Page 158 of Sword & Shadow
“How old are your parents?” Thom asked.
Ilain thought for a moment. “Da is sixty-seven, and Mum is sixty-five next month.”
Evylin’s brow furrowed. “They must have been quite old when they had you,” she said.
Ilain looked confused for all of a second. Then she chuckled. “I forgot,” she said wryly. “I haven’t told you my age. I’m forty-three, dear.”
Ethenn choked as he took a sip from his waterskin. Thom slapped him on the back, smirking.
“Mages and Warriors live longer than the average human, thanks to our magic,” Ilain explained. “And we look younger because of it.”
“Evidently,” Evylin muttered, bemused. She shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. “So you and your brothers were born into the Alliance?”
“I suppose you could say that.” Ilain twirled a curl around her finger. “Our parents instilled their beliefs into us quite young, but we readily accepted them as our own. They didn’t hide the dark truth of Blount’s tyranny and the Mages’ reigns from us.Even when Auden and I went to live with the Mages, we held onto our faith and our cause dearly.”
“Is the Alliance a religious organization?” Ethenn asked skeptically.
Ilain nodded. “Quite religious. Our faith informs much of our policies and decisions.”
“Is that what brought your parents to join?” Thom asked. “Religion?”
A long pause drew Evylin to look at Ilain. The woman stared at Thom in consideration. “Do you want to know the real reason?” she asked. “Or the palatable one?”
Thom blanched. “Whichever you’re willing to give,” he said.
With a tight nod, Ilain turned forward to speak to the horizon. “My mother was the daughter of a duke,” she began. “My father’s family was well known for their superior stock and training, so Lord Wessam, my grandfather, purchased all his horses from them. When my mother was sixteen, he bought her a gelding. My father delivered it, and that’s how they met. Over time, they fell in love.”
“I see where this is going,” Thom said, amused.
“You don’t,” Ilain said sharply. “My grandfather didn’t approve of his daughter loving a lowly horse breeder, so he forbade them from seeing one another. Being an honorable man of Allorian faith, my father listened, despite my mother’s protests. Shortly after, King Blount went on a tour of Wauld. Although his reign had begun nearly a decade earlier, it took some time to stabilize after his coup d’état. Once his monarchy was established, he sought to tighten his hold on the gentry. Those who weren’t found loyal and subservient were killed and replaced.”
Evylin grimaced, finding the king no better than his son.
“Being a duke, my grandfather’s estate was on Blount’s route,” Ilain continued. “He stayed with the family for a week,and my grandfather did everything in his power to prove his allegiance. He spared no expense and appeased all of Blount’s requests, including the use of his daughter.”
A sudden silence filled the air as the Ephrians processed the highlady’s words. Evylin, Thom, and Ethenn all stared at Ilain, dumbfounded.
“He—” The words couldn’t work their way up Evylin’s dry throat.
Ilain had no such issue. “He raped her.”
Thom and Ethenn slumped as though they were the ones to fail Ilain’s mother and not Lord Wessam.
“A month later, it was discovered that my mother was pregnant,” Ilain said. “Unwilling to reveal the king’s crime, my grandfather shunned my mother and accused my father. When he learned of this, my father didn’t hesitate to find my mother and marry her, promising to care for her child as if it were his own. He gave Vayden his name and allowed the world to believe our grandfather’s lie.
“But from that moment on, my father swore that he would find a way to dethrone Blount,” Ilain said, husky voice thick with passion. “Our parents raised us knowing the truth about Vayden’s parentage, though we kept it within our family. They wanted us to know so that we could understand the world we lived in. So that we could know why it needed to change.”
Under the weight of the Calders’ heavy history, the Ephrians were silent. They exchanged sorrowful, wary glances. The reason for Ilain and Auden’s dedication to the Alliance became clear. And Evylin had to wonder how many other families had similar stories.
Thom broke the awkward silence. “I’m—” He paused, brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, but did you say your brother is the king’s son?”
Ilain leveled him with a flat glare. “That’s what you took away from the story?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Your brother is also Blount’s brother,” he exclaimed. “We’re fighting to bring down your brother’s family.”
“They aren’t his family,” Ilain countered. “They don’t even know he exists.”
Interrupting whatever caustic reply Thom was about to put forth, Ethenn said, “What is he like? Your brother.”
