Seven Times A Charm

Concordia had never been so busy.

It seemed as though every street, every workshop, every market stall, and every government office had suddenly discovered a reason to work twice as hard.

The city was preparing for a birth.

Not merely the birth of two children.

The birth of the first heirs of a new royal line.

The twins of Lexander and Io.

The children who, according to the prophecy of the First Flame, would inherit the two halves of the ancient power.

And everyone in Concordia knew it.

By now, there was no question that Io was nearing the end of her pregnancy.

She was enormous.

Walking had become difficult.

Stairs had become nearly impossible.

Getting comfortable in bed had become an evening-long negotiation involving pillows, blankets, and increasingly creative arrangements of furniture.

Even sitting down required planning.

Yet Io remained determined to continue doing as much as she could.

Unfortunately, everyone else had other ideas.

"You are staying inside today."

Io looked across the breakfast table at Lexander.

"No."

Lexander calmly continued eating.

"Yes."

"I have a meeting."

"Cancel it."

"I can't."

"You can."

Io narrowed her eyes.

"You've become very bossy."

Lisbeth, sitting nearby, nodded.

"He's right."

Io looked at her.

"You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am."

"Then tell him he's wrong."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because he's right."

Thor nodded from the doorway.

"He's definitely right."

Io stared at her.

"You're all conspiring against me."

Shadow, perched comfortably on Thor's shoulder, gave a quiet meow.

Thor looked at the cat.

"See?"

Io sighed.

"Fine."

Lexander smiled.

"Thank you."

"But I'm still going to the meeting."

"No."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

Io smiled despite herself.

"No."

She placed a hand over her stomach.

"Unfortunately."

A kick immediately followed.

Lexander looked down.

"I think they agree."

Io laughed.

"They're probably laughing at us."

The palace had become a strange mixture of royal residence and maternity ward.

Healers came and went constantly.

Lisbeth had organized an entire room specifically for the birth.

Fresh linens had arrived.

Medical supplies had been stocked.

Water was kept heated at all times.

A special bed had been constructed for Io.

There were enough blankets in the room to furnish a small house.

Thor had personally inspected every entrance.

Aurethar had inspected the exterior.

Loki had inspected the magical protections.

Mara had inspected the guards.

Atreyu had inspected Mara's inspection.

And Baldr had simply watched everyone with increasing amusement.

"You realize," he said one afternoon, "that there are enough guards here to defend a fortress."

Thor nodded.

"Good."

Baldr looked at the enormous dragon perched outside.

"And a dragon."

"Good."

"And three Valkyries."

"Good."

"And Loki."

Thor hesitated.

"He's questionable."

Loki looked offended.

"I heard that."

"Good."

Outside the palace, Concordia was preparing as well.

The central plaza was being decorated.

Banners bearing the royal emblem were hung from buildings.

The city council had announced that the day of the birth would be a public celebration.

Markets were preparing special foods.

Bakers had begun experimenting with pastries.

Merchants were already selling commemorative ribbons.

Children were being told stories about the soon-to-be-born princes and princesses.

Nobody knew which twin would be born first.

Nobody knew what they would look like.

Nobody knew how powerful they would become.

But everyone knew one thing.

They were coming.

And Concordia wanted to be ready.

The royal council had originally planned for the formal union of the two kingdoms to occur before the twins were born.

That plan had changed.

Lexander and Io announced the postponement together.

The decision was made during a meeting with representatives from both kingdoms.

Io sat beside Lexander, though she had been provided with a much more comfortable chair than everyone else.

"We've decided to postpone the formal union," Lexander said.

Several nobles exchanged glances.

"Until when?"

"Until after the children are born."

One representative frowned.

"Is there a problem?"

Io shook her head.

"No."

"Then why postpone?"

Lexander answered.

"Because we have enough happening already."

A few people laughed.

But he continued.

"The birth of our children is important to both kingdoms."

"So is the creation of the united kingdom."

"We don't want either event rushed."

Io nodded.

"We've spent months discussing how the kingdoms will be joined."

"We've worked through taxation, military organization, trade, representation, inheritance, local government, and dozens of other matters."

"We want to finish those discussions properly."

"Not while everyone is distracted by the birth."

An older noblewoman nodded.

"That is reasonable."

Another representative asked:

"Does this mean the alliance is weakening?"

"No," Io said.

"If anything, the opposite."

She looked around the room.

"We're postponing the legal ceremony because we want the union to be permanent."

"We don't want to create something important simply because we're afraid of a deadline."

Lexander smiled.

"Our children can be born into two allied kingdoms."

"And when they're ready, they can inherit one united kingdom."

The room remained quiet for a moment.

Then Alden stood.

"I support the decision."

Several representatives followed.

The matter was settled.

