“No one told me,” she said. “I figured it out on my own.” She glanced at Erem and back. “But your friends don’t know.”
“What is she talking about?” Eve asked.
“You don’t keep secrets from us,” Erem said.
Kiner licked his lips and his eyes shifted to Erem. He looked back at her with a pleading expression. She’d known in his study, when he and Lord Erem sat together working. Kiner’s face masked all emotions when he needed it to and he could hide behind friendship and the carefully cultivated lie of his unrequited love for Lady Bethany, but she saw through it all with just one look.
“Lord Kiner uses lavender oil in his bathwater,” Myra said. “I paid a chambermaid a sovereign for that.”
Jovan grabbed the coin from the table and flicked it at her. “Oh, that one’s on me. Lavender oil! Aww, is your skin not smelling sweet enough?”
Kiner smiled at his friends, though his eyes were not smiling when he looked at her. She should have been more careful. Of all people, she should have known better.
“Let me walk you out, Myra,” Kiner said.
When they were in the corridor, Kiner grabbed her by the arm and shoved her against a wall. “How did you know?”
Myra gritted her teeth, but she held her head high. This is what she’d trained for. Everything she’d done in the last several decades was to get her to this moment. To stand in front of anyone, no matter how powerful, and hold her head and keep her calm. To ferret out the secrets and manipulate history as it unfolded. This was her calling. This was the test. But she’d destroyed all of her chances.
His grip tightened when she didn’t answer immediately.
“I am so sorry, Lord Kiner. I had no idea the others didn’t know, and when I realized that...I am so sorry.”
“Tell me how you knew,” he growled.
“Your eyes,” she said, very softly. “It’s the same look my father has when he looks at...one of his male friends.”
He let go of her arm. He stepped back and ran his hand over his scalp. “No one told you?”
“Beyond Lord Jovan, I don’t think anyone knows, unless you told them,” she said. “I could tell Lord Jovan was about to stop me from speaking.” She drew in a breath, trying to sort out the right words to say. “Look, I would never use that against you, just as I’d never use it against my father.”
“Because your apprenticeship depends on it, right?” He said, bitterness in his voice.
“No. It doesn’t have anything to do with that. I know how difficult it can be for an elf, or an Elorian raised with elves, to be...well, to be what you are. I grew up in such a house. My parents had an arrangement, but my mother... ” Myra sighed. “My mother fell in love with my real father. And here I am, the result of the most infamous pregnancy in all of Wyllow’s history. Of course, we don’t talk about why it was so shocking, now do we?” She sniffed as her eyes welled up. “I guess I’m not really ready for this apprenticeship after all.”
“No?”
Myra’s eyes filled with tears. “Well, no. I mean, none of you believed I could do it, except Lady Bethany. And I failed her.” Her voice cracked. “I thought I was ready for this, but I couldn’t even get through one day of being tired and hungry. I guess I go back to Ellentop with the next boat.”
Kiner was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke gently. “When Bethany put your name forward, she said she wanted to give you a chance. You reminded her of herself. She wasn’t allowed to be a knight at your age, and she didn’t want some old fool holding you back if you could do it. Being a half-reader meant you could do scouting missions and some field work, provided you could handle yourself. So Bethany wrote to Ellentop and asked them to send you.”
“I had no idea. I was told I was being transferred to the war.”
“I was unconvinced, but Bethany so rarely gets involved in my business that I was willing to try you out. Thus, this first test. You must be exhausted after your journey. We usually give new arrivals four days to settle in. There’s a lot to acclimatize to, including the weather. But I wanted to see if Miss Myra, the daughter of an infamous affair, a half-Rygent reader, was capable of handling herself. Is she able to stand up to people who could crush every dream and wish she’s ever held?”
She hung her head. “And I failed.”
“It takes someone with maturity, foresight, and compassion to know when to draw the line. It takes tremendous self-control to think on one’s feet when tired and hungry, and surrounded by strangers.” Kiner leaned against the wall, shoving his hands in his pockets. “They are going to tease me endlessly about that lavender oil, but I can deal with a little embarrassment from my friends. You nearly messed it all up, but you recovered well. You are young, but you’re smart. Well done.”
“Thank you, Lord Kiner. Do I report to the Queen again in the morning?”
“No. Report to Allric. Tomorrow morning, ten sharp. We have a special assignment that I think you’ll be perfect for.”
“For me?” Myra asked.
“It’ll be dangerous.”
“I’m ready,” she said, and hoped she was.
“Then go get some sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow.”
Myra didn’t even bother to hide her smile and she rushed off. She’d done it!
***
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Fury, Book 3 of Tranquility, will be available May 10, 2015!
