Drake considered this new bombshell in detail for a moment. A long moment. He was really glad he’d sat down. That had been a good suggestion from Lady Skybreak.
Finally, he looked to Sky. “This can’t be about what went down at Fort Graystone. The cabal notice went out before that. Maybe it involves our tithe deal over Rodney?”
Sky’s eyes met his at last. She shrugged. She still looked more than a bit uncomfortable.
“Is there something else?” Drake asked.
“No,” Sky said calmly. “Whatever ambush they have planned for tomorrow, we will weather it as a team. New alliances are first on the agenda at a cabal, so we’ll get that out of the way before any other obstacles present themselves.”
“So why do you look like you’re about to break that chair in half?”
“I’d prefer not to discuss it.” Sky straightened. “Now, do you have any idea why five manor lords would all agree to call a cabal to discuss you?”
“I’d prefer not to discuss it” must be this world’s version of “It’s nothing.” Made sense, since people couldn’t lie here. Another weird fact to worry about later.
As to why the other manor lords would call a cabal about him, Drake had several terrible ideas, including that Westin had somehow not believed he was Lord Gloomwood when he arrived in this world. It was also possible word had somehow gotten back to Lord Redbow that Drake lied about staying in Captain Ro’s camp and then left, or even that there was some new bullshit rule forbidding manor lords from eating their enemies.
Despite being allied with Sky, Drake didn’t feel comfortable revealing that he could lie, and he didn’t see how it would help either of them. It would simply mean more people who couldn’t lie would know his secret power, and worse, it might make Sky trust him less. He had to consider how her opinion of him might change if she knew the truth.
Sky had grown to trust him so quickly because they were the only two manor lords to ever end the compulsion in their blood pacts, and she accepted he was different from Lord Crow because she believed he couldn’t lie. He hadn’t lied... not to her... but like Lydia, Sky might begin to wonder if he had lied once she knew he could do it. This was not the time.
Drake resolved to keep to the truth as best he could. “I can’t say why the other lords would call a cabal about me. However, there is one thing that differentiates from all of you.”
Lady Skybreak nodded. “Your origin.”
“That’s right. I was summoned here from another realm, and so far as I know, I’m the only manor lord who wasn’t born here. Could this be some attempt to change the rules so only native-born people can be manor lords? An excuse to take my title?”
“That is one possibility,” Viktoria agreed. “Rules can change, and when they must, a cabal is always called. Yet there are no laws stating that a manor lord must be born in this realm, only that they must have divine blood.
“Because it’s never come up until now,” Drake said. “If it did, in my world, you better bet our politicians would get some law passed against it real fast. Immigration is a tricky enough subject where I come from without factoring in people coming in from whole other universes.”
“Changing the bylaws of the noble court is an involved process,” Sky said. “It requires agreement from two-thirds of all current manor lords to even begin such a process, and even then, ratification takes years. I can’t imagine they’d call a cabal to attempt to disqualify you from being a manor lord unless they already had six votes.”
“So do they?” Drake asked. “Four votes are a given. You said Brightwater is leaning their way as well. Who would be the last vote? Ashwind, or Blackmane?”
“Neither benefits from a weak Gloomwood Manor,” Viktoria said. “Unless Lord Proudglade or another manor lord has made them guarantees they will be compensated.”
Drake groaned. “That sounds plausible. If Lord Proudglade considers the two of us a big enough threat, he might have tossed Blackmane or Ashwind a bribe to sell me out.”
“House Blackmane is in a particularly weak position given the division among their thralls,” Viktoria agreed. “If any house has bowed to pressure or bribery from Lord Proudglade, it may be them. This is one case where an assassination would be useful.”
Sky straightened in her chair. “We agreed we wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m not saying that we should assassinate Lord Blackmane,” Viktoria assured her daughter smoothly. “Simply that it could be convenient for us if someone did.”
Drake snorted. “It would be convenient if someone assassinated all of them.”
