“Kathryn told me that Frost sent them to the north to offer reinforcements for some skirmish.”
“Frost is smart. She knew there was no way all of the soldiers would follow her. Kathryn is well liked. Frost had to do this when the castle was undefended.”
“So you think the threat to the north was fabricated?” Rowan asked.
“That’s my guess.” Venn seemed to be putting some puzzle together in her mind.
Rowan covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t sense this. I didn’t suspect Frost. I didn’t see this, because I wasn’t looking.” She was berating herself.
“There was no way you could have known.” Venn pulled Rowan back into her arms. “None of us could have known.”
But Aiden wasn’t sure Venn was right. She’d had a weird feeling about Frost and she’d dismissed it. And the morning she’d been taking the letter to Kathryn, she should have questioned Frost lurking in the hallway. She should have delivered the letter herself. She should never have left Kathryn alone. Her stomach soured and turned on itself. She was forced to sit down and put her head between her knees.
When she looked up, Venn was watching her intently as she cradled Rowan in her arms.
“Venn.” Aiden stood up.
“Yes?”
“I’m going after them.” She wasn’t asking permission.
“I know. I’m going with you.”
“No.” Rowan pulled away from Venn. “I sent two squires north yesterday immediately after Frost left. They’re to bring the soldiers back. Wait for them. You can’t do this alone.”
“We’ll eat, get fresh horses, and then we leave for Belstaff. If the solders are back by then they can ride with us. If not, we go and you send them after us when they arrive.” This wasn’t open for discussion. Aiden would not wait one minute longer than she had to. As it was, Frost was a full day’s ride ahead of them. Damn, they’d probably have passed them en route, except that Frost likely hadn’t followed the main roads.
It would take them another day and a half to get back to Windsheer Castle. The thought of Kathryn alone, in Balak’s custody, made Aiden’s insides clench with rage. If he hurt her in any way—no. Aiden couldn’t let her mind go there.
It was early still. They could leave within the hour and still have plenty of daylight left. They could be back in Belstaff by tomorrow.
“Frost left a message for Aiden.” It was as if Rowan had just remembered.
“What?” Aiden had been plotting their departure in her head and wasn’t paying attention to what Rowan was saying.
“Frost left you a message. I had it with me, but I left it in Gareth’s room. This way.” Rowan headed back in the direction of the guest rooms, the part of the castle where Venn’s and Aiden’s rooms had been. They followed her. “We moved Gareth to one of these rooms so the castle doctor could tend to him more easily.” Before she opened the door, she looked back at them. “I should warn you that he looks pretty bad. I don’t think the men who did this meant for him to survive.”
When Aiden saw Gareth, she had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping. His eyes were swollen shut, and one side of his face was dark purple with bruises. His lip was spit and bulbous, and it looked as if there was blood seeping from a bandage around his head. One arm was bound and splinted. He’d obviously put up a fight and had been beaten badly for it.
Rowan handed Aiden the envelope with Balak’s red wax seal. The seal was unbroken. The room was dim so Aiden stepped close to the window so that she could see the letter more clearly.
Aiden,
I’m anxious to meet you in person. Come to Windsheer Castle. I have something you want. In truth, I want her also. But I’m willing to trade her for you. I anxiously await your arrival.—Your loving uncle, Balak Roth
She handed the disturbingly brief note to Venn. Aiden braced her hands on each side of the narrow window and focused on breathing. This was all her fault. If Kathryn hadn’t come for her, then she’d have never been put in harm’s way. Or if Aiden had left sooner, maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t have happened. But Frost must have told Balak that Aiden was in Olmstead. Frost must have told Balak that if he took Kathryn then Aiden would come for her. It was all so perfectly awful. So much for a strategic invasion with troops. Venn’s original plan would never work now. But then Aiden had a thought. She turned to Venn.
“Balak still doesn’t know what I look like.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Venn crumpled the note. “But why does that matter?”
