When we had sailed away from Zianna months earlier, I hadn't really looked at the city. As we approached it, I looked. It seemed so small, tucked against the looming Cliffs of Loth. I had always known the cliffs were huge. Seeing them from a distance helped put the size into perspective. I had never really thought of Zianna itself as tiny, but after seeing some proper mainland cities, East Draulin and Deorun, I could tell that Zianna was smaller.

But it was still my city. My dirty, familiar lower city. My pristine, risky upper city.

As we sailed closer, I watched the line of shadow creep over the city, bringing Lothian Dusk. I wondered what Baisan and the others were up to.

It was dark by the time we docked our stolen ship in the busy port. Tannix disembarked the moment the ship was secure, only to immediately be met by guards. It made sense; they would be suspicious of a Deoran ship. It didn't take him long to clear things up, and we left the guards apologizing profusely and promising to keep an eye on the ship.

We were met at the end of the pass by a large man dressed in the yellow unform of a castle guard. I realized that I knew him, except I was used to him wearing blue.

"Lord Tan-Lord West Draulin." He gave Tannix a curt nod. "I just sent the messenger on to the king."

"Thank you, Eppson," Tannix said.

"I'll escort you." Eppson looked over the rest of us, his gaze lingering first on Ender and his crutch, and then on Lady Mayah. He gave her the same sort of nod he had given Tannix. "Lady East Draulin. Welcome to Zianna. Come," he pivoted, and we followed him as he led the way through the gate into the castle grounds.

The grounds were fairly empty, but the castle was teeming with activity. There were guards pacing on the battlements and standing at the door. Candles flickered in many of the windows, making it look like the rooms were occupied even if they probably weren't.

The guards standing at the main doors opened them immediately for Eppson. As soon as we stepped through them, we were met by another one of Tandrin's guards.

"He's in his office," the younger knight said. "Jalor, thank the Goddess." He slipped into our huddle to draw Jalor into a very brief hug.

"Cail," Tannix interrupted. "Would you mind taking my men to get some food? And have a physician called for Ender."

"Of course, sir," the knight said. "Come, cousin. Tell me everything."

Some food was tempting, but I hung back with Tannix, Mayah and Acen. Eppson led us further into the castle, through the large atrium I had been in the year before, down a long hallway, up multiple staircases, and finally to a thick wooden door.

Tannix took a deep breath before knocking.

Tandrin's voice faintly replied. "Enter!"

Tannix pushed through the door. Tandrin stood frozen behind a large desk, with Queen Esmeranda sitting by his side. They had clearly been in the process of looking through a huge pile of documents.

Tandrin looked different. He was a very young king, and his usual dynamic expressions had been replaced by exhaustion and worry. His hair was messier, and he had the beginnings of beard, as if it had been a few days since his last shave. Instead of blue, he was wearing a black tunic with fancy lacing across his chest. He still wore multiple rings, and his simple gold necklace was visible around his neck.

He wasn't wearing the crown. It was sitting on the corner of the desk. I let it distract me as the silence drew out between the brothers.

Tandrin was the one to break it. "Tannix... What were you thinking! You can't just run off whenever you feel like it! Being in power doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want, you know that. You have to put your city first."

The sudden angry outburst seemed to take everyone by surprise, except for Tannix, who replied just as furiously. "What were you thinking, Tandrin? I am a soldier. Did you forget that when you decided to name yourself heir to the throne? How could you leave me to inherit West Draulin without even talking to me about it first? Would it really have been that hard to at least tell me what you were planning?"

"Mother and father knew."

"I don't care! They weren't the ones who were going to have a city forced upon them. I have never, in my entire life, planned to take over West Draulin. I've never even seriously given it any thought. You're the politician, it's your job!"

"It was always a possibility. What if I-"

"Don't say it," Tannix snarled.

"We were going to train you."

"Well, you ran out of time, didn't you?"

"It isn't my fault he was killed, Tannix!"

The queen stood up before Tannix could reply, and instantly had everyone's attention. She wasn't much older than me, but she seemed effortlessly graceful, effortlessly calm and powerful. She was wearing a relatively simply dress, with an intricately woven shawl draped over her shoulders. Her blond hair was tied up in a fancy knot. She didn't seem like the bored princess who had been ready to watch my execution.

She lay her hand on Tandrin's forearm, and he seemed to relax a little at her touch. I wanted to do the same for Tannix. He looked so alone, a few steps ahead of the rest of us, separated from his brother by a giant desk. I wished I could step up beside him and intertwine our fingers. Anchoring him as his emotions overflowed. But I couldn't.

