Twilight's Dawn

going, he shrugged. “They’re still serving.”
    “Are they? Being a dark-Jeweled Warlord Prince, Falonar has to serve for five years in order to remain in Kaeleer after the contract is completed. The others, not being of that caste and not wearing dark Jewels, have fulfilled that obligation and are free to live elsewhere now.”
    “If a Queen will permit them to live in her territory.”
    Saetan tipped his head in agreement. “I think some of those men have already talked to Eyriens who accepted service contracts with Rihlander Queens and have discovered that those Queens are not intimidated by Eyriens or impressed by aggression and arrogance, that those Queens are not going to pay them to sit on a mountain scratching each other’s asses while complaining about the ruler they are supposed to serve.”
    Lucivar took a step back. It still shocked him when his father expressed an opinion so crudely. It would have sounded natural if Andulvar had said it, but Saetan? No. And that crudeness focused his attention as nothing else could have.
    “How many are still under contract to you, Lucivar?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    A flash of anger, like a flash of lightning, filled the room.
    He waited to hear the thunder, waited for the gauge that would tell him how close the storm was—and how violent.
    The silence that followed scared him because it indicated an anger too deep to gauge.
    “Andulvar didn’t like paperwork any more than you do, but he knew every man who served him directly. Contracts were a formality. He didn’t need those pieces of paper to know who served and who didn’t, who was loyal and who wasn’t, who lived by the Blood’s code of honor and who didn’t. He knew —and so do you.”
    Lucivar swallowed hard. “Except for the women I took in last summer, Falonar is the only one who hasn’t fulfilled the full contract.”
    “Then he and those women are the only ones who should be receiving anything from your share of Ebon Rih’s tithes— if they’re fulfilling the tasks you’ve assigned them as their part of the bargain. The others should be informed that they have fulfilled their agreement and are free to live elsewhere. If they want to remain in Ebon Rih, and you’re still willing to let them live here, they will have to find work to support themselves. If they want to work for you, and receive wages from you, and have a skill that you want for the Eyrien community in your keeping, they will stand before you and witnesses and make a formal, binding pledge of loyalty for whatever amount of time you specify. They will do this according to Eyrien tradition, understanding that the penalties of breaking that loyalty also will follow Eyrien tradition. And yes, Prince, that does mean execution. And yes, there were times when Andulvar had to hold up that part of Eyrien honor.”
    Lucivar wanted to pace, but that storm of temper could still come down on him, so he didn’t move. “I can’t cut them loose like that. They’re just starting to build a life.” He wasn’t thinking of the men. Not most of them, anyway. But the women? And what about men like Hallevar and Tamnar? What would they do to support themselves sufficiently?
    “Eyriens prefer plain speaking, so I’ll speak plainly,” Saetan said quietly. “The reason most of the Eyriens who are now settled in Askavi Kaeleer came here was to escape the control of Prythian and all the corrupted Queens who followed her lead. Well, Prythian and those Queens and everyone who was tainted by them are gone. Dead. Destroyed. Purged from all the Realms. If the Eyriens living in Ebon Rih don’t like the boundaries that are set by the Queens in Kaeleer, they can return to Askavi Terreille and take up their old lives.”
    “Would there be anything left of their old lives?”
    “I don’t know. The point is, they could go back to Askavi Terreille and build the life they seem to think would be so much better than what they have here. I’ll open the Gate myself to accommodate them. But if they’re going to stay here, it’s time for them to start living in Kaeleer instead of expecting the Shadow Realm to change into the same, but more advantageous, place they left.”
    Lucivar started pacing. He needed to argue and push because it was helping him see some things he hadn’t considered, but he was nervous about what might swing back at him if he argued and pushed.
    When has knowing there was a price ever stopped you? “Two hundred Eyriens living