Seven Times A Charm

Lexander sat quietly.

Finally, he looked at Loki.

"How long has it been doing this?"

Loki shook his head.

"Longer than anyone knows."

"How many civilizations?"

"I don't know."

"How many kingdoms?"

"Thousands."

Io looked at him.

"And you believe we're next."

Loki nodded.

"I believe we're already on the list."

Thor suddenly smiled.

"Well."

Everyone looked at her.

"What?"

She shrugged.

"Then we should annoy it."

Loki stared at her.

"What?"

"Whatever it wants, we do the opposite."

Lexander laughed.

"That is remarkably simple."

Thor nodded.

"I specialize in simple."

Io smiled.

"She's not entirely wrong."

Loki sighed.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

Lexander grinned.

"Friends."

"Idiots."

Thor nodded.

"Both can be true."

The next morning, Lexander and Io returned to Concordia's construction district.

They said nothing about the Keeper.

Not yet.

They didn't want panic.

They didn't want rumors.

They didn't want people questioning whether the alliance itself was cursed.

Instead, they watched the city grow.

The northern fortress had begun rising.

Its walls were already several feet high.

The second bridge was taking shape.

The government district had several completed buildings.

The first permanent market had opened.

New houses lined the residential streets.

The university foundations had been laid.

The great library was beginning construction.

Workers from all three kingdoms worked together.

Valedorn craftsmen worked beside Dinarian masons.

Leventean engineers worked with merchants from neighboring countries.

The alliance was becoming visible in stone.

Then the foreign delegations arrived.

The first came from the Kingdom of Arvandor.

Their ambassador approached Lexander with a smile.

"Your Majesty."

"Welcome."

"We have come to congratulate you."

"Thank you."

"And to offer assistance."

Lexander raised an eyebrow.

"What kind?"

"Gold."

That got everyone's attention.

"How much?"

"A considerable sum."

Io looked at the ambassador.

"And what would Arvandor want in return?"

The ambassador smiled.

"Nothing immediate."

Loki, standing several feet away, muttered.

"That's always reassuring."

The ambassador ignored him.

"We simply wish to support stability in the region."

Io nodded.

"I appreciate that."

The ambassador bowed.

But after he left, Alden approached.

"Don't trust him."

Lexander looked at him.

"Why?"

"Arvandor doesn't give away money."

"How much do they usually demand?"

"Ports."

Lexander frowned.

"They want access to the river."

Alden nodded.

"Probably."

The next delegation arrived from the coastal kingdom of Meridia.

They offered ships.

Dozens of them.

Warships.

Merchant vessels.

Experienced sailors.

Lexander was impressed.

"That would strengthen our trade enormously."

Io nodded.

"What do they want?"

"Preferential docking rights. We have vast swathes of waterfront, a navy would do us much good."

Lexander looked at Alden.

Alden sighed.

"Of course."

"What?"

"They want access to every major port controlled by the alliance."

Lisbeth frowned.

"That would effectively give them the ability to influence regional trade."

"Exactly."

Then came the Kingdom of Serevan.

They offered grain.

Thousands of tons.

Enough to feed Concordia for years.

Their ambassador was charming.

He praised the alliance.

He praised the wedding.

He praised the city.

He praised Lexander.

He praised Io.

He praised Alden.

He praised the weather.

Thor whispered to Lysandra.

"Something's wrong."

Lysandra nodded.

"He's too friendly."

Thor nodded.

"Exactly."

When the ambassador finally made his request, the reason became clear.

Serevan wanted exclusive rights to supply grain to Concordia.

Lisbeth nearly laughed.

"So they want us dependent on them."

The ambassador smiled.

"We prefer the term partnership."

Loki muttered.

"I prefer the term trap."

More delegations followed.

Some offered money.

Some offered soldiers.

Some offered engineers.

Some offered ships.

Some offered food.

Some offered magical artifacts.

Some offered trade agreements.

Almost all came with conditions.

Some were reasonable.

Others were not.

And beneath the offers was a growing realization.

Concordia had become important.

Very important.

The rest of the world had noticed.

The city was not even finished.

Yet everyone wanted a piece of it.

One evening, the council gathered.

Lexander sat at the head of the table.

Io beside him.

Alden sat across from them.

Atreyu and Mara stood nearby.

Lisbeth had prepared documents.

Lysandra had prepared more documents.

Thor had prepared nothing.

Loki sat in the corner.

Lexander looked at the pile of offers.

"We need to decide which alliances are genuine."

Alden nodded.

"And which ones are trying to buy influence."

Lisbeth added.

"And which ones want economic control."

Atreyu said.

"And which ones want military access."

