The Cutthroat Prince (William of Alamore Series Book 2)

by C. J. R. Isely

  “Oh, shush you.” Anryn snapped, pushing past Will and Haru to embrace Don. Stepping back, she sighed. “I best get it cleared away, though, before you start rumors and drive my drinkers to Piper’s.” She hurried away through another of the doors and out of sight.

  Don turned to Haru and Will, brows raised. “How is it you two always find the adventure?”

  Haru snorted. “I’d rather it not be that way.”

  “Well, what do you expect when you take your squire to a tavern for the first time?” Don winked at him. He took in their appearances and Will noticed of the mud that had smeared over his clothing in the hidden cellar. He tried to wipe his hands clean on his tunic, stashing the dagger back in his belt. “The blazes were you doing? Wrestling pigs while running from ruffians?”

  “Not exactly,” Will grumbled.

  “Aw, so the pigs were the ruffians,” said Don understandingly. “We best get back to the castle. The city guard got here just before me and, instead of being sly, announced their presence and all of your dear friends in the grey cloaks took tail and ran. Any idea who they were?”

  “The Cutthroat Prince.” Haru sneered. “The same band of Thornten loyalists that went for Will, Rowan, and Colin.”

  Don whistled and pulled his hood over his head again, waving them toward the door. “Oh, that will make all of this more interesting. I decided you’d probably not want to walk so I’ve got your horses with mine. Novin and Airagon are escorting the King back to Alamore and I’d like to avoid being too far behind them. Novin is good but can be a bit overeager and Airagon is so obsessed with his new sword I’m afraid he might not want to risk getting blood on it if someone attacks them.”

  “We’ll be right out, Don.” Haru nodded. “I just need a quick word with Will.”

  Sir Don shrugged. “Make it quick or I’ll drown.”

  He pulled the door shut behind him and Will turned, bracing himself for the explosion. Haru’s eyes were unreadable, a faint frown between his brows.

  “An heir of Thornten then…” Haru said slowly, shaking his head.

  Will dropped his gaze to the floor, the water gathering at his boots. “Yeah.”

  Silence fell again and Will waited. He couldn’t stand the quiet, the feeling of Haru’s eyes boring into him. Swallowing, Will wondered how his mouth had gone so dry. He dared a quick glance at Haru, then dropped his gaze again. “So…so I take it you won’t be training me from now on.”

  “What?” Haru asked sharply.

  Will flinched. He hated this. “I mean, I lied to you, I didn’t tell you what I was…and I guess you won’t want to be my knight.”

  “Will, look at me.”

  Will squeezed his eyes shut a moment, refusing to lift them, fighting the burning that had risen in his throat. Was he seriously about to cry? Right now?

  “Will, that’s an order.”

  Will obeyed, straightening to his full height, fighting to keep his face cool and composed. Haru was glowering down at him, grey-green eyes stormy.

  “Don’t ever say anything that daft again or I’ll box your ears. Is that understood?” Haru uncrossed his arms, his demeanor relaxing.

  The knot in Will’s chest moved upward to his throat and he forced a shaky laugh. “Alright.”

  “Alright, Sir,” Haru corrected, a grin splitting across his face.

  Will nodded then hesitated. “You’re sure you want to be my knight? I’m an heir to Thornten and-”

  “And I don’t care,” Haru said flatly. “Is that why you were scared to tell me before? Why you didn’t tell me before the Ranger ordered you to stay silent? You thought I wouldn’t want to train you or would hate you for it?”

  Will nodded, and Haru’s brows nearly vanished under his damp fringe of red hair as he looked at Will in astonishment.

  “That doesn’t matter to me, Will. Seriously, don’t look at me that way. As far as I’m concerned, the blood in your veins is red, just like mine, just like anyone else’s. I don’t give a damn that Marl is a Thornten by blood. I wanted to be your knight because you try your heart out, because even knowing Marl was loyal to Thornten and your father, you were willing to fight him to save my life. You’re loyal where it matters, to the people who do good, who help others, and that’s worth a whole lot more to me than blood.”

