12 – Cruel Irony

  When Victor stepped out of the tunnel into his ready room, he expected to see Kynna or someone from her retinue waiting for him. Instead, he felt his ears pop, and then, as though materializing out of the air itself, Grand Judicator Lohanse stood before him, arms crossed, a glower on his face. “We’ll speak for a moment. I’ve sealed this space outside of time.”

  “Outside of—”

  “The magic you employed wasn’t something an iron-ranker should be capable of. Tell me, Victor, are you somehow hiding your true nature? Are you a steel seeker or…more? Lie to me now, and you’ll face Ruhn’s entire Veil-Walker Council.”

  Victor glowered at the man, his Quinametzin pride bristling at the implied insult to his integrity. “I’m level eighty-two, as you no doubt can tell. The spell I cast was crafted by me against the System’s wishes. Don’t tell me I’m the first iron ranker to learn about elder magic.”

  “So.” Lohanse nodded, and his narrowed brows evened out. “Then you’ve truly been playing the game well to this point. I sensed something more about your ability to alter your size, but I’d assumed it to be a side-effect of your advanced titan bloodline. Are you hiding more secrets?”

  Victor folded his arms. “What kind of champion would I be if I went around revealing all my cards? I’ve already said more than I like, thanks to your threats. Is this how you display your impartiality—kidnapping me and demanding to know my secrets?”

  Lohanse bared his teeth, white and sharp; his jaw clenched as his eyes grew stormy. He stretched out his hands as though to grab Victor, but he stopped short of touching him. “You dare impugn my honor?”

  Victor lowered his arms to his sides, but he stood up even straighter if that were possible, his gaze unwavering from the veil walker’s. “I’m only showing you the same courtesy you gave me.” In the back of his mind, Victor wondered if this was it. Was he about to have an actual fight with a veil walker? Would he be able to stand up to his aura? Would his new Core Domain spell help in that regard? Would he be able to finish the fight before he burned through his Energy? Just using Core Domain was a drain, let alone trying to cast Velocity Mantle at the same time.

  To his relief, Lohanse’s glower began to relax and then turned the corner toward a reluctant smile. “Fair enough. You’re certainly in a different league than the iron rankers of Ruhn, and you’ve got a hell of a lot more backbone, to boot. I don’t envy you the crucible you must have come through to reach this point at such a young age. Listen, Victor, I’ll admit I’m beginning to root for you and your queen. I’ll give you a friendly warning: you aren’t the only monster in this world, though the others are steel seekers, and they’re watching and waiting, biding their time. Don’t think all your fights will go like the one you just had.”

  “Yeah, I fig—” Victor cut short his response when his ears popped, and Lohanse no longer stood before him. “Pinché, son of a—” Again, he cut off his words as the door opened, and Kynna stepped through. He smiled at her. “Your Majesty.”

  “Well done, Champion!” She smiled radiantly and stepped closer, her eyes drifting to his armored chest. “You kept my rose safe.”

  Victor carefully grabbed the delicate broach and tugged, disengaging its magical grip on his armor, then held it out to her. “Yeah.”

  Kynna came closer to take it, her fingertips lingering on his palm before pulling it away. “Thank you, Victor. I think it made a point to some of my rivals among the rulers of Ruhn. Many were in attendance today, far more than in your previous duels.”

  “Oh?” Victor arched an eyebrow. “Was that what you were hoping to accomplish by having me wear that?”

  Kynna looked away, her pale, gray-hued flesh darkening over her cheeks. “Of course. Nothing more than a display of your loyalty—your…devotion to my cause.”

  “I see.” Victor shrugged. He’d teased her enough, and, in honesty, he didn’t want to be too flirtatious with the queen.

  “I saw you didn’t claim a trophy from your foes. You weren’t interested in their weapons or armor?”

  Victor shook his head. “Let their children or loved ones have them.”

  “And—” Kynna looked at him, almost nervously, her eyes only meeting his for the briefest moment. “—their hearts?”