The way Sky and her mother frowned at his suggestion made it obvious he needed to clarify his statement. “Which I am also not endorsing!” He raised his hands. “Just saying. Lord Proudglade has no problem sending assassins at me. Seems rude not to return the favor.”
“The fact that you have not attempted to assassinate Lord Proudglade is one strong point in our favor,” Viktoria said. “Ever since the death of the former Lord Brightwater, the current lord has despised all who employ assassins. I suspect the fact that Lord Redbow deals in assassination so freely is why Lord Brightwater has not already joined the big four.”
Drake sighed. “If only we could prove Lord Proudglade sent an assassin after me, not once, but twice. But we can’t, can we? And while I do have proof of who was behind another assassination attempt on me, I doubt pointing out it was the old Lord Gloomwood will help.”
Viktoria’s eyes widened noticeably. “The former lord attempted to assassinate you?”
“Yes.” He almost added “Didn’t Sky tell you?” but caught himself. He didn’t even know if Sky had revealed their private chats to her mother, though Viktoria obviously knew about the magic mirror. “So if I’m asked to speak tomorrow, should I mention the attempts on my life?”
“Only if they seem pertinent to the discussion,” Viktoria said. “Otherwise, I would not bring up mundane conflicts. The other manor lords could simply deny any involvement, and the noble court would not get involved. Some would also see your complaints as weakness.”
“In other words, don’t cry to teacher when the other kids bully you.” Drake ruefully shook his head. “Your world is a lot more like mine than I sometimes remember.”
Viktoria glanced at Sky to find Sky looking at a wall. Drake really wanted to know why she seemed so uncomfortable around him at the moment, but now was not the time to ask. Viktoria’s mask slipped but a moment before she returned her gaze to Drake.
“Now, unless there is anything else you feel we should know before tomorrow, we should return to our chambers and prepare for tomorrow.”
Drake’s mind was already whirring with plots and possibilities about tomorrow’s cabal, and one worry in particular stood out. From what he’d read about cabals, he knew that in addition to allowing a manor lord who took the floor to demand direct testimony from another manor lord, manor lords could also demand to interview each other’s thralls.
That could be bad if anyone asked Samuel or Lydia if he could lie.
Yet he couldn’t go into the cabal tomorrow without an experienced advisor to keep him from falling on his face. He’d get eaten alive by the other manor lords. He’d already compelled Lydia and Samuel not to share his secret, but that might not be enough. He looked up.
“Lady Skybreak, I have a proposal before you leave.”
She smiled. “As I said last night, Viktoria is fine when we’re in private.”
“I know, but I figure I should address you formally for this request.” He glanced at Sky. “Lord Skybreak, who do you plan to have with you at the cabal tomorrow?”
The rift between Sky and her mother remained. He didn’t know if it extended to Sky refusing to invite her mother tomorrow, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. If he pitched this idea to them properly, he might be able to secure an advisor without risking awkward testimony.
Sky raised one eyebrow in obvious curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
“If it’s acceptable to you, and to Lady Skybreak... I would like Lady Skybreak to join me in the cabal as my advisor tomorrow. Assuming she won’t be advising you.”
Sky’s curiosity was immediately replaced with visible suspicion. “That’s an odd request. Don’t you trust your own advisors?”
“I do, but given what we’ve just learned about the focus of tomorrow’s cabal... there’s something else I’m going to need them to handle.” Like not being available to testify.
“Such an arrangement would not be entirely unprecedented,” Viktoria said thoughtfully. “Allied manors have and do share resources as a part of their operations. My appearance as your advisor could also demonstrate the strength of our alliance to the other manor lords.” Viktoria looked to Sky. “Unless you wish me to join you tomorrow.”
Sky looked between them. “I see no problem with this. I have no need of an advisor for the cabal. If you’d like to have my mother advise you, Lord Gloomwood, I’ll allow it.”
So either Sky agreed it was a good idea to show a strong alliance in front of the other manor lords, or she hadn’t planned to have her mother along to advise her anyway. Either one worked out well for Drake. He looked to Viktoria.
