Chapter 43: A Rehearsed Speech

I was practicing walking in the Lord’s room. Yes, practicing walking. Ezkyrath had decided that would be a good place to start while we waited for a suitable candidate as my guard.

There had been some “offerings,” as Ezkyrath called them. One was the same species as that gross snake demon that had followed Iratheon. “Cyntheris,” Ezkyrath said they were called. But I denied it. It required an hour free every day, and I didn’t even know they could have days in a place without a sun.

There was also a gnathid and a behemoth. But neither would be able to teach me the sword. That was when we added bipedal to the contract. After that, we got a slime, then an imp that was better and more my height, which I thought would be good, but imps weren’t the best fighters, or so she said.

All the while, Olive was playing a hand of cards with Mira. Though I could hardly focus. I kept forgetting Olive’s cards as she lost herself staring out the window, watching the church.

I was learning how to walk.

A Lord’s walk.

Then the Caprigoyle parchment started to burn once again.

From the ashes, a shape began to assemble.

First, the chestplate, wide and imposing, blackened like volcanic glass and edged with worn silver. Then the limbs followed, heavy gauntlets and plated boots. A tall helmet sealed into place, shaped like a closed visor with no opening, no eyes, just shadow flickering faintly behind the slits.

The figure remained perfectly still, sword still sheathed. Its stance was balanced. Like it had been posed by a sculptor with military experience.

I knew before we even exchanged a word.

This was my knight.

Contract

Pact of Service

• Must be capable of protecting the Demon Lord Lucarion as his sworn shield.

  • Will provide the Demon Lord Lucarion with instruction in weapons.

  • Must be able to teach a sword.

  • Must be bipedal or capable of a bipedal form.

  • Will be loyal to the Demon Lord Lucarion.

Requirements

• Will not be forced to fight other Wroughtborn for entertainment or punishment.

  • Will not be dismissed without cause. The summon must be allowed to remain by the summoner’s side.

Signed, Lucarion, Demon Lord

Contract Owner: Lucarion

Contracted Species: Dullahan

Name: Raven

***

I ended up standing on a wooden stool in the middle of Mira’s living room with my arms held out to either side while she circled me with pins.

“Stop moving,” Mira said around a mouthful of thread.

“I’m not moving.”

I was definitely moving. The problem was, after holding a pose as myself and a stretch as Lucarion, I would get confused over which one of me was supposed to follow Raven’s lead. While Mira had decided to use me as a prop for her outfits, Lucarion was being taught stretches by Raven.

Raven had just said, “A swordman must know how to move his whole body.” and started teaching me stretches. Why a creature made of armor knew stretches, I wouldn’t know.

“You are absolutely moving,” she complained.

“You’re imagining it,” I lied, after a brief pause to ensure the correct me spoke.

Raven wasn’t the only one teaching me. Ezkyrath was having me learn greetings for the generals.

She spoke with the same voice as when I first met her, as if an entire chorus joined her. “Receive them as instruments of your will. Rank first. Name second. Then give them purpose.”

“General Magnavex. Your service is recognized. Report.”

Saying such a noble greeting while folded over myself was the most ridiculous I had ever felt.

Mira tugged the pale fabric tighter around my waist and pinned it in place. The dress was not really a dress yet. Not properly. It was loose panels and half-made seams, all folded and tucked around me while she decided where everything was supposed to go. A measuring cord hung around her neck, and a little stick of white chalk had left marks across the fabric like tiny scratches.

I glanced toward the window. From here, I could see the church steps. If the princess left, I would know. If she came this way, I would also know.

Mira jabbed a pin into the fabric near my side.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. Stop leaning over,” she mumbled before sighing. “There’ll be a commotion when the princess walks out. You don’t have to keep staring at the church.”

I straightened. “That’s not what I am doing,” I mumbled, cheeks turning red.

In the Lord’s room, Raven’s gauntlet pressed between my shoulders.

“General Iratheon enters,” Ezkyrath said. “You acknowledge him.”

I lifted Lucarion’s chin. “General Iratheon. Stand at ease and speak plainly.”

“Better,” she said.

The approval made Lucarion’s back stiffen.

Olive’s back stiffened too.

Mira made a triumphant little noise. “There. See? That posture. Keep doing that.”

“General Belgorath. I expect your report,” I repeated.

Mira crouched to check the hem, pulling the fabric down around my ankles. “Hold still. If you shift again, this side is going to be shorter, and everyone will think I don’t know how to measure.”