  Again, Victor’s chin moved side to side. “Unworthy.” He didn’t want to elaborate, but he wasn’t lying. He didn’t fully understand the ritual that allowed his titan blood to take something from his conquered foes, but he knew his gut told him nothing much would be gained from those two hearts, and he’d grown heedful of such feelings. Besides, even the suspicion that those men’s hearts wouldn’t grant him a benefit made the thought of eating them unpalatable. His Quinametzin pride wouldn’t stoop to it.

  “Well, then. I’ll have to be sure to award you something worthwhile for your efforts. You’ve advanced the status of our nation a great deal today.” She glanced at the door. “Shall we return? I believe it’s time for me to move my operations back to Iron Mountain, and that will take some preparation.”

  Victor nodded, wishing he had a storage container that could contain his armor. With a bit of experimenting, he’d learned that the container he kept Lifedrinker in was at its limit. It could hold his crown and smaller artifacts without the axe but couldn’t manage the aegis, even when empty. As he pulled the door open for the queen, he voiced an idea his thoughts had provoked. “You know, if you were looking for ideas, a high-quality storage ring—something that could contain this armor—would be a worthy reward.”

  “Oh?” As they stood in the doorway, Kynna’s Queensguards just a few feet away, she reached out to rest a palm on Victor’s aegis. He thought he saw a shudder run through her, but she nodded. “I’ll look into it, Victor. I fear it will take the craftsmanship of a great master—someone well beyond their iron ranks.”

  “If it’s too much, don’t—”

  “No.” Kynna moved her hand up, her fingertips lightly brushing his jawline. “Don’t undervalue yourself, Victor. If this is something you desire, then I will move mountains to find it.”

  Victor decided not to argue. Thanks to him, Gloria was the most powerful nation on the continent; she could dig into the treasury, and if she had to shop off-world, he should let her. At least, that’s what he told himself as he nodded, and she let her fingers slide away, tickling his recently shaved flesh. “It’s settled, then. I’ll see you at Iron Mountain in a few days.” She walked away with her guards with a parting smile that was almost coy as she averted her gaze.

  Victor watched her go until she’d rounded the corner, then, with a heavy sigh, followed slowly behind; he preferred she be gone before he reached the teleportation chamber. “You’re getting yourself into trouble, pendejo.” As he spoke, he rounded the corner and came face to face with Tes and Bryn, who were walking briskly toward him.

  “We thought we might have missed you!” Bryn said by way of greeting. “That was incredible, Victor!”

  Tes was less flattering. “I hope you don’t expect the champions of the great houses to—”

  Victor waved his hand. “I know, I know.” He chuckled at Tes’s frown, then added, “Hello to you, too, ladies.” He fielded their questions, mainly deflecting or shrugging off concerns, as they walked to the teleportation chamber and then through the portal to Iron Mountain.

  “Any orders for me today, Victor?” Bryn asked. He’d given her permission to be informal, even with Tes present.

  “Nothing special. I’m going to get changed, then spend some time with Trobban. I think he’s getting close to finishing his project. Why? Did you have something you wanted to do?”

  Bryn sighed, nodding while she rolled her eyes. “Feist is getting married and has asked that I attend.”

  “Feist is getting married?” Victor stopped in his tracks and turned to stare at her. “Why didn’t anyone say something? I should at least get him a gift!”

  “Well, it’s a rather sudden arrangement,” Bryn chuckled, clicking her tongue. “He’s going to be a father soon.”

  Victor couldn’t stop himself from barking out a laugh. “Seriously? Well, dammit, where’s the wedding?”

  “At the bride’s parents’ home down in the city. He and his lady-love didn’t want a big affair, Victor.”

  Tes grabbed his arm, getting his attention, and Victor looked at her. “You should pay for the food and refreshments.”

  “Yeah!” Victor nodded, looking at Bryn. “Tell his folks I’ll cover all the expenses. I hope you’re giving him some time off from his duties?”

  “Yes, of course. He and his brothers are building an addition to Treya’s parents’ home—rooms for them and their child.”

