โSanct!โ announced Gen, throwing a card down onto the pile, faceup. On its front, a hooded figure with a bowed head held up a rune like a chalice, and in his chair, Gen grinned triumphantly.
Parrish grimaced and threw his remaining cards facedown on the table. He could accuse Gen of cheating, but there was no point. Parrish himself had been cheating for the better part of an hour and still hadnโt won a single hand. He grumbled as he shoved his coins across the narrow table to the other guardโs towering pile. Gen gathered up the winnings and began to shuffle the deck. โShall we go again?โ he asked.
โIโll pass,โ answered Parrish, shoving to his feet. A cloakโheavy panels of red and gold fanning like rays of sunโspilled over his armored shoulders as he stood, the layered metal plates of his chest piece and leg guards clanking as they slid into place.
โIr chas era,โย said Gen, sliding from Royal into Arnesian. The common tongue.
โIโm not bitter,โ grumbled Parrish back. โIโm broke.โ โCome on,โ goaded Gen. โThird timeโs the charm.โ
โI have to piss,โ said Parrish, readjusting his short sword. โThen go piss.โ
Parrish hesitated, surveying the hall for signs of trouble. The hall was devoid of troubleโor any other forms of activityโbut full of pretty things: royal portraits, trophies, tables (like the one theyโd been playing on), and, at the hallโs end, a pair of ornate doors. Made of cherrywood, the doors were carved with the royal emblem of Arnes, the chalice and rising sun, the grooves filled with melted gold, and above the emblem, the threads of metallic light traced anย Rย across the polished wood.
The doors led to Prince Rhyโs private chambers, and Gen and Parrish, as part of Prince Rhyโs private guard, had been stationed outside of them.
Parrish was fond of the prince. He was spoiled, of course, but so was every royalโor so Parrish assumed, having served only the oneโbut he was also good-natured and exceedingly lenient when it came to his guard (hell, heโd
given Parrish the deck of cards himself, beautiful, gilded-edge things) and sometimes, after a night of drinking, would shed his Royal and its pretentions and converse with them in the common tongue (his Arnesian was flawless). If anything, Rhy seemed to feel guilty for the persistent presence of the guards, as if surely they had something better to do with their time than stand outside his door and be vigilant (and in truth, most nights it was more a matter of discretion than vigilance).
The best nights were the ones when Prince Rhy and Master Kell set out into the city, and he and Gen were allowed to follow at a distance or relieved of their duties entirely and allowed to stay for company rather than protection (everyone knew that Kell could keep the prince safer than any of his guard). But Kell was still awayโa fact that had put the ever-restless Rhy in a moodโ and so the prince had withdrawn early to his chambers, and Parrish and Gen had taken up their watch, and Gen had robbed Parrish of most of his pocket money.
Parrish scooped up his helmet from the table, and went to relieve himself; the sound of Gen counting his coins followed him out. Parrish took his time, feeling he was owed as much after losing so many lin, and when he finally ambled back to the princeโs hall, he was distressed to find it empty. Gen was nowhere to be seen. Parrish frowned; leniency went only so far. Gambling was one thing, but if the princeโs chambers were caught unguarded, their captain would be furious.
The cards were still on the table, and Parrish began to clean them up when he heard a male voice in the princeโs chamber and stopped. It was not a strange thing to hear, in and of itselfโRhy was prone to entertaining and made little secret of his varied tastes, and it was hardly Parrishโs place to question his proclivities.
But Parrish recognized the voice at once; it did not belong to one of Rhyโs pursuits. The words were English, but accented, the edges rougher than an Arnesian tongue.
It was a voice like a shadow in the woods at night. Quiet and dark and cold. And it belonged to Holland. Theย Antariย from afar.
Parrish paled a little. He worshipped Master Kellโa fact Gen gave him grief for dailyโbut Holland terrified him. He didnโt know if it was the evenness in the manโs tone or his strangely faded appearance or his haunted eyesโone black, of course, the other a milky green. Or perhaps it was the way he seemed to be made more of water and stone than flesh and blood and soul. Whatever it was, the foreignย Antariย had always given Parrish the shivers.
Some of the guards called him Hollow behind his back, but Parrish never dared.
โWhat?โ Gen would tease. โNot like he can hear you through the wall between worlds.โ
โYou donโt know,โ Parrish would whisper back. โMaybe he can.โ
And now Holland was in Rhyโs room. Was he supposed to be there? Who had let him in?
Whereย wasย Gen?ย wondered Parrish as he took up his spot in front of the door. He didnโt mean to eavesdrop, but there was a narrow gap between the left side of the door and the right, and when he turned his head slightly, the conversation reached him through the crack.
โPardon my intrusion,โ came Hollandโs voice, steady and low.
โItโs none at all,โ answered Rhy casually. โBut what business brings you to me instead of to my father?โ
โI have been to your father for business already,โ said Holland. โI come to you for something else.โ
Parrishโs cheeks reddened at the seductiveness in Hollandโs tone. Perhaps it would be better to abandon his post than listen in, but he held his ground, and heard Rhy slump back onto a cushioned seat.
โAnd whatโs that?โ asked the prince, mirroring the flirtation. โIt is nearly your birthday, is it not?โ
โIt is nearly,โ answered Rhy. โYou should attend the celebrations, if your king and queen will spare you.โ
โThey will not, I fear,โ replied Holland. โBut my king and queen are the reason Iโve come. Theyโve bid me deliver a gift.โ
Parrish could hear Rhy hesitate. โHolland,โ he said, the sound of cushions shifting as he sat forward, โyou know the laws. I cannot takeโโ
โI know the laws, young prince,โ soothed Holland. โAs to the gift, I picked it out here, in your own city, on my mastersโ behalf.โ
There was a long pause, followed by the sound of Rhy standing. โVery well,โ he said.
Parrish heard the shuffle of a parcel being passed and opened. โWhat is it for?โ asked the prince after another stretch of quiet.
Holland made a sound, something between a smile and a laugh, neither of which Parrish had borne witness to before. โFor strength,โ he said.
Rhy began to say something else, but at the same instant, a set of clocks went off through the palace, marking the hour and masking whatever else was said between theย Antariย and the prince. The bells were still echoing through the hall when the door opened and Holland stepped out, his two-toned eyes landing instantly on Parrish.
Holland guided the door shut and considered the royal guard with a resigned sigh. He ran a hand through his charcoal hair.
โSend away one guard,โ he said, half to himself, โand another takes his place.โ
Before Parrish could think of a response, theย Antariย dug a coin from his pocket and flicked it into the air toward him.
โI wasnโt here,โ said Holland as the coin rose and fell. And by the time it hit Parrishโs palm, he was alone in the hall, staring down at the disk, wondering how it got there, and certain he was forgetting something. He clutched the coin as if he could catch the slipping memory, and hold on.
But it was already gone.