Artesans of Albia: 02 - King's Champion by Cas Peace

question.
    “Ah, Rienne, I do believe this is going to be the saddest day of my life. Today I must shatter the hopes and dreams of the one person I love above everyone else.”
    Sullyan closed her eyes and drew a shuddering breath. Then she motioned for Rienne to continue her work.
    “Yes, of course I am aware that the poison will eventually kill me. Unfortunately, there is nothing that I, or anyone else, to my knowledge, can do about it. You must have learned during your time at the Manor that even a minor infection contracted beyond the Veils could prove lethal to Albians?”
    Trying to concentrate on two things at once, Rienne said, “Yes, but we were very careful to clean all the wounds and disinfect them thoroughly. Robin was very insistent about it. There’s no residual infection.”
    Sullyan’s face paled at the mention of her Captain’s name. “Perhaps I used the wrong word. Substitute ‘contamination’ for ‘infection’.”
    Rienne stopped working, her expression slowly changing into horror. “Are you saying you might be ... pregnant?”
    The Major shook her head. “No, Rienne. Appalling as that would be, conception is not the problem. It is simpler than that. If an Andaryan and an Albian couple together, they cannot create life between them. Only death. Our two species are not at all compatible, and the Andaryan seed acts like a poison, a corrosive infection which cannot be removed. With Rykan’s seed inside me, I cannot cross the Veils. The pain would kill me if I tried. Neither can I speak through them without pain in excess of what I could bear.” Pausing, she glanced down. “I am trapped here, Rienne. Even if the poison was not lethal, I could survive here only a few months before my body began to fail. Within a year, maybe less, I would die.”
    Rienne stared, her mouth open. She could barely take it in. “And Rykan knew this?”
    Sullyan nodded. “So what he did was ...” Rienne trailed off, too appalled and upset to carry on.
    “Brutal enough,” said Sullyan. “But also deliberately and callously calculated to force me into a corner from which there is no escape. He did not rape me out of lust, at least, not entirely. He did it to show me how little my resistance mattered. The fact that it made me all the more determined amused him, I think. He knew he had already destroyed me. So even though he did not gain what he wanted, Rykan still has the victory.”
    Rienne covered her face with her hands, her body trembling. She heard Sullyan’s soft murmur.
    “You were right that evening in my rooms. You said I should not let duty interfere with my one chance of happiness. Do you remember?”
    Rienne didn’t want to be reminded of that happy evening now. It was too cruel in the light of what she had learned.
    “And now it is too late.”
    The healer could barely complete her work; her sight was so blurred by tears. Sullyan herself said nothing more, only watched her sadly. Rienne could feel her sympathy and could scarcely bear it. Eventually, packing away her instruments while the Major dressed, Rienne summoned the courage to speak.
    “How long?”
    “I have no way of knowing.” Sullyan was unwinding the dressing on her wrist to inspect the half-healed skin beneath. “The power Ty provided to seal off the poison will alleviate the symptoms for a while. But the seal is not strong, and soon the poison will eat through it and start leaching away my strength. I only pray I will be granted enough time.”
    “To do what?”
    Rienne already knew the answer. In the light of what she had heard, there could only be one thing driving Sullyan now. The Major’s harsh words confirmed it.
    “Prevent Rykan from taking the throne. Destroy him. Preferably by my own hand.”
    * * * * *
     
    S ullyan watched in silence as Rienne left the barn. The healer walked with slumped shoulders, a clear sign of the pain she felt. Sullyan had asked her to send Robin out to the barn, and as she waited she took