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Fury
Chapter 1
Present
“She isn’t dead,” Arrago growled as he thrust a finger in Allric’s direction. “So stop acting like she is.”
He went back to pacing across the ornate ballroom’s marble floor. Sweat beaded on his brow, most likely from the three roaring fires in the fireplaces.
Allric kept his voice steady when he said, “Majesty, please.”
That just infuriated Arrago more. “My name is Arrago when we are in this room!” He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. He stopped pacing at the dining table and slammed his fist down on the maps in sheer frustration. “I know she’s been gone three weeks, but Bethany’s been in worst situations. I can’t believe you’re just giving up on her.”
Jovan jumped from his chair and shouted, “We’re not! Listen to what Allric is saying, you idiot. The barrier is down. That massive, Magical thing that’s prevented us from launching any meaningful attack for months now collapsed last night. The Islands are open. We have to go now, or Sarissa will find a way to get it back up and we’ll be stuck here for Apexia knows how long.”
“And what about Bethany in the meantime? Huh? We just leave her to rot in a field somewhere?”
“We do what she’d want, which is invade the fucking islands!” Jovan shouted.
Kiner put a hand on Jovan’s shoulder. “I have twenty scouts looking for Bethany and her group. They’ve found three militia alive so far. Bethany, Jackson, and at least fifteen knights were captured and, from the sounds of it, were taken across to the islands. If that’s true, the fastest way to find them alive is to win this war. Arrago, you know this.”
Kiner’s calm voice did nothing to quell Arrago’s anger, though it did add some guilt. Of course he knew it. He wasn’t an idiot. They had to go. But going meant leaving her behind. He needed just a little more time to reconcile his heart to what his brain knew must be done.
In a calmer voice, he said, “I still don’t know why she was even out there hunting Magi in the first place. She was sick. We all knew it. It’s probably why she got captured. She wasn’t well enough to be out there.”
He looked around. Allric stood in the middle of the room, holding off the warring sides with just a look. Eve, now Allric’s second, looked at him with a pained expression. Kiner stood at Jovan’s side, his face sad and resolute, while Jovan’s normal pallor was replaced with red fury. Lord Champion Erem stood off to the side, smart enoug
h to know not to get into the middle of it. Somewhere behind him sat Edmund, who wisely stayed out of the verbal assaults.
“Arrago,” Eve said, “she is a soldier.”
“The Lady Champion is more than just a soldier. She needed to be here, where it was safe. Don’t you have other people to send out there? You didn’t have to send her!”
“She’s not your toy to put on a shelf until you want to play with her.” Jovan reeled on his heels and stormed after Arrago. “I’m sick of your fucking attitude. So what that you feel bad. My wife is dead! My lover is dead! Boo-fucking-hoo!” Jovan shoved him. “I was raised with her! She’s my sister! And I signed the order to send her out there...” his voice cracked. “I sent her to what was probably her death. Fuck your anger, you fucking piece of Northern shit.”
“That’s enough!” Allric shouted.
Edmund jumped from his seat and stood between them. Edmund was a fair bit shorter than either of them, but had long since lost his fear of Jovan. He held out his arms, creating a physical barrier. “Stop it, you two.”
By Apexia’s mercy, if Edmund hadn’t gotten in the way, Arrago would have hit Jovan.
Kiner grabbed Jovan’s arm and held him back.
Allric stepped between them, a larger obstacle. “I know it’s been a long five weeks, but this selfish indulgence ends now.”
“Jovan needs to apologize,” Edmund demanded. “For Apexia’s sake – Celeste is barely cold in her grave. If she were here...” His voice died. “Adding more hurt isn’t helping anyone.”
“No one has a monopoly on pain and worry in this room,” Eve said.
“Indeed,” said Allric.
Edmund lowered his arms. “Arrago, we have to go.”
“I know that!” Arrago spun around and stormed to the wall, his fists balling in frustration. It took all of his willpower not to pound his knuckles to bloody pulp on the marble filigree. “Shit.”
There was an awkward silence. He was still the King of Taftlin, even if right now he was merely a man worried senseless that the love of his life was dead. But the waiting would kill him just as surely as the news he feared was coming.
There would be little action without his approval. The Elven Service was still in Taftlin, by his order. They were allies fighting against Magic. But what was the point if...Apexia, what if she wasn’t coming home? What if the last words they’d exchanged were filled with self-loathing and heartbreak?
“Arrago, I apologize for my words,” Jovan said. “I’m worried and I need to be angry at someone. That shouldn’t have been you.”
“I understand, and I’m sorry for blaming you.” Arrago felt so weary.
Jovan held out his hand and Arrago shook it.
Then he turned back to the wall and asked, in a calmer voice, “What’s the plan?”