“It means we still have the element of surprise.” Aiden was formulating a plan, but before she could say more, Gareth moaned from the bed.
Rowan had been cooling his forehead with a damp cloth. Aiden moved closer. Gareth’s lips were moving; he was trying to say something. Rowan offered him a spoonful of water. He coughed, which seemed to be painful. No doubt he had a few broken ribs to go with his broken arm.
He barely opened his eyes and turned his head in Aiden’s direction.
He whispered something.
Aiden couldn’t hear him so she leaned down. With bloodied knuckles, he reached for the front of her shirt. He pulled her close so that her ear was next to his swollen lips.
In a raspy whisper, Aiden heard his plea. “Save her.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
Aiden and Venn raided the arms room taking as many weapons as they thought they could carry: daggers, knives, axes, ropes, and one grappling hook. They loaded their arsenal onto a third horse along with other gear they might need, like torches and blankets and food. Aiden didn’t know how to prepare fully, but she and Venn were trying to consider every possible scenario. Including one in which Kathryn might be injured and require a stretcher for transport. Rowan wanted badly to go with them, but Venn refused her.
“It’s too dangerous.” Venn had been adjusting one of the supply straps. She turned away from the horse and faced Rowan.
“I might be able to help if Kathryn is hurt.”
“Rowan, I can’t focus on what needs to happen if I’m worrying about keeping you safe.” Venn stepped closer to Rowan and stroked her cheek tenderly. “We will come back, and we will bring Kathryn with us.”
Rowan nodded and then hugged Venn. Then she turned to Aiden. She kissed Aiden on each cheek and then wrapped her into a tight embrace.
Venn was just about to put her foot in the stirrup when Rowan stopped her. She turned Venn toward her, pressed her back against the horse’s side, and kissed her on the mouth. Venn looked completely surprised, and it took her a moment before she relaxed into the kiss and encircled Rowan with her arms, drawing her close.
Aiden watched the entire display with interest and amusement.
“I didn’t want to regret not doing that.” Rowan smiled, despite the tears that were now on her cheeks.
“Rowan, I…” Venn seemed at a loss.
“You don’t have to say anything, just come back to me.”
Venn nodded and climbed into the saddle.
They rode out of the village at a fast clip. It had taken them two hours to prepare, and now Aiden was anxious to cover as much ground as possible before it was fully dark. Venn had drawn a diagram of the castle from memory. Assuming not much about the interior structure had changed in twenty years, the map would come in handy as they planned their assault.
*
Kathryn wasn’t sure how close they were to Windsheer Castle. They’d stayed mostly on rough trails, away from the main road that ran north to south. It wasn’t as if she’d have known where she was anyway. She’d never traveled this far south before. They had to be well inside the boundary of Belstaff.
Frost signaled that they were stopping for the night. Since Kathryn’s hands were tied, she had to be helped from her mount. The fierce looking woman tied a rope through the binding at her wrists and led her away from the horses.
“Sit.”
Kathryn hesitated. She considered what the penalty might be for not agreeing to follow directives. A slap
across the face was her answer. Her cheek stung from the blow.
“I said sit. Don’t make me tie you to a tree.” Kathryn sank to the ground, and the woman towered over her. Frost had intervened when the man had hit Kathryn earlier, but she didn’t seem to care if a woman struck her because Frost said nothing.
She considered making a run for it, but she was surrounded as the group made camp in a circle around where she sat on the ground with her skirt gathered into a heap about her legs. After a little while, the woman came for her, jerking her to her feet.
“Let’s go.”
It was as if her world had collapsed into vast disorder. Frost was here, but Frost obviously no longer cared, or had never cared for her. She’d been forcibly taken from her home, Gareth and the chancellor had both likely been killed, and Aiden and Venn were missing. At least Rowan was safe, she hoped.
“Where are you taking me?” Kathryn made no move to follow the woman.
