The Eighth Warden Bk. 05 Ch. 15-16

"I'm sorry," she said.

Vilisa shook her head. "Forget I said anything. It doesn't matter now." They'd reached Revana's quarters, and Vilisa gestured to the door. "The healer told me she's awake. You'd better go in before she falls asleep again. Don't cast a mage light. We keep the lights low because they hurt her eyes."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I'll see you again after, but she doesn't like talking to more than one person at a time anymore. She says it's too hard to concentrate."

Ellerie nodded, then took a deep breath and entered the suite. The two sentinels in the sitting room bowed to her.

"Exalted," one murmured.

"Alarein," she said, greeting him with a nod. He'd been part of her own personal guard before she'd left Terevas. She didn't recognize the other man. "I'm here to see my mother."

"Of course," Alarein said, standing aside to allow her through the door leading to the bedchamber.

She hesitated before going in. Should she say something more to him? Alarein had served her for years, but she'd never spent time befriending any of the sentinels. She already knew Corec's little band of soldiers better, despite the short time they'd been together.

She was here for another reason, though, and Alarein didn't seem to expect any more of a response. She'd have to speak to him again later.

She passed through the doorway into the darkened bed chamber, lit only by a few candles.

Revana looked small and frail in the center of the wide bed. Her cheeks were sunken in her face, and her hair was gray and stringy. For a brief moment Ellerie feared she'd arrived too late, but then her mother opened her eyes.

"So, you showed up after all," Revana said.

"Exalted Majesty," Ellerie said with a quick bow of her head. "Your spy said you requested my presence."

"Yes. I offer a bribe and you come crawling back." Revana's tone was as biting as ever.

Five years and nothing had changed. What had Ellerie expected? I will not become my mother, she said silently to herself. It had been her mantra before she'd left home.

"I didn't come here to beg," she said. "My friends killed the dragon, and we're reopening the old trade routes through the free lands. That costs money, but I'm here to make a deal, not ask for a handout."

Something that could almost be a smile flitted across Revana's face. "What sort of deal do you think would interest the kingdom of Terevas?"

"Terevas or the family," Ellerie said. "You choose which. If you give me the money to finish the work on the roads and keep them secure, any investment you make will be paid back with discounts for crossing the toll bridge. Sixty percent off the standard rate." She had to give her family a better deal than she'd given Duke Lorvis.

"Talk to your sister about the details," Revana said. "I find it difficult to think about numbers these days." She closed her eyes and leaned back on her pillow. "Send Melithar in on your way out."

Ellerie blinked. "That's it?" she asked. "You wanted me to come all the way here for that?"

"Can't a mother wish to see her daughter?"

Was she being sincere? Ellerie couldn't tell from the tone.

"If you say so," Ellerie said. "As for Melithar, or whatever his name is, he's still in the free lands. A friend of mine teleported me here. She can bring him too, if it's important, but he didn't want to leave his horse behind."

"Teleported?" That perked Revana's interest. "So that's how you got here so quickly. Tell Melithar he can buy a new horse. I need to hear what he's learned before I allow Vilisa to make any sort of deal." She leaned back on her pillow and closed her eyes.

Apparently the conversation was over.

Ellerie headed for the door, but before she reached it, her mother spoke again. "Thank you for coming." There was a tremor in her voice.

When Ellerie turned back, Revana was staring up at the ceiling, not meeting her eyes. That was as much affection as Revana would allow herself to show, but for her, it was a lot.

Not all of Ellerie's memories were bad. There had been good times, too, especially when she was younger. It was Revana who'd taught her to ride a horse, and Revana who'd provided her earliest lessons in wizardry. Despite everything, they were still family.

"I'm sorry about what's happened to you," Ellerie said. "And that I wasn't here to help. I know a good healer. Should I ask her to come?"

"I've seen the best healers in Terevas," Revana said. "I doubt your friend compares."

"Fine," Ellerie said. She hesitated, then spoke again. "I'm not here just because of the trade routes. I think Terevas should formalize relations with Corec Tarwen."

"The mercenary you've gotten yourself tangled up with? A bastard son from a minor house in Larso? What possible reason would we have to attempt any sort of diplomacy with him?"

