sterngaze | open post

[Liem accepts Cardan's initial response with a small frown. He had chosen what he thought to be a broad enough word, one that might describe regions of a number of different sizes and sovereignties. Apparently this concept is not as universal as he had imagined.

It makes little difference at the present moment. He watches his husband conjure miniature islands from his wineglass, eyeing the representation with interest. He has not yet seen a map of Elfhame; to see it represented in this way piques his curiosity.]

There are many things I do not yet understand about the place you come from.

[His observation is distracted, almost as though he is speaking to himself. His eyes remain fixed to the curious shapes of the three islands.]

I will need to ask you to explain what you mean at some point.

[Perhaps not right now. The specifics of what Faerie is made up of if not countries likely fall beyond the scope of their current discussion.

Finally, he looks back up.]

I will need an avenue of influence there, to accomplish anything of use. An excuse to visit, and to establish regular communications. If my father discovers what is demanding so much of my time — and he will, eventually — what he finds must be no more interesting than a private business venture.

Does Elfhame do business with… Ironside? Generally speaking.

[ Cardan eyes Liem instead of the islands -- they are hardly a novelty to him, after all. A lazy wave of his fingers soon renders them back into the glass. For a moment longer, he will say nothing, and his gaze on Liem's face suggests he is sizing up a riddle.

They are, at least, of one mind on the fact that Iago should not know of this. Still, something about this level of subterfuge strikes him as odd; a half-formed idea circles his thoughts, uncertain as a shadow beneath waves. ]

Not in the way you imagine.

[ Does that need an explanation? It occurs to him that he has no idea how much Liem knows about Faerie, how much he would have been told. Perhaps Cardan is not the only one who is ignorant about his spouse's true nature.

It shouldn't make him feel better, but it does. ]

Humans trade with us for things they want -- or think they want. Fortune. Beauty. Lost love's return. A male child to inherit the family name. Not bargains that, I would think, would be useful to you. [ And they come with a price, he doesn't say, but of course that much should be obvious. ]

But you are not mortal, which should be to your advantage. Still, I would not set your sights on the isles themselves. For one, you are in the unenviable position of being wed to Eldred's least favourite child.

[ He says this drily, like he's not trying to be particularly bitter about it. ]

For two, a lower court will be easier to navigate. The Alderking in Fairfold treats with the local humans, so he may be open to hearing out a foreigner. And it is far enough from Elfhame for neither of our fathers to hear about it immediately.

If you wish to do business, I would start there.

Edited 2023-02-03 05:02 (UTC)

[The bargains that Cardan speaks of do not sound especially related to the kind of business that Liem is most familiar with, and that he wishes to conduct. He cannot build a business on the ill-conceived wishes of desperate mortals, nor would he want to. But that is clearly not the only kind of trade that Elfhame conducts, even with the residents of Ironside.

After all, that is why they two were married.

He regards Cardan in silence for a moment, thinking. The reminder that his husband is not well-regarded in his family no longer comes as any surprise to him, though he tries not to dwell on the dry way in which Cardan brings it up. It has the familiar smell of an old wound, plastered over to keep the evidence of it hidden from sight.

It would be best, he has to admit, for them to stay away from the isles. He is of course loath to draw attention from his father, which he surely will if he attempts to do business somewhere Iago has already set his sights, and he does not know what kind of reaction the High King would have to the sudden return of his star-cursed progeny. But he is most concerned about the prospect of taking Cardan there because it seems like treading into the centre of a spider’s web, and he suspects that it would make Dain’s designs on his husband’s life all the easier to realize.]

I will defer to you on this. It is best to be cautious.

[A single blunder could easily prove disastrous given their circumstances, so he is inclined to be patient. Rushing will not help him accomplish what he said he would, in any case.]

We already have targets painted on our backs, so I don’t wish to draw too much attention too quickly. But this seems to me like the best way to begin.

Though I also welcome any insights you might wish to provide, considering my paucity of knowledge about your family and your home.

[ Cardan doesn't bother pointing out that the one who's painted the target on Liem's back is Liem himself. He's not entirely sure they are done having this argument, but he cannot see an immediate advantage in bringing it up just now.