“Then, Lady Skybreak, I would request you join me as my advisor at tomorrow’s cabal.”
“I accept your proposal.” Viktoria rose. “Now, we really should be going.”
Drake stood as well. “Thanks for the head’s up about all this. I don’t know what we’ll run into tomorrow, but it’s reassuring to know we’ll face it as allies. My steward will show you out.”
Lydia arrived on cue, suggesting she’d been listening to the whole conversation from outside the room. He assumed both Viktoria and Sky would be fine with that. They had to assume he’d share all the pertinent details with his advisors anyway after they left.
He half hoped Sky would stop and explain whatever was bothering her after her mother left, but she walked past him with scarcely a glance. Something was definitely bothering her, something that hadn’t been bothering her when they clasped arms in Fort Graystone. Given how pleasant she’d been at dinner yesterday night, it must have happened recently.
Was it simply knowing she’d allied with a manor lord who was now the focus of a whole goddamned cabal? Did she regret her haste in allying with him so quickly? Or had her own spies caught wind of some of the same rumors as Lady Skybreak’s spies, and now she had doubts?
Maybe one of the Rope Tree’s spies would have some clue as to what was going on in Skybreak Manor, and why Sky would have gone from warm to chilly toward him overnight. He hoped he hadn’t inadvertently said something that would offend her, but since they hadn’t talked, that remained unlikely. It was more likely she’d learned something she didn’t like.
Once Lydia returned, Drake looked around for Samuel and saw no sign of him. “Hey, you seen the old man recently?”
“He stepped out shortly after supper,” Lydia said. “I’m not sure when he’ll return.”
“Did he say why?”
“No, lord.” Lydia frowned. “I will advise him to inform you before he leaves again, and to ensure he tells you what he plans to do.”
“I don’t need to hover over Samuel. It’s a beach town. Maybe he just needs to get laid.”
Lydia cocked an eyebrow. “Is that more slang, lord?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but it’s probably not suitable for you.”
Drake considered this new bombshell in detail for a moment. A long moment. He was really glad he’d sat down. That had been a good suggestion from Lady Skybreak.
Finally, he looked to Sky. “This can’t be about what went down at Fort Graystone. The cabal notice went out before that. Maybe it involves our tithe deal over Rodney?”
Sky’s eyes met his at last. She shrugged. She still looked more than a bit uncomfortable.
“Is there something else?” Drake asked.
“No,” Sky said calmly. “Whatever ambush they have planned for tomorrow, we will weather it as a team. New alliances are first on the agenda at a cabal, so we’ll get that out of the way before any other obstacles present themselves.”
“So why do you look like you’re about to break that chair in half?”
“I’d prefer not to discuss it.” Sky straightened. “Now, do you have any idea why five manor lords would all agree to call a cabal to discuss you?”
“I’d prefer not to discuss it” must be this world’s version of “It’s nothing.” Made sense, since people couldn’t lie here. Another weird fact to worry about later.
As to why the other manor lords would call a cabal about him, Drake had several terrible ideas, including that Westin had somehow not believed he was Lord Gloomwood when he arrived in this world. It was also possible word had somehow gotten back to Lord Redbow that Drake lied about staying in Captain Ro’s camp and then left, or even that there was some new bullshit rule forbidding manor lords from eating their enemies.
Despite being allied with Sky, Drake didn’t feel comfortable revealing that he could lie, and he didn’t see how it would help either of them. It would simply mean more people who couldn’t lie would know his secret power, and worse, it might make Sky trust him less. He had to consider how her opinion of him might change if she knew the truth.
Sky had grown to trust him so quickly because they were the only two manor lords to ever end the compulsion in their blood pacts, and she accepted he was different from Lord Crow because she believed he couldn’t lie. He hadn’t lied... not to her... but like Lydia, Sky might begin to wonder if he had lied once she knew he could do it. This was not the time.
Drake resolved to keep to the truth as best he could. “I can’t say why the other lords would call a cabal about me. However, there is one thing that differentiates from all of you.”
