The King's Assassin
Page 40
Chapter 27
When Aislynn awoke, she found herself alone in her room. Even Cheta was gone, which was unusual, regardless of the circumstances. Where could she have gone? Aislynn wondered to herself. She got her answer immediately, in the form of yips and growls that suddenly came from the next room. It sounded like Cheta was playing, which meant that Davin must be here.
Aislynn sat up very slowly, seeing how far she could push herself. The wound across her chest pulled uncomfortably, but it wasn’t too painful, and she eventually made it into a seated position. She smiled, celebrating this small victory, and decided to try and actually get out of bed. She was thankful that Marja wasn’t in the room, or she’d be tying her down, and Aislynn was very tired of being in bed!
She swung her legs over the side, discovering that her abdominal muscles hadn’t been too damaged by the attack, which was excellent news. She rested for a moment, and then pulled herself up using the post of the bed.
Success! She was standing, and was quite proud of herself. It was only three days since the attack, so the healers in the kingdom were approaching miracle workers considering the injuries that she had sustained. A few slow, painful steps to the door, and she leaned against the doorframe, watching the action in the next room.
Davin was on his knees in the middle of the floor, playing tug-of-war with Cheta, using what looked like a towel. Cheta wasn’t the only one growling though, because Davin was growling right back, before collapsing into giggles on the floor. Aislynn smiled, watching the two of them play, remembering the games she used to play with Cheta when she was younger.
Marja noticed Aislynn first, and as Aislynn had expected, she rushed right over to make a fuss over her.
“What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn’t be out of bed yet!”
“Oh Marja, relax. I’m not planning on going anywhere other than the couch. In fact, I’d really appreciate it if you could help me over there.”
Marja did as Aislynn asked, and she was soon settled and reasonably comfortable. Cheta, finished with her game, lay down beside the couch, and Davin sat down on the floor next to the wolf, running a hand absently through her thick fur. There was no healer in the room, so Aislynn concluded that they must have determined that she was healthy enough to be by herself.
“How are you feeling?” Davin asked. “You don’t look so good.”
Aislynn smiled. “I’m feeling a lot better than I did, but I think it will still be a while yet before I feel totally back to normal.”
“Do you know what happened while you were sleeping?” he asked, his tone very excited.
“No,” she replied, with a shake of her head, “I don’t know what happened.”
“The king came to talk to me, and he said that I might be extra special. He said that because Cheta likes me, and Daki too, I might have a special power. Your father is going to send for some people to talk to me, and I might get to go to your home!”
“Do you think you would like it in Evendell? It’s far away, and you would be away from your mother and your uncle and everyone else here.”
His face became very serious as he considered that.
“I think that it would be interesting to see another city,” he said, “and I would like to learn new things. And honestly, I don’t think that there’s anyone here who would miss me all that much. I seem to be in the way most of the time.”
“Really? Why do you say that?”
“Uncle used to spend time teaching me things, like how the government works and tactics for battles and stuff. It was a lot of fun. But he’s been really busy these past few days, off doing stuff all the time, and he doesn’t have time for me like he used to. I heard him tell my mother that it was important that he get ready for when he is king.”
“Excuse me? He said what?”
“He said that he had to get ready to be king.”
As what Davin had said sank in, the pieces began to fall into place. Davin was Eryk’s heir, so he would be crowned King of Bacovia if Eryk died, and since he was underage, a reagent would be appointed to rule in his stead. Durham must be planning to get that position, ruling until his nephew came of age.
“Marja, could you please get my knives from the other room?” If Durham was behind the assassination attempts, then he knew what she was, and she was not going to sit here and be picked off without a fight.