Well, not that there are any advantages in it for him. A pity his sense of guilt is averse to reason. ]

I do not rightly know where to start.

[ It's hard to put himself into the shoes of someone who has not grown up in a fey court. Liem is starting with an advantage over mortals -- he is, at least, a member of an immortal court, and slightly less susceptible to magical deception -- but the rules and mores of Faerie are as riddles, meant to deceive and confound. ]

Perhaps with this: make no deal nor agreement with any of my kind, no matter how small, until you've given me a chance to examine the terms.

[ Though he is trying to look casual about all of that, there is something a little tense in his jaw when he looks at Liem. ]

[Liem has tried to avoid letting himself form expectations about what kind of help Cardan is actually equipped to provide him. At a minimum, he represents a member of Elfhame's royal family, and has a lifetime of familiarity with Faerie and its politics. These things alone are invaluable, considering how lost Liem would be trying to navigate any part of Faerie without him. It is not an exaggeration to say that he could not even attempt to strike back at Cardan's brother if he was unwilling to help him.

Nevertheless, it is daunting to hear his husband say that he does not know where to start, and he frowns slightly as he considers what he has to say. It makes Liem uncomfortably aware of just how blind he is at present, and how ill equipped to begin this endeavour. It is not enough to say that their climb to a workable position will be steep; rather, he does not even know just how steep it will be.]

That might be… inconvenient. But it's workable.

[He had to squelch "thank you" from his vocabulary for his wedding. He can probably do this, in the interests of not immediately landing himself in some arcane deal whose full extent he wasn't privy to. And generally speaking, Liem thinks of himself as someone who is cautious with his words. Still, he is not used to regarding spoken conversations as trapped mazes in and of themselves.]

Though in business matters that would of course go without saying. I could not make agreements without consulting my partner.

[ Hearing Liem refer to him as his partner is unexpected; Cardan raises an eyebrow, uncertain if his husband intends to... flatter him? But that doesn't seem like Liem's style. ]

Is that what you consider me in this?

[ The idea of Cardan Greenbriar, Elfhame's most useless prince, being anyone's partner in any overarching political venture is-- it is flattering, actually. He doesn't want to dwell on it in too much detail, because he's afraid of liking it too much. He imagined something like "charge" or, at best, "counsellor" -- at least given that Cardan's need for protection was the presumed reason for all this, and that his knowledge is the way he is repaying Liem for his trouble.

Which doesn't leave much actual reward for Liem on the table. Unless--

He sets his glass down and leans forward, his hands clasped. His eyes bore into Liem's with something akin to curiosity, except several measures more intense than curiosity ought to be. ]

I know why I don't want your father to know about this.

[ He doesn't want more bloodshed, for one. Nor is he keen on Iago finding out what a nasty, crown-destroying little prophecy has nurtured in his house for the past two months. ]

But why are you so keen on hiding it from him?

Edited (spelling) 2023-02-03 20:20 (UTC)

What else?

[What else would Liem consider Cardan in this endeavour but his partner? He has secured his vow of aid, and they both have much to lose if they are less than successful in their efforts. He has no choice but to rely on his husband in this matter, just as he has forced Cardan to rely on him.

Although, bound though Cardan may be by his vows, Liem does not think his husband really has any better options to escape to.

Still, his mouth thins a little in the face of Cardan's question. Even if he balks at the prospect of giving his husband back into the care of his family, he cannot help but feel a pang of guilt for expecting him to stay in the care of his own. As if this house doesn't have just as much capacity to be dangerous to him as anywhere else.]

Cardan… I did not think this would be a worry to you before last night, but… My father does not allow opportunities to slip through his fingers once they are before him.

[He can see it so easily: If his father discovered that an assassin had come for someone in his household, he would want to know who sent them, and why. He wouldn't rest until he had unearthed every fact there was to be found about Cardan and his family — and at some point, sooner or later, he would learn of his new son-in-law's prophecy. And in the scheme of his father's resources, Cardan would go from being a temporary piece of little import to being the key to an unprecedented opportunity.