Her mother was better informed than Ellerie had expected. Maybe Melithar wasn't the only spy she'd sent.

"He's not a mercenary. Now that the dragon is dead, he's claimed Matagor's old trade keep."

Her mother gave her an odd look. "So? If anyone else had actually wanted a dilapidated heap of rock in the middle of nowhere, they'd have done something about the dragon years ago. Even at its best, the keep was only there to watch over some farmland. The old Matagoran kings liked to write to me bragging about their plans for expanding into Meftil's territory, but they were always too scared of Larso to actually do it."

"It may not be much to look at, but it's in an important location," Ellerie said. "And the population of the free lands has recovered since the last plague." She had her own thoughts about what Corec's region might become under proper stewardship, though she suspected Corec preferred it the way it was. "That's not why I'm suggesting ties, though."

"Do tell."

"Have you ever heard of the wardens?"

"It's a word that can mean many things, none of them specific." But Revana had tensed just slightly. She knew.

"The wardens I'm talking about are an order of mages who can enhance other mages' power," Ellerie said. "There are only a few at any given time."

"An old legend," Revana said. "They don't exist."

"Corec is a warden," Ellerie said. "And I've met others. They work in secret so no one learns about them, but they wield a great deal of power."

Much of that power came from the connections and business dealings they built up over their long lives rather than from their magic, but Revana didn't need to know everything. Perhaps Corec's secret wasn't Ellerie's to tell, but while she didn't like her mother, she trusted her. A formal relationship with Terevas might help to protect their fledgling territory. It wouldn't stop Larso from invading, but it would certainly give Matagor pause.

"And what, exactly, do they do with that power?" Revana asked.

"That depends on the warden. Corec just wants to watch over his region in peace, but he could be a valuable ally. He commanded the battle against the dragon, and he and his friends helped me find Tir Yadar."

"One of the Ancients' cities? Is that what you were after all this time? Melithar told me you were searching for something. I don't really see what that has to do with this human being an ally."

Ellerie hid her sigh. "One of the mages he's bonded is a dorvasta druid who's offered to grow tershaya for us."

"The dorvasta already give us tershaya."

"I don't mean just a few scattered seedlings. I've seen Shavala grow dozens of full-sized trees in a matter of minutes."

Revana looked thoughtful for a moment, but then she shook her head. "And give people like Retavin di'Yedda what they want? He was the one who tried to assassinate us, you know. He's dead now, of course, but the tershaya have always been a false hope, held up by those who seek to gain power and influence by promising something that will never happen."

Ellerie had thought that suggestion would work. It seemed her mother hadn't gotten any easier to impress.

"That's your answer, then?" she asked. "Nothing I can offer is important enough for you to even recognize our holding?"

"I didn't say that. What's your interest in this human man? I'm certain you're not sharing his bed."

"I trust him, and I trust my other friends. The region we've claimed shows a lot of promise, and I think it would benefit Terevas to be first in line for any future trade deals. We're not ready for that yet, but someday we will be."

"I won't make any decisions until I've spoken with Melithar. I take it this means you're not planning to return home?"

"I don't want to do anything that would risk Vilisa's claim to the throne."

Revana nodded. "A convenient excuse, regardless of the actual reason." Her eyelids drifted closed.

"Why did you let me leave?" Ellerie asked. "I've been gone for five years, and Melithar is the only person you ever sent after me. You could have forced me to return if you'd actually wanted me back. Why didn't you?"

"Because you were right," Revana murmured, not bothering to open her eyes. "Vilisa will make a better queen than you ever would. You have neither the patience nor the temperament for the job."

It was one thing for Ellerie to know her own weaknesses, but another to have them laid bare by someone else. There was nothing she could say in response, but then her mother spoke again.

"Besides, I know the other reason you left," Revana said. "The queen must provide an heir, and no woman should be forced to raise children she never wanted in the first place. Take it from me."

Ellerie had to blink back tears. She'd suspected the truth, but her mother had never admitted it before.

"I am not you," Ellerie said. "I will not become you." She'd left Terevas because it was the only way to keep from turning into someone she hated.

If Revana heard, she gave no indication.