The Lost Duke

by Kristen Gupton

  Garhan kept a hold of her, a smile upon his lips. This was the reaction he’d long hoped for over the years. After his imprisonment, he’d never been given any information about the girl’s whereabouts or what she had gone on to do with her life. Though he’d always hoped to escape and find her again, he’d tried to keep his expectations realistic.

  The chances she’d not have married and had a family of her own in all the years since were small, but Stepan had told him on the way to her home that she never had. Something in Mari hadn’t recovered from losing Garhan, and she’d refused the offers of marriage she’d received from others over the years. She’d opted to remain alone in her distant hope that someday, she’d find Garhan.

  Eventually, she took a step back and wiped her eyes. “How did you escape? Did she light it on fire to kill you? What happened?”

  Garhan slowly stood up and reached down for one of her hands, moving toward the door. As much as he wanted to tell her everything instantly, they were rather conspicuous out in the open, and he knew they needed a more private setting.

  Once the three of them were inside, they sat around her dining table. Several candles provided a comfortable level of illumination, and Mari had quickly provided them with cups of tea before they got down to business.

  Garhan kept one of his hands clasped over Mari’s once they settled in for their conversation. “Adira has gone mad as Stepan said upon our arrival. She imprisoned Stepan, Victri, and the Tordanian king.”

  Her brows knit together. “Why? Victri’s imprisonment was long over-due, but why you, Stepan? Why the Tordanian that she invited?”

  “Victri attacked Adira the same night he shoved you around,” the guard replied, looking down into his cup. “As for me, I was thrown in the dungeon after she’d imprisoned the Tordanian king. I dared to question her about it. She put me with the vampire to see if he’d attack and kill someone or not.”

  Mari sighed and shook her head. “Obviously, he didn’t.”

  “No,” Stepan replied. “Though I’m the head of the guard, she didn’t clue me in on her little plan to lure Keiran Sipesh here simply to imprison him as she’d done to Garhan. I don’t know what I would have done if I had known, but merely questioning it was enough to earn a potential death sentence.”

  All of the courier’s personal sentiments for Stepan had been destroyed years prior after he’d refused to tell her about Garhan’s fate. Something was still writhing around in the depths of her mind over the past, but for the time, those tensions needed to be set aside. “So, what, did Adira usher you all into the manor house afterward and light it up?”

  Garhan shook his head. “Stepan managed to escape the dungeon with the Tordanian, his guards, and Victri. King Sipesh had an interest in seeking me out before they fled the palace, so Stepan guided him to the manor house.”

  Her eyes darted back toward the guard, seeing him bob his head in the affirmative.

  “As it turns out, my mother had a son after going to marry the previous Tordanian king,” Garhan continued, “and Keiran wanted to meet his brother.”

  Mari’s eyes widened and she gave a slow nod. “Then, I’m glad he accepted her invitation, even if Adira’s intentions were evil.”

  They gave her the rest of the story leading up to the moment they’d come to her door. Mari listened with great interest, only nodding along the way. To know they were hopefully presumed dead in the fire eased up some of her tension, and she leaned back in her chair.

  “And now what do you intend to do?” She looked between the two of them. “Whether she believes you dead at the moment or not, obviously you can’t stay here. Someone will recognize you at some point, and I’m assuming these Tordanians have a desire to get out of Aleria.”

  “We all need to leave Aleria,” Garhan said quietly. “I know it’s not fair for me to show up after all of these years and ask anything of you, but I have no one else to turn to.”

  “If I help you at all, I will have to flee the country as well,” she replied, locking gazes with him. “Though I have an excellent job here, it is for a queen whom I have despised for decades. I’ve only held onto it in the hope that it would lead me back to you. What would you have me do to help, Garhan? I may be the country’s fastest courier, but I can hardly place a group of men in my satchel and smuggle them out of Aleria.”

  “Well, we think we might have something of a plan,” Garhan said, giving up a lopsided smile very similar to the one Keiran often displayed.

  * * *

  Mari neared the inn where Keiran’s remaining men had been left. She examined the area as she rode closer, trying to see if any of the queen’s other couriers had been dispatched to the location. Not seeing anyone other than a few guards loitering, she closed the remaining distance. Stepan had told her who the senior guard left at the scene was, and she made her way to where he sat near the entryway to the building.

  The man looked up at her, clearly bored with his post and hoping she was there to give him news of what he was to do next. The sun had just crested the horizon, and he’d woken up just a short while before.

  She looked down at him, hoping the nervousness coursing through her wasn’t showing. Mari slid from the saddle and casually draped her horse’s reins over the inn’s hitching post, knowing the animal wouldn’t wander away.

  “Lady Mari, I hope you’re bringing me good news,” he said, not rising from where he sat. “It looked like there was a fire at the palace last night.”

  Mari glanced back over her shoulder in the direction of the palace, seeing the white tendrils of the dying fire still visible. “It was just the abandoned manor house behind the palace. Everything else is fine.”

  The guard nodded and leaned his head back against the wall of the building. He immediately assumed Garhan had finally been declared dead and the house burned as a result. “Very well, then. I’m sure the queen didn’t send you out here just to tell me that.”

