Prince of Attania, 2

The King and his new Queen came out to the steps of their Darcy mansion to greet their people the next morning. Attan stood in between them, the recognized heir of Attania as the King’s, so far, only son. Traditionally, Darcy’s Queen was Mother to all the King’s children, regardless of which Queen in which city actually bore the child. The symbolism was not lost on the crowd, who cheered wildly at their appearance.

Thomas Merrell caught Attan’s eye from where he waited off to one side. Attan got the message and smiled for the cameras. When summer was over, he would go with Merrell to the headquarters of the enforcers at Arden. The Enforcer had made that quite clear on the long car ride from Low City to Darcy. Attan was to train as an enforcer. It would give him much needed discipline, his great uncle claimed, as well as set the minds of Attania’s Family at ease until King Jet could produce other possible heirs. It didn’t mean that Merrell thought Attan was unworthy—just the opposite. But Attan needed the competition to show Attania that he was the strongest candidate. Attan wasn’t entirely naïve; he knew that if any of his future siblings showed more promise than he did, then the Enforcer and every other Family who mattered, would back that heir rather than Attan, whose commoner mother was still held as a liability to his potential.

The presentation was over quickly, and the Royal Family retired to their breakfast amid cheers of well-wishes, and not a few calls for the new Queen to speedily get more heirs. Merrell stayed behind to direct the press. There would be no interviews for a while, to give the newlyweds their time alone.

Lorra held tightly to Attan’s left hand and Jet had his right. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Lorra dropped Attan’s hand and crouched down beside him, concern in her dark eyes. “I’m so sorry!” she said in one breath. “It must have been awful for you to hear all that! I hope you know I do consider you my child just as much as any child of my body!” Incredibly, she glanced at Jet and blushed.

Jet had yet to say a word. He held Attan’s other hand and stared down at his new wife, two against one. Lorra paled, and slowly rose to her feet.

Attan had to do something. He chose fire, his mother’s essence, though all three of them had fire within them. Words could be confusing. Attan liked Lorra. So he merged with her and let her know exactly how he felt. Jet joined the merge, amazed at Attan’s perceptivity. They came out of the merge laughing, clinging to each other there in the hallway, a family which included Doll, would always include Doll, but had room for Lorra, too.

Lorra held Attan’s hand again as they strolled into the main dining room. “We’ve got to fatten you up,” she said casually, pretending not to notice Attan’s horrified stare. Jet chuckled.

Merrell came to collect Attan shortly after breakfast. “Time to go,” he announced, not bothering to take a seat.

Attan’s stomach cramped up. It might have been from the food. “Now? I thought—Daniel said—already?” He looked down at the eggs still on his plate.

“Daniel says a lot of things,” Merrell replied, his mouth turning down at the corners. “None of them particularly helpful. But he’s coming for you later today, if that’s what you mean. Until then, you’re mine.”

“You’re not taking me to Arden?” Attan tried not to sound too hopeful, and realized he hadn’t succeeded when his father choked back a laugh. “I mean today?”

Merrell almost smiled. “You have until after the next wedding to get Daniel’s nonsense out of your system. Then you will come back to Arden and you will train with my enforcers—in between going to classes.”

Yes! Attan couldn’t help grinning. He wouldn’t have the whole summer as he’d hoped, but a few weeks was better than nothing at all. At least at his father’s next wedding, he wouldn’t have to stand up with the bride and groom. Only Darcy’s Queen was considered all the royal offspring’s mother; the other Queens Jet married would be Queen for their city alone. Attan shoveled in one more mouthful of eggs for good measure, and pushed his chair back. He glanced at Jet, who had raised his eyebrows upon seeing Attan swallow another bite of eggs. “I guess I’ll see you when I get back.” Attan met Lorra’s gaze and knew what she wanted. “Mother.”

“Hug, child,” Lorra reprimanded him, softening it with a smile. She also stood so she could envelop him in her arms. Attan was nearly as tall as she was. He grinned, exchanging looks with his father over her shoulder.

Merrell led Attan down into the bowels of the King’s Mansion, down past the library and its hidden sitting room, past the so-called guest suites and the barely disguised retaining rooms for unwelcome guests, to the wing set aside for his enforcers. Their training facility was at Arden, but because this was the King’s main residence—theoretically—the enforcers kept a block of rooms here as well.

Opening one door at the beginning of a long hallway, Merrell gestured for Attan to enter first. Insubstantial guards, some hiding within shadows, and a few incorporeal ones, hovered along the length of the hallway. To Attan, they were as obvious as daylight, but he didn’t say anything. “In here.” Merrell pointed to another doorway.

Attan ignored the Elemental guard who blocked the doorway as a darker shadow in the darkened room. Was he supposed to? Didn’t the guard feel the frisson when Attan’s physical body passed through his incorporeal one? Attan did. Merrell looked at him thoughtfully, but he didn’t remark on it, either. Instead, he pointed to the clothes draped over a chair in what appeared to be an office. The room flooded with light, which Attan realized a moment later were electric, not elemental.

“Your grays,” Merrell said. “Get dressed.”

Attan was surprised. He’d heard that there was a test to undergo before any Family was awarded the right to wear the grays. He slowly took off his formal clothes, which he’d had to wear for the presentation this morning, and slipped on his new grays. They fit perfectly. The hidden Elemental had followed them into the small office, but Attan figured that until Merrell acknowledged him, he didn’t need to, either.

After that, Merrell gave him a tour of the enforcer’s wing, before leading him back to the small office where his other clothes sat in a crumpled pile on the empty desk. “This will be your quarters whenever you stay at the Mansion,” Merrell said. “I expect you will be here quite often with your father in attendance. You’ll follow my orders unless otherwise occupied in your capacity as Prince.”