For now.

Lysandra had barely noticed any of the political drama.

School had become far more interesting.

She and her three friends had become some of the most popular students in Concordia.

Maggie Bellweather—Margaret to her teachers, Maggie to everyone else—had somehow turned her reputation as an inventor into something approaching celebrity.

She was always building something.

A mechanical bird.

A self-stirring cup.

A miniature clock.

A device that supposedly detected magical energy.

The last one had accidentally exploded.

Maggie called that a successful experiment.

The teachers disagreed.

Corin Vale had become known for his incredible memory.

Students frequently asked him questions about history.

He seemed to know almost everything.

If he didn't know something, he went to the library and found the answer.

Elara Dawn had become the social center of the school.

She knew everyone's name.

She knew who was arguing with whom.

She knew which teacher was secretly planning a new exam.

She knew which students were forming clubs.

And somehow, she had convinced half the student body that she would eventually become Concordia's greatest diplomat.

She convinced Lysandra to ask her brother for an official internship when she graduated.

He had agreed, seeing how fast people lowered their guard around the girl.

Together, the four had become almost inseparable.

They were affectionately called "the Four Corners" by their classmates.

Lysandra wasn't entirely sure why.

Maggie said it was because they were the four most important people in their age group.

Corin said it was because they were always in different corners of the classroom.

Elara insisted the name sounded impressive.

So it stayed.

One morning, Lysandra walked into school to find nearly twenty students waiting for her.

She stopped.

"What?"

Elara appeared beside her.

"You're late."

"I'm not."

"You're three minutes late."

"Why are you waiting for me?"

Elara grinned.

"We have news."

Maggie held up a piece of paper.

"We're starting a school newspaper."

Lysandra blinked.

"You're starting a newspaper?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Maggie pointed at Elara.

"She wouldn't stop talking."

Elara looked offended.

"I provide valuable information."

Corin nodded.

"She's not wrong."

Lysandra looked at the paper.

"What are you going to write about?"

"Everything."

Elara smiled.

"School events."

"Student achievements."

"New city projects."

"Sports."

"History."

"And royal news."

Lysandra immediately pointed at her.

"No."

Elara smiled innocently.

"I said royal news."

"No."

"I didn't say anything about you."

"You were thinking it."

"I think many things."

Maggie laughed.

Corin quietly said:

"This is going to end badly."

Lysandra smiled.

"Probably."

Despite the chaos, Lysandra loved school.

For perhaps the first time in her life, she wasn't simply known as Lexander's sister.

She was Lysandra.

She had friends.

She had teachers who knew her.

She had classmates who respected her.

She was becoming her own person.

And that mattered to Lexander.

When he heard how popular she had become, he smiled.

"Good."

Io looked at him.

"You're proud."

"Of course."

"She deserves it."

"Yes."

Lexander looked toward the courtyard.

"I spent too much of my life being defined by who I was."

He touched the eye patch.

"Odin."

"King."

"God."

"I don't want Lysandra to spend her life being defined by me."

Io smiled.

"Then you're doing a good job."

Unfortunately, while Concordia celebrated, the Watch had discovered something disturbing.

The first clue came from a missing shipment.

Atreyu was reviewing inventory records when he noticed something unusual.

A shipment of enchanted steel had been delivered to Concordia three weeks earlier.

According to the records, it had been distributed to several military workshops.

But the workshops claimed they had never received it.

Atreyu frowned.

"Where did it go?"

Mara looked over the records.

"Someone signed for it."

"Who?"

She pointed to the name.

Atreyu stared.

"He's one of ours."

"Exactly."

Loki entered.

"What did I miss?"

Atreyu handed him the records.

Loki read them.

His expression immediately changed.

"This isn't a mistake."

"That's what I thought."

Loki looked at Mara.

"How much steel?"

"Enough to equip several hundred soldiers."

Loki went quiet.

Atreyu looked at him.

"What?"

"They're building something."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Find out."

The investigation expanded.

They traced additional shipments.

Food.

Weapons.

Magical crystals.

Medicine.

Construction materials.

All of them had disappeared.

And all of them had been signed for by legitimate officials.

That was what frightened Atreyu most.

This wasn't an outside spy stealing supplies.

Someone inside Concordia was helping them.

Someone with access.

Someone trusted.

Someone who understood the city's systems.

Someone who knew exactly where to hide things.

Loki looked at the records.

"They've been operating right underneath us."

Atreyu nodded.

"For how long?"

"Months."

Mara frowned.

"Could they be connected to the old Surtr network?"

Loki looked at her.

"Almost certainly."

The Watch began quietly investigating.

They didn't alert the council.

They didn't inform the public.

They didn't even tell most of the palace staff.

Only a handful of people knew.

Atreyu.

