by Ann Bakshis
“Not from you,” Lycus replies, then he leans back. “Kerron, go see to it that Honora leaves with us the day after the coronation. Do anything necessary to ensure that happens.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I reply before getting up from my chair and retreating into the hall where I have a couple of my men who accompanied us stationed, per Argus’ request.
But I bypass them and head outside, trotting along the wraparound porch to get to an open door since Caster is standing in front of one. When I find him, I check the dancefloor to make sure Evander and Honora are still dancing together before I open my mouth.
“Don’t turn around, Caster,” I say quietly, but loud enough for him to hear me. “Don’t acknowledge my presence or that you’re even having a conversation, do you understand?”
“Yes,” he replies in a hushed voice as his body stiffens.
“Now, I need you to listen to me and only answer the questions I ask. There’s no time for a full conversation. The woman dancing with Prince Evander, is she David and Elizabeth’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Is she aware of her heritage?”
“No.”
“Does she have a Geron medallion?”
“Yes, but not currently on her.”
“Do you know who that young man sitting beside King Job is?”
“I can guess,” he says with contempt, though I don’t feel it’s aimed towards me.
“You’d be correct in your assumption, which is why the very next words I have to say to you are most important.” I take a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. “Take Honora back to Nysa tonight, then grab Elizabeth and leave the kingdom immediately. Honora’s life depends on it.”
“Lycus knows who she is?” he asks, startled by the possible revelation.
“No, but he’s determined to have Honora as his and has threatened King Job with Evander’s murder if he doesn’t get his way. A threat he will follow through on, and quickly.”
“Where’s Gregor?”
“Dead for over a month now. Killed by the devil himself, the one beside King Job.”
“Won’t Lycus know we’ve gone if we’re not at the coronation? He might still follow through on his threat against Evan.”
“I’ll ensure that doesn’t happen,” I reply firmly.
“How can I trust you, Kerron? You wanted to murder Honora while she was still in Elizabeth’s belly. Now you want to protect her?”
“I’d do anything to protect the rightful heir to the Geron throne… and my niece.”
“So, it’s true then. Elizabeth is your sister.”
“Yes, which is why she needs to leave as well.”
“I’ll try to get Honora to slip away in a few minutes, so we can quietly leave without being noticed.”
“Good.”
I head back the way I came and search for Argus, who’s standing by the second entryway into the great hall.
“It’s urgent that I speak with you,” I say, sidling up beside him.
“What now, Kerron?” he asks, unamused by my interruption.
“How much do you trust the Geron Vagter, and it’s king?”
“Not one bit,” he replies, which is the answer I was hoping for.
“Good, because I have news for you, and I hope you take it as genuine and sincere. Prince Evander’s life is in danger from Prince Lycus. He intends to assassinate Evander during the parade after the coronation tomorrow.”
“Are you positive? This would be treason for you if Lycus discovers what you’ve done, and that’s if I believe you.”
“What if I can guarantee that I’m telling you is the truth? Would you heed my warning?”
“Go on,” he says, his eyes never deviating from the room.
“More than twenty feet or so from the castle walls, and hidden among the trees that rest along the east side, are three archers poised to rain arrows down on Evander if he should step outside this evening.”
“I thought you said the assassination attempt was going to be during the parade.”
“It is. These would just be warning shots and if anyone were to be injured Lycus wouldn’t give a damn, especially if it’s Honora who happens to be outside with the prince.”
“Don’t move,” Argus says, spinning to face me and wagging a thick finger in my face.
I stay as directed while Argus snaps his fingers, ordering several of his Vagter to follow him out the back and onto the grounds. It’s nearly an hour before Argus returns, though the men he took with him do not.
“Your archers are dead,” he says casually, and begins to monitor the hall again.
“Did any of your men get hurt?”
“No as we were able to take them by surprise. Are there any others lurking on or near the grounds?”
“No,” I say, lying.
Those three were strictly for this evening—the others are waiting until tomorrow, but if Argus takes my warning seriously, they too will be dead before the end of the parade.
“This doesn’t mean I trust you,” Argus says after a brief pause.
“I can accept that,” I say, before walking away and returning to my seat behind Lycus.
It’s an hour before the mass that’ll signify Evander’s transition of power to that of king. I’m assisting Lycus with his attire this morning because his manservant didn’t travel with us and the young king requested me specifically. I take the fur pelt he brought and clip it around his shoulders, making sure not to obscure the view of the Geron chain of crests, which he wore last night and David wore on his wedding day.
“Are all plans in place?” he asks as I make sure he’s properly suited.
“Yes. The young lady will leave with us tomorrow morning before sunrise.”
“Good,” he says, smiling. “I’m looking forward to having her.”
“And once you’ve slept with her, then what? She’s not the type of person you can simply throw away. Honora seems to have much class and wit about her.”