Attan looked around the room. There was a narrow bed in the corner which he’d totally missed the first time. That and the desk were the only furniture. “Oh,” was all he could think of to say. Was he supposed to be intimidated by the sparse conditions? “Should I change back?”

“No. You wear only the grays from now on. There will be extra uniforms waiting for you in your room at Arden.” With one more pointed look at Attan, Merrell walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

With a sigh, Attan turned to look straight at the Elemental guard Merrell had left behind. “Are you going to stay like that all day?” he asked. “Or should I transform too?”

The enforcer materialized at the foot of Attan’s bed. “You could tell I was there?”

Attan wanted to roll his eyes. Instead, he sat up and crossed his legs. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Are you supposed to watch me?”

The Enforcer said you’d figure out that I was there sooner or later. Didn’t think it would be this soon, though.”

Attan didn’t tell him he’d perceived him all along. “Now what? Do you go tell Merrell or do you have to stay here and stare at me?”

“We could talk.” The enforcer wasn’t that much older than Tommy or Charles, and was probably a cousin of one degree or another. He didn’t seem as taciturn as some of the older enforcers. He hooked a leg around the single chair in the room, drawing it closer to him so he could sit. “I’m John,” he said, putting out a hand. “John Tryon.”

The name didn’t mean anything to Attan. He wasn’t sure if it was supposed to or not, so he just nodded. The enforcer already knew who he was.

“I saw you on television this morning,” John continued. “We all had to watch, just in case, you know.”

Attan didn’t know. “What? Was Merrell afraid something would happen?”

John winced at Attan’s casual use of the Enforcer’s name. “We’re always on guard,” he said. “That’s what the enforcers are for. We protect the royal Family.” John swiveled around in the desk chair. “You’ll see what I mean, once you’re trained.” His eyes widened. “I didn’t mean—I mean if you become the King of course you won’t stay an enforcer, but . . . .”

Attan held up his hands. “It’s all right. I understand how it works. If my Dad has other kids, one of them could become King, and then I’ll need another job, right?” He grinned to show he wasn’t upset about it.

“It’s great, really,” John said. “We get to use our elemental abilities any time we want. We—“ He stopped when Attan wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Oh, I forgot. You’re the Prince. I heard you already use your abilities whenever you want. Is it true you are more Elemental than Family?” John paused to take a breath. “I didn’t insult you just now, did I?”

“Oh, no, no. You’re probably right. I am more Elemental than Family.” Attan didn’t know what made him do it, but he’d had enough of John Tryon’s attempt at small talk, and maybe a small part of him was insulted that John thought him somehow less because he preferred to be incorporeal. He let go of his body and flowed into John, tweaking the change in the other Elemental. Oh, John could transform all right, since he’d been hiding in his incorporeal state before Attan called him out on it, but from his conversation Attan gathered it wasn’t his preferred form. Attan was surprised the tweaking actually worked. He’d never forced a merge on anyone before.

John’s physical body melted away into shadow, following Attan’s lead as they merged through darkness and light, water and fire. In a merge, nothing was hidden. John was even younger than he looked, a younger son of a cousin’s cousin, one who showed promise early on, and so had been sent to Arden with the other royals. But not everyone could lead. For all John’s cheerful talk about the advantages of being an enforcer, deep down he felt the same way Tommy and Charles felt about it—that being an enforcer was all he was good for.

Attan left the merge, taking back form a heartbeat before John did. He felt a little bit guilty for sharing what John might not have wanted shared. John came to himself in the chair and had to grab onto it for balance before he sprawled out on the floor. For once, he had nothing to say. He stared a little wild-eyed at Attan, before abruptly rising and straightening his gray uniform.

“I’ll find the Enforcer,” John said a little stiffly. “Excuse me.”

Dismayed, Attan watched him leave. It wasn’t supposed to go like that.

Daniel swirled in, a cloud heavy with water droplets, engulfing Attan and drenching his new grays before Attan merged with him, wondering how much of the previous merge his uncle had caught. Most of it, without actually joining the merge. Daniel had been outside Attan’s door, about to knock when Attan had swept poor John into his merge. He’d barely had time to slip into shadow before the preoccupied enforcer stormed out of the room and marched down the hallway. He got the rest of it when he merged with Attan, and shook his head moments later when they both sat on the edge of Attan’s narrow bed. “I think you were supposed to make friends with him, not scare him half to death.”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“He’ll get over it. He’s an enforcer. They’re tough.” Daniel stood. “We should leave now, though, before Uncle T changes his mind.”

“He already changed it,” Attan muttered, but he gathered his things. No point in taking chances. “I have to get my suitcase from upstairs.”

“Forget it.” Daniel’s eyes twinkled. “Didn’t the Enforcer tell you you have to wear the grays? You don’t need your other clothes. You can leave those behind too. We’re not taking the car.”

“Really?” Attan dropped his wrinkled clothes on the bed. “Okay!”

They both chose wind as the most efficient form for traveling, circling up through the levels of the King’s Mansion and out the open skylight in the center courtyard. Attan felt the stirrings of the Mansion’s inhabitants below him. Somewhere down there his father was getting to know his new Queen, and Merrell was getting to know what an insensitive idiot his great-nephew was. Maybe Merrell wouldn’t want him to be an enforcer after this. Attan couldn’t say that he would be disappointed. Maybe Attan would join the Sons of Men after all.

Beside him, Daniel broadcast amusement and approval.