Tension sinks its claws anxiously into his shoulders, into his spine, into the lines of his face as he meets Cardan's stare. When they were married, Liem promised to protect his husband for as long as he remained faithful. But there has always been one person from whom he could never protect him.]

If he discovered why your relations would wish you dead, he would want to make use of you, however he could. And he would make me help him.

[ Cardan listens to Liem's explanation with a distinct lack of surprise. Though it is a little uncomfortable -- it makes him remember, at least, how foolish it was to share his secrets even with his husband. How strange and unlikely that it didn't serve to sink him after all.

At least not yet.

He still doesn't know why Liem seems to be intent on this path. This is the third time he's asking, and the third time that Liem cannot give him an answer that makes sense. Cardan does not think his husband is particularly adept at deception, but he cannot shake the nagging feeling that perhaps Liem only sounds earnest because Cardan wants him to be. ]

That explains why I wouldn't want him to know.

[ Or, at least, it confirms his suspicions about why he didn't want Iago to know. Of course he would want to use Cardan to his advantage; only a fool would not. ]

It does not explain why you would side with a husband you've known for two months over the father who raised you.

[ There is no accusation in his voice. This is the truth, is it not? No matter how hard-fought the goodwill between them, no matter how magnetic the physical attraction nor how strangely tender some of the moments they have shared -- in the grand scheme of their lives, they are still closer to strangers than not.

Cardan speaks with the patient, unhurried tone of a tutor trying to understand a scattered student. ]

If you genuinely wish to treat me as a partner, [ and he's still not particularly confident Liem would, ] then I think it would be best if we were forthright with each other.

Edited 2023-02-04 01:25 (UTC)

[How does Liem explain to Cardan that his father is not his friend, nor his partner? How does he make him understand the difference between his willing duty to his house and his grudging role as his father's pawn and accomplice? He has already told Cardan that he does not get along with his father, and that he wishes independence from his decisions about Liem's life. He doesn't want to dredge up his own grievances to explain himself.

And yet he sighs, resigned, because his husband isn't wrong in his assertion or in his distrust.]

You do not understand.

[Of course he doesn't understand. Is Iago not charming with everyone in his house, Liem included? Is Iago not a businessman first, known for his wealth and his cleverness? He seems far too warm and too fair-minded to be a man of any unusual cruelty.]

I promised to protect you. And I want to keep my vows to you. But those things do not matter to him.

[He sits back in his chair, glancing down into the depths of his glass. It is easier than telling this story while he meets his husband's eye.]

Have you heard of the houses Altieri and Hellier?

[He imagines Cardan has, if he's spent any time at all listening to gossip about his husband. It was common knowledge that he was intimate with Carissa Altieri, and that Laurent Hellier was a friend of his.]

My father wished to make Hellier a vassal house to ours, and he tried to exploit my friendship with one of the Lord's sons to do so. I declined to cooperate — but within the year, my relationship with both him and my companion from Altieri… deteriorated. There was an incident.

[He doesn't bother to go over the details. Why would he, when almost anyone in his father's court would know this part of the tale? He'd been in the midst of a party when the young Lord Hellier challenged him to a duel over his own lover's honour. It scarcely even matters that he lost; rumours about the cause of the schism between him and both Laurent and Carissa were floating around for weeks afterward.

Of course, it hadn't been much longer before not just Hellier but Altieri was bending knee as his father had wanted. But if people spoke of anyone's lust for vengeance as a result, it was inevitably of Liem's.]

Laurent ended up dead, and it might as well have been at my hand. It was more than a stupid misunderstanding: my father had to have been behind the whole thing.

[Who else would have the motive, or the means? And yet Liem had still helped him topple Hellier, and then Altieri besides. Because Carissa at least was still alive — and he wanted her to remain so.

He looks back up at Cardan, reluctantly.]

There is no investment he won't sacrifice and no bridge he won't burn to get what he wants. And mine happen to be conveniently expendable. Does that answer your question?

Edited 2023-02-04 05:02 (UTC)

[ He watches Liem's face the entire time, even if his husband will not meet his eyes until the end. Something about the way he starts the story is different-- something about it makes Cardan steel himself, makes him school his face into a flat, calm mask. Even so, his eyes widen as Liem progresses through the tale, caught in horrible astonishment.