  “Of course not.” She folded her hands behind her back. “The queen sent me to inform you the Tordanian king and his two guards will be staying for a while longer. In fact, I’m to retrieve the horses for those three.”

  Sighing, the guard motioned toward another nearby man, urging him to go get the horses she’d requested. When he looked at Mari again, his expression was displeased, his mouth tugged down into a frown. “I suppose that means I get the joy of babysitting these Tordanian guards longer. They are starting to get anxious and ask questions.”

  “Quite the contrary,” she said, pleased her request for the horses was going to be fulfilled without any trouble.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. Queen Adira wishes for these men to be escorted back to the border and removed from the country.” Mari’s expression went neutral as though the news was of absolutely no interest to her. “I suppose she worries they may do something troublesome if left here too long.”

  The man shoved his way up to his feet, giving out something between a grunt and a laugh. “You think these Tordanians will just leave without their king?”

  Mari reached down quickly beneath the flap to the satchel she wore and pulled out a sealed letter. “They will on the personal order of their king.”

  The guard reached out to pluck the letter from her small hand, but she jerked it away before he got close. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “What, I’m not allowed to see that? How am I going to give it to them?”

  “You’re not,” Mari said, voice flat. “Queen Adira and King Sipesh told me I was to deliver it to their senior officer myself.”

  “Just give me the letter, Mari. I know you like to make yourself feel important in these situations, but—”

  She cocked her head to the side and lowered her voice. “I was told to deliver it myself; to assure it was signed so I can return it to the palace as a legal, binding document. Now, let me go in there and do so.”

  The guard didn’t step aside. “You’ve always been too self-important for your own good, Mari. A little
woman like you shouldn’t be involved in the work of guards and soldiers.”

  Her eyes narrowed down and she leaned forward slightly, squaring up her shoulders. “Did you know Queen Adira imprisoned Stepan and had him fed to the Tordanian king?”

  One of the guard’s eyebrows quirked upward. “What? Why?”

  “Because he questioned her orders. Now, if you don’t wish to join him, I suggest you step aside and let me in there to take care of this,” she replied, not backing down.

  The guard looked to the side and drew in a long breath. He knew the woman didn’t make a habit of joking around, and it was likely what she’d said was true. “Fine, go on in. If they decide to gang up on you, though, don’t expect me to respond particularly quickly to your pleas for help.”

  Though small, Mari shoved her way around him and threw open the door to the inn. She slammed it closed behind her, finding the lobby of the inn filled with the frustrated and bored Tordanian guards.

  She looked around, but didn’t see any one man standing out from the rest. The room had fallen silent upon her entry, and she took the chance to speak up.

  “Which one of you would I talk to about an order from your king?” she asked, eyes scanning the room.

  “The head of the Royal Guard left with the king,” one man said, rising up from a table. “I’m the most senior man left here, but we are all of near equal rank.”

  “Very well,” she said before going to him and passing over the letter.

  He took the letter, seeing the wax seal upon it imprinted by Keiran’s ring. He glanced at some of the others as they drew around in their curiosity. The guard broke the seal and unfolded the paper, recognizing Keiran’s writing. When he lowered the paper, his complexion had gone ashen.

  “Is this a joke?” he asked.

  “Not at all.” Mari shook her head. “I’m in on this and here to help.”

  The man looked down at her, his jaw visibly tensing as he thought. “This is King Sipesh’s handwriting, but I have no way of knowing if what this says is true, and I have no reason to trust you.”

  “You don’t have any reason not to trust me, either,” she said back. “Now, I know I can get your king out of the country safely enough, but he was very concerned with the rest of you.”

  The other men in the room suddenly erupted. None of them knew what was written in the letter, but the courier’s words immediately ignited their worst fears.

  The man with the letter in his hand frowned and shouted above them all to quiet down at once, not wanting the Alerian guards outside to know what was taking place if the woman was being truthful.

  When the room quieted down again, Mari looked up at the man holding the letter in his shaking hands. “Kanan, Jerris, and your king are safely hidden at the moment. Queen Adira tried to kill all of them last night, but they escaped. She doesn’t know that yet. You have a very narrow window of opportunity to get out of here alive before a real courier from the palace arrives with orders to have you slaughtered. Get out of here and do it now, quickly. I will be leading the king out in the meanwhile. If you get outside of the Alerian gates first, then wait for us to arrive; but don’t delay and give Adira any chance of having the lot of you killed, because she very well may.”

  “Some other form of reassurance that we aren’t abandoning our king in this country would be ideal,” he said, looking over the letter again before refolding it.

  Mari thought. “We will be traveling in the same direction. I may be able to help him make contact with you along the way, but you will still be surrounded by Alerian guards. I know this is a leap of faith for you. My life is on the line as well since, in doing this, I am betraying the queen but…”

  He gave a nod and looked at the nervous expressions his companions wore. There was something in her words that cut through him, and he was inclined to believe her. If nothing else, it would get his group out of the confines of the inn and in a better position to confront their Alerian guards if this proved to be a trap.

