The guard fidgeted. “He’s valuable horseflesh, milady. You can’t just—”
“My valuable horseflesh and I say let him go. He was never truly happy here.”
The guards looked at each other. “As you wish, milady,” the first finally replied.
“Good riddance if you ask me,” Cassia muttered. “How are we going to get back home?”
“We could both ride your horse,” Ilythra began and stopped when Cassia paled. She turned to the guards. “We’ll walk. It’s not far.”
One of the guards hid a smirk. Then they rode back toward the castle.
* * *
The women wound their way up the narrow staircases to Ilythra’s room. At the door to her chamber, Ilythra turned. “Cassia, those yellow flowers we saw at the meadow would be beautiful in my room.” She pointed to a table. “There. Oh, they’d be lovely. Will you go down and pick some for me?”
Cassia hesitated. “I’ll send—”
“No. You know the exact ones I’m talking about. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
“I’m not getting back on one of those beasts.” Cassia set her mouth in a thin line.
“Take a wagon. You know how to drive one of those, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” She raised her chin in the air. “But I don’t have a knife.”
Ilythra smiled, though a wave of nausea hit hard. She grasped the bedpost for stability. “Go borrow one from the kitchen. Cook won’t mind.”
“Let’s both go back.”
Ilythra swayed through a wave of dizziness she didn’t have to fake. “I’m not feeling so well. The walk tired me. I’m going to sit for a while. Maybe take a nap. Please, I was planning to pick some when...well, it would cheer me up, especially after losing Melior.”
Cassia clenched her jaws together. Rage intensified the color of her pale eyes, but her voice was even. “Of course, milady.”
Ilythra sat on the bed. Was Cassia angry because she had to go back out into the field? Or because the servant had been told not to leave her alone? Now that she thought about it, Cassia had been nearby unless she was with Erhard. She hadn’t been left alone unless she insisted, which wasn’t often. A jailer.
Ilythra closed her eyes. She’d done what she could to help Mohan. I’ve lost Melior. A rest really did sound good. But the sense of danger had begun to steal over her in waves. I need to escape. Escape from what? She paused and took a few deep breaths; the unreality of the situation, as though she were two people, assailed her. Did she need to escape? She couldn’t—she was getting married. A trap. No, she was getting married to a wonderful man. She’d have a family, children, security and be where people needed her. She didn’t want to go anywhere. She shook her head to clear it.
“Ilythra.”
She looked up into Mohan’s worried face.
“Damn it, where were you?” His face was pale. Concern etched lines into his forehead and around his mouth.
“What do you mean?” She blinked back confusion.
“I mean just now.”
“I was... I don’t know. Erhard is a good man.”
He let out a long breath. “Ilythra, I hope you marry someday, but not now. Come on, we have to go.”
“I thought about what you said. This is Bredych’s doing, the man who killed your brother. I think he put something in the earrings.”
Mohan’s jaw clenched. “Bredych. Does he wear a lot of black, dark hair, dusky skin?”
Ilythra nodded.
“Does he live about six hundred wheels that way?” He pointed north.
“Yes.”
“I should have killed him then.” Mohan’s jaw worked.
“You saw him?”
“He sells slaves to the Rugians.”
No. She shook her head. There were no slaves here. She would know about it. Erhard wouldn’t allow it. “What do you mean?”
“And your king. Tall guy, silver hair, rich clothes, who walks in and people kneel?” He waved his arm in an elaborate mocking bow.
“What are you getting at?” Her head began to pound again.
“Also deals slaves.”
A surge of cold shock rocked her body. For a moment, the room disappeared, only to return in too much detail. “No, Erhard wouldn’t.” But even as she said the words, something niggled the back of her mind. Mines in the mountains. All those prisoners guilty of no crimes.
“I heard them talking a few days ago about unloading the men and sending them up the pass.”
“Those are prisoners.” It couldn’t be. Res.
“Prisoners who are now slaves.”
She couldn’t speak. Waves of reality washed over her, chilling her bones. Was this why they said truth was cold? Erhard and Bredych. Why hadn’t Erhard told her he was going to see Bredych? He’d also told her that for their wedding celebration, he’d pardon all petty crimes; no one was being sent to the mines. Res. Slaves?
“Really, he’s not your type.”
She looked up into Mohan’s pale face. His dark eyes flashed with anger. Her own anger spiked. “And do you know what my type is?”
He kneeled in front of her and took her hands in his. His voice was soft. “Honest.”
“Erhard couldn’t know.” She shrank from the idea.
“Wake up, Ilythra, how could he not?” He ran his hands up her arms to her shoulder and back again. “He’s directing, or at least he thinks he’s directing the whole operation. Rugians crawl all over the place, too many guards or prisoners for any one village, and you still don’t think there is anything going on up there?”
Ilythra opened her mouth then shut it. It couldn’t be true.
“Look, we don’t have time for this. What Erhard is doing with his subjects doesn’t bother me nearly as much as what’s happening to you.”
What is happening to me?
“There was a time I couldn’t get within three wheels of you without you knowing I was there, and now....” He sighed.
