Rae stifled a yawn. She opened her eyes wide, urging the lids to stay up. The dark elf standing at attention in front of her throne paused mid-sentence, caught by the strangeness of her expression. He recovered quickly enough. The inane recital resumed.

Carmen's amusement seeped through their bond. He was seated at Rae's right, as befitting his station. The seat to Rae's left was empty. Rae tried not to glare at it too openly. Xiang Yi was usually the one to preside over meetings with the Dökkálfar clans. Rae was reminded why as she listened to the Dökkálfar envoy list the Sixth Kingdom's monthly exports by province and kind. He had been on the task for well over an hour.

The man paused for breath. Rae spoke up before he could continue.

"Thank you, Master Quozor, for a most detailed report."

Quozor's expression did not shift from its stony set. "Your Highness, there are two mines not yet addressed."

"I have heard enough to surmise your intent. How many workers do you require?"

There was a pause. Rae's eyes narrowed, and she swept her gaze over the entirety of the Dökkálfar party. Three men, two women, all in light armor and leathers. They were stranded at the center of the Court, surrounded by a vast expanse of gleaming floors. The stone walls rose as high as the tallest point of the castle. Far above, a crystal ceiling reflected all within in shades of black.

"Two hundred men," Quozor said at last.

"A sizeable shortage," Rae noted. "I would know the cause."

Rae perceived the sudden tension in Quozor's body. Carmen's mind was quiet and focused beside her. She would ask for his observations when the charade was through. Carmen's eyes often caught things Rae's missed.

Quozor shifted in place. He widened his stance, as if bracing to shoulder some great weight. The men and women behind him were perfectly still.

"A portion of our workforce was decreed to tasks of greater importance to the state," the elf said.

"What tasks are of more import than strengthening the kingdom's economy?" Rae asked.

Quozor's eyes rose to Rae's for the first time since the man had stepped into the High Court. "Contributing to its defense," he said.

Carmen stiffened. Rae kept her expression calm with some effort. She needed to tread carefully. Her eyes passed over Quozor, taking in his companions. Not soldiers, Carmen told her. Not statesmen, either.

"What is your craft, Master Quozor?" Rae asked.

Quozor's expression slackened with minute surprise. "I am a bladesmith, Your Highness."

"A difficult trade, in a Kingdom that has been at peace for over a century," Rae noted.

"Weapons are always in demand." Quozor hesitated. The pause would be unnoticeable on another man, but the stilted silence fit poorly with the dark elf's precise manner of speaking. "Moreso recently," Quozor finished. His thin lips pressed shut, signaling the extent of his willingness to share.

He had already said enough.

Rae kept her voice steady and detached. "In terms of the workers you require."

"I would like to rescind my request," Quozor said.

Rae nodded, expecting as much. "Are there any other matters you wish to discuss with the Court?"

"No, Your Highness," Quozor said.

"Very well. You will be escorted to your lodgings. You may remain as long as you need," Rae told him.

"Thank you, Your Highness. We shall keep to our schedule and depart within three days." Quozor bowed low; lower, Rae noted, than he had at the beginning of their meeting. His companions followed his lead.

Rae waited until the Court's doors closed behind the elf party. She slashed her hand up through the air. Black energy crackled around her fingers.

The room dimmed. The shadows that had covered the high ceiling spilled down the walls and floor, veiling all in thin darkness. No sound could penetrate them, the Court locked against outside eyes and ears.

"They are preparing for war," Rae snarled.

Carmen said nothing.

Rae rose. The forced stillness of the past few hours and her rising ire left her restless, and she set on pacing, steps echoing dully in the cavernous room.

"There have been no requests for aid, military or otherwise. No troubling reports of any kind. I shared a table with Mekur a moon ago, for fuck's sake. The bastard spent the evening pestering me about Crow's compost recipe!"

Carmen raised a brow. "The King of the Sixth Kingdom has taken up gardening?"

"Never mind, that!" Rae turned on her heel and marched back toward the twin thrones. "Two hundred men," she seethed.

"Two hundred workers. Decreed away from their jobs, and by all appearances none too happy with it," Carmen reminded.

Rae shook her head. "The Dökkálfar is a warrior race. These aren't ordinary citizens, Carmen. Mekur has made himself a new army, in direct violation of half a dozen treaties. If word of this spreads, he will get a war whether he wants one or not."

Carmen was silent. Rae attempted to reign in her temper and so as not to have her ill thoughts spill over through their bond. There was no need to burden her mate with her anger.