Mara.

Loki.

Baldr.

Lexander.

Thor.

Aurethar.

And Io.

The last person had been difficult to keep informed because everyone insisted she should be resting.

Io ignored them.

"I am still queen."

Lexander sighed.

"I know."

"I need to know what's happening."

"I know."

"Then tell me."

He did.

When he finished, Io's expression was serious.

"They're inside Concordia."

"Yes."

"How close?"

"We don't know."

She placed a hand over her stomach.

"They know about the babies."

"Probably."

"Then we can't assume the palace is safe."

Lexander nodded.

"We won't."

That night, Aurethar took to the sky, ready to incinerate anyone who threatened the fragile peace.

He flew over Concordia for hours.

From above, the city looked peaceful.

Lights filled the streets.

Workers moved through the final construction zones.

Guards patrolled the walls.

The palace glowed warmly.

Nothing appeared wrong.

But Aurethar could feel something.

A disturbance.

Not magical exactly.

Something more subtle.

Movement.

He circled lower.

Then he saw it.

A small group of people entering an unfinished building.

At this hour.

Without guards.

Aurethar landed silently on a nearby rooftop.

He watched.

One person entered.

Then another.

Then another.

Five people.

Aurethar's eyes narrowed.

He didn't attack.

Instead, he flew back toward the palace.

The Watch assembled within minutes.

Atreyu studied the location.

"How certain are you?"

Aurethar answered.

"Certain."

Loki smiled grimly.

"Then we finally have something."

Baldr looked at the map.

"That building was supposed to be storage."

"According to the plans."

"But?"

Baldr pointed.

"There are underground levels."

Atreyu stared.

"How many?"

"Three."

Mara frowned.

"Those aren't on the city plans."

Loki smiled.

"Then I think we just found our conspiracy."

They moved before dawn.

No soldiers.

No banners.

No public announcement.

Just the Watch.

Thor stayed behind with Io.

Aurethar flew overhead.

Loki, Atreyu, Mara, and Baldr approached the building from the western side.

They entered quietly.

The ground floor was empty.

The second floor was empty.

The basement was empty.

Then they found the stairs.

They descended.

One level.

Two.

Three.

At the bottom was a door.

Loki placed his hand against it.

"Magically sealed."

Baldr nodded.

"I recognize the spell."

Atreyu looked at him.

"Surtr?"

"Yes."

Mara drew her weapon.

"Open it."

Loki smiled.

"Gladly."

The seal broke.

The door opened.

And the Watch found what had been hidden beneath Concordia.

Crates of weapons.

Maps.

Military schedules.

Lists of guards.

Construction plans.

Names of nobles.

Names of merchants.

Names of palace servants.

And, on the largest table in the room, a detailed drawing of the royal palace.

At the center of it were two names.

LEXANDER.

IO.

Below them was another note.

THE CHILDREN MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO INHERIT THE FLAME.

Nobody spoke.

Baldr slowly clenched his fists.

Atreyu looked around the room.

"We have our conspiracy."

Loki stared at the plans.

"No."

Atreyu looked at him.

"What?"

Loki pointed to a second map.

"This is worse."

It showed Concordia itself.

Not as it currently stood.

But as it would look after the final construction.

And beneath the city were dozens of red markings.

Hidden tunnels.

Secret chambers.

Escape routes.

Weapons caches.

Loki's expression hardened.

"These people didn't infiltrate Concordia."

"They helped build it."

At that exact moment, far away at the palace, Io suddenly froze.

Lexander looked up.

"What?"

She placed both hands over her stomach.

"The babies."

"What?"

"They're moving."

A kick.

Then another.

Then both at once.

Io smiled nervously.

"They're awake."

Lexander moved beside her.

"I've got you."

She looked toward the window.

Outside, Concordia was beginning to wake.

The city was preparing for the birth.

The people were celebrating.

Lysandra was preparing for another day at school.

Maggie, Corin, and Elara were probably already planning another adventure.

The palace was surrounded by guards.

Aurethar watched from above.

Thor stood nearby.

Shadow rested on her shoulder.

Everything looked peaceful.

But beneath the streets, the Watch had uncovered evidence that someone had been preparing for this moment for months.

Perhaps longer.

And now they knew something else.

The conspiracy wasn't approaching Concordia.

It was already there.

It had been hiding beneath the city while the walls were being built.

It had watched the palace rise.

It had watched Io's pregnancy progress.

It had watched the alliance grow stronger.

And it had been waiting.

Waiting for the twins.

Waiting for the First Flame.

Waiting for the moment when Concordia would become the heart of the new kingdom.

The Watch had finally found it.

But they still didn't know how deep the conspiracy went.

And with Io's due date approaching rapidly, they didn't have much time left to find out.

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