***

The church doors opened.

I almost stepped off the stool.

Mira grabbed my sleeve before I could move too far, her fingers pinching the fabric instead of my arm. “Don’t you dare. I have pins in this.”

I looked toward the window.

People were gathering in the square.

The sunlight fell across the church steps in bright white bands.

Princess Lirael stepped out first.

She stood one step above the gathered crowd. I could barely see her from here, but it was obviously her. Her white and gold clothes shone in the sun.

An old attendant stood a little behind her shoulder. He was the one who spoke first.

“Hear the words of Princess Lirael Marrowind Valsion of the kingdom of Calmanthe, daughter of King Vaeric Valsion.”

Princess Lirael moved forward.

It was a small thing, only one step, but the whole square seemed to shift with it.

Her knights were all behind her in a line, except for one. Even from this distance, I could tell it was the one who had confronted me. Even now, he was gazing over the crowd, searching for me, I bet.

I ducked lower without meaning to.

Mira followed my gaze. “What is happening there?”

“I don’t know. Get me out of this so we can listen.”

“Why? Our brothers can tell us what happened afterward.”

Because I can’t run in this.

But I couldn’t say that.

“What if it’s really important? We should be out there.”

Mira made a tiny frustrated sound through the thread in her mouth that sounded suspiciously like “princess.”

“People of Tillshade,” the princess said, her voice clear enough to carry across the square. “I come before you not with rumor, nor with distant concern, but with the truth owed to all. Our war with the demons is about to get another page in the history books. By the will of Lumisiel, and by the command of the Church, Solivara prepares for the final campaign.”

A ripple passed through the crowd. Someone near the well gasped. Someone else whispered a prayer.

I already knew the war was coming, but this declaration only reinforced the fact that I was not prepared.

Princess Lirael did not raise her voice. She did not need to.

“For generations, each age was shaped by those Lumisiel raised to answer it. The first Hero did not merely win battles. He founded Calmanthe. This kingdom. The kingdom that pushed back against the demons. Those who followed him reclaimed lands, restored cities, broke sieges, and changed the course of history with their courage.”

The way she talked sounded very rehearsed. She sounded very much like Lucarion now, repeating his greetings over and over again.

Her gaze moved over the gathered villagers, slow and deliberate.

“The next Godsworn will do the same.”

“They will not only fight. They will change what comes after. They will stand beside kings, saints, soldiers, scholars, and common folk alike. They will help decide what kind of world waits beyond victory.”

Will I be able to decide as well? Does that mean I can get the peace I want?

She let that settle before continuing.

“But no Godsworn changes history alone. The first Hero did not build Calmanthe with a sword in one hand and nothing in the other. He was supported by farmers who fed armies, smiths who armed them, healers who kept them breathing, scouts who crossed dangerous roads, and faithful servants whose names were never carved into stone.”

Her hands folded neatly before her.

Mira kept working on the dress, already ignoring the princess.

“So we must ask ourselves now, before victory is won, what kind of kingdom we mean to preserve. One that remembers only the highest names, or one that honors every loyal hand that helped hold back the dark. One that clings to old fears, or one brave enough to recognize courage wherever Lumisiel allows it to shine.”

A murmur passed through the crowd, quiet and uncertain.

Lirael continued as if she had expected it.

“This is a time of change. Such times frighten us because they ask us to look past what has always been and consider what must be. The next Godsworn will bring change. That is not a warning. It is a truth. The wise will not wait until that change arrives to decide where they stand.”

“And I intend to stand with those who would see Calmanthe made stronger, fairer, and more worthy of the light we claim to serve.”

For one impossible moment, it felt like she was not speaking to the whole village at all.

It felt like she was looking for people.

“The newly discovered dungeon cannot be ignored. Its appearance at such a moment is no small thing. It is a gift from Lumisiel at this opportune time, and I am certain it will be important for the coming war.”

Her hands folded neatly before her.

She looked across the square, and for one impossible second, it felt like her eyes found me.

“For those reasons, and many others, I will remain in Tillshade. Stand ready, people of Tillshade. The war is coming. The final campaign begins.”

She stopped her speech and simply turned and reentered the church, her knights following her.

At no time did she mention my possession. That probably meant I was safe.

But it would be best to find Emma and ask her if the clergy told the princess anything, just to make sure.

Both of me let out a simultaneous sigh.