Mara looked toward the map.

"And which ones want to know how vulnerable Concordia is."

Lexander frowned.

"So everyone wants something."

Loki smiled.

"Welcome to politics."

Io looked at him.

"You're enjoying this."

"Immensely."

"Why?"

"Because now everyone else gets to suffer through it."

Lysandra pointed at him.

"You're terrible."

"I know."

Lexander looked at the map. They couldn't have chosen the location better

Concordia sat in the center.

Three kingdoms connected by roads.

The river running through the valley. The ocean a stones throw away.

Mountains surrounding them.

Trade routes branching outward.

The city was becoming the heart of the region.

And that was exactly what worried him.

He remembered Loki's warning.

The Keeper wanted division.

Yet the more Concordia grew, the more nations wanted influence over it.

If they could not destroy the alliance, perhaps they would infiltrate it.

Manipulate it.

Control it.

Turn its members against one another.

Lexander looked at Io.

She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"We need rules," she said.

Alden nodded.

"For foreign involvement."

"Yes."

"Loans."

"Trade."

"Military agreements."

"Construction rights."

"Political appointments."

Lisbeth immediately began writing.

Lexander smiled.

"You've been waiting for this."

"Yes."

The council worked until midnight.

By the end, they had created a new policy.

No foreign nation would receive exclusive control over any part of Concordia.

No foreign army could enter the city without approval from all three allied kingdoms.

Trade agreements had to be transparent.

Foreign investment would be regulated.

No kingdom could purchase political influence.

And no military base belonging to a foreign power could be established within alliance territory.

Alden smiled.

"That's going to make some people angry."

Lexander nodded.

"Good."

Io smiled.

"If they become angry because they can't control us, then we made the right decision."

Loki smiled from the corner.

"Now you're thinking like rulers."

Later that night, Lexander returned to his room.

Io was already there.

She stood by the window, looking toward the city.

"You're worried."

"So are you."

"Yes."

She turned toward him.

"Do you believe Loki?"

Lexander considered the question.

"Yes."

"So do I."

"What do we do?"

Io looked out over Concordia.

"We keep building."

He nodded.

"That's what the Keeper doesn't want."

"Then that's what we'll do."

He smiled.

She took his hand.

"We've already survived one attempt to tear us apart."

"True."

"We'll survive another."

Lexander looked toward the city.

Thousands of lanterns illuminated the streets.

Workers were finishing another section of road.

The river flowed beneath the bridges.

The alliance banner moved in the night wind.

For a moment, everything seemed peaceful.

Then a shadow moved across the mountains.

Lexander noticed.

He stared.

"What was that?"

Io turned.

The shadow was gone.

Neither spoke.

Lexander looked towards his beautiful wife.

"You know what every kingdom needs?"

Io smiled at him coquettishly and feigned ignorance.

"What does every kingdom need, dearest husband?"

"Heirs…"

And the lights went out in the royal bedroom, but the night was far from over.

Far away, beyond the northern mountains, something stood inside an ancient ruin.

The chamber was enormous.

Its walls were covered in carvings.

Kings.

Wars.

Cities.

Empires.

Each one rising.

Each one falling.

At the center stood a figure.

Tall.

Motionless.

Wrapped in dark robes that seemed to absorb the light around it.

The Keeper of the Cycle.

Before it stood a stone table.

Upon the table was a map.

Three kingdoms were marked in silver.

And at the center was Concordia.

The Keeper placed one hand upon the city.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then a crack appeared across the map.

The Keeper watched.

A voice echoed through the chamber.

"They have united."

Another voice answered.

"They have survived."

The Keeper's fingers tightened.

"They have disrupted the cycle."

The darkness around it seemed to deepen.

"What should we do?"

The Keeper looked toward Concordia.

"Do not destroy the city."

The voice hesitated.

"Then what?"

The Keeper smiled.

"Make them destroy it themselves."

The map changed.

Three symbols appeared around Concordia.

One for ambition.

One for fear.

One for betrayal.

The Keeper touched each one.

"Kings can be turned."

"Nobles can be bought."

"Merchants can be frightened."

"Friends can be divided."

The Keeper looked at the growing city.

"Let them believe their greatest danger lies beyond their walls."

It smiled.

"When the truth is already inside them."

The chamber went dark.

And somewhere in Concordia, unaware of what had just begun, the bells continued to ring.

The city kept growing.

The alliance kept strengthening.

And Lexander and Io worked on their legacy beneath the new banners.

For now.

Because the Keeper had made its move.

Not with an army.

Not with a monster.

Not with a declaration of war.

But with something far more dangerous.

An idea.

And ideas, once planted, were very difficult to kill.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!