Lady Skybreak nodded. “Your origin.”
“That’s right. I was summoned here from another realm, and so far as I know, I’m the only manor lord who wasn’t born here. Could this be some attempt to change the rules so only native-born people can be manor lords? An excuse to take my title?”
“That is one possibility,” Viktoria agreed. “Rules can change, and when they must, a cabal is always called. Yet there are no laws stating that a manor lord must be born in this realm, only that they must have divine blood.
“Because it’s never come up until now,” Drake said. “If it did, in my world, you better bet our politicians would get some law passed against it real fast. Immigration is a tricky enough subject where I come from without factoring in people coming in from whole other universes.”
“Changing the bylaws of the noble court is an involved process,” Sky said. “It requires agreement from two-thirds of all current manor lords to even begin such a process, and even then, ratification takes years. I can’t imagine they’d call a cabal to attempt to disqualify you from being a manor lord unless they already had six votes.”
“So do they?” Drake asked. “Four votes are a given. You said Brightwater is leaning their way as well. Who would be the last vote? Ashwind, or Blackmane?”
“Neither benefits from a weak Gloomwood Manor,” Viktoria said. “Unless Lord Proudglade or another manor lord has made them guarantees they will be compensated.”
Drake groaned. “That sounds plausible. If Lord Proudglade considers the two of us a big enough threat, he might have tossed Blackmane or Ashwind a bribe to sell me out.”
“House Blackmane is in a particularly weak position given the division among their thralls,” Viktoria agreed. “If any house has bowed to pressure or bribery from Lord Proudglade, it may be them. This is one case where an assassination would be useful.”
Sky straightened in her chair. “We agreed we wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m not saying that we should assassinate Lord Blackmane,” Viktoria assured her daughter smoothly. “Simply that it could be convenient for us if someone did.”
Drake snorted. “It would be convenient if someone assassinated all of them.”
The way Sky and her mother frowned at his suggestion made it obvious he needed to clarify his statement. “Which I am also not endorsing!” He raised his hands. “Just saying. Lord Proudglade has no problem sending assassins at me. Seems rude not to return the favor.”
“The fact that you have not attempted to assassinate Lord Proudglade is one strong point in our favor,” Viktoria said. “Ever since the death of the former Lord Brightwater, the current lord has despised all who employ assassins. I suspect the fact that Lord Redbow deals in assassination so freely is why Lord Brightwater has not already joined the big four.”
Drake sighed. “If only we could prove Lord Proudglade sent an assassin after me, not once, but twice. But we can’t, can we? And while I do have proof of who was behind another assassination attempt on me, I doubt pointing out it was the old Lord Gloomwood will help.”
Viktoria’s eyes widened noticeably. “The former lord attempted to assassinate you?”
“Yes.” He almost added “Didn’t Sky tell you?” but caught himself. He didn’t even know if Sky had revealed their private chats to her mother, though Viktoria obviously knew about the magic mirror. “So if I’m asked to speak tomorrow, should I mention the attempts on my life?”
“Only if they seem pertinent to the discussion,” Viktoria said. “Otherwise, I would not bring up mundane conflicts. The other manor lords could simply deny any involvement, and the noble court would not get involved. Some would also see your complaints as weakness.”
“In other words, don’t cry to teacher when the other kids bully you.” Drake ruefully shook his head. “Your world is a lot more like mine than I sometimes remember.”
Viktoria glanced at Sky to find Sky looking at a wall. Drake really wanted to know why she seemed so uncomfortable around him at the moment, but now was not the time to ask. Viktoria’s mask slipped but a moment before she returned her gaze to Drake.
“Now, unless there is anything else you feel we should know before tomorrow, we should return to our chambers and prepare for tomorrow.”
Drake’s mind was already whirring with plots and possibilities about tomorrow’s cabal, and one worry in particular stood out. From what he’d read about cabals, he knew that in addition to allowing a manor lord who took the floor to demand direct testimony from another manor lord, manor lords could also demand to interview each other’s thralls.
