Chapter 2 — The Road to Greyveil

"Who else is looking?" Kael asked."Castor Vane. Warlord. Holds the eastern third of the Cinderlands and wants the rest. He's heard the prophecy and he's decided you'd be useful — either as a figurehead for his claim to the throne, or removed entirely, depending on how cooperative you're willing to be." Deven picked up his charts and started walking west. "He has scouts two days behind you. So. Walk."They walked."I'm not a king," Kael said, after a quarter mile."I know," said Deven."The prophecy says—""The prophecy says you'll be offered the crown twice and refuse it both times. That's not a king. That's a person who declines to be king. Twice. With apparent consequences the prophecy doesn't fully specify." He glanced sideways. "Honestly, I've read a lot of prophecies. Yours is the most interesting one I've come across, mostly because of what it doesn't say.""What doesn't it say?"Deven was quiet for a moment. "It doesn't say you're important because of what you'll rule. Most prophecies about kings and chosen ones are about the ruling. What they'll achieve with the power, who they'll defeat, what kingdoms they'll build." He looked at the road ahead. "Yours says you're important because of what comes after you refuse. Like the refusal itself is the point." A pause. "I've been trying to understand that for three years."Kael looked at the road."What comes after the second refusal?" Maren asked."The prophecy says: the third thing. Not king, not ash. Something the prophecy does not have a word for yet." Deven's voice was carefully neutral. "I find that either very interesting or very alarming, depending on the hour.""What hour is it now?" Kael said.A short pause."Alarming," Deven said. "Let's pick up the pace."