“I intend to marry the young woman at the earliest convenience,” he replies. “She’s exactly what I want in a queen and I think sitting beside me on the throne is precisely her purpose in life. The people will love her, and the kingdom will return to obeying my every command once she’s established. We will have many children, but only one will be raised to rule when my time is over.”
“And what if she doesn’t agree with your arrangements?”
“Then I’ll simply force her to,” he replies with much arrogance. “There isn’t anything I can’t get or do, Kerron. I’m unstoppable and soon Reynes will be all mine to command and control. Here, keep this in a safe place.”
He hands me the Pelheim medallion he received from King Job last night, so I slip it into my coat pocket where it shall remain until I can return it to its rightful owner.
The church is detached from the castle along the west side of the property. It’s an old cathedral, although on the small side. The rose window at the top of the entryway depicts a large howling wolf with deep blue eyes, just like that which is imprinted on the medallion and the gate at the front of the castle grounds. Lycus is offered a seat in the front row, which is normally reserved for only family members. I’m sure his threat to King Job last night is the reason for our placement. The church is packed and there appear to be more guards today than last night.
I’m glad Argus took my warning under advisement.
The congregation rises as the organ in the upper balcony begins to play. A priest holding a crown high above his head and mumbling to himself, slowly walks down the aisle with Evander following at a distance and King Job struggling to move along one side, and his manservant, Henry, on the other. I watch as Evander’s eyes scan the faces for Honora, so I do the same and am happy not to see her. I hope Caster gets them out quickly because it won’t be long before Lycus notices her absence as well.
Eleven
Ore
“Honora, get your ass down here now!” Caster shouts, his voice
nearly shaking the tree. “We don’t have time for your bullshit! We need to go!”
“Not until you tell me why!” I cry, which is what I’ve been doing since he dragged me from the castle, hastily packed our things, and rented a carriage to bring us home.
“You just need to trust me!”
“Honora, honey, please. We need to leave,” my mother says in a more calming manner.
I’m still wearing the dress I wore to the ball, only now the sleeves are slightly torn from when I scurried up the tree the moment the carriage stopped in front of the cottage, which was a little over an hour ago as the sun was coming up. I threw my shoes at Caster when he gave chase, so he had to go and retrieve my mother in order to force me to come down.
“You’ve ruined everything!” I yell, as loud as I can.
“I’m sorry, Ore,” Caster says, his voice cracking. “We can fix this, I promise you, just not at this moment. As soon as I can I’ll send word to Evan where we are, but I need you to come down from the tree now.”
“Why did we have to go in the first place?” I ask, tears streaming down my already-stained cheeks.
“I told you it was because of Lycus. He’s not trustworthy, and he was growing overly fond of you in a matter of minutes,” Caster replies. “We can return to Pelheim once Lycus is back in his own kingdom. Evan will never permit that man to enter again, but we need to be elsewhere until he leaves.”
“Why are you so afraid of Lycus?” I ask. “You’re stronger than he is, and Argus can crush him with his fist.”
“It’s not that simple, Ore,” my mother responds. “We’ll discuss everything with you once we’re on the road.”
“Fine,” I grumble.
I practically slide out of the tree since the dress keeps getting caught under my bare feet, tearing it more. We hastily retreat to the cottage where I grab my weapons, tossing the hunting knife into the quiver before placing it and the longbow across my shoulders. My mother is in the process of grabbing her things when I hear it—rapidly approaching hooves.
“Hurry!” Caster hollers to her.
She tosses him her bag, then snags the bow and quiver off the dining room table that Evan left for me. We’re in the process of heading out the back door when several flaming arrows fly through the front window, shattering the glass and setting the wall and couch on fire. My mother shoves me out the door as Caster grabs the reins for his horse, moving the animal into position. He takes my arm and pushes me up, but when he turns to reach for my mother, she’s gone.
“Elizabeth!” he screams at her through the open door.
“Get Ore out of here! I’ll hold them off!” she yells, firing arrows at our attackers almost as quickly as I can.
“Not without you!”
“Caster, please, save my daughter!”
He curls his lip, mounts, tightens the reins, and kicks the horse into motion.
“What are you doing?” I ask, panicking. “She’s going to get killed! We have to help her!”
“No, Ore, we need to get out of here!”
“You’re just going to let her die? I thought you loved her!”
“I do, God damn it! Don’t you think this is breaking my heart as well?”
I glance back as our pace quickens and watch thick smoke billowing into the sky. I lay my head against Caster’s back and cry. My mother’s death is all my fault. If I’d only listened to them, we would’ve been long gone from here, but I was just so angry with Caster for ripping me away from Evan in such a manner that I didn’t want to hear anything he was trying to tell me. He didn’t seem to care when I told him Evan had proposed and I accepted. Caster was more focused on getting us back to the cottage than listening to a word I said. Now my mother is gone, and I wouldn’t blame Caster if he holds it against me. I know I do… and will for eternity.