"These cannot be Mekur's usual envoys," she said. King Mekur was kinder than his predecessor, but he still held tradition in high regard. The proud elf would not send a motley crew of craftsmen to represent his interests.

"I do not believe so," Carmen agreed, then reminded, "Xiang Yi would be able to tell us with certainty."

Rae commanded a Shadow-guard into being. The air before her shifted, condensing into a black mass with a vaguely humanoid form. "I require Advisor Xiang's presence. Inform him of why I seek him."

The Shadow-guard melted apart into wisps of smoke. Rae turned to Carmen next, and found worry naked on his face. She wished that she could tell him it was for naught.

"They came to warn you," Carmen said.

Rae pressed her lips over a helpless smile. Carmen would worry about the men first and disregard the danger of the crown behind them - it was the man's nature to be kind.

"Without their King's knowledge, in the most oblique way they could find," she agreed.

Quozor and his companions had shown great bravery in coming to her. Rae trusted that her offer of protection was properly understood. She would shield the elves against Mekur's anger, if such was to be incurred.

"Quozor doesn't seem to fear retribution," Carmen said.

"Perhaps he is beyond fear," Rae said. "Or perhaps he fears something else more."

Rae called six more Shadow-guards. They flitted away one by one, setting off for administrative offices further inside the First Kingdom. She would need to verify Quozor's report before approaching Mekur, and meant to gather as much information as possible about arm dealing in the realm in the meantime. If the Sixth Kingdom was not alone in boosting its military might, they might be having a real issue on their hands very soon.

The air crackled. The shadows covering the walls whined, bowing inward over the High Court's doors. Rae flicked her hand, this time in a horizontal line. The shadows lifted as one.

The doors swung open, admitting a red-cheeked Xiang Yi and a smug Gabriel inside. Rae narrowed her eyes at the both of them.

"I sent you to care for him," she told her advisor. "Not to f-"

"You called for me, Your Highness?" Xiang Yi interrupted, voice cold as ice. Gabriel laughed quietly at his side.

Rae's lips twitched up. Gabriel still looked weak and much too pale, but was no longer fit to stand in for a scarecrow. She had not seen Xiang Yi that at ease since...

Since Gabriel's last visit. Judging by how the demon had returned - bonded, and to a human, at that - Xiang Yi's happiness was unlikely to last.

Rae's mood soured. "Xiang Yi. Retrieve reports submitted by the Sixth Kingdom for the last three years from the archives and return to me."

Xiang Yi's eyes turned sharp and focused. "Right away."

"Gabriel, you will go with him," Rae added. Mari would keep the demon out of trouble until Rae could find the time and words necessary for what she needed to do.

Gabriel frowned. He shook his head when Xiang Yi reached for his arm, stepping forward to address Rae instead. "I need to speak with you."

"Later," Rae said.

"It is of utmost importance," The demon insisted. "There is something happening in Samodevia -"

Rae interrupted. "The lands Above are not my concern."

"They will be your concern if the seals break and the gate between the worlds opens!" Gabriel snapped.

Rae reminded herself that Gabriel was injured and that she was unlikely to feel better if she punched the man. Well, not significantly better, at any rate.

"I am well aware of Samodevia's importance. I am also certain that you are not looking to talk to me about mortal politics. We will speak soon. Until then, please focus on healing." Rae motioned to Xiang Yi. "If you would please."

Gabriel glared. Rae ignored him, long practiced in dismissing unreasonable nobles from her attention. The crackle of Xiang Yi's teleportation spell was very much welcomed nonetheless.

"The stars are silent," Carmen said.

Rae groaned. "Not you, too!"

"There might be something to it, Rae," Carmen insisted.

"Samodevia has seen war before," Rae said.

"Yes," Carmen said quietly. "And it almost ended us all."

Rae sighed, admitting the point. "One disaster at a time. We deal with the elves first, then we shift our attention to the humans."

Carmen hummed in agreement.

Rae raised her head, staring sightlessly at the ceiling above them. Laughter bubbled up her throat suddenly, spilling too-loud in the hollow silence.

"My father would curse me a failure. Diplomacy is for the weak."

Carmen did not laugh. He moved to Rae and took her into his arms, his face serious, his eyes sad.

"Your father thought the world against him. That hardly makes for a good ruler."

Rae's laughter was softer this time, weighted by a bone-deep exhaustion. "They called him mad," she said. "In the end, he truly was. To think a miserly human could drive him to his grave, when armies of thousands barely stirred his heart."

She looked at Carmen, and could no longer hold back her fear. "Do you think it will happen to Gabriel, as well? Will I damn him to madness if I do not let him pursue his soul into death?"

