A Call to Arms: Book One of the Chronicles of Arden (24 page)

The servant locked his jaw, an appalled look crossing his fair features. He only did as he was told when Inan reached up a hand and coaxed Bailey to take his seat once more. Gib’s gut churned. It seemed as though Bailey, the servant of the King, was not used to being talked to in such a manner.

Neetra fixed his cold, dark eyes on Nawaz once more and issued a low hiss. “I’ve had enough of this humiliation, boy. You’ll be gracious to our host or you’ll leave.”

Nawaz snorted, rolling his eyes. His smile was hollow and defeated and looked nothing like the young lord Gib had grown to know.

Unrelenting, Neetra kept his eyes locked on his stepson. “Are you not satisfied with the hospitality being shown us?”

The air in the room was thick and stale. Gib could hardly breathe. It took Nawaz a moment to respond. “Of course I’m satisfied with Seneschal Koal’s hospitality.”

Neetra’s dark eyes flashed as he pointed a finger toward the cloak. “Then the least you could do is show it.
Take this and be gone!
”

Gib’s gut clenched. Something sinister and familiar about Neetra’s voice came to him just then. Perhaps it could be blamed on Diedrick Lyle for being so foul to everyone. But Gib felt it was something deeper than that. Some dark foreboding, something unfair that had pressed itself upon him or others like him who were utterly powerless at the time. He didn’t want to dwell on this uncomfortable feeling.

Koal threw his hands into the air. “Oh, for the sake of The Two, Neetra, leave the boy alone! Let’s be done with this.”

“He’s hardly a boy anymore. More a thorn in my side, and it is high time he began to act like a man.”

Gib bit down on his tongue as Neetra Adelwijn’s words sliced through the air like a sharpened knife. Gib had never known poison to be so bitter or cold. Out of the corner of his eye, Gib noted Nawaz wincing.

Seneschal Koal opened his mouth but Nawaz spoke first, directly to Neetra. “You’re right, my lord. I’ve been impolite.” He turned to Koal and offered a deep bow. “Apologies, Seneschal Koal Adelwijn. Please forgive this undeserving waif for not properly thanking you for your hospitality.” He folded Liro’s cloak tightly over his arm and refused to look any one person in the eye. The effort was in vain—if Gib could see his wet eyes, then surely so could everyone else. “I’ll gladly take care of this for Lord Liro Adelwijn.” Nawaz turned on his heels to leave.

Heidi stamped her foot from under the table and fixed her elder brother with a glare so icy it burned. “You, Liro Adelwijn, are a snake!”

Neetra frowned at her in a disapproving way. “Niece, it is impolite for a lady to criticize a lord so openly. What are they teaching you in those finishing classes if not how to behave and spare your family public shame?”

Joel locked his eyes onto his uncle. “Lineage. And it has become apparent Liro has inherited his forked tongue from some branch of the family tree.”

Neetra physically reeled from the insult, his mouth agape. “I beg your pardon?”

Shoulders tense and pale face screaming of terror, the mage student pressed on bravely. “It’s about time you did, Uncle. It would be the most polite thing you’ve done since your arrival.”

Liro sneered at his brother, and Neetra’s face was a mask of rage as he spun to look at Koal. “Are you going to allow him to speak to me like that?”

The seneschal drank from his goblet before responding. With a small, upward curl on one side of his mouth, Koal shifted his eyes to meet Neetra’s terrible gaze. “Oh, shut up and sit down. He’s only said what the rest of us have been avoiding.” When Neetra didn’t immediately respond, Koal’s smile fell away entirely and he lost any hint of jovialness. The seneschal gave both Liro and Neetra a stern look. “Both of you, sit and be pleasant—or leave. That’s the last I’ll say on any of it.”

Dark and brooding, both Liro and Neetra sat down, side by side. When Mrifa grudgingly offered desserts, the rest of the company tried to feign interest but everyone knew the merriment was over. Gib humbly accepted both pie and custard which were both delicious, but he couldn’t find it within himself to enjoy either. His eyes kept darting back to the monsters who sat at the table, and he couldn’t help but feel the cool of the empty seat beside him.
 

As soon as each person was done eating, they asked to be excused. Carmen and the twins asked if they could go play for a while before Neetra and his family had to leave. Heidi made some lame excuse about not feeling well. Bailey jumped up and immediately began clearing the table which, of course, caused Mrifa to join him, begging for him to stop and sit back down.

When they were the last at their end of the table, Joel touched Gib’s shoulder gently to indicate it was time to leave. Gib pushed down the fluttering in his stomach and joined his roommate. Joel excused the both of them and Koal nodded. They received narrow looks from both Neetra and Liro, but Gib had expected as much.

As soon as they were out of the dining room, Joel looked around and wrung his hands. “I wonder where Nawaz has gotten to.”

Gib scuffed his foot across the floor and couldn’t bring himself to look his friend in the eye. “Joel? Is Nawaz—all right? Does Neetra always treat him that way?”

Joel paused, and Gib scratched the back of his neck. He knew before he asked that surely such a question would be taboo but wasn’t able to help himself. Gib couldn’t imagine a father approving of his son, adopted or not, any less than Neetra appeared to.

Joel’s voice was cautious. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I’m sorry Nawaz had to be there for it.”

“Yes.” Joel glanced around, eyes alert in the event anyone should be listening to them. “My uncle isn’t a generous man. I have no doubt you’ve figured out as much on your own. He doesn’t give anything more than required, and he doesn’t show respect for anyone who is ‘beneath’ him. When I was a young child, Neetra married a woman who already had a child though she’d never been married before. I was too young to understand then, but I understand now why Father and Mother never required me to call her aunt or speak to her any more than in passing. They knew even then that she wouldn’t be a permanent addition to our family.”