The horse begins to slow, then bucks as it goes down on its side, throwing me off and pinning Caster to the ground. I scramble to my feet and notice an arrow has pierced the animal right through its ribcage. I go to quickly nock an arrow, but the quiver and bow must have fallen off when I fell. As I search the leaves and grasses that cover the ground for them, I hear Caster calling for me to run. I go to check on him. He’s alive but has a gash in his arm from when he hit the tree beside us as the horse went down.
“Is anything broken?” I ask, trying to move the dead horse off him.
“Don’t worry about me,” he pants, and I know he’s beginning to slip in and out of consciousness as his eyes begin to slowly roll back in his head. “Run, Ore, and don’t ever look back.”
I look to see where we are as Caster blacks out and I realize I’m only a mile from the hunting lodge. I get to my feet and rush in that direction, but I don’t see the man in the guard’s uniform until he’s on top of me, pinning me to the ground. He came out from behind a clump of trees I was making my way past, striking me to the ground.
“Stop your damn squirming,” he growls through clenched teeth.
“Get the fuck off me!” I scream as I fight him.
He ties my wrists together, then hoists me over his shoulder. I manage to kick him in the face, so he drops me to the ground, takes the handle of the hunting knife secured around his waist, and hits me on the back of the head, knocking me out.
Twelve
Evan
“Where is she?” I ask, pacing in front of the great hall where everyone waits for the reception to begin. Its doors closed to keep those inside from seeing my distress.
The parade just ended and now I stand in my royal attire as king and all I can think about is Ore. I didn’t see her at the coronation and she wasn’t with the crowds for the parade. I sent Argus just a short time ago to check the inn. She accepted my proposal, so there’s no reason for her to have run off. That’s not like her. So, where the hell is she?
“They’re gone,” Argus says, rushing towards me.
“What do you mean gone?” I ask, furious.
“I mean as in no longer in Latrest,” Argus says, trying to catch his breath. “Caster checked them out around eleven last night and rented a carriage to return them to Nysa.”
“Why the hell would he do that?”
“I can give you two guesses, but you really only need one.”
“Where is he?” I ask, scowling.
“Inside with everyone else.”
“Discreetly ask him to join me for a brandy in the solar on the opposite end of the main floor and tell him I’d like to discuss business before the feast. That might persuade him to come.”
Argus nods and takes a secondary entrance into the great hall while I hurry toward the other end of the castle where an enormous and heavily decorated solar rests with a full bar, plush furnishings, antique statutes, and small portraits of every member of my family since the kingdom was founded. I bite my lip as I pour liquor into two snifters and do everything in my power to harness my rage, so it doesn’t show, and wait for their arrival. I hear Lycus before I see him, and he’s not alone. The leader of his Vagter with him. I’m not surprised he came as it shows a sign of a loyal officer. A king should never travel unprotected, especially when visiting a rival kingdom, no matter where in that kingdom they are.
“To what do we owe the pleasure?” Lycus asks as he takes the snifter from my hand.
“I thought we could toast the newly founded peace between our kingdoms,” I say, tapping my glass against his.
He smiles and I instantly want to beat the shit out of him. I have a good two inches on him and far more muscular, but I’m sure Kerron wouldn’t allow me to attack him no matter the cause.
“Your father tells me you are to be wed,” Lycus says as he picks up the decanter to refill his glass and mine. “How about a toast to your upcoming nuptials?”
“When did he disclose this to you?” I ask, swirling the liquid around in the snifter without drinking it.
“Right before the parade started,” he answers with ease. “I must say your bride to be is quite fetching. If
you hadn’t snatched her up when you did, I might have attempted to woo the young maiden myself.”
His manners drip with poison and I picture my sword running through his heart.
“Yes, Honora is quite special to me,” I reply, setting my glass down on the mahogany bar. “It’s a shame she wasn’t able to attend the coronation.”
“I noticed that too,” Lycus comments oozing calm. “I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but perhaps she fell ill. Women often do.”
“Maybe that’s the case,” I reply, my eyes flickering over to Argus where he stands beside Kerron, dwarfing him.
“I’d hate to be an ungracious guest, but I’m afraid I must be returning to Geron to check on Gregor’s health. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
We shake hands and the two leave, with Argus escorting them out the front door where their luggage sits. From my angle, I’m able to watch as Lycus has his three guards take the cases down to the carriage at the bottom of the steps while Kerron attends to his horse being handled by the footman.
“What do you think?” Argus asks when he returns.
“He’s the reason she’s gone,” I answer. “Where’s Henry?”
“Up in your father’s room attending to him. The day has worn him out.”
“See that the feast is properly started while I check on my father.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Argus and I head in opposite directions. When I reach the second-floor landing, I hurry down the hall to my father’s room. The door is cracked open, so I gently push it the rest of the way and spot Henry easing my father down onto his pillow.
“I hope I don’t disappoint you, son,” my father says through tired lungs.
“You can never do that, Father,” I reply, making my way into the vast bedchamber.
“Oh, but I think I have,” he says, his face falling as tears fill the corners of his eyes. “Can you ever forgive an old man for the sins he commits?”