I felt terrible for Remus. I had no idea he would suffer so much from drinking with us. I was accustomed to Ramsi pacing me shot for shot. No matter what, I couldn't outdrink my youngest cousin. I might drink longer, but Ramsi always drank more. It was a truly epic talent.

Poor Remus was an infant compared to us.

Once he went off with the papers, I stared hard at Ash.

"Ask me," he urged quietly.

"Griz said you can deny me nothing," I murmured.

"True."

I nodded and stared at him in silence until he sighed.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," I told him, and I had never heard myself sound so hard and determined. "You will tell me everything she kept from me. Everything you kept from me for her."

I had never in my life ordered Ash to do anything. That wasn't the nature of our relationship. At least it hadn't been.

I was Domai now. Ash was mine to command. No matter how true that was, or how willing Ash was to comply, I didn't think I would ever be completely comfortable telling this man what to do.

He smiled quietly and topped off my tea. "Of course. Eat your breakfast, then meet me in my car."

I frowned a bit when he bowed to me and Ramsi and left us. With a sigh, I took apart a slice of toast.

"Do you want me to leave?"

I shook my head. Ramsi had been a silent supporter. I had no idea how I would be doing if he hadn't planted himself at my side like a living statue.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I nodded with my eyes trained on the crumbled pieces of toast on the plate in front of me.

"Would you like Remus there as well?"

I shrugged. I didn't know if I should involve Remus in this aspect of my affairs. It's not as if the legal arrows Dyson was flinging at me were easily dealt with. I would be out of my depth without Remus, and there was no shame at all in admitting that. My cousin was a virtuoso when it came to the law. It was astonishing how easily Remus quoted statutes and parsed the ins and outs of legal maneuvering and wrangling. I never had the slightest interest in the Law.

I taught history and multiple sciences. I even played chess. Law was too dry and droning for me.

"Fala. Look at me."

I lifted my eyes to Ramsi's with effort and tried to smile. He was being patient with me. Kind and understanding. I had to do better.

"I know," I sighed. "I need to get my head together. I need to move forward and put my grief aside."

Ramsi blinked at me in confusion. "What? Hell no. You need to get to the bottom of all this shit and knock Ash on his ass again if necessary.

"Even if you don't find it necessary, how long are we gonna have a free license to rock his shit? I gotta see it at least one more time before I die, and I don't have the nerve to stand up with him myself."

I knew my cousin was aiming for humor, but that didn't make his words any less true. Remus found us chuckling together and reclaimed his place at the table with us. Ramsi poured him another cup of tea and spiked it with rum.

"Gods, please," Remus groaned with an exaggerated shudder. "I'm a sick man."

"Come on, it'll help. Chug it."

With a mournful sigh, Remus took up the mug and drained it. He sat with his eyes squeezed shut before relaxing and smacking his slips.

"That's not bad." He was genuinely surprised.

"You should listen to me," Ramsi groused. "No one ever listens to me."

"I listen to you," I spoke up.

"Fala listens to you," Remus said at the same time.

"And you should too!" Ramsi declared. "So, the hearing?"

Remus shrugged. "We have the date and time. I suggest getting dressed here on the train and going straight there. All the papers are in order, but it's obvious that he rushed it through."

Remus' eyes gleamed and I arched a brow. "How's that?"

"Oh, just legal bits here and there." Remus's crooked smile was endearing, and I was happy to see it more often these last few days. I seldom saw him smile as a boy. "It's all litigation and jargon, but I promise you, I will nail his attorney's balls to the bench. A first-year intern could've done better with that brief after a week-long bender with you two."

Ramsi and I laughed while Remus shook his head.

"Well, that's a weight off. Come with us to see Ash," I invited, pushing up from the table. "We have some things to discuss."

Trailing my cousins, I made my way through...my...cars and nodded to staff working on the way to Ash and Grizel's car. Ash was waiting for us at a booth. He had a large, lacquered box on the table and welcomed us.

"Please, sit."

We slid into the booth and he stood nervously in front of us with his hand on the box.

"Ash?"

He nodded. "I'm just... I don't know where to start," he sighed.

My heart went out to him. "How long was she sick?"

"Always," he shook his head. "It was her heart. It was why Dyson was so certain he would be named First Heir. She wasn't well. Lord Ambrose bound me to her, to look after her."

I shook my head. "Wait, what?"

"Her heart was weak," Ash repeated. "She took great pains to keep herself out of the public eye on her bad days, but when it came to you, she just...wouldn't let you notice."

"How did she do that?"

"Her Gift. When you noticed she was pale, or unwell, she would Redirect you, distract you, and make you not see it. Rafal, you are not a bad son. You asked about her health every time you came home and saw how ill she was. She wouldn't let you stay, wouldn't allow you to see her that way. Think about it. You should be able to see it clearly now."

I frowned and slumped back. In my memory, Mama was always slender, and her skin was pale, even though most Hykini were naturally of darker complexions. I closed my eyes and thought of all the times I came home from school or lecturing and spent time with her.