  Will opened his mouth but closed it again, not sure what to say. The knot was loosening in his throat and he managed a half grin of his own.

  Haru chuckled, ruffling Will’s hair. “Let’s just make sure there aren’t any more surprises like that, alright? Just tell me the truth here on out.”

  Swiping away Haru’s hand, Will stiffened, glancing at his knight. “Which does bring up something else too, I guess.”

  “What?” Haru narrowed his eyes. “Are you also King of some random powerful country or…”

  “No, nothing like that.” Will shook his head. “But the Thornten line, well that means I’m somehow related to Alamore’s royals and am an Alamore heir.” Haru’s mouth fell open and Will hurried on. “I don’t quite get how, but I just wanted that out there.”

  After several seconds of gawking at Will, Haru closed his mouth, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “Here I was thinking I was taking on a squire, not a Princeling.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Will grumbled, flattening his hair once more.

  “So, is that it for secrets?” Haru asked quizzically.

  “Yes.” Will grinned. “Sir.”

  “Great, because another stunt of lying like that and you’ll live in the kitchen for a year, that’s a promise,” Haru said, frowning at Will with his best attempt at a scowl. The frown deepened and he tilted his head, his expression becoming unreadable once more. “Also–I want you to do what the Ranger told you to. I don’t want you telling anyone about this. Not right now, anyway. Things are too complicated with Kelkor and, well I’d like them to settle down before you decide to tell anyone else. Got it?”

  Will snorted. “I’m not really in a hurry. Anyway, what’s going on in Kelkor? What’s too complicated?”

  Haru raised his eyebrows, smirking. “Not your concern, mate. If I tell you anything, you’ll find trouble.”

  “Hang on, that’s not fair! What happened to no secrets?” Will demanded.

  “Are you wanting to work in the kitchens?”

  Holding up his hands, Will rolled his eyes upwards. “Alright so that only applies to the squire, not the one who’s been knighted.”

  Haru laughed. “Clever of you to catch on that fast! But we better run, or Don will drag us out by our collars like dogs.”

  Outside Don was already mounted on his horse, his fingers tapping the front of the saddle. Next to him, hunched against the rain, Admere shoved Will lightly in greeting as the squire made to untie him and mounted up, being careful not to swing off the other side.

  None of them spoke as they left, cantering along the streets, puddles splashing mud over their horses and cloaks. Leaning his head forward to keep the rain from stinging his eyes, Will slid his rein-free hand to his side to feel the dagger’s presence.

  Marl. This all came back to him again and again. But if it was Marl, why hadn’t he been there today? Why had he sent a boy in his place to try to capture Will? And why capture? How many times had Marl wanted him dead instead?

  Heir. The Cutthroat Prince had called him Marl’s heir, he had mentioned that Marl needed an heir. But why? And the spy. That spy had to be how they’d been found today. It has to be her, it’s the only thing that makes sense, Will thought. She’d arrived before The Cutthroat Prince. Her arrival had driven away the Ranger. By the time they’d caught up with the other three riders, Will had already made his decision. Ranger’s warning or not, he needed answers. He needed them from Lady Serena of Kelkor.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Will couldn’t rest his mind in the days that followed. He had tried to carry the falcon dagger tucked inside his tunic, hidden from prying eyes, but felt as if it weighed him down. It was like carry
ing Marl’s watchful dark eyes on him all the time. After several days of hiding it, he stowed it safely in the trunk at the foot of his bed, under his winter cloaks.

  Still, it seemed to press against his mind, distracting and ever present. This made studying harder. Practice too was more difficult with his mind fixed on finding out more about Lady Serena and why she’d come to Alamore. This meant that by the end of the week he had more bruises than usual from not paying attention, two assignments about battle history that were late, and a map that Haru had ordered him to redo as his first attempt had been so abysmal. The worst of it was that he still didn’t have answers.

