“I now understand how you acquired your ducklings.”
She pointed a finger toward her nose and objected, “Mayhap I do no’ ken. What did I do?”
“Be you.” Ash darted in long enough to plant a swift, chaste kiss on her forehead before letting go and striding toward his horse. “Alright, alright, everyone load back up! We can’t sit here any longer!”
Riana was left spluttering and blushing in his wake. Well, that was a fine thing to do, kiss a woman and walk off.
Gerrard pointed a finger at Ash’s back. “I take it he isn’t normally that demonstrative.”
“Judging from that expression on her face, definitely not,” Maree drawled.
Stuck between several sets of curious eyes, Riana felt her blush grow hot. Growling, still torn between being happy and miffed, she stalked after Ash.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Broden frowned at the closed study door. Edvard very rarely shut that door as more often than not he had a flood of informants and officials tripping in and out. Not quite sure what to make of this, he tentatively knocked on it.
From inside, a grumpy voice called, “You’re only allowed to enter if you have good news!”
Ah. One of those days. Broden now understood. “As it happens, I have two?”
“In that case, come in!” Edvard sounded slightly more optimistic but still tired.
Ashlynn muttered to him, “Well, someone’s in a fine mood.”
Apparently. Pushing the door open, they stepped in and found Edvard flat on his back, stretched out over one of his lounge chairs, a cloth over his eyes. Ashlynn, having all the sympathy of a sister, came over and poked him in the foot. “Are you dead?”
“Dying, yes, thank you for your concern.” Edvard did no more than twitch and remain stubbornly in that position. “Now, good news?”
“We distributed the first batch of the new currency into the public today. It was very well received and people are readily handing over their old Iyshian coins for the new set. I’ve got a list of what each coin is worth posted in every part of the town and they’re using that as a reference but so far the result is very positive.”
Edvard’s mouth curved up. “Good. Phew, that’s a relief. How long until we have enough currency?”
“I think we’ll forever be playing catch-up, but Troi informs me that by the time spring hits, the shortages will be over at least.”
“Good enough.” A quick furrow passed over Edvard’s brow. “It seems that quite a few of my problems end in spring for some reason.”
Not all of them. Broden personally thought an army marching for their border to be a problem.
“Troi did ask the question, what do we do with the Iyshian coin we collect?” Ashlynn gave him two seconds to think about that question before continuing, “I think we should melt them down and re-use the metal.”
That would be a good way to offset having to mine everything. Short-term especially it would help speed the process along as the metal would not need to be refined.
Edvard opened his mouth, paused, closed it again. Finally, he sat up, removing the cloth and tossing it on a nearby table. “No. While it would help us now I think it will hurt us in the long run.”
Not following, Broden asked slowly, “How?”
Resting elbows on knees, Edvard did not look at either of them, instead staring directly at the map he had hanging on the opposite wall. “This standoff that we have with Iysh can’t last forever. Simple economics prevent it. A good majority of Iyshian income is from trade. I never got an exact figure on this when I was still visiting court, but I understand their export/import revenue is substantial. Cutting off Estole, and now Dahl, has hurt them considerably. We both produced several products that were popular in Trenena and Overa. They can’t afford to keep up this embargo indefinitely.”
Some of this went over Broden’s head—he knew little of the finances of kings—but he got the gist of it. “Be that why Iysh be pushing so hard to retake us?”
“And Dahl, yes. They really can’t afford to have this drag on much longer. They either must re-conquer us or establish trade with us. One of the two. I think it’s that more than anything else, although of course Zelman isn’t happy about me rebelling. Pride would motivate the man as much as anything else. But fielding one army after another and sending them at us isn’t cheap either, and if he does that enough, he drives Iysh into a financial corner. His advisors and lords will step in and stop him eventually.”
“Makes sense,” Ashlynn allowed.
“So, to answer your initial question,” Edvard looked up at his blood-sister, “don’t melt down the coins. Collect them and store them for now. We might need them sooner rather than later for currency exchange.”
“Also,” Ashlynn continued her report, “our new guardsmen are catching onto the ropes quickly. I split them up; some of our seasoned guardsmen going over to the settlement, some of the greenhorns staying here in Estole, so that we had enough experience in both places. They all spend at least a part of the week training with each other as well. They won’t do too badly in a fight, if an army comes knocking on our door again.”
“It won’t be enough, I don’t think.” Edvard did not sound defeated, just calculating. “They’ll have learned from the previous two attempts to reclaim us and they’ll send a lot more men and wizards this time. If Ash doesn’t come back with at least a few wizards, we’ll really have to invest in putting up some sound defenses around Estole. I’ll dip into my personal treasury to pay for it. Otherwise they’ll mow right over us.”
“Ross and Tierone have been putting their heads together to design some, and we’re ready to build them, once we have Ash back.” Ashlynn hesitated a good two seconds before asking tentatively, “Have we heard from our spies in Iysh?”
“Yesterday evening, actually. Still no sign that an army is being put together.” Edvard splayed his hands. “I don’t know what is delaying them. Our spies don’t have enough status in court to hear what’s going on behind closed doors. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for it. We need all of the time they’ll give us to prepare.”