“This is your chance to relieve yourself. I suggest you take it.” Then the side of her mouth tweaked up. “Unless you’d prefer a gentleman escort.”
There were no gentlemen present, only thugs. Kathryn shook her head and willed herself not to cry. There was no way she would allow herself to cry.
“What is your name?” Kathryn thought maybe knowing who her captors were would be of some use.
The woman looked back over her shoulder as if she were considering whether to answer or not. Finally, she responded. “Miro.” She turned abruptly and pulled Kathryn against her. “Why, you wanna know me better? In a personal way?” Miro gave her a calculating up and down glance.
Kathryn tried to remain calm while every cell in her body wanted to scratch Miro’s eyes out for having the audacity to look at her in such a way, as if she were undressing Kathryn with her gaze. Kathryn calculated an answer and decided instead to say nothing.
Miro turned and pulled Kathryn farther into the trees. As she relieved herself, she regarded Miro, who’d taken a seat on a nearby fallen tree. She wondered what might motivate Miro to join with men such as these. Forgetting Frost, the others were a truly rough and scary lot. As she smoothed her skirt back down, she conspired to figure things out.
They walked back to camp and Frost handed Kathryn a serving of beans and bread. Kathryn touched Frost’s fingers as she accepted the plate. She was trying to remind Frost that they knew each other. She wanted Frost to remember their connection. But Frost wouldn’t even make eye contact with her.
As everyone ate, there were hushed remarks from time to time, but hardly anything that Kathryn could make out. After dinner, Miro returned to place her blanket on the ground just behind Kathryn’s. She watched Miro. The woman made her uneasy; she was unpredictable and foreign in manner. Kathryn wondered what had happened to bring Miro to this place, for this purpose. Under the grime of no doubt days of travel, she could see that Miro was attractive in her own way, muscled and fit. If Frost was going to forsake her, Kathryn needed to find an ally. Could that be Miro? Was it dangerous to even consider such a thing?
She lay on her side and kept still as Miro tied her ankles together. She grimaced internally each time Miro’s fingers touched her skin as she tightened the ropes. Miro, satisfied that Kathryn was properly restrained, leaned over her, braced on outstretched arms. Kathryn refused to look at her. Finally, Miro moved to her blanket.
“Sleep well, Your Highness”
Kathryn lay awake for a long time watching the embers of the fire fade from orange to ash. She felt unskinned, raw, abandoned, but she would not weaken. She would never yield.
Chapter Forty
By late morning the next day, Frost led them through the gates of Windsheer. Kathryn looked with empathy on those who stood in ragged clothing and watched them pass. The whole place reeked of despair. The air was thick with the stench of misery. She felt a knot rise in her throat, but she swallowed it down.
Grooms met them at the castle steps, and one of them helped Kathryn from her horse. She was still tethered to Miro, who lead Kathryn inside and down into the belly of the enormous dark structure.
Miro pulled Kathryn into a small room with no windows. There was a fire in the grate, a washing tub, and a lantern on a small table at the side of a narrow bed. Was this to be her room? She surveyed the space and then turned back to Miro.
“You clean up before you meet Balak. I’ll have someone bring water.” Miro untied her. Kathryn massaged the chafed skin where the ropes had rubbed her tender wrists. “The door will be locked so there’s no need for the rope.” Miro turned to leave.
“Thank you.” Kathryn’s voice sounded small, far away, but she’d forced herself to say something.
Miro turned and regarded Kathryn, and her expression softened just the slightest bit. She said nothing more as she closed the door.
The underground room was damp and cold. Kathryn knelt near the fire and held her hands over it for warmth. She hugged herself and gave the room one more visual sweep. The furnishings were adequate but certainly not designed for comfort. And there was no window so there was no view of the sky. If she were kept in the room for too long, she would easily lose track of what time of day it was.
Kathryn stiffened when she heard the door open.
