Lords of Trillium by Hilary Wagner Page A

it, Duncan was sure Suttor knew of his fear of the prison corridor. He wanted Suttor to be proud of him.
    â€œIt’s settled, then,” said Elvi, rubbing her paws together. She grinned from ear to ear.

CHAPTER FIVE
Moments of Happiness
    B ILLYCAN HAD REOPENED Hecate’s former throne room and turned it into a dining room of sorts for all of Tosca. Palm fronds of what could only be pure gold hung from the rafters of the opulent space, with matching gold vines spiraling down lofty marble pillars.
    He’d found the storeroom in shambles, some of Hecate’s things destroyed, as though a wild animal had gotten loose inside. He wondered if Ajax’s temper had finally gotten the better of him. After all, he felt responsible for all that had happened on account of Hecate. Billycan decided not to bring it up.
    As for the rest of Hecate’s lavish garments, tapestries, and gold and silver finery, Billycan simply gave it all away. Never had he seen the Toscan rats so colorful. Children chased each other around the pillars, with vibrant silk scarves wrapped around their middles. Parents stored their coarse burlap cloaks, and now dressed in rich fabrics of dazzling colors.
    Ajax took in the room. “You’ve done a good thing here. Iwould have left the room locked up forever, if not for your coaxing, thinking the memories of Hecate were too painful for any of us. Time does heal all wounds, it seems.”
    Billycan chuckled as two little ones zipped by him, a blur of tails and color. “But your wounds are still raw. Eventually you would have done the same thing.”
    â€œI doubt that.” Ajax snorted. “I’d be more likely to burn her things to ashes.”
    Thinking back to that night in the Catacombs when he burned down Clover’s quarters, Billycan could sympathize with the wrath that burned inside Ajax. “But you didn’t, did you? Even with all that she’d done, you didn’t. There was a time when my need for revenge drove me to do horrible things. In that way, Hecate and I were very much alike, but you’re better than that,” said Billycan. “You are
good
.”
    â€œI suppose,” Ajax replied. “Where did Hecate come from—originally, I mean? How did she come into your throng back in Trillium?”
    â€œShe was there well before Killdeer brought me into the fold. She was nothing more than a foot soldier back then, relatively insignificant. I took notice of her, though, watching as she quickly proved herself as vicious as an alley cat and shrewder than most of the males.” Billycan snorted. “
I
was the one who promoted her to high major. I saw her promise.” He glanced around the opulent room. “Had I let her be, perhaps none of this would have happened.”
    â€œLittle by little, Hecate betrayed herself here in Tosca. Her stories became vaguer and vaguer, details blurred and changed. The more rats she recruited to her side, the more confident she felt, causing her to make mistakes. She began to show her true colors. Perhaps Hecate’s self-control is waningagain, and those closest to her in Nightshade are finally seeing the cracks in her façade.”
    Before Billycan could respond, a collective gasp filled the hall. Every rat stopped what it was doing and stared fixedly at the throne room’s archway. Ajax leaped to his feet, astonished.
    Silvius stood in the doorway, his coat washed and clean. Glancing around the room, Billycan saw tears rolling down many faces. Small ones pulled at their parents, asking who the tall white rat was, while the older ones’ faces lit up, clearly remembering good King Silvius.
    â€œI’m the only one who’s seen him in years,” whispered Ajax. “He looks just like he used to—a true king.”
    Silvius took in his subjects. A warm smile emerged, his red eyes twinkling against the white marble pillars. “No tears, now. I’m all right, my