"Tandrin," the queen said softly. "You and your brother should have this discussion in private." She walked around the desk before Tandrin could reply, and stopped in front of Tannix. She took his hand. "I'm so glad that you've escaped. I'm sorry about your father, and about the surprise of your inheritance. But, before you start fighting your brother about it, keep in mind that your family is not the only one that has suffered since East Draulin's fall."

Tannix was tense, but he nodded. "Yes, of course, your majesty."

The queen smiled. "You should be proud of him. He's been a good king." She dropped his hand and her attention turned to the group of us still near the door. "Mayah." The serene quality left the queen's voice and she took a few quick steps closer to us. She pulled Mayah into a hug. "You're alive! When we received word of East Draulin, we assumed the worse. I'm so glad we were wrong."

"Lord Tandrix and his men found me in Deorun. I would still be there if it wasn't for them."

"We must get you cleaned up and rested," the queen insisted. "Then we will talk about East Draulin. Come. Sir Eppson, Sir... Atricen, I believe? Let's leave the brothers." She linked her arm with Mayah's.

"Finn stays," Tannix said, without looking over at us.

I exchanged a glance with Acen. He nodded and shrugged, then let the queen usher him out of the room. The door closed with a heavy thud, and then I was alone with Tannix and Tandrin.

They stared at each other quietly. Once again Tandrin broke the silence. "Acen looked well. How are the rest of your men?"

"All things considered, good," Tannix said. "I already had Cail take them to see a physician. Ender has the only bad injury and he's on the mend."

Tandrin nodded in my direction. "Explain Finn's sling, then."

"Oh. He was shot, and poisoned. But he's fine now."

Tandrin gaped at me, clearly interested in hearing more. But maybe he knew it wasn't a topic Tannix would enjoy discussing, because he moved on.

"You've been missing for four weeks. We had every reason to believe you had led all of your men to their deaths. King Deorun contacted us once, but only to brag about catching you in East Draulin. Not a single detail about any of the knights, or about whether you were hurt, or even alive. So tell me what happened."

Tannix sighed and crossed his arms. "We were caught in East Draulin by Prince Kalvahi, and then shipped to Deorun. He kept me separate, and he wanted information. Nothing in particular, he was just interested in general information about different noble families. Honestly, I don't think he really knew what he was doing with me. It wasn't as if he was expecting to stumble across me. Finn and the knights eventually escaped their cell and got to me. We found Mayah by accident. We spent some time hiding out in the city so Finn could recover. Then we stole a ship and sailed here. We crossed paths with Roland in the bay and I sent him back to West Draulin with some letters."

Tandrin looked at me. "You stole a ship?"

It was easier to forget he was the king when the queen was gone. "Yes. I mean... the knights did the work. I did the thinking."

Tandrin nodded, impressed. "All right. Well, little brother, you made the right call, coming here. Mother's probably already planning on throwing you in jail the second you step foot in West Draulin, just to keep you safe. But really, how could you do something so reckless?"

"I'm a soldier," Tannix replied firmly.

"You need to put your city first."

"I put our people first," Tannix said. "I was thinking about our people, stuck in East Draulin. About Mayah and her family. What did you expect me to do? You were tied up in the diplomacy of it all, I couldn't move in the navy. But I could go myself. I helped people, Tandrin, it was worth the risk."

"Would you think it was worth the risk if Ender had died from his injury? Or Finn?"

Tannix's protest paused when Tandrin said my name, and he cut himself off before he'd even begun. "No," he said. "But neither of them did."

"Truth be told, I'm proud of you," Tandrin said. "And yes, you did help people. Roland wrote up a report. I think in the end you got nearly a hundred people out of the city, mostly women and children. The story's spread. You thought the people loved you when you helped stop that assassination last year? Well, they love you even more now. Keep this up and they'll want you to be king."

"I would refuse."

Tandrin chuckled. "Yes, well, I'm not doing much. Mostly just supporting Esmeranda. And, since Deorun is so patriarchal, all communication has to come from me. King Deorun doesn't respect her like he should, even though she inherited the kingdom and we're not even married yet. Speaking of heiresses, tell me about Lady Mayah." Tandrin sat down, and motioned for Tannix to take the seat in front of the desk.

Tannix remained standing. "What about her?"

"You found her in East Draulin. Am I right in assuming both her parents are dead?" He paused so Tannix could nod, then continued. "So she's Lady East Draulin, at least in name if not in practice. Did you talk to her about your engagement?"