  “Very well. We will leave immediately,” he said, motioning for his men to get their belongings from their rooms and prepare for travel.

  Mari nodded and started to turn away, but she hesitated and looked up at him one more time. “If the Alerian guards do get word from Adira that I wasn’t officially sent here and they turn on you, do not hesitate to kill them. If anything begins to look suspicious at all, try to take them out and run into the forest away from the main road. Beyond that… I don’t know what to tell you.”

  His jaw set and he gave a slow nod. “So be it.”

  The courier offered him a small bow before going to the door and exiting the building. The Alerian guard she’d spoken with was still standing nearby, talking with his men. Others were already bringing the Tordanian’s horses over from the stables, the three she’d requested upon her arrival included.

  She neared the man and pulled out another paper from her satchel, holding it out to him. “Here’s the group’s new travel document. They are preparing to leave right now. Get them out of the country as quickly as you can. The thought of that group remaining in Aleria makes our queen uncomfortable.”

  The guard took the paper and examined it. Though he’d looked over dozens of travel documents in his time, the fact the one he was reading was a forgery done by the courier and Stepan that morning eluded him. With a sigh of resignation, he tucked the paper away and looked to see the flood of horses being brought over from the stables.

  “Very well, Lady Mari. Go tell Adira we are leaving immediately. Those three horses there are the ones you asked for,” he said.

  Mari gave a faint smile and another shallow bow. “Thank you.”

  * * *

  When she made her way back to the others, Mari picked up the scent of pork cooking. Not having eaten since the night before, it immediately set up a nagging ache in her stomach. She urged her mount along faster, pulling the three Tordanian horses behind her.

  Keiran, Garhan, and the others had been ordered to wait for her near one of the courier’s camps on the north-eastern side of the city. It kept them hidden amongst the trees, and it was a trail Mari had no reason to believe anyone else would be using at the time.

  The Tordanian king and his redheaded guard were on the fringe of the camp, keeping a lookout. Kanan sat off a short distance, roasting a small boar he’d taken down with nothing more than an improvised spear. Garhan and Stepan were on the opposite edge of the camp together, keeping a watchful eye out in the other direction.

  Keiran and Jerris both gave a sigh of relief when they saw the courier approaching with their horses in tow.

  Mari passed the lead ropes of the horses to the Tordanians before pushing herself out of the saddle and alighting on the ground. She drew in a deep breath and looked toward the campfire. “A boar? How did the lot of you manage to take down a boar?”

  Jerris shook his head as he looked Patrice over carefully. “That was my father’s work. He decided he was hungry and opted to do something about it.”

  She was eager to begin the trip to the border, but the prospect of food was too much for her to resist. Besides, they all needed their strength for the upcoming days. Mari draped her horse’s reins over a nearby tree branch and wandered toward Kanan.

  The older man had his knife in one hand and was already starting to cut servings from the meat he’d prepared. He offered her a sizable chunk when she stopped at his side. “Welcome back.”

  She took the pork and wasted no time in pulling her first bite from it as the others gathered around, awaiting their share. Though Mari knew all eyes were on her, anxious for whatever news she brought, her stomach had gotten the best of her. She focused on the meat, eating ravenously.

  Though the others were hoping for good news, they hadn’t eaten since before their imprisonment and were starved. A prolonged silence settled over them as they ate, taking the time to enjoy their relief from hunger.

  Mari finally slowed down enough to talk, sitting between Kan
an and Garhan. “Obviously, I retrieved the horses. King Sipesh, I told the Alerian guards to get your men out of the country as quickly as possible. There wasn’t too much argument from them. I also delivered your letter to your men in private. I had to reassure them I wasn’t being deceitful, but they ultimately agreed to start moving. They would like to see you at some point along the way, for reassurance.”

  Keiran wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Will we be close enough to get visual confirmation they are moving?”

  “Yes,” she replied, wiping her hands on her riding breeches. “However, after we know they are on their way, I’m going to push all of you to keep up with how fast I travel. We will outpace them in short order, but that is how it needs to be.”

  Keiran, Kanan, and Jerris looked at one another, silently communicating their understanding.

  Kanan reached out to cut himself another portion of meat, looking over at the Alerians. “Are the three of you prepared to leave this country? I don’t foresee you getting the chance to return.”

  Garhan reached over and took one of Mari’s hands and nodded. “I have no particular loyalty to anyone left here other than those in this camp. The couple who raised me are long dead, and Adira obviously betrayed any familial bond we ever shared. If Mari is willing to do this, I have no reservations.”

  The woman smiled, looking over at Garhan. There was still a nervous tension in her after reuniting with him, but she’d never lost her love for the man. She gave a small nod before turning her eyes toward Kanan. “My horses and Garhan are all I care about, and they are all here for the journey. I’ve seen every corner of this country, and I won’t miss any of it.”

  All eyes then turned to Stepan as he stared down at a bone in his hands. While Mari, Garhan, and Stepan had been extremely close for a number of years, his loyalty to the queen after Garhan’s imprisonment, and his refusal to ever tell Mari where he’d been taken, had damaged the relationship beyond all probable repair.