Carmen's embrace grew tighter. "You cannot make Gabriel's choice for him."

"I can, dear heart," Rae said softly.

Carmen's hold weakened in his surprise. Rae broke it gently, then raised a hand to cup her lover's cheek. Carmen watched her with eyes like fallen stars.

"As his Queen, I can, and since I can, I must." Rae said. "This is the terrible power that I yield. Do you understand now?"

Carmen's expression grew distressed. Rae smoothed the furrow of his brows with her fingers; a thread of her magic threaded through the man's mind, soothing his unruly thoughts with the ease of practice.

Carmen shook his head. "I do not," he confessed. His eyes were dazed, like a man talking in his sleep.

Rae smiled sadly. "You will," she said. Of that, she had no doubt.

Like her father, she will one day receive her just deserts.

***

Xiang Yi and Gabriel made their way through a brightly-lit corridor. The library was located deep within the castle, protected from outsiders by a warded maze of narrow hallways that changed constantly. Gabriel had never ventured inside the confusing array of stone and magic alone. He followed Xiang Yi's lead and thought nothing of the still air and identical scenery.

"She means to keep me here," the demon brooded.

"You do not know that," Xiang Yi said.

"She is avoiding the issue," Gabriel said, his upset clear in his voice.

Xiang Yi was not amused. "An entire realm demands her attention, Gabriel."

The tension in the advisor's voice had Gabriel swallowing back his indignant words. He knew that he had no right to complain of this to Xiang Yi. The demon turned his attention to their surroundings, seeking a distraction from his increasingly turbulent thoughts.

The shadows moving along the walls did not belong to Xiang Yi and Gabriel alone.

Gabriel slowed his steps. Xiang Yi took note of Gabriel's sudden change in mood and followed his gaze to a man-shaped shadow hiding within the stone wall. It shivered as they watched, oozing down the wall to slip through the floor.

"Are you alright?" Xiang Yi asked softly.

Gabriel nodded, but did not meet the advisor's eyes.

Xiang Yi set forward. After a moment, Gabriel followed.

They walked in silence a while longer. Suddenly, the hallway they followed shortened drastically. The world brightened, reality no longer twisted by protective charms. They had crossed over a barrier and were soon to reach the library itself. Gabriel was somewhat concerned he had not felt it happen. The reminder of his current weakness did not sit well with the demon.

The hallway opened to a circular antechamber. Walls the color of old parchment arched up to a vaulted ceiling. Ink stained their length, shaping an ever-changing landscape painted with wide brushstrokes. Gabriel turned in a slow circle.

"The story was different last time," the demon said.

"It changes frequently. I am not certain how Mari does it, or if it has to do with her at all," Xiang Yi replied, similarly caught by the tale moving along the walls.

The story spun around them both. A man and a woman came together and were torn apart, doomed to never meet again. Gabriel recognized it at last, and stiffened.

"The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl," Xiang Yi said.

Gabriel set his eyes on the tall iron gates that protruded from the farthest wall. "Do you suppose she'll open the door for us?"

"I come with orders. She wouldn't dare turn us away," Xiang Yi said, and strode forward.

Twin iron hoops served as handles, each one as large as Xiang Yi's head and twice as heavy. Xiang Yi pulled at one with all his might.

The metal creaked. The door did not budge.

"So much for your orders," Gabriel drawled.

Xiang Yi threw a glare over his shoulder, then transferred his ire to the locked doors. He raised his hand in preparation to pound against the metal until he was let in or broke through, whichever came first.

The door swung outward. Xiang Yi fell back, narrowly avoiding a broken nose.

The dark elf standing in the doorway paused mid-step. Black eyes sweep from Xiang Yi to Gabriel. His expression had gone severe with his surprise, but mellowed quickly.

"Well met, Master Sonn," Xiang Yi greeted.

Sonn grinned. His face lost its hard edge, leaving the man looking almost boyish with easy happiness. "Advisor Xiang. Lord Todd. Well met, indeed."

"Are you here in official or personal capacity?" Xiang Yi asked.

"A little of both," Sonn said vaguely. "Speaking of, I am afraid I am running rather late for the official part of the trip."

"We wouldn't wish to hold you," Xiang Yi agreed.

Xiang Yi and Sonn exchanged polite goodbyes. The dark elf clapped a friendly hand against Gabriel's shoulder as he passed him by. Gabriel managed not to startle too visibly at the familiar gesture; they had never been close, barely passing as acquaintances. He stared after the man. The glint of Sonn' silver hair faded away with a shimmer as he crossed over the barrier. Not too long later, the elf disappeared from view entirely.

