looked around for my friends, hoping to find a polite way to extricate myself from the conversation. But Griffith and Julian had closed in on either side of me, blocking my view of anyone I might use as a reason to excuse myself.

  “We would like to invite you to accompany the delegation as a guest of honor,” Chen said, capturing my full attention.

  “I…” My mind whirled, suddenly blank of all useful thought. “But I’m a trainee…at the Academy. I can’t go to the Empire.”

  Chen didn’t seem in the least perturbed by my words. “I understand the prince is also a trainee but that special arrangements have been made with your Academy Head. I am sure they can also be extended to cover you. You needn’t fear failing.”

  The slightest wrinkle around his nose conveyed a strange sense of disgust, although I couldn’t be sure if it was for the concept of failing or for something to do with our academy system. Perhaps mage training was handled differently in the Empire.

  “I—”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what I intended to say, but whatever it was, the general cut me off.

  “My daughter would be delighted to accept your most generous and flattering offer,” he said.

  “Your daughter?” Chen looked mildly surprised. “I had heard the Spoken Mage was commonborn.”

  “I am,” I said, at the same time as General Griffith said, “My adopted daughter, that is.”

  “Ah.” Chen nodded. “In that case, I thank you and look forward to welcoming the Spoken Mage to the Sekali Empire.” He bowed yet again.

  I opened my mouth to protest, but Julian jabbed me in the side. I glared at him and tried to regather my thoughts, but the ambassador was already gone.

  “Before you start protesting,” the general said calmly, “I am your father. So, yes, I have every right to answer for you. Just as I would answer without hesitation for any one of my children—something that is well understood in the Sekali Empire where no one would question the ruling of their clan head. That much we learned from our one previous delegation.”

  “It’s a great honor to our family,” Julian said. “You are the only person they have individually requested. They did not even insist on the prince himself being personally present. That was Their Majesties’ decision for the expediency of the alliance. The Sekalis don’t seem to feel the same time pressure we do.”

  “You knew about this. Both of you,” I said, infuriated.

  “Of course we did,” said the general. “I am Head of the Armed Forces and sit on the Mage Council. I know a great many things you, as a trainee, do not. Their Majesties would have preferred not to include you, I know. I think they were hoping if they kept you apart, Chen wouldn’t have the opportunity to issue the invitation, and the Sekalis would let the whole thing go.” He shook his head.

  “Then why are you encouraging it?” I asked.

  He lowered his voice. “Times are changing. This alliance is unprecedented. You can be sure that it will affect the balance of power among the great families back here in Ardann, one way or another. Their Majesties did not forbid your accompanying the delegation—they could hardly afford to do so and risk offending the Sekalis—and so I mean to see that none of the other families have a chance to steal a march on Devoras. You are our greatest asset, and if I cannot have you at the front, then I will not hesitate to use you elsewhere.”

  He waited a moment, as if daring me to protest, and then strode away.

  “I would have expected you to leap at the chance to go.” Julian examined his nails rather than meet my eyes. “Since Lucas is going.”

  I glared at him. “Go or not go, I prefer to make my own decision.”

  “You’re playing at court now, Spoken Mage. Nothing is ever that simple.”

  I sighed and rubbed a hand across my eyes. He was right, of course, and I knew it. Just like I knew that becoming a Devoras might have consequences like this. I had judged it worth it at the time, and I couldn’t take it back just because Lucas was no longer available.

  And I did want to stay near Lucas. I just didn’t want to go to the Empire with him. I wanted to find a way for him to stay here.

  “Either way it doesn’t much matter, does it?” I asked wearily. “It sounds like I’m going whether I want to or not.”

  “That’s the spirit,” said Julian, amusement in his voice. “And don’t worry. Your big brother will be there to look after you.”

  My eyes flew to his in sudden concern before I remembered that the description now fit him.

  “It sounds like you’ll be there to make sure I fall in line with Devoras interests,” I said sourly.

  His eyes continued to laugh at me. “Isn’t that basically the same thing?”

  I shook my head and left him without a farewell, weaving through the crowd toward the doors. I had barely arrived, but I’d already had enough of this evening. Near the exit I crossed paths with Lorcan. He hailed me, but I didn’t give him the chance to talk first.

  “Is it true?” I asked. “You’ve agreed to release Lucas from the Academy?”

  Lorcan frowned. “Not release him. Such a thing is not permitted. I have merely agreed that he can complete his remaining fourth year studies at an external location. Your year has plenty of experience with that. An Academy instructor will accompany him, and he will return for the final exams.” He shook his head. “Naturally it is not an ideal situation, but these are unprecedented times.”

  “Well the instructor will need to take on two trainees, I’m afraid.”

  Lorcan looked at me sharply. “What do you mean?”

  I nearly said that the general was making me go but decided at the last minute that it would be disloyal to my adoptive family to phrase it like that. And for all they drove me crazy, I had willingly chosen to join them.

  “Ambassador Chen has issued me a gracious invitation. One it proved impossible to refuse.”

  Lorcan swore quietly. “I was afraid of that. And since we’ve worked out a means for Lucas to attend, we can hardly use the trainee excuse for you.”

  “So we would return for exams?” I asked. Perhaps that meant the actual wedding was still to be put off until after graduation.

  “Yes,” Lorcan said, his voice gentle. “I believe Their Majesties will suggest an Ardannian tour for Lucas’s bride.”

  Of course. How foolish of me. Marriage didn’t prevent exam participation. I tried to keep my face void of expression, hating how easily Lorcan had read me. Someone called his name, and I used the opportunity to slip away and out the door.

  I had made it down the flight of stairs and into the vast entryway when a familiar voice called my name. I slowed and stopped, fighting to calm my rushing emotions before turning to face Lucas.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I k
ept my voice low so the footmen who lined the space wouldn’t hear me.

  “I didn’t know. I swear it was as much a surprise to me as it was to you.” His voice turned bitter. “My parents knew I would have fought it, so they kept it from me until it was too late.” He ground his teeth. “I was supposed to have until the end of the year.”

  “I’m going as well,” I said.

  “What?” He gripped my arm, his voice rising.

  I glanced toward the closest footman, and he lowered it again.

  “What do you mean, you’re going?”

  “Exactly that. Ambassador Chen cornered me and issued an invitation. And my dear adoptive father accepted on my behalf.”

  Lucas looked furious, but I’d had time to calm down.

  “Maybe this is a good thing,” I whispered. “Maybe this will give us a chance to find another way.”

  “To end the war? What can we do from the Sekali Empire? They have no involvement in it.”

  “No, but maybe we can find another way to win their support. Other than a marriage alliance.” He didn’t look convinced, so I leaned closer. “It doesn’t matter what you said before. We have to have hope. I have to hold onto hope.”

  “I love that about you, you know,” he said. “Your persistence. Your perseverance despite all odds.” He shook his head. “But we don’t know exactly how things will go in the Empire. And I don’t want you caught up in the middle of it.”

  I sighed. “Well clearly no one is interested in asking either of us. So we’ll just have to watch out for one another.”

  He closed the gap between us, resting his forehead against mine for one all too brief second.

  “There’s no one I would rather have watching my back.”

  “Nor me,” I murmured, and then he pulled back, voices sounding on the stairs.

  He gave me a formal half-bow and disappeared back toward the ballroom. I stayed where I was, the mages exiting the palace looking at me curiously as they passed through the entry.

  Perhaps this would all work out for the best? Perhaps away from the Academy we could find the answers that had so far eluded us.

  “Elena!” A loud whisper startled me back into movement.

  I looked around in confusion.