King of Blades - 17. Complications

Coulta felt servants staring at him as he followed Wildas to Anil's room, with Shelton, Jaimathan, and Teeya behind him. Inside the queen's room, only Fae, Yvona, and Xiao remained with Anil. Everyone looked confused, everyone but Anil, who was smiling tiredly at the bundle she was cradling.

Yvona rose from her seat beside Anil when the men entered. "What is going on?" she demanded. "Shel, how is this possible?"

Shelton held up a hand to quiet his wife. "Let's let Wildas and Coulta see their son. Yvona, we will have a meeting to clear up the situation once they've had the chance to meet the child."

Yvona sighed as Anil, smiling, handed the bundle she was holding to Wildas. The Grand King had a look of wonder on his face as he cradled his son, and he smiled brightly. After a moment, he moved closer to Coulta and Coulta took the baby, fearful of what he would see.

The child was sleeping peacefully, but what Coulta instantly noticed was the thin black line that traced its way down the baby's face from the outer corner of his left eye to his jawbone, branching off once. The two ends curved slightly, the main one at the jawbone and the other at the cheekbone. It looked line an elegant black vine without leaves or flowers – and very much like the marks on Coulta's skin.

"May I see him?" Shelton asked.

Coulta nodded, swallowing his emotions as he handed the child to the sorcerer. Shelton gently touched the child's face, then opened the baby's eyes carefully. Coulta was startled to see that the child – his son, he amended – had two different colored eyes; one brown and one silver, with the silver one being the one touched by the black tracery.

"He is healthy," Shelton declared. "He has magic like Coulta's, but I have no way of knowing if it will stay with him through life or wear off."

"Is he -"

Shelton must have known another of Coulta's fears. "He will be fertile, when he reaches the age."

"Are you saying Coulta is his father?" Xaio asked, eyes wide, one hand to her chest.

"It's a complicated situation," Shelton answered, then looked to Wildas. "Are you calling a meeting?"

Wildas nodded and watched his son being handed back to Anil. "Yes, then we can have a proper naming. Gather the court to my office."

Less than an hour later, the full court of Phelin was assembled in Wildas' office, along with the Algoman guests, and the most senior of all the servants. There would be no unfounded rumors being spouted by the servants once their bosses had the truth.

Coulta felt the burden of the room full of eyes boring into him. Some eyes were curious, some were furious, and a few seemed not to care. Speaking to his subjects was not one of Coulta's strengths, which was why he was always happy to let Wildas do all the speaking when it was needed. This time, however, Shelton had made sure they knew that Coulta must be the one to explain his situation to the court.

Myri entered the crowded, dimly-lit room from Wildas' bedchamber and handed the sleeping child to the Grand King. The room filled with murmurs as Wildas cradled his son for a moment, then turned so the majority of the people gathered could see the baby. Wildas gazed around the room and declared, "I present my son, my heir, Prince Kylar."

Coulta knew he was named after one of Anil's fathers, who had died trying to save his family from murderous bandits just before Coulta and Wildas had met Anil and Myri on the road to Ryal.

The murmuring and muttering only increased as the court saw the black tracery on the baby's face. Kylar began to squirm and whimper, so Myri offered to return him to his resting mother. Wildas handed his son off to the queen, who soothed the child as she left the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" a lord demanded from the middle of the crowd – one of Wildas' uncles, Coulta thought. "Do you think us blind fools?"

Wildas held up a hand as the room erupted into more frantic mutters. A hush quickly fell again. "Of course not, Uncle," Wildas replied calmly. "That is why you're here." He nodded to Coulta and patted his arm in encouragement.

Coulta took a deep breath and tried not to be daunted by the number of people watching him. "It is understandable that you think me Kylar's father," he began, a little hesitantly. He didn't like that everyone would soon know more about him than he wanted them to. "I am not. I have been infertile all my life, and Shelton has confirmed it. I have magic, though, of a type that is somewhat less predictable than that of most sorcerers'. My powers have been unintentionally shared with all of my spouses on several occasions, and it is not preventable. We were not aware that my powers could have any affect on the baby before he was born."

"What type of magic is this?" someone demanded.

"Curse magic," Coulta answered, then mentally cringed at the crescendo of voices responding to that admission.

"Listen!" Shelton bellowed, getting everyone's shocked attention. "Curse magic is not evil in itself. Let your king finish."

Coulta nodded thankfully to his mentor and explained to the crowd, "I was cursed from the time I was born until I met Wildas. Meeting Wildas set me free of the curse, and granted me more power." He glanced at Shelton, begging for help explaining the situation with his magic.

Shelton noticed and stepped up next to Coulta immediately. "When a curse is broken, the magic used to create that curse then becomes useable by the person who was cursed. It is just like any other form of magic, just somewhat more challenging to control. I have worked with Coulta since he arrived in Ryal, and he is perfectly in control of his abilities. The only thing he cannot control is the ability to share his powers with his spouses. It's not likely that this will ever be controllable."

"If you doubt this," Coulta added, noticing some doubtful expressions, "you may have your own sorcerers decide the truth for you."

Wildas nodded and took over for him. "In three days time we will allow for a public investigation for anyone who still doesn't believe this. You may ask a sorcerer personally to determine the truth, or you may come to see what others discover. Until then, you are all dismissed."

The Grand King turned to the door to his bedchamber and Coulta began to follow, wanting nothing but some peace with his family. He had only taken a step when someone grabbed his arm. Coulta turned back around and was surprised – and annoyed – to find that it was his father.

Markiel bowed his head quickly. "That took great courage," he said, giving a weak, small smile. "I am glad to see where you are now, and happy for you and your child."

Coulta had had enough wild emotions for one day. He yanked his arm away and growled, "That's great to know, since my cursed life was your fault. My need to address everyone was your fault. This is all your fault."

He hardly noticed the sorrow in the older man's gray eyes as he spun around and marched out of the office.