  “Treya’s her name, huh? Well, pass on my congratulations and, like I said, make sure they don’t worry about expenses.” With a final nod, he clapped her on the shoulder. “Have fun.”

  Bryn smiled and curtseyed, looking up at him cheekily. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

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  “And, Bryn,” Victor said before she could turn away, “let me know when the kid’s about to be born. I’ll come up with a birthday present.”

  “I will do so!” This time, she saluted, and it looked like she meant it as she spun on her heel and strode down the hallway, her heels ringing out on the marble floor.

  “That was nice of you. You haven’t known Feist all that long, have you?”

  “Nah, but he’s a good guy. Kind of hilarious, really.” He started walking toward his tower. “Come on, let me go get out of this stuff.”

  “How did you find it? I saw you moved quite easily with Velocity Mantle—the armor didn’t affect you.”

  “Yeah.” Victor reached up and touched the dense, heavy crown on his head. He could almost imagine he wasn’t wearing it. “It feels great.”

  “Why’d you choose that tactic, do you think? Was it because the queen taunted you?”

  Victor thought about it as they walked, and when they passed through the hallway leading to his tower, he shook his head, frowning. “No.” He pushed the button to summon his elevator. “Well, maybe partially—I was trying to make a point. I also didn’t want to torture those two guys. I figured the quicker I put an end to things, the better.”

  When the elevator arrived, its gilded metal doors noiselessly sliding open, Tes stepped inside ahead of him. “I thought so. You didn’t enjoy that battle, did you?”

  Victor narrowed his eyes at her as the elevator glided smoothly upward, its Energy-driven mechanisms utterly silent. “What are you getting at?”

  “Well, I remember you reveling in your battles back on Coloss. Today, you nearly left the arena without acknowledging the crowd’s cheers. Even the Energy from your foes didn’t lift your mood?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Victor leaned a shoulder on the gold-inlaid black paneling beside the door. He’d almost forgotten that this was the first time Tes had seen him fight since she’d arrived on Ruhn. It was true about the Energy, too. It hadn’t felt like much—not after his battles in the Crucible of Fire. “I didn’t like it at all, really. Hopefully, the next—”

  Tes darted forward and thumped her fist on his breastplate. “Don’t do that!”

  “What?” Victor’s voice rose with indignation.

  “Wish for a ‘challenge’ or whatever you were about to say. You should take your victories where they come and not tempt fate by complaining that they’re too easy!”

  “C’mon, Tes. You know I can’t be happy about beating the shit out of some poor pendejos who weren’t even close to being ready for me.”

  Her blonde eyebrows narrowed, and her mouth opened and closed several times as she considered her words. Finally, she snorted and offered a quick nod just as the doors opened. “Fine. You wouldn’t be you otherwise, I suppose. Still, I can feel the storm coming. As I’ve told you several times, I visited some of those ‘great houses’ before I came here to Iron Mountain. There are some dangerous men and women from other worlds serving as champions.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Victor led the way into his chambers, closing the door. “Can you give us some real privacy?”

  Tes nodded, and Victor’s ears popped as the air grew still around them. “What is it?”

  “Did you know Lohanse confronted me after the fight?”

  Tes’s eyebrows shot up. “The veil walker?”

  “Yeah. He was suspicious after I used elder magic. I think he thought maybe I was a steel seeker or even a veil walker in disguise. Is that possible?”

  “Of course! Given the right preparations and rituals, it’s quite possible for a person to sequester some of their potency. A close examination, though, by someone with the right set of abilities would bring forth the truth.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know if Lohanse could spot that kind of thing, but I had the feeling he could tell if I was lying. He asked me some…blunt questions. He also admitted to me that he was kind of rooting for me. He said there were some monsters fighting for the great houses.”

  Tes sighed and shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t already been telling you. I just said as much!”

  Victor grinned crookedly. “Yeah, but it hit different coming from him. I thought maybe you were just being overprotective.”

