Chapter 2

Till Sea Swallows All

Lorelei envied her grandchildren. They had no clue what a funeral was, so they could play and laugh their hearts out while others had to express nothing but mopey sadness and soul-crushing despair.

Right now, her Corrado was in front of his uncle's body, giving another speech of how noble he was as Duke of Garlesca, how loyal he was as an Imperial vassal, how caring he was as an uncle, et cetera. The last one was probably a jab at her.

Her father, for his part, was strangely silent, and Lorelei decided to follow suit. Emperor Kiordan was itching to talk to her, they having not seen each other for quite a long time. It would either be about politics, Corrado, Erlend, the other Kiordan, or Isangrim. The not-marten had broken the Bond a few seasons after it was set up, almost immediately after learning about the mood swings that a pregnant otterwife had to endure. He had never even tried to reconnect with her after her second child was born, and that was the way things should have been from the start.

"Uncle Orlando may not have been the best of kin, but he did his duties well," said Corrado, bowing. "Though the sea takes all lives, his time on land will be remembered fondly until the end of time." Bending over, he kissed his uncle's forehead, then walked back to the end of the shrine.

Lorelei never knew Orlando. They had met exactly thrice, and she had been old enough to remember only the last two times. It was fortunate that Corrado did not expect her to cry or wail over a stranger.

Everyone stood up and bowed towards the deceased, then followed her son out, with Kiordan lagging behind.

"Lori," her father said softly. "We should meet after the reception."

"Where?" She tried to whisper, but a few heads turned towards the pair. A glare from her quickly turned them back.

"Maybe in my quarters or something? No. Your mother would be there. Your room then." Having said thus, he walked towards his wife, with a speed far beyond the average septuagenarian.

"Mother." Corrado approached his mother, with his usual smile muted. "The food's ready, and I'm afraid Lord Orlando would not be happy if we waste too much."

Lorelei smiled. Dead uncles were nothing to be afraid of."I'm not exactly hungry. Besides, your uncle made many friends before his passing. They can find their own food."

"They'll be happy to oblige." Corrado nodded, then swiftly went to tend to his children - but not before embracing Marla.

Slipping out of the mass of beasts blocking the doorway, Lorelei slowly progressed past the top of the ridiculously narrow stairs of Castle Vitalina. Nearby, four-season-old Eufemia Truetide was on her father's back, laughing as he spun her around while Kiordan and his wife Marla chattered about how good Corrado's speech was. It wasn't that great, but she had no intention of interrupting them, nor being eviscerated verbally by both her parents.

"They do grow fast, yes?" A voice rose from behind Lorelei. Evidently, Isangrim had not outgrown his love for surprise after the events of twenty seasons.

"Yes," responded the otter. "They do indeed." She still did not like the mustelid per se, but he had been out of her life for the last seventeen seasons.

"Children must be wonderful," Isangrim chuckled in his usual dry and mirthless manner. "Not that I'm getting any of my own. Martens are rare enough in these parts, and, you know, I'm rarer than them."

"Have you considered taking other children under your wing?" asked Lorelei before shaking her head. "Oh wait. You do already. Being Father's spymaster and all."

Isangrim cringed. "I do not. Having children is significantly easier than having to work with children." He stamped his footpaw in mock anger. "Imagine the candied chestnuts I would have to give away! Besides, I have my Sorcery. Makes my job significantly easier. How's Conjury going?"

"Not at all brilliant." Lorelei shook her head.

"Huh?" Isangrim's ears twitched - a marten trait. "Are you that out of practice?"

Lorelei frowned. "Parenting, grandparenting and having to manage Garlesca for father takes up quite a bit of time. Besides, Kiordan taught me as badly as he raised me. And the less said about you, the better."

Isangrim put his paw right up to his face. "I… I tried. I tried to help you. You have much drive and potential, but-"

"I'm leaving them untapped. You've told me that time after time again, and I'm sick of it. You two ask me to keep your secrets, while you keep your own secrets in turn!"

"Kiordan doesn't believe that you're ready," said Isangrim without even an inch of regret.

"Ready?" growled Lorelei. "Maybe if he hadn't left me to run Garlesca while he was off travelling all those years, I would be ready."

"Look." Isangrim scowled. "I don't have permission to tell you what your father is up to, that will have to wait. He will probably tell you tonight. In the meantime, I'd best be going." Then the mustelid was gone, fleeing up the stairs to his own room.

"Isangrim giving you trouble?" Another voice came from behind Lorelei. Her mother was not as bad as her father when it came to sneaking up behind her, but by all accounts she apparently learned from him..

"Yes," sighed Lorelei. "I have no idea why father still trusts the shifty creature."

"He had always shown great favour to vermin," said the Empress. "He was saved by a weasel in battle, or so I've heard."

