He had decided that, if he ever encountered Rielle again, he would tell her everything. There might never be a better moment to do so.
And so he did.
RIELLE
He filled the gaps, some of which she was aware of, and some she had no idea existed. He began with his discovery of Vella, saying he had avoided telling anybody more than necessary about the book, but now he felt he could do so. A tale of a corrupt teacher and a great castle’s fall followed, as well as how he learned to travel between worlds. Then he skipped past his life at Liftre, which he had described before, to his meeting and deal with the Raen. There he slowed, explaining every part of his time with the rebels, giving both altruistic and selfish reasons for his spying and manipulation. He clearly felt guilt and sorrow for Yira, the leader he had replaced, and admiration for Baluka, who he had passed the position on to.
He described the Raen’s death, and how in seeking Rielle he’d found Dahli and assured her that he’d chasing her down after the failed resurrection to ensure that Qall would escape. Afterwards he had become a spy for both Dahli and Baluka, mainly so that he could keep an eye on Dahli.
And then he explained that, once she had left Qall, he had made an agreement with Dahli. He would resurrect the Raen only if it did not involve destroying someone in exchange for learning how to restore Vella’s body. This ought to have given Dahli less reason to hunt for Qall. He told her he had hoped that, if he succeeded in resurrecting the Raen, the former ruler would not find it easy to regain control. The Restorers had a good chance of defeating him again. And in the meantime, he and Zeke had been working on a solution to the war machines, which had been much easier with Dahli’s help. Of course, once Qall had joined Dahli his plans were spoiled, but he’d stayed to help the young man.
When he was done, she sat in silence for a moment, her expression thoughtful. Then she turned to him.
“And Vella? Have you found a solution for her? And what was the purpose of the machine body I smashed?”
A fleeting look of pain crossed his face. He shook his head, but though his mouth opened no words emerged. Her heart skipped.
“What happened? Did you lose her? Was she destroyed?”
“No. I … I’ve given up on restoring her body.”
“Why?” She frowned. “Is it because you have to use someone else’s living body?”
“No—but if that was the case, I wouldn’t have done it. The experiments I did used recently deceased bodies of people who had no loved ones, and even that seemed wrong.” He sighed. “The reason is I don’t have her any more. I gave her away.”
Rielle stared at him in disbelief. “But she was … unique. Valuable. She knew all your secrets. If I’m not mistaken, she was like a friend and mentor to you.”
“Yes, she was,” he agreed. “All of that. I miss her terribly. But … Qall once saw me talking to her, and what he told me made me realise something about her.”
“What did he say?”
“He said watching me communicate with her was like watching me talk to myself. While her essential personality and morals were set and unchanging—which in itself is not how real people are anyway—her using my mind to interact with me meant that a large part of her reactions were really mine.” He shook his head. “Not that I would have given her away because of that. I saw no harm in talking to her. But Qall also said that if I took what was left of her and put it in a body, she would no longer be the Vella I knew. She confirmed that what Qall had said was true. I realised that when Valhan had said that the process of giving her a body would destroy the book, this is what he might have meant.”
“So you didn’t want to destroy the person you knew. But what did she want? Would she have preferred to escape, even if it meant changing into another person?”
Tyen shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. “That is the essential problem: she did not mind either way. Though she knows that what was done to her was wrong, she has no ability to feel emotions, so she can’t be unhappy about it.”
“Nor can she be happy.”
He grimaced. “No. But the hardest thing … what Qall opened my eyes to … was that the book isn’t her. Vella died more than a thousand cycles ago. The book is merely an echo of her. A ghost. A part of her very convincingly preserved for many lifetimes after her death. I am so grateful that I got to talk to her, access her knowledge and keep that last shred of her safe but …” He spread his hands.
“But?”
He met her gaze, then looked away. “Someone else needed her more.”
She sat up a little straighter. “Who?” She blinked. “Baluka?”
“No.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Tarran?” she asked doubtfully.
He shook his head.
“Not Dahli?”
“Of course not.”
“Then who?”
His smile was crooked. “From where I was standing, I could see a finger was missing.”
She searched his gaze, weighing up the possible meaning of his words. Then, as she realised what it was, she sucked in a quick breath.
“Qall!” she gasped. “You gave her to Qall!”
“Yes. After you—”
Before she could think twice, and worry about the consequences, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing so hard she heard air escape from his mouth.
“Thank you!” She said it over and over. Then, as his hands touched her back tentatively, she released him and moved away. I don’t want to give him the wrong idea. It’ll take more than that for me to feel I can trust him completely.
