“The frontier is just that,” Leander said. “It’s a frontier.”
“It’s a wild, untamed land that lacks sophistication and development,” Darius picked up where his brother left off. “It was settled hundreds of years ago when there was an abundance of population and a dearth of resources in the kingdom.”
“It was quite a convenient way to get rid of troublemakers and younger sons, as I understand it,” Leander said.
I was almost getting tired of being surprised, but there I was again, surprised.
“I never really stopped to think about why the Old Realm settled the frontier in the first place,” I said.
“If you can even call it settled,” Lucius mumbled over his tea before taking a drink.
“The cities certain think they’re settled,” I said, sort of defending the cities, even though they weren’t my home anymore.
That made me blink and consider something else. I had no idea how to explain the new kingdoms that had risen up in the frontier. My housemates had so little idea of the world I came from that it was as likely as not that the Kostya Kingdom, the Wolf River Kingdom, everything Boris, Igor, and Yates had created, and whatever was going on near Inverhaus with Jorgen Iceblade and Hati would mean nothing to them. The different factions on the frontier might have been at war with each other or working to form alliances and treaties, but to the four people sitting in that room with me, it was all the same.
“I don’t even know where to begin to start to tell you about everything that’s happened in the frontier in the last two years,” I said, rubbing my hands over my face to fight off the feeling of being overwhelmed. “All I can say is that the frontier is definitively no longer a part of the kingdom, whatever people on this side of the mountains might think. In fact, there are at least four, possibly five, depending on whether you count Good Port, new, sovereign, independent kingdoms on the other side of the mountains. And none of them maintain any allegiance toward anyone on this side of the mountains.”
Which might not have been true. Last I’d heard, Boris, Igor, and Yates were trying to curry favor with King Julius and the Old Realm.
“You’re lying,” Lucius said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Nobody on the other side of the mountains would know how to govern themselves. They’re a bunch of backwoods idiots.”
I glared at him. “Do I look like an idiot to you?”
Lucius gaped, as if he’d just realized how insulting his words were. “Well,” he stammered, “every place has exceptions.”
Leander and Darius snorted and scoffed. They also scooted closer to me, Leander with his arm around my shoulders and Darius by putting a hand on my thigh.
Mara watched the entire conversation hunched in her chair, holding her cup of tea with both hands, and looking as if she was more interested in what I had to say than she wanted to let on. That all changed with the next shift in conversation, though.
“The kingdoms of the frontier are far more advanced and powerful than you realize,” I said, working up a head of steam to defend my home. Mara stopped hiding the fact that she was paying close attention. “The old frontier has fallen apart, but many of the cities have formed together into what is now known as the Kostya Kingdom. They are led by King Sai Rozynov, who served in your old king’s army in the war that, as I understand it, you lost a few years ago.”
“We didn’t lose the war, it was a stalemate,” Lucius insisted.
My heart sped up a bit. It dawned on me that I could get the full story of what happened in that war while I was taking the healer’s course. Reports of exactly what had happened to lay the Old Realm low—whether it was the war, a famine, or the plague—were sketchy.
There would be time for that later, though.
Ignoring Lucius’s outburst, I went on with, “The Kostya Kingdom isn’t even the most powerful or prosperous kingdom on the frontier. About half of their population died last winter because of their foolishness. They ignored and offended the wolves of the forest a few too many times, and the wolves banded together to form the Wolf River Kingdom. That’s the most powerful force in the frontier now.”
I was reasonably certain that was true, although it could be debated. I was loyal to my kingdom, though, so of course I would think it was the best.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Lucius frowned. “Wolves are animals. Are you saying that wild animals rule the frontier?”
I stared flatly at him. “‘Wolves’ is a term—considered derogatory at first, but we’ve adopted it now—that refers to men who love other men.”
Lucius gawped at me. “You’re one ofthose?” He darted a disgusted look to Leander and Darius.
“I am,” I said proudly.
“Is everyone on the frontier a man, then?” Mara asked quietly.
“No, not at all,” I said, speaking more gently to her. “There are just as many women, especially in the cities. There have always been women in the forest, too. Women who love other women and those who fled the cities to get away from abusive men. Magnus has been trying to get as many people of all genders and inclinations to move to the Wolf River Kingdom, because he knows a kingdom cannot survive without children.”
“Magnus?” Leander asked with a lascivious arch of his eyebrow. It was almost as if he knew Magnus and his personality already.
“King Magnus of the Wolf River Kingdom,” I said. “Magnus Gravlock,” I clarified. Though I had to clarify again and say, “He was born Magnus Gerzia. He’s a member of the royal family. In fact, he’s King Julius’s brother. Hisolderbrother.”
It was always fun to watch people’s reactions when that truth was revealed, but Mara was in the middle of taking a drink of tea. She choked on it at my explanation and started coughing and sputtering, her eyes wide and watering.