"Yeah, yeah." Lorelei's whiskers twitched. "So what are you here for?"

"Just a thing about Cory," said Marla without batting an eye.

Lorelei cringed. Corrado had been a touchy subject for the last decade. "I thought he was good with me now."

"He is." nodded Marla. "He told me to tell you that you're a wonderful mother."

Never had Lorelei expected to hear that, from Corrado of all beasts no less. "It is all thanks to you, Mother," the princess stammered. "Corrado would not have accepted me without you."

"Having children of his own definitely helped him understand your side of the story, though you have yet to understand his side." Marla patted her daughter on the back. "Don't fret. One day you'll understand, and know when to let go. With both Cory and Kio." The elderly otterwife sighed. "I've always thought I let you go too late while Kiordan let you go too early. Who knows what he could be up to these days?"

"Oh hey, you two!" Kiordan waved a paw at mother and daughter. "I'm afraid supper's ready. Maybe we should go." He grinned at Lorelei. "Don't worry. Isangrim's not coming."

Another feast, another round of pleasantries, another hour of trying not to get drunk had passed, and Lorelei found herself sitting on her four-poster bed with her father beside her.

"Take a good guess," the Emperor opened his still-grinning mouth. "What would posterity think of Orlando Truetide?"

Lorelei scowled. She had not inherited Kiordan's love for random and sometimes stupid questions, and she was growing tired of them. "I have no idea."

"Aw…" Kiordan rolled his eyes as he plopped down onto the bed, right next to his daughter. "I was hoping for a concrete answer, but it seems that you're not willing to give me one."

"I'm tired of your questions." Lorelei growled. "What's the point of beating around the bush?"

"Tsk." Kiordan stood up once more. "You don't seem familiar with the concept of 'small talk'. Ah well. Could've been worse."

Lorelei sprung to her footpaws as well. "What's the point?"

Kiordan lifted an arm and spun his paw around. "In asking the right questions, one would know more about oneself and the world around us."

"And then what?"

"Peace of mind." Kiordan bowed with a flourish, like he was some performer on a stage. "The meaning of life is peace of mind. By knowing that others thought well of him, Corrado's dear uncle would rest a bit easier. Post-mortem thoughts aren't less than useless - far from it."

"Get to the point!" shouted Lorelei. "Why did you call me here? I know I'm not skilled enough to be of much use to you."

"Because we're all in mortal danger!" Kiordan sighed in exasperation. "Look. I'm sorry for not telling you everything, but that's just because I don't want you to attract attention! There are bad things afoot. Beasts visiting you in dreams, taking your memories, your capabilities or your soul." Kiordan rubbed his forehead. "They paid me a visit a week ago, and I was lucky to escape with my life."

"Who would be responsible?" asked Lorelei. "And how could I help after being kept in the dark by Father Dearest and the fake marten?"

"I know one of their names." Kiordan's rudder swung from left to right like some kind of malfunctioning clock arm. "Daghild. And don't worry about me. "

Lorelei gasped. "The Archivist of Floret? But she's pathetic! Doesn't even know how to wield a sword, so they say."

"That's because she doesn't need one," Kiordan's tail finally stopped swinging as the emperor took a deep breath. "The first thing one notices about her is that she bears no steel. For me, it was almost the last."

"What motive does she have? She isn't the sort to kill you out of spite, and Southsward doesn't want you dead. Not yet. Or it could be the Raskians. Or maybe the Tarellers." She took a deep breath. "Come to think about it, there are quite a lot of beasts who want to see you dead."

"I don't really know why," said Kiordan in a tone that suggested that he knew exactly why. "The point is that we need to be vigilant, and you must train your abilities to perfection." With yet another flick of his paw, he produced a little piece of wood and smirked.

It was the foxqueen piece from two decades ago.

"Here. Take it." Kiordan handed the piece to his daughter, who responded with a grimace. "No, nothing will happen to you this time. The Bond was a useless experiment, and I know better now.."

"What do I do with this?" Lorelei's brows twitched. "Make a dark room a little bit brighter?"

"No." Kiordan shook his head. "Nox, what was I thinking back then? No. Do you know what a Pathway is?"

Lorelei nodded. "A path to another place. It's in the name, after all."

"Good," Kiordan rubbed his paws. "Now, you'll learn how to open one. Right into Isangrim's bedroom, maybe? Teach him a lesson for being late?"

"Alright." Lorelei nodded again. Closing her eyes, she reached out. A shrill sound cut through the air, and Lorelei's eyes snapped open. The fruit of her labour was there, a Pathway shining light into the sleeping spymaster's face.

"Isangrim!" The emperor rushed through the portal towards the not-marten's bed. "Wakey-wakey! Now isn't the time to-" Kiordan gasped.

The spymaster wasn't breathing.