Arrago’s words broke the tension. Allric strode purposefully to the map. “We move in three waves. The bulk of the force move here.” He pointed. “This is where Kiner’s scouts report the barrier was the weakest and where traffic was going in and out freely over the last five weeks. We’ll land just further down the coast. We’ll mobilize a portion of the navy to serve as a blockade to the south and southwest, in hopes that Sarissa and her inner circle can’t escape.”
He pointed at a different location. “Five thousand move here, to the north. We’ll spread them across more ships than necessary to make it appear bigger than it really is. We’ll also drop two thousand and twenty ships to the west, again to prevent Sarissa from escaping west across the other islands.”
“I’ll go North and take a team of a couple hundred scouts with me,” Kiner said, “in hopes of ferreting out Sarissa and any of the strongest Magi helping her. If we can remove any of them before the battle begins, all the better. If I’m lucky, I’ll make contact with Myra or some of the other scouts who’ve crossed in.”
“I suspect Sarissa is holed up in either Castle Brook or Waterton Abbey. By all accounts, Waterton can be taken with a small force, whereas Castle Brook will need a major assault. If we end up in a siege there, it could be months, even a year, before we breach the walls. We need to hit them with everything we have and as soon as possible.”
“Who’s leading the main army?” Arrago asked.
Allric answered: “Myself. I’m bringing Eve as my second. Jovan and Erem will be in charge of the northern campaign.”
“Where do you want me?” Arrago asked. He lifted a hand. “Before you say anything, I’m going. So where do you want me?”
Allric glanced at Edmund, who gave him the barest of nods. Arrago quirked a smile. He’d already discussed a contingency plan for Prince Henry with Celeste before she died. He’d conveyed all of her wishes and advice to Edmund and his three elderly advisors.
“There are risks to all options, Arrago,” Allric said, putting a slight emphasis on his name.
Allric ignored the jab. He could be both a king and just a man. “Then I’ll go north with Jovan. Edmund, go with the main force.”
“Of course.”
“I can bring a thousand militia with me north, if you want, Jovan. That’ll give Edmund another eight thousand or so to take with him.” Arrago frowned. “That’s all we can muster. Everyone else is back in their fields.”
“A thousand is better than nothing,” Jovan said. “That’ll help a lot.”
“How many soldiers are you leaving behind?” Edmund asked.
“Two thousand to guard Castle Gree. I’ll send another two hundred to protect Prince Henry,” Allric said. “Prince Henry already has a contingent, but I think we should be safe.”
“Then how about Edmund leave behind a hundred of our troops to scout the area here. Keep on the lookout for Magi and...” Arrago gave a little shrug. “I’m sorry. That was selfish.”
“I’ll leave ten experienced scouts to help your hundred,” Kiner said. “They shouldn’t be sent out without someone who’s trained to do the job. Jovan? That okay?”
“Ten isn’t going to make a difference to us, but it could make a huge difference here.”
“Thank you,” Arrago whispered.
Erem cleared his throat. “We should send more than two hundred with Prince Henry, don’t you think? If anything happened to Arrago, he’s King, isn’t he?”
Allric shrugged. “We sent a hundred knights when he went to live with the Duchess. Edmund, you’re the only one here who knows the Duchess personally. Thoughts?”
“The dowager would be offended that foreigners have come to take care of what she’ll feel is her duty to manage. The current Duchess, however, will love the foreign help.” Edmund smiled. “Honestly, send an advanced guard and let her know more are coming. I recommend sending them with provisions and money, to camp in her fields. Normally she’d be expected to pay for their room and board and, sure, she can take in two hundred houseguests quite comfortably in her little cottage, but she’ll be easier to win over if they insist on not abusing her hospitality. Oh, say that. She’ll love that.”
“Arrago?” Allric said.
“I can ask Rainier to find some money somewhere. Henry is my responsibility.”
“When do we leave?” Eve asked.
Allric answered. “The northern advance tomorrow night, Apexia willing. The main force the morning after. Who knows when we’ll get another opportunity? We must strike now. Let’s end this war.”
“May Apexia be with us,” Kiner whispered.
Arrago wondered if Apexia even cared about their fates, beyond how it suited her schemes and plans. He’d made so many choices in hopes of glorifying Her. He wasn’t sure if that was the right course of action anymore. She might see all things, but that didn’t mean she cared about any of it.
“Arrago?” Jovan called out behind him.
He thought about walking on. He stood in place and said over his shoulder, “Yes?”
“I’m ashamed of what I said.”
“I know,” Arrago said. “I don’t think Bethany would want us fighting. She’d want us to
go win a war in her name. So let’s go do that. Everything else can wait.”
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