The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani (story reading .TXT) 📕

Kestrin rocks back, his expression shuttering.

Beside him, Garrin remains perfectly still, eyes narrowed. “You are suggesting that it is a magical attack?”

“That is what the evidence suggests, yes.” I take the opal and cup from the bag and offer them to Alyrra. “It would be best to have someone you trust look at these to confirm what I’ve learned.”

Kestrin rubs a hand across his mouth. “Let us assume, for a moment, that this is true. That there is a magical attack, which the common people have come to call the Darkness, that obliterates the minds of children who escape the slavers.”

Garrin shakes his head. “You are effectively arguing that there’s a kingdom-wide conspiracy to rid the streets of unwanted children. That seems unlikely at best, and very dangerous ground if you attempt to then implicate the Circle.”

“I’m aware it’s dangerous ground,” Kestrin says. “But if the Circle is involved with slavers—”

“Cousin, the Circle just tried to have a spare heir declared after myself, not even a month ago, when you were absent for a few days. They could try to have you and your wife declared unfit if this gets out, on the grounds that you are attempting to undermine them. They could succeed.”

“But if they are involved with the slavers, wouldn’t that undermine them?” Alyrra demands, echoing my confusion. She holds the cup loosely in her hand, forgotten.

Garrin smiles derisively. “No. You haven’t any mages in Adania, have you?”

She shakes her head.

“Your country is too small for such a rare talent to arise, and even if one did, such a child would leave to study beneath a trained master. But we have the Circle.”

Kestrin sighs. “What my cousin is trying to say, veriana, is that the Circle is strong here.”

“How strong?” Alyrra demands.

Kestrin exchanges a glance with Garrin. Then he says, “Imagine the power of a single mage, veriana. Grant him a pair of amulets within which to store his power, and he becomes a formidable force. We’ve all heard of lands taken over and ruled by a sorcerer until their power—their amulets—could be broken. The Circle is nearly forty mages strong. What could my father do if the Circle turned upon him? What could he do if they decided to name themselves rulers in his stead?”

Nothing. That’s what. I swallow hard. I had never thought of it from this perspective. The Circle swears loyalty to the crown, they’ve upheld the true king for generations . . . but I see now it’s a choice. One they can change at any time. And with forty mages united, the violence they could do Menaiya if they so choose would be devastating.

“You mean,” Alyrra hazards, “that your family are essentially prisoners to the Circle?”

Kestrin winces. “We do what is necessary to pacify the Circle. Grant them what lands and avenues of income they require. Ensure their access to the gems they need to create amulets. Ignore whatever kickbacks they might receive from those to whom they grant their favor. In return, they help secure our borders, perform services to the crown, and . . .”

“And allow us to continue to rule,” Garrin says. “However much that rule may be worth.”

I never imagined the royal family’s position or power to be so precarious. It’s stunning.

“Why don’t they take the throne for themselves?” Alyrra asks.

“They don’t need to,” Kestrin says darkly. “They hold the power of coercion over my family, and gain legitimacy by paying us lip service. But it’s no small threat that they are lining up their own choice of heirs after Garrin. Until this past month, we had every expectation that the Circle’s heir would eventually reach the throne.”

And now he doesn’t believe so? I glance between the royals but don’t dare interrupt. Alyrra nods, as if this makes perfect sense. Something happened during those days that Kestrin was absent, when Alyrra gave up her post as goose girl and returned to the palace. Something that has changed the balance of power even just a little, in favor of the royal family.

“So, there’s hope our line might yet persist,” Garrin says dryly. “But only if we do not upset the Circle. Whether you truly believe the Circle is involved with these slavers or not, you cannot pursue this angle. Anything that could be construed as a direct attack on the Circle will destroy us.”

Alyrra glances from the men to me, as if I might have some idea what to do, when it never even occurred to me the Circle might be the true power behind the throne.

“It doesn’t mean you have to give up this work,” Kestrin offers. “It just means that we aren’t in a position to challenge the Circle yet. We will get there.”

Garrin snorts. “So you hope, cousin. Allow me to point out that none of the kings that have come before have managed to bring the Circle to heel.”

“Even so, if the slavers are, in fact, stealing children from across our land, then we can work to stop them. But we must focus on them directly, and leave out the Circle.”

“You can’t leave out the Circle,” Garrin observes. “You said yourself that we ignore kickbacks the Circles receive for services rendered. They’re not going to be pleased when you declare war on the people who—if the Darkness is what you say, kelari—have been lining their pockets for decades.”

“We are hardly fit rulers if we sell our people’s children for our own security,” Alyrra says. “If the Circle requires some replacement in income to satisfy them, then perhaps we can look to that in a way that doesn’t risk our people.”

Kestrin smiles. “Well said, veriana.”

Garrin considers his cousin and then turns his gaze to Alyrra. “I am not convinced the problem of these snatchers is as wide as you believe, veria, but if you are both set on this, then let me serve as your shield. You are new here, and if you begin your tenure by undermining the alliances the Circle has established, they will