Xiang Yi cleared his throat. He held the door open for Gabriel without a hint of irony. "After you."

"Thank you, darling," Gabriel grinned, robes puffing gently as he strode inside. Xiang Yi followed him silently.

The library was structured in several levels. The ground floor was a neat, crescent enclosure that would serve as a reception had there been a demand for such a thing. Books and records of importance were stored in the levels above. A single staircase led up to them. It sat behind a large desk piled high with papers and books.

"Mari?" Xiang Yi called out.

One of the piles on the desk shifted. A bespectacled eye peeked out from the resulting gap.

"You!" The desk shuddered. The woman that emerged from behind the clutter was small in stature, barely coming up to either of the men's shoulders. She stabbed a manicured finger Gabriel's way. "You are banned from the library, mister!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "That was twenty years ago. Surely, you are not still holding a grudge."

"Still?" Mari hollered. "I'll remember it forever! Murderer! Defiler of the written word!"

"Mari, we are here on an errand for Rae," Xiang Yi said, trying to bring the conversation back to pragmatic matters before it could divulge into a screaming match. It often did, when Mari and Gabriel were in the same room.

Mari snorted. "You are. He is staying right where he is." The demoness crossed her arms. The frilly sleeves of her dress puffed out, like a stubborn child's cheeks.

Xiang Yi threw Gabriel a worried look. Gabriel waved him off.

"I'll be fine. Go find what Rae needs," the demon said.

Xiang Yi hesitated a moment longer. He turned on Mari with sudden intensity. "Gabriel is injured," he said, each word heavy with threat.

Gabriel barely held in an embarrassed hiss. He might be hurt, but he hardly needed to be coddled.

Mari, damn her, looked at him and grinned. "No worries, little snake. I won't harm your lover."

Xiang Yi stiffened. Mari's gleeful expression slipped away, and she looked almost chagrined. News of his journey and its unexpected outcome must have made the rounds, then.

Xiang Yi climbed the stairs to the first level, then the second. He soon disappeared from view.

"I see your manners have not improved," Gabriel growled.

"I am not the one who fucked him over," Mari snapped back.

Flames twisted over Gabriel's hands, brought upon by a burst of uncontrollable anger. They disappeared quickly enough. Mari pretended not to have noticed, despite her previous screeching about keeping Gabriel away from her precious books. It was as close to an apology as the demoness was likely to give.

Gabriel did not want her apology. He simply hated that she was right.

"Perhaps it is for the best," Mari sighed.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying?" he asked.

"I am not implying anything; I am saying it outright. You could not care for him without your soul. Now that you have found it, your heart belongs to another and so Xiang Yi cannot care for you. Dragons are possessive creatures." Mari shrugged her thin shoulders. "There is some tragic beauty in it, from a literary perspective."

"I cared for Ah-Yi! I always have!" Gabriel insisted.

Mari snorted. "Him, and how many others?"

Gabriel ground his teeth, cheeks warm. Mari rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to ignore the demon in favor of her book.

"Face it, Lord Todd - your love was cheap, and so were your intentions. Do not play the wronged party now."

The rebellious light in Gabriel's eyes gradually dimmed. His thoughts took him down twisted roads. By the time Xiang Yi returned, Gabriel was sporting quite the headache in addition to the pains in the rest of his body.

"We shall be leaving," the advisor announced. He gave Gabriel a not-so-subtle once-over, possibly looking for missing bits. Satisfied that Mari had not maimed him, Xiang Yi saluted their host. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You are always welcome, little snake," Mari waved him off, not raising her head from her book. Her hand paused when it passed in Gabriel's direction. "Do keep my words in mind," she said.

"What did Mari tell you?" Xiang Yi asked once they were well away from the library.

Gabriel shook his head absentmindedly. Xiang Yi's concern only made him feel guiltier, and he avoided the other man's inquisitive gaze.

"Well, do not pay her a lot of mind," Xiang Yi said. "She still bears a grudge over that book you destroyed. It was a gift from Sonn, you understand. It fell through from the worlds above into one of the Sixth Kingdom's mines, apparently."

"The thing looked like kindling," Gabriel muttered, his defense well-worn after years of repetition. "What worth could it possibly hold?"

"It was not the book she valued," Xiang Yi reminded.

Gabriel glanced at the man. Xiang Yi's gentle profile, his thin lips hooked in a smile, struck him as impossibly dear.

How terrible, to have to say goodbye now that he could finally love the man as Xiang Yi deserved.