  Tes lifted one of her small, human-shaped fists and glowered at him. “I ought to give you a thrashing for that.”

  “Now, we’re talking.” Victor took hold of the bottom edge of his aegis on either side and pulled, signaling to the armor that he was ready to take it off. It split down its invisible seam along his back, and he pulled it off, grunting as it grew heavier in his hands.

  “If I decide to knock some of that impudence out of you, I promise you won’t find it enjoyable!” Tes sounded angry, but Victor could see in her eyes that she was having fun, so he just shrugged and carried the armor over to an empty spot near the wall, carefully setting it down so he didn’t destroy the floor. “Well,” she said, abruptly changing the subject, “what about your other visitor?”

  “Who says I had another—”

  “Don’t be coy. Kynna and her Queensguards walked past Bryn and me before we ran into you.” She pointed to his armor. “I notice your little rose is gone.”

  Victor grinned, tugging his gauntlets off. “Yeah, I gave it back to her. She was glad I didn’t get it smashed. Why?”

  Tes was wearing a dress, as usual, but this one was simpler, with less frill and a plain ivory color instead of her typical pastels. He supposed it was more suitable for attending a duel—more reserved or something like that. She folded her arms over her chest, her wide, bell sleeves hanging from her wrists. “Be careful of that woman, Victor.”

  Her words caught him a little off guard, and he looked up from tugging his boots off. “Huh? You think she’s going to betray—”

  “No, not that. I think she’s set her sights on you romantically. I can’t tell if she wants to conquer you, love you, or maybe just have a child with your bloodline.”

  Victor snorted, shaking his head as he set his boots beside his gauntlets and aegis. He summoned a pair of much lighter, less imposing boots and stuffed his feet into them as he replied, “Tes, I know an easy way to keep her at bay. All I need is someone else who might—”

  “Victor! Be serious!”

  Victor had been teasing, but now he felt some genuine frustration as he straightened up, adjusting his shirt where it had pulled free of his trousers. He couldn’t stop a bit of emotion entering his voice as he said, “I am being serious, dammit!”

  Tes’s expression softened, and she came to stand before him, pressing her palm against his chest, over his heart. “I know. I’m sorry about how I sounded. I do take you seriously, Victor. So seriously that it hurts. Wouldn’t it be easier if I could just dismiss your affections and tell you I don’t feel the same? I feel something, though, but that just makes things harder.”

  “Why, though, Tes? Why is it so damn complicated?”

  “Many reasons, as you well know! I’m older than you—a lot! I’m more powerful than you, too, though that gulf is narrowing by the day.” She chuckled, shaking her head and sending her carefully curled hair bouncing around her ears. “Still, where I come from, and in most worlds where Energy users live for thousands of years, such a disparity in age and power is seen as problematic. Again, though, things aren’t clear. My species matures differently than yours. I’m considered a young adult among my people, much as you would be among yours. And, as for power, I feel some patience would mitigate that objection. Me being here, helping you, guiding you, teaching you before you reach your potential, though—how can I argue that you truly have the freedom to choose to be with me?”

  Victor growled and moved away from her, looking toward the balcony windows for want of something to focus on. “I don’t give a shit about that stuff.”

  Tes sighed. “Push your emotions down a little, Victor. Your rage is seeping into your pathways, and you’re not being rational. Put yourself in my position; I have mentors and colleagues of my own. Shall I drop everything to run away with my young lover?”

  Victor didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked inward, watching his roiling Core and the threads of rage, fear, and even glory seeping out into his pathways. He was being emotional, but goddamn it, that was who he was! Rather than rein in his emotions, he let them flow and turned to face her. With a thick, almost hoarse voice, he said, “I don’t know, Tes. I’m a passionate person, and I’d throw away a lot for love.”

  “You are passionate. I know. I love that about you!” Moisture gathered in her eyes, and she darted forward, grabbing him around the waist and hugging herself to him. “Don’t change that. I’m sorry I suggested it.”

