Comrades in Magic by Guy Antibes

Author:Guy Antibes [Antibes, Guy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casiepress LLC
Published: 2023-03-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

~

“T

he five of us will visit the king,” Gags said after they checked into a royal inn.

“Darlia and I will document the visit,” Miria said. “You’ll want an accurate account of what King Horius says.”

“It won’t hurt,” Gags said. “I hope the conversation is boring.”

“Hope all you want,” Lucian said. “It will be what it will be.”

Gags laughed. “Truer words were never spoken.”

“Although there have been words that are just as true,” Lucian said with a smirk.

Gags sent a message to the palace while they cleaned up from their time on the road. A king’s messenger brought an invitation to dinner. Gags hoped it would be an intimate affair, but that depended on the king’s schedule and meeting him the same day they arrived in Bashing. He’d rather get any unpleasantness over with as soon as possible.

They took a carriage to the palace and were in a line of other carriages.

“A state dinner?” Darlia asked.

Gags nodded as he helped Miria and her down from the carriage. “I’ll ask for a private audience,” Gags said.

The ballroom had been set up for the dinner. Every courtier that Gags knew was there except for Hardcastle and Galius Karkle as the Steward of Karkle Cross. They were placed far away from the dais even though Gags was the highest ranked person in the kingdom after the king.

“It’s an affront,” Lucian said in Gags’s ear as they sat down amidst the babble before the king arrived.

“His Royal Highness, King Horius Linseed, Queen Olinda, and Duke Ottavius Bottle.”

Gags couldn’t believe his eyes as Bottle smugly walked in behind the king and queen and sat at the left side of Hosand’s monarch. Bottle smirked at Gags when they made eye contact. The final affront would be Nestus Deliry sitting at the table, but the wizard wasn’t there.

The king raised his eyebrows when he saw Gags, but his surprise turned into a friendly smile and then a confused look. The queen looked concerned when she spotted Gags and Lucian.

The dinner was served and the sound of conversations and eating filled the ballroom. The king avoided any further eye contact and Bottle ignored them as well until a servant rang a bell.

“His Royal Highness has a happy announcement to make. Silence while the king speaks,” the servant said.

King Horius stood to polite applause. He smiled and put out his hands to stop the applause a moment after it ended on its own. Gags looked at the diners. Most of them didn’t look happy. He wondered if they had advanced warning of what was to come. Gags sighed. There might not be an audience in the near future.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ottavius Bottle, as Grand Duke of Hosand. He will help me administer all my fiefs in the future.”

Gags couldn’t help himself. He stood up and glared at the king. “That is against Hosandian law,” Gags said. “I am well aware of my rights as a liege lord.” Galius Karkle had ground the law into Gags’s head ever since he took over Yearsend.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.