It had to be the fragrance in the earrings, on the sheets. Could a fragrance... She remembered the scent in Tarak’s room.
Mohan slapped Ilythra. Hard. “Somewhere in there is the Ilythra I know and love.” He slapped the other cheek with the back of his hand.
Heat and pain filtered into her mind, chasing away the fog. He reversed the motion, and she caught his wrist in a steel grip.
“Enough.” Her voice was hoarse. What have I become? Who am I? She struggled to collect thoughts that scattered like feathers on the wind every time she tried to grab one.
Mohan placed a hand on her shoulder. “You went away again.”
“I’m better than I was before you came.” She pulled out of Mohan’s hands and retched into the chamber pot, then wiped her mouth. “It’s not gone.”
“What’s not gone?”
“Whatever is influencing me, it’s not gone.” She struggled to push down the panic. “I can feel it in the back of my mind, calling. It’s peaceful.” She looked at Mohan. “This is not peaceful.”
“But this is real.” He placed a hand on either side of her face.
“Is it?”
His eyes were earnest. “I promise you. But we have to get out of here.”
She stood, removed her earrings and threw them into the fire.
“Feel better?”
“No.” Tarak’s mutilated face wouldn’t leave her mind. She’d fallen into the same trap. Bredych. Fear clawed her belly. Will that be me?
Mohan led her to her wardrobe and helped her change. His movements were gentle. She was reminded of how he treated the children of his troupe.
“If the situation were different, I’d tease you about how you know the intimate details of a woman’s dress.” She attempted humor, but her voice rang flat to h
er own ears.
“I think that’s no secret.” Mohan sounded preoccupied as he removed her petticoat and retrieved her shirt and tunic.
“How did you find me?”
“You’re not hard to track. Word spreads. What was hard was finding you alone. I was beginning to think I’d have to steal a dress and sneak you out of the castle.”
Ilythra breathed deep. She wouldn’t let the panic win. “That would have been a shock.”
Mohan buttoned up her shirt then tied the tunic, quickly reaching for the boots.
“My sword. Herbs. The necklace.”
“I’ll get them. Everything that I know was yours. I almost took your sword the first time I was in your room, but I was afraid to cause a commotion.”
“The first time?”
Mohan laced the boots over Ilythra’s leggings and reached for the sword. “Yes, I’ve been haunting the castle grounds, trying to get close to you.”
“Zeynel’s staff.” The room had grown misty. Ilythra took a shaky breath. “Under the bed.”
“I’ll get it.”
“Okay.” Weariness made her movements slow. She needed to sleep. If her head would just stop pounding. Erhard! He would make the pain go away. Ilythra shook her head. “We need to go. How are we going to get past the walls?”
“Leave it to me. But let’s hurry.” His voice sounded urgent but very far away.
“You found Melior?” Ilythra strapped the sword to her waist.
“Yes, or rather, he found me. Nice horse.”
Ilythra held her breath. The scent. How pervasive was it? How long until she fell under the spell again? Spell? No, not a spell. What was it? A giggle struggled to be born. Ilythra fought it; she had a feeling if she laughed now, she’d become hysterical and that would be just as dangerous as if she struggled against Mohan. Aclan! No, there was no time. She’d try later to...to what?
Go.
The thought was like lightning rippling across the night sky. She entered the hall in front of Mohan. They’d reached the first turn when they heard footsteps behind them.
“Where are you going?” Cassia’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “And what are you doing here?” Her gaze took in Mohan. “Haven’t you finished sweeping the halls?”
“He’s going with me.” Ilythra stepped in front of Mohan. Her legs wobbled. “I’m going to meditate in the gardens and I don’t want to be disturbed. You weren’t back yet. So...” She let the thought dangle.
Cassia stepped closer. “I’m here now.”
“Yes, but you’ve walked as far as I have. Go and rest. This man can help me.”
Cassia shot a look of venom at Mohan then turned back to Ilythra. “You haven’t meditated in a long time.”
I haven’t? “That’s why I need to go now.”
“Let me go with you then. I love to watch.”
Pale blue ice regarded her with cunning. Whatever drug is in my system is wearing off.
Ilythra could feel Mohan’s tension. If Cassia called out or summoned help in any way, Mohan wouldn’t leave the castle alive. It wasn’t only that she didn’t want to hurt Cassia; she didn’t know how effective she’d be fighting her. She laid a hand on Cassia’s shoulder, surprised to see her fingers weren’t trembling. “I know, dear.” She forced a smile. “I’ll bring you next time.”
“Where are your earrings?”
Ilythra’s hand moved to her ears. She swallowed. “I took them off. I wouldn’t want them to break while I practiced.”
“You said you were going to meditate.” Cassia’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not leaving.” Cassia stepped forward. The point of a knife pressed against her stomach. “Don’t think I won’t do it. He wants you alive, but thanks to you, I know how to sew you up.” She faced Mohan. “I don’t know who you are, but step back now unless you want to see the color of her insides.”
“I’m sorry, Cassia.” Ilythra’s elbow made contact with Cassia’s chin.
The girl stumbled back. Ilythra knocked the knife out of her hand then spun, kicking her in the stomach. Cassia flew against the wall and slid down.
