We left the ballroom and walked into a small drawing room with an inlaid table, four light brown armchairs, and a carpet that probably represented some mythological scene, but since it was underneath the furniture, I couldn’t be sure. King Esthar was the only one seated. Standing next to him, Malin was frowning, both hands raised to her temples, watched by an officer. Commander Asturi, if I remembered correctly. A valet closed the door behind us.

  The king looked up at me and sighed. His hands were clenched over the table, as if he was fighting to retain his composure.

  “Al, Great Hero Al, I thought bringing you to Zerta was a bad idea, but at least, it allowed us to keep an eye on you.”

  What in the Almighty’s name is he trying to tell me? I waited, standing straight, almost to attention.

  “At least, we can tell you had no contact with the enemy over these past few days,” he added.

  My heart pumped acid. “What enemy, Your Majesty?”

  “Elkodunar.”

  Elkodunar, the demon empire the Great Hero Al was supposed to protect the Brealian kingdom against. Upon hearing the name, I remembered emperor Faur, his tan heart-shaped face and his smug smile, as he traveled incognito across Brealia.

  What did the demon do this time? And why is everyone relieved to know I had nothing to do with it?

  “May I speak?” asked Senior Magus Malin.

  King Esthar nodded.

  “Go ahead.”

  Malin rubbed her temples one last time, then looked at Princess Nigella, who was taking a chair next to her father.

  “The news is now confirmed. It was officially announced to Rokayu, who currently acts as our liaison in Carastra. Malo has fallen.”

  Malo? The capital city of Inabar? But…

  I hadn’t removed Lord Saegorg, the previous ruler of Inabar, from his fortress in Malo. Kossi had. But unlike him, I’d gotten a convenient lift from someone during my adventure. Even though I’d kept his real name secret from everyone except Catalin, he was still a foreign lord, probably from Elkodunar, and it made me suspicious in the king’s eyes.

  I stared at Esthar wide-eyed.

  “Do you mean Elkodunar conquered Inabar? But we left Carastra less than four days ago, and as far as I know, there was no suspect activity in the mountains! How could it happen so fast?”

  Nigella looked at Commander Asturi, who answered in her name.

  “Lord Saegorg’s demise considerably disorganized the Inabarian army. Some soldiers deserted. Others refused to obey young Lord Korth’s orders. When the empire showed up at their border, they didn’t stand a chance.”

  Yes, I can imagine the steamroller effect.

  I tried to keep a poker face, but I felt a little dizzy.

  “I am relieved at your reaction. You look as disturbed as the rest of us,” commented King Esthar.

  “How else am I supposed to feel? This is terrible news!”

  With the annexation of Inabar, Elkodunar now shared a border with Brealia. The small mountain lordship didn’t have much value in itself. It did, however, open a way to a wider area south of the Apridges.

  Until then, Demon Lord Faur had been a distant threat, but his lightning-fast victory cast a shadow on all neighboring countries, including Brealia. Brealia, who’d summoned me precisely to stand up to him.

  Except I hadn’t.

  I clenched my fists.

  “To be honest, Your Majesty, I’m not only upset. I’m angry, too.”

  “As you should. Perhaps it is time to live up to the prophecy, Great Hero.”

  You don’t understand. Faur looked me right in the eye and said he had no interest in invading our side of the mountains. He pretended he only wanted to see Saegorg humiliated, and I believed him! I accepted his help! How could I be so na?ve?

  “Your Majesty, I promise Demon Lord Faur will pay for what he did to us.”

  Most of all, to me. He didn’t help me bring down Saegorg just for a good laugh, as he pretended. He knew it’d weaken Inabar and allow a Blitzkrieg-like conquest, and now he’s at our door.

  Would I ever forgive myself?

  “What do you expect from me?” I asked.

  King Esthar nodded slowly.

  “I have warned Duke Irmel, but tonight, no one else should learn about the attack. This engagement is an important ceremony, meant to cement diplomatic ties between Brealia and Folesh. We cannot allow external circumstances to disturb it. However, we will leave Zerta tomorrow at dawn. The sooner we are back in Carastra, the better.”