It is much worse than the thing he was guessing at.

He doesn't answer Liem immediately, letting the silence hang between them for a while. It is his turn to look down at his clasped hands, at the wedding band still around his finger. He is not surprised at Iago's ambition. That the elder Talbott was cruel and calculated, that his charm hides a chill that runs to the bone -- Cardan had known this from the start and thought nothing of it. Certainly, he would expect nothing less of a man who had managed to broker a treaty with Faerie. ]

You were right. I did not understand.

[ There is an uncomfortable feeling gnawing at him. Something other than fear, though that would be appropriate also. But whatever peril he faces at Iago's hands cannot be worse than what Dain or Balekin might do to him once sufficiently motivated; either way, Cardan's life hangs in the balance. No.

...he is angry, he realizes. He is angry for Liem. Cardan had assumed his husband was more interested in his work than other people; now, it seems too obvious that something else guides Liem's avoidance of court friendships. Even his vows and his strange commitment to Cardan's safety are beginning to make sense in a way they hadn't before. He thinks about the bits and pieces of rumours he's heard and feels the familiar tug of an old wound, an old rage teased open by coincidence. His brother did a thing not dissimilar to this. He thinks of Dain's noble bearing and Iago's charming conversation, and, for the first time, feels his black hatred for one extend its tendrils toward the other.

Even if it is hardly his place to feel this way.

He will sigh and look up again, his mouth pressed to a tight line. ]

Your father's treatment of you is despicable. [ He imagines Liem knows this, but Cardan wishes to say it clearly, anyway. Particularly as it's obvious that it cost Liem something to share this.

But he also doesn't get the impression that Liem wants to dwell. So: ]

...we should arrange for a trip to Fairfold.

[The silence stretches longer than Liem would like it to. He has to resist the urge to sip uncomfortably from his glass as he tries to read the expression on his husband’s face. Surely it is not usual or desirable in any court to find oneself living in the home of such a cruel and controlling man, one willing to use and humiliate even his own heir to suit his ends, but he doesn’t know what Cardan might think of the revelation. And not knowing makes him nervous.

But the tension in his shoulders does relax slightly when his husband finally replies. No, he is not keen to dwell on trials and humiliations from his past — but confessing them was not as awful as he might have feared.]

Yes. That will take some preparation, and I still have many things I would like to know about it first. But it can certainly be arranged.

[Although Liem’s education certainly included other regions aside from those in the immediate area, it never covered any Faerie courts. His current level of knowledge is wretchedly insufficient for any amount of educated decisionmaking; that is the first thing that needs to change.

Pensively, he does finally take a sip of his wine.]

I would also like to know what kind of man your brother is. You seemed very certain that that assassination attempt must have been his doing.

[ The question isn't unexpected, and -- though fraught -- not entirely unwelcome. Having forced Liem to share his fraught experiences, Cardan feels indebted to him, even if he would not take back his question about Iago. Rather, it is only fair that he returns the favour.

Besides: ]

It seems like Dain and your father are cut from the same cloth.

[ That's a blunt answer, but it's true.

He will elaborate. ]

Most courtiers are hungry for power, and my father's eldest children doubly so -- after all, the Blood Crown has ever been just out of their reach. But for all of Elowyn's grace and Balekin's cruelty, it is Dain's ambition that threatens to devour us all. It is a black, fathomless thing. He will stop at nothing and spare no one.

[ And unlike Liem, Cardan has no compunctions about sharing the details of Dain's crimes. It feels liberating to say the words because, for most of his life, it was useless to do so. No one had ever believed him, save for Balekin. ]

He has convinced our father that his other children are conspiring against him, all while poisoning his cup, so that he's too frail and weak to continue ruling. He has murdered his own son in the womb because his existence was a threat to his rule -- imagine the enormity of this crime for us, who may not sire a single child in an eternal lifetime.

[ His smile is exquisitely bitter. ]

Even knowing this, you would be charmed upon first meeting. His misdeeds will seem diminished; his methods roguish but excusable. After all, how could a man of so noble a bearing be so monstrous?