Broden watched this young man, half his own age, sit there and think of their future. What he was saying might be five years or ten down the line, and yet still he thought of the future. The archer felt a flash of pride. His new king was indeed a man worth serving.
Oblivious to how Broden felt, Edvard prompted, “You said two pieces of good news. What’s the other?”
“We had a wizard waltz in this morning all on her own.”
Edvard jerked up to his feet. “Really?!”
“Kirsty Kilpatrick,” Ashlynn supplied, looking just as happy. “I met her a few times, while we were still students. She trained under Master Philip Poole. Master never did like the man but we sometimes would get together and do competitions. Anyway, I always liked Kirsty. I was very surprised to hear she had come in this morning.”
“Where is she now?”
“Troi is speaking with her. I think he’s worried she’s an Iyshian spy.”
Granted, it was Troi’s job to ferret out the potential spies from the refugees that came in. In his shoes, Broden would certainly be asking the lass a lot of questions as a wizard could do considerable damage if turned loose in Estole.
“I’m rather curious what prompted her to come in myself,” Ashlynn admitted. “Kirsty is from a good family, she had a fiancé lined up to marry when she came of age, and I know she had good connections. Really, the Bindings might be a little restrictive on her, but she shouldn’t have had any real cause to split off and join us like this.”
“But she did,” Edvard said in a contemplative tone.
“She did. I really want to know why.”
Edvard, with a bounce in his stride, headed for the door. “Let’s go ask.”
The king was acting like someone had handed him a new toy. Amused at this sudden burst of energy, Broden followed along and tried not to chuckle.
Troi had brought
the new wizard only as far as the first guardroom inside Main Gate and no further. It was a precaution on his part, but it meant that the three of them had to wade through the town’s traffic to get there, which took time. Seeing Edvard, Ashlynn, and Broden together always caught people’s attention and they would often approach with some question in mind.
In between these questions, Edvard relayed to them, “I had lunch with Priest Graff. It’s been the first time we could actually sit and talk to each other for more than five minutes before one of us was yanked away. The man’s completely overwhelmed, no surprise there, but he did say that he knew of two other priests that would likely come if invited.”
They both perked up at this. “If that’s so, why hasn’t he asked already?” Ashlynn queried.
“I gather that he was uncertain whether or not we wanted more people. We have been complaining a great deal about the volume of refugees we get on a daily basis. But I assured him that the priests would be very welcome. In fact, I wrote up a letter for both men and handed them over. An official invitation, as it were.”
“Relieved I be at this news,” Broden admitted. “One priest for a country of this size be no’ enough. The man’s being fought over like a small tuna in a pride of cats.”
Edvard choked, then laughed. “An apt metaphor. Graff looked a little frayed around the edges at lunch. It’s why I was so prompt in writing out the letters and giving them to him. He said he had a way of getting letters out without them being stopped, which makes sense, as the church never seems to have any problem with communications, even across borders. Anyway, if these two men accept the invitation, our shortage for priests might end very soon.”
Broden prayed that would be the case. The one had been a blessing but three would be just about right.
It took the better part of an hour but they finally arrived at the guardhouse, and Edvard exchanged salutes with the guards on duty before stepping inside.
The guardroom was built with function in mind, so it was sparse indeed on decorations. A stove in one corner, several comfortable chairs, a table for eating at, and little else was in the room. Ensconced in two of the chairs were Troi and a woman that Broden had never seen before but assumed was Kirsty Kilpatrick.
She was a thin woman, of average build, dark brunette hair tied simply back at the nape of her neck, and creamy skin. Not remarkably pretty, not plain, she had a nice face to her and good humor radiated with every expression and gesture. “—remarkably stupid, if you ask me,” she was saying as they entered. On seeing them, she stopped dead and popped up to her feet. “Ashlynn Fallbright! It’s been ages since I saw you last.”
Ashlynn strode forward with hands outstretched and exchanged a quick hug with her. “It truly has. I think it’s been at least five years. You look well.”
“You look tired,” Kirsty responded bluntly. “But you’re still in one piece which is surprising considering everything that’s happened. Edvard—ah, that is, His Majesty here, I know.”
Edvard exchanged dry smiles with her. “By reputation at least. I greet you, Wizard Kilpatrick.”
“Harmony find you, Your Majesty. But who’s this handsome man here?”
Handsome? Since when?
Ashlynn put a hand on Broden’s back. “This is Broden Ravenscroft, my partner.”
Kirsty stuck out a hand, which he took, and beamed up at him. “Pleasure, Master Broden. Truly. It’s so rare that we find partners that it’s always good news when we meet one. If she found one, it gives me hope I can do the same.”
“Harmony find ye, Wizard Kilpatrick,” he returned and tried not to flush with all of these compliments being heaped on top of his head.
“Here, sit,” Ashlynn directed everyone, taking the chair nearest to her. “Kirsty, tell me how you came to the decision to defect to Estole.”
As they sat, Broden caught Troi’s eye and gave a speaking look about the girl. Troi shook his head, a minute movement that still spoke volumes. So, he didn’t think she was a spy. Now this really did become a curious case.
