As the carriage jostled on over the cobblestones, my frown deepened.
“Where are the houses of the commonborns?” I asked. “Where are the public buildings? Surely Kallmon cannot house only mages.”
“No, of course not. But the commonborns do not have houses along the main streets.” Alvin gave me a curious look. “Is Corrin arranged differently? Four main streets enter Kallmon—one each from the north and west, and two from the south. The homes of the capital’s mage population line all four of them. The commonborn districts can be found deeper into the city, between the streets.”
“Wouldn’t want any of the mages to have to sully themselves by passing through those areas,” Tyron muttered, earning a reproving look from Alvin.
“Surely it is natural for a city to wish to present itself well,” our instructor said.
I frowned, watching the houses of the mages pass by the window. I would have considered practicality a more important factor, and it didn’t seem convenient for the commonborns to have their parts of the city so distant from the main thoroughfares.
“Doesn’t it make the public buildings difficult to access?” I asked, thinking of the new building whose creation we had nearly seen go awry in Corrin. “Don’t your sealed complain?”
Alvin frowned. “I’m not entirely sure what public buildings you refer to. Do you mean the recruiting offices for the Armed Forces? I believe there is one large barracks at one of the southern gates.”
“She means the healing clinics and the law enforcement centers, and the offices of the sealed. That kind of thing,” Bryony chimed in. “In Corrin many of them are located on the main roads since both commonborns and the mages who work there need easy access to them.”
Tyron, who had been watching Alvin’s face closely, shook his head. “I don’t think they have those sorts of public buildings in Kallmon.”
“What? No healing clinics? Or law enforcement centers? Surely they must.” I stared at our instructor.
“Law enforcement have a barracks of their own, of course,” Alvin said, wary and uncomfortable now. “I believe it is located at the western gate, so we didn’t pass it. And the healing discipline has their headquarters in one of the wings of the castle.”
“So you have no healing clinics the commonborns can access,” I said slowly. “Not even the sealed?”
Alvin cleared his throat. “I believe there are some healers who will work for anyone able to pay their fee. But they travel to the homes of the afflicted. And of course the commonborns have healing assistants of their own, other commonborns like themselves. I suppose they must be located in the markets and such places. I’ve never given the matter much thought.”
“Clearly,” I said, unable to keep the coldness from my voice.
I had wanted to understand the state of the commonborns in Kallorway, but I hadn’t expected it to be so bad. Even before sealing, Ardann had healing clinics and other such services available to all. Admittedly, the use of mage healers required a fee—we just didn’t have the numbers to provide their services to all. But in the years since my parents’ marriage, they had increased the number of commonborn healing assistants located at the clinics, ensuring they, at least, were freely available to all. Their capabilities were limited compared to the mage healers, of course, but they trained alongside them and benefited from the increases in knowledge gained by the healing discipline’s mage researchers.
A sense of foreboding rose inside me. I hadn’t expected to fall in love with Kallmon, but I suddenly suspected I wasn’t going to like a thing about this city.
Chapter 16
The carriages continued traveling south through the northern half of the city. The great castle loomed ahead of us now, its outline visible against the moonlit sky. Again it looked nothing like the elegant white marble spires of my home in Corrin.
Instead the castle mirrored the gray of the city, its square shape only softened by the round towers topped with decorative battlements. But despite myself, I had to admit it had a certain presence in the dark night, not elegant exactly, but strong and commanding. Rather like its prince, in fact.
The gates of the castle also stood open for us, and the enormous courtyard was large enough to fit all of our carriages. Despite the lateness of the hour, King Cassius and Queen Endellion stood waiting at the castle’s grand entrance to receive us, General Haddon lurking behind his daughter.
I watched Darius greet all three of his relatives without any change in expression, although Jareth had an embrace for his mother and an easy smile for both his father and his grandfather. My mind wanted to read something ominous in his expression, but it was too dark, and I was too far away to see such subtleties.
Duke Francis appeared, ushering me forward to take my turn greeting the monarchs, and I was suddenly conscious of my travel-worn state. But the feel of someone at my back made me glance over my shoulder to discover both Captain Layna and Captain Vincent shadowing me closely, one on each side. The presence of the twin gold robes bolstered my confidence, adding greatly to the impression I must make.
When I swept my curtsy in front of the king and queen, Cassius gave me a mere cursory glance, his eyes lingering on the two guards behind me. Something like irritation flashed through his eyes, much to my satisfaction. If he had thought I would present an easy target in the capital, he was already discovering his mistake.
The queen murmured standard words of welcome, which I answered in equally formal tones, but over her shoulder, my eyes caught on Darius about to enter the castle. A smile of thanks slipped across my face. We had only just arrived, and he had already come through on his promise that Captain Vincent would guard me in the capital.
But his eyes darkened at my expression, his face growing colder rather than more friendly in response, as his eyes moved straight past me to his parents. I carefully schooled my own features, turning my smile on the queen instead, although inside I was fighting tears. It had been a long day, and I wanted my bed.
The suite I was shown to by a stiff, formal servant contained two bedchambers and a vast sitting room that dwarfed my one at the Academy. I discovered, to my relief, that Bryony was to have the second chamber. I had half-expected Layna to insist on sleeping in the sitting room as well, but instead discovered a cot made up for her in my actual bedchamber.
“Really?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow.
Her expression didn’t change. “My instructions from Her Majesty were explicit. I do not mean to let you out of my sight.”
I sighed. “Very well.” I forced myself to smile. “Thank you, Layna. I do appreciate it.”
She allowed herself a small smile. “You’re forgetting this is my job, Your Highness. I didn’t select the Royal Guard so I could do shifts protecting the walls of a palace. I’m right where I want to be.”
I regarded her doubtfully but didn’t argue, too tired to consider whether anyone could truly wish to be on constant high alert in the homeland of an enemy.
When I woke the next morning, Layna was already up. She had stationed herself in the sitting room, leaving the door to my bedchamber propped open. I closed it just long enough to wash and dress before joining her.