[Liem takes in Cardan's explanation soberly and without surprise. After all, he had seemed sure of his brother's willingness to not only send an assassin to kill him but to sacrifice her life to obtain a more useful pawn. The ploy would have been entirely in character for Liem's father as well, and he cannot doubt the comparison given their circumstances.

Still, it is not encouraging news. The idea of trying to go against his father on his own territory makes a shiver of dread snake down Liem's spine, and Cardan's reaction earlier made it clear that he thought the prospect of taking on Dain was tantamount to suicide. He would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated.]

… He is beloved, then? Popular with the courts?

[A slight frown creases his brow as he considers the difficulty of finding allies — witting or not — to act against a prince with an unimpeachable reputation. Though surely every man in a position of power has his own share of enemies, regardless of his charm.]

Do your siblings know of his crimes also?

[It is not clear to him how Cardan has this knowledge, given how sensitive it obviously is. Or how he has been allowed to continue living with it, frankly.]

[ At this, at least, Cardan shakes his head. For better or worse, there is no such thing as a beloved ruler in a Faerie court. ]

The High Court is divided among the three. As for the lower courts -- they have their own issues, largely fostered by my father's neglect. But my father is convinced of his worth, and that is enough.

As for my siblings -- Balekin's spies are how I know of his misdeeds, which I suppose makes it likely Elowyn knows as well. My other sisters have little interest in politics.

[ A luxury that Cardan envies very much.

His gaze finds the little frown between Liem's brows. He cannot blame him -- none of this is good news. Regardless of how stubborn the man he married, Cardan cannot imagine this picture looks anything but dismal to him.

He leans back against the couch cushions, grateful for his foresight in tucking his tail under his clothes, even in casual dress. ]

...it is not too late to call off this venture. You had no reason to know what you were getting into.

[ Even though Cardan had told him, and Liem should have believed him the first time. Nonetheless.

He looks at his abandoned wine glass rather than at Liem and keeps his expression carefully mild. ]

[The past day has been short on anything that Liem would consider to be good tidings, so the news that Elfhame's courts are divided on the issue of the High King's heirs comes as close to a relief as he expects he'll be granted for the time being. The potential involvement of either of Cardan's other elder siblings is probably what is going to make this endeavour remotely possible, if anything is. Exactly what kind of involvement to pursue is what he intends to find out.

But his eyebrows let go of their crumpled frown, smoothing into a look of mild appraisal when Cardan glances down at his discarded glass.]

I'm grateful for your consideration, Cardan, but we've been over this.

[He knows already that his insistence on keeping Cardan close in the face of all this is foolish. If he is honest with himself, sentiment is substantially responsible for his decision, and for his stubbornness in keeping to it. Even if he felt the need to repay Dain in some way for attempting to bind him, he could do so with more patience without Cardan at his side, inviting troublesome attention.

It does not matter. If he is being led astray by sentiment, he will simply have to adjust his course and make the best of it. He is not going to relinquish his husband to the hands of one cruel prince who treats him as a pawn and another who wishes him dead.]

I will give up on my promise when you tell me that you wish to leave my side, and not before.

[ The look that Cardan throws Liem's way is caught off guard -- and then, a breath later, coloured with an anger bordering on hatred. It shocks him out of his decision to be calm and collected about this. ]

Do not--

[ Do not do this, he wants to say. Do not make this contingent on my weakness. But he cannot even command Liem to do that; what would be the point? It would only mean admitting what they both must know: that Cardan desperately wishes not to return to Balekin. Which, for some unfathomable reason, appears to matter to Liem.

Instead, he must bite his tongue and throw himself back against the pillows, his arms crossed in front of his chest. ]

What, exactly, is your plan?

[ His displeased tone suggests that whatever it is, it must be extremely foolish. ]

[Somehow, Liem manages to be a little startled at just how quickly Cardan's calm mask turns to surprise — and then to rage. He has fielded no shortage of glares from his husband even in just the last several days, but he'd thought this matter settled already. If Cardan wants to convince him to change his mind, he'll need to change his own first. It's as simple as that.