"We had bigger things to worry about."

"But did you?"

Tannix nodded. "Briefly. We've agreed to consider it void. Finn, I..." he glanced over his shoulder. "I forgot to tell you."

I shrugged with my good shoulder. "Lady Mayah told me."

"Finn," Tandrin said. "You should probably go. You don't need to sit through this discussion. I can have a physician look at your shoulder, and you can get something to eat."

"No," Tannix and I protested in unison.

"Why not?" Tandrin asked.

"He isn't leaving my sight," Tannix said.

"Tannix, I'm sure Jalor did a wonderful job caring for his shoulder. But a real physician should take a look."

"No."

"Why not?" Tandrin asked again.

"He's staying with me."

"Tannix, he looks exhausted, and he's probably hungry. He doesn't need to sit through hours of-"

"I love him!" Tannix exclaimed. "Is that a good enough answer for you, your majesty? I love him and he is saying where I can see him. Do you understand?"

I stared at him, jaw dropped. He said it to me often enough. But never in front of another person. And never with such firm conviction.

Tandrin cocked an eyebrow. "There's no need to get angry, Tannix. Sit down," he continued like Tannix hadn't said anything unusual.

The lack of reaction clearly confused Tannix as much as it had me. "That's it?"

Tandrin didn't reply for a moment, instead he was gathering a blank piece of parchment and a quill. "What do you want me to say? 'Oh, what a surprise! I had no idea my little brother was in love with his male servant!' Honestly, Tannix. I think I've known how you feel about him longer than you have."

Tannix glanced at me, and then finally sat down. The fight left him all at once. He rested his elbow on the armrest and propped up his head. "Please explain how that's possible."

"Why else would some thief suddenly become so important to you?" Tandrin looked up and clasped his hands on the desk. "I know you very well, and I've noticed how you treat him differently. Even now, you let Acen leave, but not Finn. I've suspected something since I first met him and you snapped at me for giving him an order. And then I saw how comfortable the two of you were with each other. And of course, there's Uncle Tanden to consider. It wasn't hard to figure out. I expect your men all know as well, don't they?"

"Uncle Tanden?"

"Ah... maybe you don't remember. That's irrelevant. The point is, I knew."

Tannix sighed heavily. "Is it that obvious?"

Tandrin shook his head. "To people who know you well, maybe. To others, I doubt it. You inspire loyalty, Tannix. That's what people see."

"And you have no problem with this?"

"Quite honestly, I have bigger things to worry about," Tandrin echoed Tannix's earlier words. "But I don't care about who you choose to be with. If you say you love him, I believe you. If Finn feels the same way, then I support you entirely. It doesn't matter to me if you never marry a woman. The only problem I can see arising from this is the lack of an heir for West Draulin."

Tannix rubbed his face. "I know. But maybe one of your children, or Tairia's, could be the heir. It isn't unheard of."

I moved closer to his chair. Finally, with our relationship out in the open, I felt like I could touch him. But when I was close enough to take his hand, I hesitated. "Do you want children?"

"No, Finn." Tannix dropped his hand and looked at me. "Don't blame yourself for anything. I'd rather have you than children. This will all work out, somehow. Besides, there are bigger things to worry about. Right, Tandrin? I take it you want to write a report about everything that happened?"

"Yes. Can we finally get to it?"

Tannix nodded. "Finn can help. He spent more time with Prince Kalvahi than I did."

Tandrin dipped the tip of his quill into a little pot of black ink. "All right, Finn, tell me what you know. Anything you think might be useful."

"Well... Kalvahi seems to think the Natives will thank him for this," I said. "He doesn't realize that most of us would rather things stay like they are now, because we're used to Telts."

"He firmly believes it," Tannix agreed. "He's definitely the public face behind the attack. I don't think King Deorun's doing much of anything."

"Kassia's the dangerous one, though," I said. "Tandrin... your majesty?"

He shrugged. "Call me whatever you'd like, Finn. At this point you're practically part of the family."

"Oh... well, anyway. Kassia is the assassin from last year. Also, she..." I looked at Tannix. I didn't want to have to say what she had done.

"Killed father," Tannix said.

Tandrin's only reaction was a quick glance up. "Then I really hope we can get our hands on her." He continued writing, the quill flying across the page. "Carry on."

I sighed; it certainly was going to be a long meeting. Since there were no other chairs, I settled down on the wide armrest of Tannix's, and continued talking.