  “In the meantime, Rokayu will tell me all relevant information,” added Senior Magus Malin.

  “These are my instructions for tonight. I shall betroth the young lord and lady as expected. Go back to the ballroom, witness the engagement, act as normal as possible, and above all, tell no one about the situation in Inabar.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Understood,” I replied between my teeth.

  I looked down at my clenched fists. Could I attend a festive event normally, now that I knew I’d been stupid enough to give our enemy a significant advantage?

  This isn’t twenty-first century Earth, Alicia. Wars are much easier to initiate here.

  I was the first to return to the party. King Esthar said it was better to go back one by one, to avoid raising concern. Besides, I supposed he wanted to discuss political issues with his daughter, and I wasn’t welcome.

  The last guests were paying their respects to the future couple. I wanted to grab a glass or talk to someone, but there was no buffet, and nobody seemed to want to include me in a conversation. Looking away, turning their backs… The message was clear. So I waited.

  Where’s Kossi? Oh, he’s over there, with Princess Zinnia and Young Lord Torziel, Gurvan’s younger brother. A kind uncle, as always.

  I watched from a distance as Gurvan and Jilu rose from their seats and bowed their heads in respect. King Esthar was coming in through the main door. There was a priest in the room, an elderly woman with thick glasses, but the archbishop wasn’t present. It wasn’t a religious ceremony, after all. The wedding would be, but an engagement held a different status. The king’s presence, in itself, proved how important it was, politically speaking.

  Esthar stood before the two teenagers. He was wearing a crown, less massive than the heavy-looking one he’d had for my summoning.

  “Young Lord Gurvan of Sottarn, first son of Duke Irmel and Duchess Nithys. Your Royal Highness Princess Jilu Núr Setar of Folesh, third daughter of King Obedo and Queen Risa. We are assembled here to witness your will to unite your lives and strengthen the alliance between your dynasties.”

  This is boring already. How long will he talk before we can have a drink?

  There were oaths and chanting and an exchange of bracelets. Jilu and Gurvan finally looked each other in the eyes, and they did a decent job at pretending they were in love. In retrospect, it made the whole ignoring game more ridiculous than ever. But I didn’t ponder much over it all.

  I kept thinking of Faur, of how he’d played me to further his expansion policy.

  By averting one war, I caused another. Hopefully, swift as it was, it didn’t cause too many casualties, but one innocent death is one too many.

  The recent events played in my head, again and again, like a twisted variation of the trolley dilemma.

  As a famous hero said, “Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose.”

  Part of me tried to temper the guilt. After all, hadn’t I been there, had a war been declared between Inabar and Brealia, Saegorg’s army would have been weakened all the same, opening the way for Elkodunar’s troops. My intervention had probably forced Faur to rethink his strategy, but I supposed he didn’t really mind. I, on the other hand, had swallowed his lies with the gullibility of a four-year-old.

  “Are you all right, Al?”

  I turned around to face Duchess Nithys. The music was resuming in the ballroom, and sideboards were wheeled in to serve drinks before dinner. I felt thirsty, but I couldn’t decently ignore our hostess, so I tried to smile.

  “Beautiful ceremony. Congratulations. However, to be honest, it was a long day for me, and I’m getting tired. Soulfeather was a strange experience.”

  She nodded. “Do you have an idea of what caused the incident?”

  “None.”

  If it was my call to my guardian angel, then the blue-haired guy who cast a spell on behalf of Princess Jilu should have been swallowed by the field too. He was the one who cheated in the first place.

  “This is so strange, though,” Duchess Nithys commented. “Until today, nobody ever heard of a soulfeather player ending buried alive.”

  She looked to the side with a thoughtful face. As Duchess of Sottarn, she probably knew about Elkodunar’s attack, so why was she focusing on a sports field incident?

  While I was wondering what to reply, she looked at me again and forced a smile on her face.

  “I guess we will understand someday. Thank you for being here, Al. I wish you a pleasant evening.”