Liem isn't discounting that possibility just yet. After all, he has no real guarantee that he can accomplish what he's promised to attempt. Presumably if Cardan feels threatened enough by remaining at his side with no progress towards their objective, he'll call the whole thing off.]

Nothing especially complex, [he admits.] For now it's just the usual framework: information-gathering, setup, execution. What we find out in the initial phase will heavily affect what kind of moves I'd want to make.

[He eyes his husband, who looks ready to argue at a moment's notice.]

I'd want to draw on local resources, so my plan in a broad sense is to look for advantages, weaknesses, allies who might be willing to make the final move. And then create an opportunity, and go in for the kill.

[Ideally the one doing the actual killing is someone else, since Liem doesn't want to be anywhere near the High King's favourite prince when he's murdered, but he's flexible on that. The most important part is that Dain definitely dies at the end.]

[ The usual framework prompts a sterner frown; somehow, these don't seem to be the words of a man who is engaging in this kind of intrigue for the first time. Cardan knows that should be good news -- if they're going to engage in suicidal insanity, better that at least one of them knows the tricks of the trade. It's just that it hasn't occurred to him that his buttoned-up, reasonable husband would be the one to calmly recite the steps to-- what? A political assassination?

He wonders just how much about Liem he doesn't know. Certainly the past twenty-four hours have been illustrative.

And then there is one other thing. ]

You expect me to help you murder my brother.

[ The black stare on Liem is scornful; Cardan's mouth twists in something like disillusionment. He's aware of how this sounds -- how contrary to both their cultures his disapproval should be. But he cannot let go of it and cannot pretend to be alright with the premise of going after Dain's life. Especially Dain's life. ]

[For a long moment, after Cardan speaks, Liem simply looks at him. His expression goes quiet as he takes in every detail of his husband's stare, filing it away with excruciating precision. He needs the time just to find his tongue again, but even when he does, his voice is soft.]

What else, Cardan?

[His eyes feel glued to his husband's face. In his suppositions about the myriad ways in which this venture might prove hopeless, this possibility did not occur to him. He had not dared to think that Cardan would refuse to condone Dain's killing outright. The revelation falls on him like a weight, landing square on his chest.]

Did you imagine I decided to risk my own life for anything less than your permanent safety from him?

[What would be the purpose? He understands the desire for forbearance, but there is no way they could leave Dain alive without inviting his retribution. And for toppling power such as his, he imagines his retribution, once realized, would be imaginative indeed.]

He already tried to kill you to protect his ambitions. I'd just as soon not add vengeance to the list of reasons he might desire your blood. My father would leave no stone unturned in hunting those who had thwarted him; you cannot expect me to think him any different.

Your father, unlike Dain, cannot be bound by his word alone.

[ This is a familiar argument. Every single person Cardan knows would side with his husband in this. Even Dain himself would probably agree that if they were to come for him, they should hope to kill him.

But therein lies the problem. For as long as Cardan remembers, death was dispensed around him as casually as a morning greeting. Lady Liriope, her unborn child poisoned for the misfortune of carrying Dain's child. Balekin's servants, starving and dull-eyed, their thin limbs moving as if through a dream. A careless pixie at a late-night revel, having played one too many tricks on a pack of goblins. Enough deaths that he can no longer count them all, and yet he feels their weight.

He remembers the last time he had a similar discussion with Balekin, and how that had ended with more scars on his back.

He will pick up his glass and rise. His smile is thin. ]

We are learning much about each other this morning, so let me add one more thing to the list: I am no killer. And if the price for my life is becoming as monstrous as Dain, then I would refuse to pay.

As disappointing as that may be to you.

[ I didn't ask you to do this, he doesn't add, because Liem is right: they have been over it already. ]

[For the first time since Cardan accosted him in the bath, several days and an eternity ago, Liem feels bitterness burn like bile in the pit of his stomach. Unlike that occasion, by the time his husband has finished speaking and the burn is at its worst, he is present enough to let the shock simply pass through him, leaving him still and quiet but for the unrelenting buzz of nerves beneath his skin. Now he simply looks up at him with the same solemn, even expression he wears for unhappy clients who need someone on which to vent their frustrations.]