That could be bad if anyone asked Samuel or Lydia if he could lie.
Yet he couldn’t go into the cabal tomorrow without an experienced advisor to keep him from falling on his face. He’d get eaten alive by the other manor lords. He’d already compelled Lydia and Samuel not to share his secret, but that might not be enough. He looked up.
“Lady Skybreak, I have a proposal before you leave.”
She smiled. “As I said last night, Viktoria is fine when we’re in private.”
“I know, but I figure I should address you formally for this request.” He glanced at Sky. “Lord Skybreak, who do you plan to have with you at the cabal tomorrow?”
The rift between Sky and her mother remained. He didn’t know if it extended to Sky refusing to invite her mother tomorrow, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. If he pitched this idea to them properly, he might be able to secure an advisor without risking awkward testimony.
Sky raised one eyebrow in obvious curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
“If it’s acceptable to you, and to Lady Skybreak... I would like Lady Skybreak to join me in the cabal as my advisor tomorrow. Assuming she won’t be advising you.”
Sky’s curiosity was immediately replaced with visible suspicion. “That’s an odd request. Don’t you trust your own advisors?”
“I do, but given what we’ve just learned about the focus of tomorrow’s cabal... there’s something else I’m going to need them to handle.” Like not being available to testify.
“Such an arrangement would not be entirely unprecedented,” Viktoria said thoughtfully. “Allied manors have and do share resources as a part of their operations. My appearance as your advisor could also demonstrate the strength of our alliance to the other manor lords.” Viktoria looked to Sky. “Unless you wish me to join you tomorrow.”
Sky looked between them. “I see no problem with this. I have no need of an advisor for the cabal. If you’d like to have my mother advise you, Lord Gloomwood, I’ll allow it.”
So either Sky agreed it was a good idea to show a strong alliance in front of the other manor lords, or she hadn’t planned to have her mother along to advise her anyway. Either one worked out well for Drake. He looked to Viktoria.
“Then, Lady Skybreak, I would request you join me as my advisor at tomorrow’s cabal.”
“I accept your proposal.” Viktoria rose. “Now, we really should be going.”
Drake stood as well. “Thanks for the head’s up about all this. I don’t know what we’ll run into tomorrow, but it’s reassuring to know we’ll face it as allies. My steward will show you out.”
Lydia arrived on cue, suggesting she’d been listening to the whole conversation from outside the room. He assumed both Viktoria and Sky would be fine with that. They had to assume he’d share all the pertinent details with his advisors anyway after they left.
He half hoped Sky would stop and explain whatever was bothering her after her mother left, but she walked past him with scarcely a glance. Something was definitely bothering her, something that hadn’t been bothering her when they clasped arms in Fort Graystone. Given how pleasant she’d been at dinner yesterday night, it must have happened recently.
Was it simply knowing she’d allied with a manor lord who was now the focus of a whole goddamned cabal? Did she regret her haste in allying with him so quickly? Or had her own spies caught wind of some of the same rumors as Lady Skybreak’s spies, and now she had doubts?
Maybe one of the Rope Tree’s spies would have some clue as to what was going on in Skybreak Manor, and why Sky would have gone from warm to chilly toward him overnight. He hoped he hadn’t inadvertently said something that would offend her, but since they hadn’t talked, that remained unlikely. It was more likely she’d learned something she didn’t like.
Once Lydia returned, Drake looked around for Samuel and saw no sign of him. “Hey, you seen the old man recently?”
“He stepped out shortly after supper,” Lydia said. “I’m not sure when he’ll return.”
“Did he say why?”
“No, lord.” Lydia frowned. “I will advise him to inform you before he leaves again, and to ensure he tells you what he plans to do.”
“I don’t need to hover over Samuel. It’s a beach town. Maybe he just needs to get laid.”
Lydia cocked an eyebrow. “Is that more slang, lord?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but it’s probably not suitable for you.”
