“Why the nickname?” I asked Kerrick.

“They’re called hounds because they’re good at finding precious metals and stones. Ryne lost… Three rock hounds died in the Vyg copper mine cave-in. They had helped direct operations.” He glanced at me as if to gauge my mood. “Ryne suspected the cave-in had been caused by sabotage, but then the plague arrived and turned all our other problems into trivialities.”

Sabotage? That was a little too convenient. “How many magicians are loyal to Ryne?”

“One.”

“What about the death mage?”

“Sepp was on my father’s staff before. He’s loyal to me now,” Kerrick said.

Ah. Time to ask the big questions. The ones I had been avoiding all along. “You met Ryne in boarding school and would have killed him except for Jael. Now you’re his champion. Why? And what about your own Realm, Prince Kerrick? Why can’t you stop Tohon?”

Loren and Quain exchanged a surprised glance. They hadn’t known Kerrick’s royal background.

Kerrick didn’t react. He studied me for a moment, then looked at Belen.

“Perfect time for you to convince her Ryne’s worth saving,” Belen said.

With a slight sigh, Kerrick shifted his gaze to the fire. Just when I thought he wouldn’t answer my questions, he said, “We called it boarding school for brats, but calling the students brats was being kind. Everyone starts when they’re fifteen years old. The school was supposed to be a neutral ground for the future leaders of the Realms, but all the students brought along their prejudices and grudges. Pranks were aimed to hurt. Alliances, double crosses and fights marked a typical school day.” He quirked a smile at Belen. “Belen and I tried to stay out of it, but it was impossible to avoid it altogether. Jael, Tohon and I became close friends, since we had special classes—”

Belen coughed.

“Since we had magic classes together for all six years. We were the only ones in our year gifted with power, but we hadn’t been allowed to tell anyone or use it when we were with the other students. I avoided Ryne. Our fathers didn’t get along, and had been fighting about the location of the border between our Realms for years. Plus it seemed Ryne was always in the middle of all the intrigue.”

“He was,” Belen said. “But not for the reasons you had thought.”

“At the time I didn’t know that Ryne was always one step ahead of the various plots and schemes, and he ruined most of them. He has a unique talent for strategy and tactics. He tried to keep the peace, but everyone hated him, anyway. Even me.”

“What changed your mind?” I asked.

Kerrick stared at the fire. “During the final year of school, the instructors give the senior students a challenge to crown a king of the school. Basically, a few people try to convince, bribe or intimidate their peers to pledge allegiance to them until they have the majority. Ryne, Tohon, Stanslov and Cellina of Lyady all campaigned to be king. I didn’t care who won. By that time, Jael and I were engaged. We pledged our support to Tohon early in the year and I planned to stay uninvolved with the whole king nonsense.” He added another log to the fire, sending sparks flying. His movements were stiff with tension.

I sensed he wouldn’t finish the story. “Then what happened?”

“Stanslov happened.” Kerrick growled the words.

“Stanslov’s king campaign,” Belen said. “About midyear, Tohon told Kerrick that Ryne had bet Stanslov three supporters that Stanslov couldn’t get Jael to break off the engagement. Stanslov was supposed to leave her after the contest, but he fell for her. Hard.”

“And when Kerrick found out about Ryne’s bet, he lost his temper and tried to kill him,” I said, guessing how the rest of the story played out.

“Almost succeeded, too,” Kerrick said with a tight voice. “Jael stopped me. She told me Ryne hadn’t made the bet with Stanslov. Tohon had, after he failed to lure her away from me.”

Double betrayal. No wonder he kept his distance.

“Tohon wanted me to go after Ryne since he was Tohon’s strongest competition for king. Too bad I couldn’t kill Tohon.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Belen said.

Kerrick rubbed the scars on his neck.

“What happened?” Quain asked. He and Loren had been intently listening to the story.

“Life magicians have an affinity with all living creatures,” Belen said. “Tohon called an ufa to protect him against Kerrick’s attack. They were fighting outside, behind the stables so the teachers couldn’t see them. The ufa almost ripped Kerrick’s throat out. I spent two weeks nursing Kerrick—who should have known better to challenge a life magician—back to health.”

Seemed odd the school wouldn’t have a healer on staff. Especially with such important students. “Wasn’t there a healer there?”

“Called away for an emergency,” Belen said.

I mulled over the information and found an inconsistency. “Why was Ryne winning when you said everyone hated him?”

“He convinced his supporters with logic and honesty,” Kerrick said. “By that time everyone was sick of being deceived and not knowing who to trust.”

“And how did he convince you?” I asked.

“He visited me every day when I was recovering. He exposed the people who had orchestrated and caused the most trouble over the years. Jael and Tohon. As the youngest of three siblings, Jael would never gain power of Bavly Realm. She planned to marry me so she’d eventually be Queen of Alga. When she realized Stanslov would be easier to manipulate, she changed her strategy.” Kerrick fisted his hands and tapped them against his thighs. He met my gaze for the first time since telling his tale. “I ignored and refused to see what was going on around me all those years.”