The Soliel family estate was on the western side of Aontacht, overlooking the Sunset Waters, the nickname for the western half of the Still Water, the lake that surrounded the city-island of Aontacht.
The estate, which included four towers, a stretch of the city wall, and ten blocks of the city, was the third largest in Aontacht and had been in the Soliel family for two hundred years. Their ancestor Ellia Soliel had won the War of the Waters against the Isles of Smoke.
The two dozen smaller isles that made up the Isles of Smoke were a hundred miles southeast of the three connected isles that Aontacht was built over. In the Age of Creation, the kingdom of Hallallee ruled the entirety of the Land of Sorrow before Aontacht and the Isles of Smoke split during a succession war that turned into a never-ending back-and-forth between the two kingdoms.
At times, they were united; other times, they were at war, and despite several pivotal intermarriages, the unification never managed to last. The Soliels had come to power during the last war and were still hanging on two hundred years and another war later.
Eric hadn't spent much time in the sprawling city-state in the last few years. He'd been the youngest of five brothers, and the first years of his life had been the kind of peaceful that came when your parents and siblings had little time for you.
And then, in the span of years, from age fourteen to twenty-one, he'd lost all four of his older siblings.
Now, he was heir apparent, and the king's failing health had him travelling constantly to handle any situation in the distant parts of Sorrow that Aontacht still ruled. He'd had to give up his military career, as well as most of his hobbies, and he and Eirian hadn't been able to see one another in over a year.
He'd forgone the celebratory return, sneaking in one of the smaller side gates to expedite getting home and away from the endless revolving door of people who wanted his attention now.
Instead he'd sent a messenger to Eirian.
She always came when he needed her and he needed her more and more as the responsibilities piled on.
By the time he'd eatened and bathed, he'd expected Eirian to have arrived, but when he made his way to his office, he only foudn his messenger waiting.
Will had been his messenger for years, a scout in the same unit Eric had come up in when they were both teenagers. When Eric had moved up he'd followed and when Eric had become heir, he'd followed then too.
They've worked together for so long that Eric doesn't even have to ask before Will is explaining, "She wasn't there."
Eric frowned, off balance and took a seat at his desk. "Where is she?"
"Married, apparently."
Eric stared at him, stunned. "What? What did Uncle say?"
"That he and his wife would like you to come to dinner to meet your nephew."
"I didn't realize the pregnancy was seccessful."
"Babes a few months old from the looks of it."
"I don't care about the babe or them." He'd been putting off invitiations from them for years. Despite his close friendship with Eirian, he had little attachment to her father. Nevermind, the new stepmother he'd never met. "She'll be at Philip's then."
Will shook his head. "She didn't marry Philip."
"That's a relief. Who the hell did she marry then?"
"According to the maids, the Lord of the Camelia."
"The Camelia. She married Lord Ye? When did they even meet?"
"Yeah," Will signed. "This is the part you're really not going to like."
Eric's eyes narrowed.
"It was arranged by her father. According to head maid, Eirian didn't find out until it was done and dusted. She left pretty much immediately after it was announced."
"Who the hell gave them permission to arrange a marriage?" Eric hissed, fury rushing through his veins. Eirian would never have settled for an arranged marriage. "She was engaged to Philip when I left!"
"Apparently, that's a whole different story," Will muttered. "Maybe the King asked for it. The Camelia is an influential estate, probably one of the that would be appropriate for her to marry."
"Eirian would never settle for an arranged marriage and my father would never make her." Eric seethed. "My Uncle must have done this in secret."
"That's pretty bold of him." Will pointed out. "Probably aligns with something else the head maid told me."
Eric's eye twitched when Will didn't immediately continue.
"It's just a rumor, I haven't had time to run it down."
"Obviously," Eric growled.
"The new babe is the heir."
"What?"
"The maids were gossiping, they said they overheard Lord Soliel changing the titles. Which he can do without the King's permission."
"Why the hell would he make a months old babe heir? Eirian is more than qualified."
"The new babes a boy. Lord Soliel's always been rather old fashioned."
"He's never stopped Eirian from doing anything?"
"That doesn't mean he wouldn't pass her over for a son. Or a generally more controllable child."
"Eirian is perfectly undercontrol."
"Yeah, of herself."
"My cousin is hardly a pawn."
"No, you're cousin has the potential to be a queen and trump her father completely. And your Uncle got a new young wife less than a year ago."
Eric stared at him as the words sunk in. He'd known his uncle was ambitious, gods new the King complained about him always sticking his nose where it didn't belong, about overstepping, but to make such an obvious play….
Will shrugged. "The deaths of your siblings must have him thinking there's a chance."
"And he'd know Eirian wouldn't be a puppet ruler. She's already much more powerful than him."
Will snorted. He'd been lucky enough to see a rare display of Eirian's magic when Eric had first joined his army unit. He'd had a bit of a crush on her ever since.
The rage was near boiling now. His Uncle had sold her off to some stranger on the other side of kingdom because of some delusion of grandure and a throne that would never be his.
"Wake the stable boy. Tell him to have my horse ready in thirty minutes."
Will cocked his head to the side, "And where are you going?"
Eric stormed to the doors, flinging them open. "To speak to my Uncle."
~ tbc