Chapter 9 — The Second Offer

Vane had arrived in Vardenmoor.This they learned from a breathless city runner who met them outside the archive with the information Deven had quietly paid for in advance: Vane's advance force, two hundred riders, through the south gate that morning. Vane himself, in a black carriage with his personal guard."He moved faster than I thought," Deven said."He knew we were coming," Ren said. "He's been behind us since Halvenmoor. He wasn't trying to stop us.""He was letting us lead him here," Maren said."He wants Kael at the throne. That's all he needs." Ren's voice was flat. "Kael at the throne, on Vane's terms, with Vane's army in the city. The second offer."The second offer came before they reached the palace. It came in the form of Vane himself, dismounted in the broad avenue that led to the palace gate, with his personal guard at a respectful distance and his hands visibly empty."Walk with me," he said to Kael.Deven positioned himself at Kael's shoulder. Vane glanced at him."This offer doesn't require witnesses," Vane said."All my offers require witnesses," Kael said. "It's a policy."Vane accepted this with the patience of a man who had dealt with difficult people before. They walked — Kael, Vane, Deven at the edge of earshot, Maren and Ren behind them."I know what you learned in the archive," Vane said. He said it without preface, which was the choice of someone who had decided that directness was more effective than maneuvering with this particular subject. "I have my own Keeper contacts. The removed lines. The theory about distribution." A pause. "I know what you're considering.""And?" Kael said."And I want you to reconsider." He was quiet for a moment. The palace gate was visible ahead, the great Cinderstone arch of it, warm in the afternoon light. "Not for me. I want you to reconsider for the Cinderlands."Kael looked at him."Distribution sounds ideal in theory," Vane said. "I'm not arguing the theory. I'm arguing the moment. The Cinderlands have been fragmenting for six years. There are three ongoing border conflicts, two active famines in the western provinces, and a trade network that's lost thirty percent of its function without central coordination." He looked at the palace. "You distribute the throne's authority and you get — what? A ground that knows it's been returned something? That doesn't feed the western provinces. That doesn't stop the border conflicts. That doesn't rebuild the trade routes." He looked at Kael. "The empire's infrastructure is real even if its legitimizing mechanism is arbitrary. Someone has to maintain it."