Mohan rushed forward, one hand on either side of Cassia’s head.
“No. Mohan. Wait.” Ilythra struggled against a wave of dizziness that stole her vision.
He removed a knife and held it to Cassia’s throat.
She kneeled before the girl. Cassia spit at her. Ilythra wiped away the spittle. How had she ever thought this woman felt affection for her? “Who is he? Who is making you do this?”
“You think I’m stupid? That I can’t think on my own? I’m not addled like you, and I’m not just a dim-witted servant.”
“I never thought you were.”
“You almost fooled me. For a moment, I thought you were my friend, but after Erhard shared his little secret with you and you did nothing, I knew I’d been mistaken.”
“You know?”
“That Erhard is my father? Yes, I’ve known for a long time. I also know that Erhard let my mother starve to death while he went off and married another woman. Do you realize that makes me elder-born? I am heir to Greton’s throne, yet I scrub chamber pots and do laundry all day in my father’s castle.”
Ilythra’s thoughts raced. “Who told you these things?”
“Someone who cares, someone who thinks I’ll make a far better queen than Aclan ever would a king.”
Bredych? “Cassia, please listen to me. I am your friend—”
“You’ll never get away. He will find—”
Mohan hit Cassia on the head with the butt of his knife. The girl slumped on the ground. “I’m sorry. We just don’t have time for this.”
Ilythra nodded. She wasn’t capable of making decisions right now.
Mohan dragged Cassia into the room and shut the door. Ilythra followed Mohan down the corridor toward an area of the castle she’d seldom visited. As they turned down a hallway, Mohan started counted doors. At four, he pulled her into a room.
“Mohan?”
“Trust me.” He walked to a wall and pulled aside a tapestry to reveal the wall then pushed a stone. Cool, dank air drifted in the room as part of the wall disappeared.
“Oh!”
Konrad stood at the entrance to the room. The steward looked from Ilythra to Mohan then settled on Ilythra’s face. He deliberately shuffled his papers, turned toward the doorway and said, “I’ve changed my mind. This room isn’t suitable. Let’s put the countess across the hall.”
He turned around, and Ilythra mouthed, “Thank you.” The steward gave a sad smile and shut the door.
* * *
Mohan picked up an unlit torch from the floor, handed Ilythra her staff and took her hand. “It’s not safe yet to use a light and the floor is smooth. Just don’t let go.”
Ilythra bumped into Mohan when he stopped.
He leaned close. “We’re about to go down some stairs. Be careful, go slow and don’t say a word. We’re very near a busy part of the castle. Chances are they’d think we were ghosts, or maybe rats, but we can’t afford an investigation. After that, the way gets a little rough, but we still can’t risk using the torches so stay close.”
“Where is this place?” she whispered.
“Doesn’t every castle have secret tunnels?” Mohan answered. “Come on.”
True to his word, they walked into a tunnel then entered a darker black. White spots of light danced before her eyes and Ilythra caught herself trying to follow their progress. The darkness had weight, pressing all around her. She couldn’t breathe.
“Stay with me,” Mohan whispered.
Bredych. She could almost feel his eyes on her back. Was he close?
A wave of nausea accompanied the thought. How powerful was he? Did he know she was leaving? Had he alerted the guards?
If she went too far, he’d sense Ilydearta leaving. In her state, she wasn’t sure how many she could take on and survive. Would her death suit his purposes? He can’t kill me. But can he have me killed? Would the pendant then be his to give to someone of his choosing? The questions danced around her head unanswered. A visceral desire to have Zeynel by her side added to her frustration. Fear froze her muscles and she stumbled on a step.
Mohan caught her. “It’s okay. Only three more, then a little bit and another set of stairs.” He counted steps quietly.
A wave of vertigo hit her as she hit level ground and she stumbled again.
“Maybe we can risk the light after all,” Mohan said.
“No. It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I just don’t feel very well, and I don’t think I like tunnels.”
He made a noise low in his throat and led her down another series of stairs. “We’re out of the castle at the end of this corridor. After that there are a few turns, and we’ll be outside the wall. It’s kind of steep, so hold on to me.”
Ilythra stopped when she bumped into Mohan. Her head felt like it was no longer attached to her body except in a very ethereal way. A light flared, and Ilythra closed her eyes.
“Damn.”
“What?” She blinked, trying to focus on Mohan.
“If they thought we were ghosts, they wouldn’t be far wrong. You don’t look well at all.”
She struggled to concentrate, to break free of the fog. Her frustration mounted. Knowing she wasn’t thinking clearly frightened her on a deep level.
“It’s not far.” Mohan laced an arm around her body. Before long, a small light appeared in the distance. He doused the torch. The light grew larger until she heard a familiar whinny.
“Mel?”
“None other.” He sounded proud.
Mohan led her into the daylight. The sun was now in the west. Had Cassia been found yet? He helped her onto Melior’s back then mounted behind her. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Mohan, wait. Ilydearta.” Her lungs lacked the air necessary to make the statement as strong as she wanted to.
“What?”
“He’ll sense the stone.” She couldn’t quite bring the world around her into focus.
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