Frost entered the room with a servant woman. The woman had a towel, what looked like a clean dress, and a large pail of steaming water. She laid the things on the bed and then added the heated water to the already half-full tub. The servant backed quietly out of the room, leaving Frost and Kathryn to face each other.
The urge to run at Frost and pummel her with her fists was almost overpowering. Frost looked at her for the first time since they’d left Olmstead, with an expression that was hard to read. Was she gloating? Was she feeling smug? Kathryn waited for Frost to say something.
“You should bathe and dress. Someone will come retrieve you for the evening meal.” Frost stood erect, as usual, with her hands clasped behind her back. The thought of eating anything made Kathryn’s stomach sour.
“Frost, why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing this?” Frost’s nostrils flared. Was that anger or simply impatience? Kathryn found Frost’s lack of emotional range infuriating.
“I thought you cared about Olmstead.”
“I do care, but only as a means to an end.”
“What end?”
“Did you know my parents?”
Kathryn searched her memory.
“No?” Frost took slow steps a she began to circle Kathryn. “Probably because they died in the Arranth mines when I was a child.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“You have no idea about many things, Kathryn. I blame your father. Like every king who came before him and will no doubt come after, his primary motivation was greed—”
“That’s not true.”
Frost lunged at her but didn’t strike her. “Don’t interrupt me again.” Then the circling resumed. “As I was saying, your father didn’t care how many lost their lives in those mines. He only cared about the harvest of jewels.”
“And you think Balak cares about the people working in the mines?” Kathryn couldn’t stop herself from asking the obvious question.
“No, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t do this, Frost. I’m very sorry for your loss, but doing this won’t bring your parents back.”
“No, it won’t. But it might just repay what I’ve suffered from the loss. Do you know what it’s like to be a young girl, alone, unprotected, in a mining camp?”
Frost looked at Kathryn and, for a moment, allowed her to see the hurt on her face before the cold façade returned.
“Frost, I’m so sorry.” She truly was. She couldn’t imagine what Frost had endured as a young girl. Even trying to imagine it made her shudder.
“To avenge my parents I’ve given my life to Olmstead. I’ve forsaken any hope of having a family of my own. I’ve seen comrades die by the sword. I’ve watched as others have risen abov
e me. While those who are simply lucky by birth ascend to the throne.” Frost glared at Kathryn. She was seeing a side of Frost she’d never witnessed before, revenge and fierce ambition.
“Frost, I had no idea—”
“Of course you had no idea. You’re just like your father. You only ever saw me as a soldier. Someone to fight your battles for you, guard your lands, and nothing more.” Frost stepped very close to Kathryn, and for a moment, Kathryn thought she might strike her, but she didn’t.
“This doesn’t have to happen this way. Now that I know, things can be different.”
“It’s too late, Kathryn.” Frost walked away from her then turned just before she reached the door. “I’ll be assuming the throne in Olmstead within a fortnight, with Balak’s blessing, provided Aiden shows up to claim you.”
Frost had been quietly plotting against her father for years. This was the why she’d been struggling to uncover.
“If all you are after is control of the mines then leave Aiden out of this.”
“Balak wants Aiden. My part of the deal was delivering what Balak wants, a missing heir in return for Olmstead’s throne. It seems like a fair trade.”
“So if this is all just an elaborate trap, why feed me dinner?”
“Balak wants you at the table. I suggest you don’t disappoint him.”
Frost closed the door behind her, and Kathryn heard the unmistakable sound of a bolt sliding through a lock.
Chapter Forty-one
Darkness greeted Aiden’s return to Windsheer Castle. This time they did not enter through the central gateway, but instead from the south, through one of the gates on the harbor side, used primarily for cargo. They disguised their gear-laden horses with ragged blankets and then donned cloaks, so they looked like merchants carrying goods. No one was at the gate to stop them anyway, which surprised them a little. Balak probably assumed they’d come in a blaze of glory, making a big entrance, but Aiden’s plan was exactly opposite.
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