I gasped as my mind's eye showed me a painfully thin woman with shadowed eyes. Her papery skin stretched tight over hollow cheeks when she smiled at me. I felt bones when I embraced her and I shuddered, bolting to my feet. I trampled Remus in my rush to escape my memories, but Ash caught and held me.

"Gods," I croaked. "My Gods! How...why did she hide that from me?"

"I told you," Ash sniffled, and through my own tears I saw his cheeks were damp. "She never wanted you to give up your life for her. It was the only thing we ever disagreed about. I wanted to tell you the truth, always. I was bound to her, though. I couldn't disobey her direct order.

"I could never speak of her illness to you, I could not tell you she was sick, but I could encourage you to ask, to look again, to stay a little longer." Ash swallowed and stroked a thumb down my cheek. "It's not your fault, my boy. Drucila could be ruthless when she needed to and that is why Dyson could never defeat her. He always underestimated how far she would go to thwart him."

"Dyson is a coward, but utterly ruthless and heartless," Remus put in. "From what I knew of Aunt Dru, she was completely opposite."

Ash helped me sit on a sofa and knelt in front of me. "Your mother was as hard as any man could be when it called for it. She had to be, to deal with Dyson and then Lanton. Neither of them understood why or how she did what she did. They expected her to fall dead before she could ever Claim the Seat or pass it to you.

"They didn't understand the fortitude and courage that burned in her; that as cold and hard as she had to be to protect you and hold Hyki, she was just as soft and sweet with you. And me," he swallowed.

I felt physically ill with images of my mother's gaunt form flickering through my mind. All my life she skewed my perception of her. All my life she'd been frail and sickly, and whenever I noticed, she made me forget, right up until the end when I was just as strong in our Gift as she.

I decided to be angry later. I needed more information right now.

"She Influenced me with the Gift. And she expects...expected me to be even stronger."

Ash nodded. "If you want an enemy to see an endless army, you can Manifest it. She only needed to have a direct line of sight once to Influence another at will. I doubt you'll need that much."

I shook my head, still processing. "Why didn't she press the Claim for the throne?"

"It wasn't hers to press," Ash stood and fetched the lacquer box. He placed it on the sofa beside me. "Ambrose passed the Rite of Rule for Hyki to her, but the Imperial Rite was passed to her heir. She was named Imperial Regent. You, Rafal, are the Rightful Heir to the Virtuous Throne."

"Why would he skip her?" I wondered. "She'd make a formidable Queen."

"If Ambrose passed Drucila the Imperial Rite, Dyson would be Domai by default. Hyki would suffer, and thus all of Ankher. The King did the only thing he could do to protect Ankher. "

"That is good to know," Remus murmured. He had his tablet in hand, making notes. "Do you have the Imperial Decree of Designation?"

"She told me everything Fala would need if he wanted to press the Claim is in this box." He tapped the lacquered lid. "Everything else, she left with Digory Thorne."

Ramsi blinked. "My dad? I had no idea, Fala, or I would've gotten it for you."

"You can't," Ash told us. "Only Rafal can retrieve what Thorne has. I don't think he knows what he has. You weren't the only one Drucila Influenced."

Ramsi scoffed while I stared nervously at the box. "I don't even know if I want to know."

"I understand," Ash tapped his fingertips together in an uncharacteristic nervous gesture. "I know, and some of it I don't want to know."

"What else do you know?" Remus asked. He sounded like the attorney I hired, seeking facts on my behalf.

"Well," Ash bit his lip and stood, pacing the car. His agitation ramped up my anxiety.

"Sir Ash," Remus pressed.

"Right. Your father." He took a quick breath and stared at me. "Dru was pregnant before she married Lanton," he rushed the words out of his mouth and turned away from me.

I sat in silent shock while he paced the room. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.

"Ash, who is Rafal's father?" Remus asked the question screaming through my mind.

Ash laughed softly and raked his fingers through his hair. "It shouldn't be this hard," he muttered.

"Ash!" I snapped at him, and he stumbled around to face me. "Who is my father?"

"I'm..." he swallowed, and his voice thickened. "I am your father, Rafal."

"Fuck." Remus's whisper was thunderous in the silence that followed.

"Thank fuck!" Ramsi cried emphatically a few heartbeats later.

"Yes," I breathed, relief swamped my nerves and I laughed. "Thank fuck."

Ash licked his lips and peered at me with lingering fear in those pale green eyes. "You're not angry?"

"Ash, I wished you were my father since I was a boy," I told him. "I was so ashamed that I had no respect for Lanton and loved you with all my heart. I felt like the worthless son he said I was."
I laughed again, tears spilling out of my eyes. I staggered to my feet and moved to him. He met me and we embraced for the first time as father and son.

"Pop," I whispered, and Ash sobbed before burying his face in my hair.

It was a life-altering moment.

***

Remus tried to explain the intricacies of Succession Law while we went through a few bottles of spiced rum. Griz appeared occasionally bringing plates of food and fresh bottles. Other than that, she left us to it. I suspected she was guarding the car, making sure no stray servant or railway worker intruded upon this most intimate conversation.

Bloodlines are tracked matrilineally in Ankher. Any of a woman's children can inherit her estate, but her daughters take precedence. If there were no daughters, a male heir could inherit, but he had to pass the line to the next female in line. Meaning, that if that male heir had no daughters, he had to seek out a female relative or lose the estate to Provincial oversight until a female heir could be found.