She stood and began to pace the room. “It’s perfect! If he can get Valhan’s memories into her he can access them safely, and then he can destroy the finger and there is no longer any danger of someone resurrecting Valhan.”
“She absorbs knowledge by touch,” Tyen reminded her. “He only has to bring the finger into contact with the book and she will take all of the memories in.”
“It’s a beautiful solution.” She grinned at him. “Thank you, Tyen.”
He nodded again. His expression was wistful, but his posture was hesitant. When he said nothing more, she turned to the table, took the flagon and refilled their glasses. He accepted his, sipped and watched her.
“We’ve talked mostly about me. What will you do now?” he asked.
She swallowed a mouthful of wine, set the glass down and returned to the seat.
“Restore worlds,” she replied. “I expect Baluka has a long list for me. I’d like to tackle the ones stripped by Dahli’s followers first. Then there’s the one Qall depleted to trap me.” She looked at him. “Do you know of any that need help?” She held up a hand to stall him as he began to reply. “Wait. What of your world? You said it was so weak you could barely leave it.”
He nodded. “And most likely even weaker with the machines using up so much magic.”
“Would you like me to restore it?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. “No. They will only waste it. Until the Academy acknowledges that creativity generates magic there is no point.”
“If they see me making it, they can’t deny the truth.”
He smiled. “Or claim that women can’t be great sorcerers.” Then he sobered. “I can’t return. I am a thief.”
“They’d overlook that if you brought them magic.”
“The Directors won’t …” His eyes narrowed. “But the Emperor might.” Then he shook his head. “No. Releasing one piece of knowledge from my world—mechanical magic—has had disastrous consequences. I don’t want to risk spreading anything else that the worlds could turn to warfare. My world is used to having little magic. There must be many more important and worthy ones to save first.”
“And you want to start a school of magic,” she added.
He nodded. “Perhaps I could do what Dahli has, and change my appearance and name.”
“Why would you do that?” She frowned, then smiled as the answer came to her. “Y
ou don’t know, do you? Baluka has announced you as a hero. He’s told everyone that you were spying for him, and that it was only thanks to your help that Dahli was defeated. People think you’re so clever now, they’d jump at the chance of working with you.”
He gaped at her in astonishment.
She laughed. “You really need to talk to Baluka,” she told him. “He’ll probably try to make you take over the leadership of the Restorers, but I think he will settle for helping you start a school.”
He closed his mouth and swallowed. “I … I’ll need it,” he said. “Even with Tarran’s help. It could take centuries just to build a library the calibre of Liftre’s.”
Rielle winced. “Well, when you do, if you come across any reference to Maker’s Curse or Maker’s Ruin, make a note of it for me. Ulma and I were going to search the worlds for information about it. I’m still going to. If there is a reason why being both ageless and a Maker would destroy the worlds, I want to know. And if there isn’t, I want to know how to be both.”
Tyen nodded. “I will. It’s the least I can do.”
“If you need extra magic at your school, I’ll generate it for you.”
“If you need someone to heal you, and give you more years to live, I will help.”
They paused, then smiled at each other. Something of a pact had just been made. Not the sort of deal the Raen had liked, but a simple, well-intentioned offer of help to each other. She raised her glass.
“Here’s to a future of healing worlds and friendships.”
He saluted her. “And of learning and teaching—and no more spying!”
They raised their glasses to their lips, and drank.
The story continues in book four of Millennium’s Rule.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of Successor’s Promise was unavoidably slow and the publication delayed thanks to the development of a very painful back condition, so I first want to thank my agent, Fran Bryson, my publisher and all my readers for their patience. I hope you find the book worth the wait.
A huge extra thank you to Fran Bryson, Liz Kemp, Paul Ewins, Donna Hanson, Shireen Hanson-Pou and Kerri Valkova for beta reading and helpful suggestions. And once again, a big hug for all the readers around the world who bought, borrowed, read and recommended my books. Your support and enthusiasm have got me through more than a few moments of doubts or struggle.
BY TRUDI CANAVAN
The Magician’s Apprentice
The Black Magician trilogy
The Magicians’ Guild
The Novice
The High Lord
Age of the Five
Priestess of the White
Last of the Wilds
Voice of the Gods
The Traitor Spy trilogy
The Ambassador’s Mission
The Rogue
The Traitor Queen
Millennium’s Rule
Thief’s Magic
Angel of Storms
Successor’s Promise
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Trudi Canavan, Successor's Promise
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