Gib blinked. “Why not? Did they know she planned on leaving Arden?”

Joel smiled, but it held no warmth. He hesitated, and Gib could tell the mage trainee was holding back information. Gib was determined not to push, but he couldn’t deny his wish to understand more.

Joel finally conceded and hung his head as if admitting something terrible. “They knew the marriage was a ruse. Neetra was twenty-three when he married—and he only did it at all because it raised his credibility as a politician. There is no law that keeps unmarried men from joining the royal council but it’s just not done that way. The councilors are supposed to set an example for the rest of the country. The appearance they desire is for the councilmen to all be married with children while also being wealthy and successful.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why marry just for the sake of furthering your career?”

Devastated blue eyes met Gib’s own. “I would agree, but Neetra is—ambitious. He was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for success. Unfortunately, in his greed to paint a portrait of perfection for himself, Nawaz, Inan, and Inez were pulled into the mix.”

Gib grunted. He was trying to understand, but some things were just beyond his ability to comprehend. “I guess it’s a good thing Nawaz and the twins have Bailey then.”

Joel nodded. “Oh, yes. Father begged and the King reassigned Bailey to work fewer marks for him so he could take care of the children for my uncle. Father and King Rishi were so concerned for the wellbeing of the children that they even agreed to pay Bailey extra as an incentive not to abandon them like their mother had done—though I doubt Bailey could ever find it within himself to leave Nawaz and the twins now.” He glanced around. “I’m not supposed to know any of this, so you must keep it a secret.”

The more Gib heard, the less he wanted to know, yet morbid curiosity and the sense of injustice drove him on. “Are the twins as mistreated as Nawaz?”

“No. They’re Neetra’s own flesh and blood. He has always favored them. It’s just Nawaz. He’ll never be good enough. It’s like how the lowborn are treated. Or women. Or—” He paused and Gib knew where this was going even though Joel couldn’t bring himself to say it. “—anyone who is different for any reason. People like Neetra and Liro will never respect them. They’ll always only be servants, labor animals, soldiers for war.”

“The King won’t allow that, will he? I mean, the boy at the festival—”

Joel shook his head. “That was one person. King Rishi can only do so much without the council’s backing.”

The pieces clicked together and made Gib’s stomach turn sour. “So as long as there are people like Neetra on the council, the King’s hands are tied.”

“I’m afraid so. It has taken King Rishi’s entire reign to make any real changes and there is always the fear of falling back into the old ways.”

Gib nodded, full of melancholy. He didn’t know what else he could say and also knew he could do nothing to help change the situation. He was one farmer, an insignificant child compared to these learned men who ran the world around him. Gib sighed and stared down the length of the darkened hallway. “Should we—go find Nawaz?”

Joel forced a tight smile. “I would like to. I feel he needs to be reminded that not all Adelwijns are created monsters.”

They parted ways, hoping to find the shunned lord faster for their joint effort. Joel swept away toward the sitting room, and Gib wandered back toward the kitchen and storage areas.

His footsteps fell lightly as he crept past the dining room. The three men inside were still deep in conversation, and Gib shuddered at what was being discussed. Even now, Neetra and Liro were both going on about how servants shouldn’t be allowed to take rest on holidays. They talked as though these servants weren’t people. Gib frowned as he stormed past the door and toward the pantry leading into the other side of the kitchen. He hesitated when he heard soft sobbing.

Surely that couldn’t be Nawaz—could it? A nurturing voice cut through the silence from within the pantry.

“Heidi, calm yourself. This fuss won’t do you any good.” It was Lady Mrifa. Her tone was low and sweet. “Your father isn’t going to make any rash choices. You know that.”

Heidi sniffled. “I know, but Father doesn’t like Uncle Neetra. And if Neetra continues to be so foul, Father will surely say no to the marriage.”

Gib blinked.
Marriage? Marriage to whom?
Guilt bubbled up inside him. He shouldn’t be listening to this. He was supposed to be looking for Nawaz, after all. He began to creep away, but Bailey’s voice piped up.

“Seneschal Koal is a good and wise man, Heidi. He’ll choose whether or not the two of you should be married based on Nawaz’s merits. Not Neetra’s. Besides, dearling, there is still at least a year’s time before a lady in your position should be worried about marriage. How are your classes going?”

Gib decided to scuttle away while he was still unnoticed. A smile crept across his face at the thought of Nawaz, who was perfectly comfortable bedding prostitutes and drinking the night away at The Rose Bouquet, marrying straight-laced Heidi.

Laughter and tumbling footfalls spilled down into the empty hall from upstairs as Gib passed by. He could make out the soft giggles of Carmen and Inez as they whispered back and forth about finding hiding places. Gib smiled even wider when he realized he could also hear Inan counting and wondered once more what Tay and Cal might be up to. Would they have time for such simple games this holiday? Or would they be busy trying to stay warm and pushing snow from the roof to keep it from collapsing? He hoped they could be children for at least one day this year.

He wandered back toward the sitting room and stopped short when he heard more laughter, this time from a woman. Gib glanced in the direction he’d heard it and startled when Tabitha came bounding toward him, an empty dish in her hand. No doubt she was done with her meal and was making her way to the kitchen to help clean up. Upon noticing Gib, she stopped long enough to give him a courteous bow and inform him that Joel and Nawaz were waiting on the far end of the sitting room. Gib thanked her and moved forward.

As he drew closer, he could make out their voices. Nawaz and Joel were just beyond the bend of the hallway which led to the servants’ rooms. Gib opened his mouth to announce his arrival but fell silent when he heard his name.