Kirsty put an elbow on one knee and leaned comfortably forward as if this was nothing more than a gossiping session between friends. “Well, you know how I was engaged to Bart Huntington?”
“Certainly, you said so before. It was an arrangement from childhood, you said.”
“Exactly. I didn’t mind it much as when we were children we got along rather well. And as teenagers that hadn’t changed. But when he hit eighteen he suddenly went on this binge of partying. My parents said he was just ‘sowing wild oats’ and ‘don’t mind it, darling.’ Well, I did mind it. Here I had to obey all the rules and he didn’t? But I bit my tongue and thought it was a phase and he’d get over himself eventually.” Kirsty rolled his eyes. “Well, he didn’t. I learned three months ago that not only was he flirting with every courtesan that tripped past him but he also had an established mistress in his own apartment, thank you very much. When I confronted my parents about it, they responded with, ‘Don’t worry, darling, he’ll settle down. Young men just have urges.’ Well, guess what? I have urges too. Most of them involve removing certain equipment so he can’t cheat on me anymore.”
Broden and Edvard both choked.
“For some reason it never crossed Bart’s mind that I could do that.”
Really? It should have. When Broden had been around Ashlynn barely more than a week he had known better than to cross her.
His face must have said as much because Kirsty pointed a finger at all three men even as she said to Ashlynn, “See? They’re smart. They know better than to upset a wizard.”
“I’ve trained them well,” Ashlynn assured her serenely. “So what happened after that?”
“Well, after that, I took a good look at how my life was going. I looked at my mother, who still has a cheating husband even after his youth has passed. She’s learned not to care what her husband does because I think it’ll break her heart otherwise. I looked at my sisters, who will probably be stuck with husbands of the same low moral character. And then I looked at that stupid fiancé of mine and thought do I really want to be stuck with this louse for the rest of my married life? And when I realized that the Bindings and the society at court would force me into being with Bart, I nearly threw up. At that point, I was done with Iysh. The only place to go if you’re mad at Iysh these days is Estole. So here I am.”
Broden did not know how the rest of the room felt but he certainly thought the lass had a sound reason for leaving.
“We’re delighted to have you,” Ashlynn told her frankly. “There’s a lot of work to be done here and not enough hands to go around.”
“I’ll be dedicated and work hard here, but, King Edvard? You have to make me a promise first.”
Edvard got his ‘king face’ on and faced her directly. “Ask, lady.”
“You will never, ever, try to pick out a husband for me.”
He blinked, then smiled. “I would not ever be that foolish.”
Kirsty beamed at him. “I like you already. Well, if we’re all agreed to me joining Estole, where do I start?”
“There are a few legal procedures to registering you as a full citizen of Estole,” Troi started before catching onto the general feeling of the room. “Ah, I suppose we can do those later.”
“Do them now, get them out of the way,” Ashlynn directed. “But do them fast, I want her out of here within an hour. After that…Kirsty.”
“Yes?”
“How are you at building things?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Riana had never been so glad to see a place in all her life.
Word had spread before they even reached Main Gate and by the time they passed through the outer wall, a welcoming party was standing there waiting for them. Broden came directly to her and gave her a warm bear hug. “Daughter.”
She relaxed into the embrace with a sigh.
“Rough trip, I take it.”
“Ye have no idea,” she groaned into his shoulder.
“We got attacked four times.”
He stepped back and looked at her. “Did ye lose anyone?”
“Thank the heavens, no. We did no’.”
“Then it be a good trip.” Patting her gently on the shoulder he stepped half-around and extended a hand to Ash. “Lad, I see ye made it back in one piece.”
“It was a near thing.” Ash clasped the hand firmly before letting go.
Edvard clapped Ash on the shoulder, looking over the people following behind. “Welcome home, Ash.”
“Good to be home,” the wizard returned. Turning to the man standing behind him, Ash introduced, “This is Gerrard Seaton, my magical instructor. Master, this is Edvard Knolton, King of Estole.”
Edvard beamed at him as he stepped forward, offering a hand which Gerrard took in a warrior’s clasp. “Well met, sir.”
“Well met, King of Estole,” Gerrard returned in kind. “I have only one question for you before I properly enter your territory. Ash tells me you’re offering citizenship rights to all that enter. Any exceptions to that?”
“Iyshian spies,” Edvard responded promptly, without missing a beat.
Gerrard grinned at him. “Good answer. In that case, King of Estole, the Seaton Academy would like to move here and build its new location on your land. In return for a place to build, I will train up a new generation of wizards for you. Do we have a deal?”
“We do.”
Riana blinked at this quick exchange. She hadn’t expected the men to hash that out right here on the doorstep. Then again, maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised as Gerrard was not one to stand still on matters for long.
With that settled, Gerrard flung his arms out wide and Ashlynn stepped into them like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Ahhh,” the man sighed with considerable pleasure, “here’s my Ashlynn. I’ve missed you.”
“You old scoundrel,” Ashlynn greeted happily. “How have you been?”
Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) Page 19