I see. Then I was mistaken in expecting such from you.

[It is true that Dain is unlike his father, and unlike every enemy Liem has ever had, in that his word might serve to keep his fangs away from Cardan's throat forever. He does not know how likely Dain is to agree to such a vow, nor how one might go about forcing his compliance. It does not matter; the possibility lies temptingly before them, remote as it might be. A way for Cardan to protect himself, without becoming a terrible monster whose hands are stained with blood.

How nice it must be to still have such a choice.]

What then, Cardan, would you suggest?

[ It's annoying. Somehow, that pointedly calm response feels like a dismissal, like Cardan is the one being unreasonable -- except he is not the one dragging them on this fool quest, nor the one blithely suggesting murder. His eyes narrow. ]

This plan is one of your making, not mine. You have but blackmailed me into it by wagering your life.

[ So why does Liem expect him to provide any solutions? He's going to drain his glass, obviously rankled, and stalk over to the cabinet for a refill. ]

But if you want an alternate solution, I suggest putting a crown on any head beside Dain's. Even Balekin would make a better High King.

[ How might one do that? He has no idea, but surely it cannot be that much harder than killing Dain and getting away with it. Both seem about as easy as emptying an ocean with a sugar spoon.

He huffs out a resigned breath. ]

Of course, if he does, I doubt you'll have to worry about Dain drawing breath much past his coronation.

[As Liem watches Cardan drain his glass, alive with irritation, he is reminded of the neglected drink in his own hand. Somehow the turn of their conversation managed to make him forget it entirely; he glances down at it, then leans forward to abandon it on the low table. He cannot summon any interest in its contents at present.]

That sounds like a roundabout way of reaching the same conclusion.

[If Balekin were to claim the Blood Crown and execute Dain upon his victory, would Cardan feel absolved of blame for his death? Even if he were the one to place the crown upon his brother's head? If this seems dishonest to Liem, he at least has the presence of mind not to say so outright.

He does wonder some at Cardan's choice to frame his refusal to leave his side as blackmail, as him holding himself hostage in the face of danger, as though he were using his life as currency to buy Cardan's cooperation. From his desire to end their marriage, he'd seemed ready enough to be rid of Liem altogether. How inconsistent of him, to seek to cast him off, only to then insist on preserving him like something of value. But then, it seems Cardan's wont to live by his own personal set of rules.]

You would not really be satisfied with such a result, would you?

If thinking of it like that comforts you, by all means. But what Balekin chooses to do has never been within my control.

[ Cardan does not consider it to be the same. It's just that the set of choices they're presented with is both limited and complex. Liem is right: many of them lead to death. In the past, Cardan has sidestepped responsibility by choosing to do nothing at all.

But someone has seen fit to rob him of the option.

Having poured another glass, he will turn around to lean against the counter. ]

I will not mourn Dain if one of his many victims chooses to avenge themselves tomorrow. He has taken much from me and tried to take yet more. But if you are asking me to aid an assassination, my answer is still no.

[ Liem isn't the only obstinate creature in this room. Cardan levels an irritated gaze on him. ]

Think me unreasonable if you must.

[ His tone implies this is a challenge. ]

[For a short while, when Cardan first objected to the idea of causing Dain's death, Liem thought he might yet foster some familial affection for his brother, despite everything. It did not seem impossible; despite Liem's own grievances about his father, he cannot imagine his home without Iago in it. Although he dearly wishes to be free of his manipulation, he does not want to see him dead.

That does not seem to be the case for Cardan. Liem does not understand how his husband can divorce himself from the consequences of crowning a brother he knows to seek Dain's blood, and yet feel responsible for the actions of a husband who is scarcely more than a stranger to him, but clearly it is simply the idea of causing Dain's death himself that bothers him.

So be it. He did not think his task would be easy when he first insisted on attempting it. If he is meant to protect what remains of his husband's innocence along with his life, then he will attempt the challenge to the best of his ability.

He sighs, aiming his gaze away from Cardan's annoyed one.]

Then we will do this your way, though I cannot say I have any experience with crowning someone.

[As opposed to certain other activities not fit for civilized discussion.]

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