  “Thanks…”

  But she was already turning to another guest.

  How pleasant can my evening be when you all avoid my company, and tomorrow at dawn, I’m leaving this place to be dragged into the taskforce who handles a political crisis? I didn’t even have time to properly enjoy this city…

  Instead of watching the landscape, I’d run across a field that decided to swallow me. Instead of bathing in the sea, I’d almost drowned trying to rescue a princess and a dog.

  Kian. Brunz. If we leave at dawn, I have no time to find him a job!

  Brunz was lost in a foreign country, and unlike me, he couldn’t speak the language or rely on a legendary status to protect him. I just couldn’t let him down. I had an idea, but was it feasible?

  I crab-walked on the marble floor, between groups of guests who hardly side-eyed me. I needed to get help from someone with less questionable authority, and I knew just who to ask. I grabbed a glass from a sideboard and sipped every few steps. She had to be somewhere.

  There she is!

  Princess Nigella was talking to Lady Arez, with the dog Kian at their feet. Princess Jilu walked to them, or glided, or whatever.

  After a few words, Jilu and Arez left, followed by Kian. He was an extremely well-behaved dog, carefully avoiding all guests, not trying to bark, run around or stealing food. He was loved, but not overly spoiled like most small dogs I knew, and it might be thanks to someone who hadn’t been thanked for his hard work.

  Anyway, it was my chance to talk. I moved forward.

  “Princess, may I have a moment, please?”

  She frowned.

  “We are about to sit down to supper. Can it wait?”

  “Not exactly, but I’ll keep it short. I promise.”

  I told her about my encounter with Brunz, and my promise to find him a new employer. I’d hoped to ask around during the rest of our stay in Zerta, but now that we were supposed to leave at dawn, I was out of time.

  Nigella sighed several times, and tinkered with her diamond hairpins while I explained the situation.

  “What do you expect from me?” she finally asked, her voice carrying a slight tremor of annoyance.

  I put the fingertips of my right hand over my heart.

  “Please, Crown Princess Nigella, allow me to hire Brunz as my personal assistant.”

  She stared at me in disbelief.

  “What do you need an assistant for? You could have a personal maid, but this man can obviously not hold such a position, and you have no defined role in the government that could justify hiring an assistant.”

  I’m a hero. Can’t I get a sidekick?

  I bit my lips.

  “Brunz was wronged by a person who’ll never apologize or make amends for it. Should I leave him like this, away from his home country, with nowhere to go?”

  Nigella shook her head.

  “Even if you bring him to Carastra with us, he will still be away from home. Are you doing him a favor? Or just trying to feel like a hero?”

  I opened my mouth, but I was left out of words. That one hurt.

  “We need the Great Hero Al to stand up to Demon Lord Faur,” Nigella added.

  I nodded.

  “I know. But can’t I have someone by my side, to protect me, or carry my things, or anything? That’ll be a temporary arrangement, I promise. Brunz can learn Brealian. He can find a position somewhere else.”

  Nigella looked sideways at the nobles gathered around us.

  “If he attracted Princess Jilu’s wrath, he is unlikely to work for a noble house again.”

  “It still leaves him with other opportunities.”

  “All right.” She closed her eyes for a second, then she adjusted a hairpin that didn’t need it. “You should have asked my father for this favor, Al, but you chose to ask me instead. You and I both know why.”

  Of course. Esthar would have walked away before I even finished explaining what I wanted from him.

  A bell rang, and all guests raised their heads.

  “Dinner is beginning. We will resume this conversation later,” concluded the princess, already turning away.

  But I need an answer now!

  Thinking of Brunz kept my mind away from the situation in Inabar. His problem was a smaller one than a demon empire’s expansion. It was one I could solve, if only the people in power let me.

  Conversations got replaced by the sound of chairs being pulled around every table. I didn’t even know where I was supposed to sit. What I knew was that I needed a plan B, and perhaps a dragon could provide it for me.

  I walked to Kossi before he had time to find his seat.