  Her affection and apparent willingness to bend hit Victor harder than any logical argument would have. He hugged her tightly and gathered his thoughts over several long seconds and a few deep breaths. “Look, Tes. I’m not trying to screw up your life. I get it. You’ve got your own goals, and you’ve built relationships with people and organizations like your, um, Celestial Envoys. If hanging around me while I’m so far beneath you is problematic, maybe you shouldn’t. Give me some more time to build up my strength—to, uh, reach my potential.”

  She pushed him back, her hands gripping his biceps as she looked up into his eyes. “Truly? Victor, I think I would… I’d give up much to be with you. I’d face the judgment of my peers. If we fled somewhere and let enough time pass—"

  “Nah, come on, Tes. I’d never feel right knowing you did that. It means a hell of a lot that you said you would, though.” He grinned crookedly, reaching up to gently cup the side of her head while he wiped away a tear with his thumb. “Dragons cry, huh?”

  She sniffed. “Is this the first time you’ve seen me cry?”

  “Yeah, I think so. How about kissing? Do dragons do that?” Victor leaned closer to her, and when she didn’t pull away but rather continued to stare into his eyes, his heart began to race, and he felt adrenaline like he was about to fight for his life. Gently and with no intention of taking it further, he pressed his lips to hers. When she kissed him back, he felt like his heart would burst. He heard a roaring in his ears, and he swore the world began to tilt sideways. Tes tightened her grip on his arms, though, and he grounded himself in that touch, savoring the warm softness of her lips for a second before pulling back with the stupidest grin he’d ever worn.

  “We do,” she said, breathily.

  “Shit, Tes. What are we going to do?” Victor was still reeling from the wave of emotion he hadn’t expected. Had he built her up so much in his mind that a simple kiss could floor him like that?

  “I think you were right. I think I should give you some time. Prove yourself here. Conquer this world. Become a steel seeker. Gather your power and develop an aura that will silence critics. If it takes you a year or a hundred, I’ll—”

  “No, fuck that, Tes! I’m not going to let you slip away for years and years! Give me a way to contact you. Can we share a Farscribe book, at least?”

  Tes smiled. “I can do better than that. I’ll make us a pair of dream crystals; we can meet on the plane of dreams.”

  Victor grinned. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. It won’t take me long—a few hours. Go and see your artisan friend and check in on that poor disembodied Death Caster.”

  “So,” Victor growled softly, reaching up to viciously scrub the side of his head, dragging his nails through his hair.

  “What, Victor?”

  “I kind of wish I’d just let things lie. Why’d I have to get all riled up and…” Unable to finish the thought, he jammed his hand into his palm, driving it in until his knuckles popped. “And now you’re leaving.”

  “Hush. You did the right thing. Besides, I’m the one who brought up Kynna’s affections. We had to confront this. You need the freedom to become who you are meant to be.”

  Her words triggered memories of Valla and her reasons for parting with him. He groaned, unable to fight down the feelings those memories evoked. Was he cursed? Was every woman he met going to say it wasn’t the right time? Valla wanted to grow beyond his shadow, and now Tes wanted him to grow beyond hers. What twist of fate had brought about this cruel irony? He almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Couldn’t two people who liked each other just be together?

  Tes sniffed, grabbing his wrist. “Are you well?”

  Victor realized he was grimacing again. He wanted to say that he wasn’t, but he didn’t. Hadn’t he just told Tes he didn’t want to mess up her life? If he needed to get stronger to stand beside her among her peers, then that’s what he’d goddamn do. “I’m good.” He forced a smile and nodded. “I’ll go see Trobban and Arona later, though. If you’re leaving soon, then I’ll hang out while you work on the dream crystals.”

  Her smile was gentle as she nodded. “That would be nice, Victor. We can chat while I work.” She nodded toward the table. “How about some wine?”

  “Yeah. One of mine, or—”

  “I have something I’ve been saving. It’s from a vineyard on my uncle's lands on Aradnue.” She tugged his wrist. “Come. I have advice for your upcoming duels. Imagine how guilty I’ll feel if you die after I leave?”