Andrew Rowe - On the Shoulders of Titans

Derek didn’t look even slightly surprised. “Right. That’s why I was investigating you.”

I blinked. “You knew?”

Derek shrugged. “Sure. When Elora first tried to get me involved, she told me that Tristan was one of the people leading the operation. Tristan, Elora, and I were friends in school, before we’d earned our attunements. She thought that telling me he was involved would help convince me.”

“And it didn’t?”

“Quite the opposite, actually. I’d assumed Tristan was dead for years. And now he’s alive and engaging in clandestine operations involving kidnapping visages? That’s nothing if not suspicious.”

Derek paused, looking contemplative. “I considered agreeing to help just to learn more about what they were up to. It would have been the wise move, in truth. But Elora has always been able to see right through my attempts at guile. I think that would have led to a far worse confrontation.”

I turned my head down, staring blankly at my food. “I wish you’d have at least told me he was alive.”

“You didn’t know?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not until Katashi told me that Tristan was one of the kidnappers.”

Derek gave me an apologetic look. “Uh, sorry about that. As I said, I thought you might be working with him, or otherwise aware of his movements.”

It was a logical assumption.

Trust within a family sounded so reasonable on the surface.

I set my jaw and tried to regain my focus on the conversation. “All right. I don’t blame you. For the moment, let’s focus on moving forward. If you’ve already turned Elora down, and she’s looking for allies, do you think I could convince her to let me in on her plans?”

He raised a hand to his chin, seeming to consider that. “Doubtful. Your connection to Tristan would be a good opening, but she has ways to determine if someone is telling the truth. Beyond that, Orden probably has been keeping her apprised of the situation, including your role. It would probably just get you captured.”

“Okay. What about one of the others, then? Would Orden have told her about Patrick or Marissa?”

“Maybe not, but they’re not significant enough for Elora to pay attention.”

Marissa turned toward us, looking a little hurt. “…Are we really that unimportant?”

I hadn’t realized she’d even been listening.

Derek waved a placating hand at her. “Not that you’re not amazing, Marissa. I’m just saying she’d probably only be interested in someone with a great deal of power — magically or politically.”

Marissa frowned. “I s’pose that’s how most nobles think, ain’t it?”

Derek gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, sorry.” He turned back to me. “Anyway, I don’t know if we have anyone who would be able to infiltrate her operation.”

I considered that. “Keras? He’s obviously powerful.”

Derek shook his head again. “Definitely not a good idea. I doubt she’d work with him, and if she did, I’d be worried that she’d convince him to stay on their side.”

I got the implication and felt mildly offended on Keras’ behalf. He didn’t seem to be the type to be easily tricked into changing his allegiances. But, then again, I didn’t really know Keras. And Derek was right about the possible risks. “Okay. Weird question, but do you know if my mother is connected with them?”

Derek frowned. “I was hoping you could tell me that. I know she’s on the Council of Lords with Elora, and that she tends to push for bolstering our military, but I don’t know if she’d agree with using artificial attuned for that purpose.”

Mother was something of a traditionalist, which made me think that she’d oppose making artificial attuned. But if the idea of gaining more military power for the country conflicted with her sense of traditionalism, I didn’t know which would win out. “I’ll see if I can contact her and find out if she’s involved.”

“Good. Just be discrete. I suppose I’ll see if I can talk some sense into Elora, but don’t get your hopes too high.”

I nodded absently, my mind already shifting into other topics. I’d figure out how to extract what Elora knew later. “Do you think I need to be worried about reprisals for taking action against Orden, or based on how much I know?”

“Yes, but I don’t think anyone will act immediately. I spoke to Lord Teft and Vice Chancellor Bennet while you were asleep and filled them in on the situation. We agreed that you and the others should continue attending your classes normally, but I’d advise you to continue to stay here at night.”

I folded my arms. “I wish you would have talked to me before discussing anything with Teft. He was clearly involved with Orden on…some level, if not with this plan.”

Derek chuckled. “I suppose his situation isn’t much different from mine, in a way. I don’t think Orden ever let him in on any of the details, though. Teft would never have approved of attacking Tenjin. He might not look like it, but he’s fiercely devoted to the goddess.”

Teft? Religious?

Huh. Wouldn’t have expected that.

I mean, virtually everyone worshipped the goddess to some degree, but I didn’t take Teft for the type to be particularly dedicated to anyone other than himself.

…That was kind of a mean line of thinking, though, and it wasn’t exactly fair. He’d pushed himself to near unconsciousness keeping us safe from Mizuchi, and in spite of his antics in class, he was extraordinarily careful to make certain his students were taking proper safety measures.

I’d been judging him largely based on our first meeting, which was admittedly a terrible first impression. But in fairness, the teacher who had seemed nice was the one who was actually masterminding a scheme on a national scale, so maybe I just needed to stop judging people on appearances.

“I understand your reasoning, but I’m still not sure I can trust him.” I tightened my jaw. “Then again, I’m not sure I can trust anyone right now.”

“That brings me to another point, actually.” Derek shook his head. “I didn’t tell Teft or the vice chancellor about Jin. I wanted to get your take on it first.”

I winced. “Do you know what happened to him?”

Derek shook his head. “No. I just know what you told me and Keras, and I haven’t followed up. Do you think he’s a threat?”

I thought back to what Jin had said when we’d fought. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t a spy for another government…he was just trying to protect his own homeland.

That was no excuse for what he did, but I didn’t expect him to take other immediate steps to cause harm. “I don’t think I can make an accurate assessment of that. I clearly misjudged him before.” I hesitated, then added, “But for what it’s worth, I don’t think he’s probably a threat to either of us. And I don’t see him doing anything to directly sabotage Valia, either. His action was opportunistic. Now that Vera is out of his reach, I don’t see him doing anything drastic.”

Derek nodded, considering. “Sounds about right.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to hire someone to keep any eye on him for a while, just to see if he does anything suspicious. But I won’t turn him in to the vice chancellor, not yet. Treason charges aren’t the kind of thing you walk away from, and I get the impression he doesn’t deserve that kind of punishment.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’re being that charitable.”

Derek shrugged. “I’ve seen the kinds of things being an outsider can do to someone. And, for what it’s worth, I’m not convinced Vera didn’t deserve what she got.”