Javaun Helios's Arc

Chapter 8 of 11

Prince Diamond pulled his arm back from Javaun. He stared at the wrecked hall, at the fallen guards, at the elf's empty sword on the floor. "Who are all of you?" he asked. His voice shook. "Everyone lied to me. Everyone." He looked at Javaun last, and something cold crossed his face. Then he turned and walked out through the broken doors, alone. Javaun moved to follow. The old man in gray stopped him with one hand. "Let the boy breathe," he said. He looked older up close, his skin thin as paper. "There is something you must know first." The crowd hushed. The wizard lifted his chin. "I am the king. I wore this old face to walk among you unseen." Gasps ran through the hall. People sank to their knees. "The elf poisoned this kingdom slowly," the king went on. "Every trick he worked drained me. I banished him, but it cost the last of my strength." He swayed on his feet. Javaun caught his arm. The king's weight fell heavy. "He will find a way back across the sea. When he does, someone must be ready." His eyes fixed on Javaun. "You exposed him. You freed the true princess. I choose you." "Choose me for what?" Javaun asked. "Grow stronger," the king said. "Train your body and your mind. Find the old orders beyond the mountains who taught me. When the elf returns, you will be the last shield this land has." His breath rattled. His knees buckled. Javaun and two guards eased him to the stone. The king gripped Javaun's wrist. "My blessing goes with you." His hand went slack. The rattling stopped. The hall filled with weeping. Javaun knelt there a long moment. Then he rose and went to find the Prince. He found Diamond outside on the castle steps, beneath the fluttering pink flags, watching the pale morning. Javaun told him everything. The false lord. The stolen princess. The king who wore a stranger's face. The quest. Diamond listened without turning. "You could have told me," he said at last. "Any of it. You chose the plan instead." Javaun had no answer. Diamond studied him, and his shoulders eased just a little. "But you didn't run. You stayed and fought." He almost smiled. "Come back and I will decide what I think of you." It was not love. It was a door left open. Javaun would take it. A voice called behind him. Princess Ilandra hurried down the steps, her braids swinging, the glowing orb still cradled in her arms. "You're leaving," she said. It was not a question. "Then I'm coming." She lifted her chin. "I did not survive that tower to sit and embroider." She pressed the orb into his hands. "Someone has to keep you from getting yourself killed." Javaun looked back once at Diamond in the doorway. Then he shouldered his pack and started down the road with Ilandra beside him.