That's how it works for the common folk. For the Baronies and Domais, however, a male heir, like Lanton and myself, must marry and his bride must bear his children. Those children, -females preferred, but males acceptable- then become the rightful heirs to the male heir's bloodline.

For this reason, noble-born females in line to inherit are known to choose the fathers of their heirs often before they wed, if they wed. In many cases, an heiress was under no obligation to take a husband. Often, the man she chose to sire her heir was of lower rank or otherwise unsuitable for a husband at that point. This man later became a mentor or teacher to the children, and, if the bond is strong, a lover to the heiress. It was not unusual for the lover to eventually marry the heiress once the heir came of age.

The chosen father is known as a Heartsire, and the husband Father by Law. Marriages are usually arranged for the greatest advantage. A love match can happen among the Peerage, but it is not the norm. It doesn't matter who sires the heiress's child, because the bloodline is hers, therefore no male can lay claim to her Rite if he is not born to a female of the same bloodline.

In my case, Dyson assumed because Mama's heart was weak that Ambrose would be forced to name him First Heir. Mama proved her prowess, however, and according to Ash:

"Dyson was the only one surprised when Drucila was named First Heir. Lanton was livid when he realized instead of taking control of Hyki, he would be relinquishing Karami to Dru's child."

"Provincial Succession is not a well-kept secret, though," Remus pointed out. "It's taught in basic civics lessons almost as soon as we're able to read."

As Regent, Mama's power went beyond that of her fellow Domai. She was empowered to make decisions as the Keeper of the Throne. In this way, she ruled Ankher as Domai of Hyki, without ever having to present a Claim to the Throne or prove her Rite, since the Imperial Rite is mine.

She designated me as her heir, which gave me Karami, through her marriage to Lanton, and Hyki, through virtue of my birth just three months before Robin and Remus. The Imperial Succession was not confined to matrilineal or patrilineal bloodlines. The Virtuous Throne had to be earned, and Ambrose was the last to do so.

The Imperial Rite of Rule fell under its own set of statutes, and I had no idea exactly why Ambrose could pass it to me instead of Mama and keep it out of Dyson's hands. Even the tradition of the Imperial Trials had its place in Imperial Succession Law, but don't ask me to explain it.

I was just aware enough to know when I needed to seek legal assistance.

"Lanton paid as much attention to that as Dyson did," Ash shrugged. "They were in it together. Lanton wanted Hyki, and Dyson wanted Lanton. They thought by coercing Drucila into marrying Lanton, they would both get what they wanted."

"Mama had to know what they were trying to do," I murmured.

"Of course," Ash shrugged again. "She used their ignorance and arrogance against them. She even maneuvered Dyson into relinquishing any Claim he might try to make to Hyki and the Throne by allowing him to choose her husband."

I frowned. "Could he Claim either?"

Remus thought it over, then shook his head. "It's an obscure statute, but in the event of death, before an heir is designated, a male blood relative can press a Claim. Drucila squashed that, though, when she designated you as her Heir before you were born and delivered you alive and well.

"It's obscure and rarely enacted because the Law allows an Heir to be named up to six months before birth. Dyson would have to prove that Dru had not properly filed the Decree of Designation, but we know that she did." Remus frowned. "I would have to see the original Decrees. The dating will be crucial. It is difficult to pin down the timing during pregnancy, which is why most Domais don't make their condition publicly known until after they enter that final mester."

Remus flipped through files on his tablet and whistled. "Damn, he's sneaky."

"How?" Ramsi peered over Remus' shoulder.

"He included a Decree of Designation naming his unborn children the heirs of Hyki," Remus murmured. "It's dated six months to the day before we were born. It looks like it's signed by Aunt Dru and Uncle Digs."

"What?" Ramsi cried. His blue eyes flared in fury.

"I said looks like," Remus repeated, calming our younger cousin immediately. "It's obviously not Aunt Dru's signature, and I'd bet my right eye this isn't your Dad's. First, there's no way to Designate that precisely, no matter how good your midwife is. Second, the date on this doesn't jibe with the known timeline. She was still carrying you, Fala. Ash, how active was she at the end of her pregnancy?"

"Not at all," Ash sighed, going pale. He flicked a look at me. "Being pregnant was the hardest thing she ever did," he said. "She spent the last mester and a half confined to her bed."

I didn't need my Gift to know there was more to that. Knowing what I did now, I had no doubt my mother came perilously close to dying while carrying me. My anger at her deception eased, tempered by awe at her courage. She had to know the danger she put herself in by becoming pregnant. Her determination to do so, to give me life at the greatest risk to herself, was humbling.

"Then she wouldn't have been in Karami to sign this. All I need to prove is that Dyson was not at Hyki on those dates either. The Decree must be signed before an agent of the Law with witnesses."

I sighed. "I can't follow all this," I muttered. "I suppose this is why I never got into law."

Remus gave us that crooked smile. "I think I know why Dyson insisted that I do it, but I'm sure he never expected me to use it against him. Life can be so very sweet."