Far to the southwest, beyond the contested lands, lay Selyna's kingdom. The Mirror Waters. A country of still lakes, slow canals, floating palaces set upon surfaces so smooth they reflected the sky like glass.
The queen stood in her Hall of Reflections, a vast circular room with walls covered in mirrors of all sizes. Some were framed in gold, others in driftwood. All showed different images. Places. Faces. Stolen moments.
Selyna sat on a low seat, legs crossed, a cup of pale wine in hand. Her silver-blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders. Her eyes, so light a blue they seemed white, fixed on a central mirror.
The image showed a fort of black stone. Soldiers bustled about. New walls gleamed in the red sun.
"He's rebuilding," she murmured.
The emissary who had visited Kael stood a few paces away, head bowed.
"Yes, my queen. The Demon King repaired the southern border in a few days."
"With his magic."
"Yes."
"So he is as powerful as before."
"Perhaps more."
Selyna took a sip of wine.
"And I thought he would return weakened. Broken by the dream. Malleable."
"He is neither broken nor malleable."
"I see."
She rose, approached the mirror. The image shifted, showing the Neverdie Realm palace. The towers, the banners, the hanging gardens.
"He is home," she said. "Truly home."
"Yes, my queen."
"And he refused my gift."
"Yes. He said he doesn't buy alliances on credit."
"That's what I would have done in his place."
"Then why offer it?"
"Because if he had accepted, I would have known he was weak."
"And now?"
"Now I know he is strong."
Selyna ran her fingers over the mirror's surface. The image blurred, then reformed. Kael appeared, walking along a rampart. The blue scarf at his belt.
"He accepted a gift, though. A scarf. From a young merchant girl."
"That's not a political gift."
"No. It's a gift from the people. And he wears it."
"That shows he is close to his people."
"Or that he wants to appear so."
Selyna turned from the mirror.
"What have the others done?" she asked.
"Maëldor sent a chancellor. He received no clear answer."
"He's too impatient."
"The Vorlath are fortifying."
"They're afraid. That's a good sign."
"Varka offered blood wine."
"A warrior. He respects strength."
"Tarval proposes a trade meeting."
"He never changes."
"Osskar observes. Sylva too."
"The elders wait."
"And Xelphar?"
The emissary hesitated.
"He sent nothing."
"Nothing at all?"
"No."
Selyna frowned.
"That's the most worrying."
"Why, my queen?"
"Because Xelphar's silence is worth all the messages. If he sent nothing, it means he has no need to speak."
"He's preparing something?"
"He's waiting. Like us. But with a predator's patience."
Selyna returned to her seat.
"What do our spies say?"
"The Neverdie Realm is strengthening. The soldiers have regained morale. The borders hold. And word spreads that Kael released his aura."
"I felt it. Even here."
"All the way to the Mirror Waters?"
"Yes. Like a shiver in the water. A distant echo."
"Then he truly has become a Demon King again."
"He never stopped. He just forgot."
Selyna fixed her reflection in a nearby mirror. Her face was calm, but her eyes gleamed with a cold light.
"I need to see him again."
"You want to send another emissary?"
"No. I'll go myself."
"My queen, that's risky."
"Politics is risk. Staying here watching reflections will teach me nothing more."
"What do you want to learn?"
"Whether he can be an ally. Or whether he must be destroyed."
"You think he would accept an alliance?"
"Not on credit. But if I offer him something concrete, he will listen."
"What?"
"The Krell basins. The Vorlath occupy them. If I help him retake them, he will owe me a debt."
"And if he refuses?"
"Then he will have deprived himself of an ally. And he will have one more enemy."
The emissary bowed.
"I will prepare your journey."
"No. I will prepare it myself."
"My queen?"
"I don't want anyone to know I'm coming. Not yet."
"You want to approach him in secret?"
"I want to observe him. See how he behaves away from his palace."
"That's dangerous."
"That's my profession."
Selyna emptied her cup.
"Leave me."
The emissary bowed and withdrew.
The queen remained alone among the mirrors. Reflections danced around her, showing fragments of the world. Burned fields. Dark forests. Palaces. Faces.
She raised her hand. A mirror pivoted, fixed on an image: Kael, asleep in a border fort. Kira kept watch nearby.
"You rest," she murmured. "That's good. Rest."
She smiled.
"Soon, we will speak. And you will see that I am not your enemy."
She gestured. The mirror grew smooth again.
The Hall of Reflections darkened.
Outside, the still waters gleamed beneath a violet sky.