  Thankfully his strange behavior went relatively unnoticed. Gabe and Jerram, the two pages, had officially become squires and spent a majority of their time bouncing with excited energy and wanting people to tell stories of the fights they’d been in. This gave Will the chance to tell of the latest attack from The Cutthroat Prince and pretend his frustration was only about the fact they hadn’t caught The Cutthroat Prince or Draccart.

  He was relieved whenever Haru would save him from these interrogations and take him to train in the courtyard or jousting arena. His knight hadn’t said anything else about Will being an heir and was his normal casual self. Even so, Will noticed he was constantly selecting to ride the eastern patrol, giving him an excuse to leave Will inside the walls.

  On the rare occasions that he rode western patrol, he always had an excuse or a task to keep Will inside the castle. The walls were beginning to feel like a prison where Will was the only captive.

  Haru wasn’t the only one acting oddly. Rowan and Colin now refused to let Will out of their sight. He knew that they both blamed themselves for what had happened, despite his explaining they couldn’t have done anything about it. They ignored this and took to flanking him everywhere and making sure at least one of them was always in the same training that he was.

  This made the idea that had been forming in his mind more difficult. He couldn’t imagine that they’d let him search out his answers from Serena.

  Because that, more than anything, had been haunting him. The Kelkor knight had been moved from the healing chamber to a wing of the second floor normally reserved for visiting dignitaries and their guards. Will had seen her several times, often speaking in low voices to the other knights, or watching them train.

  Colin and Rowan had noticed this too and this only redoubled their standing protectively at his side like a couple of mean dogs. The one time he’d brought up his thoughts that they should try to find out why she was there, both Rowan and Colin had shot him down. They seemed to think it more important to keep the truth about Will hidden rather than find out what she could be doing there.

  “If she knew, that would be different,” Colin had said flatly. “But if she doesn’t know, we need to keep it that way.”

  Even Rowan agreed, which was evident when archery practice with Will. He’d noticed Serena watching them from the edge of the jousting field and ordered Will switch sides with him so he could stand between them.

  “I want to shoot the green target, it’s easier.”

  “How is the color of the target going to make a difference?” Will demanded, frustrated with his friend’s antics.

  “Just switch.”

  “Rowan, she’s about fifty feet away. Unless she can fly, she’s not getting over here,” Will snapped, reaching for another arrow from the quiver at his hip. He looked toward the Kelkor knight then rolled his eyes, notching the arrow to his string. “Plus, she’s still wearing a sling, so I think I’d stand a chance if she decided to attack me in front of you, Rockwood, Laster, Vancely, and Saget. So, knock it off.”

  “Rowan, Will, less chitchat and more firing arrows,” Laster barked from several targets over.

  “And now…” Will growled. “You’re getting us in trouble.”

  “I always do that.” Rowan rolled his eyes. “Don’t think it’s about to bother me now.”

  Will snorted, trying to focus on his stance as he drew the string to the corner of his mouth, eyes fixed on the green banner draped over the straw bales ahead–his target. He could almost feel Serena’s eyes burning him as he let his fingers slip from the string. The arrow sprang into the air, striking the bale about six inches to the left and down of his target.

  “Focus, Will,” Rockwood called. “Just aim smaller, you’ll miss smaller.”

  “I hate when he says that” Rowan grumbled, pulling back his bowstring and firing his arrow. Will watched it strike only inches above the target.

  “And you claim you need the easier one.”

  “Oh, bite me, Will.”

  Will grinned, reaching for another arrow. He glanced toward the fence, but Serena wasn’t there. Relaxing slightly, he drew back and tried to focus all of his attention at the white ring in the center of the target. The arrow hissed free of the string, closer but still left of the target.

  “You’re not pointing your toe straight, fix that.”

  Will jumped, Rowan springing into the air beside him and swearing, arrows falling from his quiver to scatter in the dirt at his feet. Neither of them had noticed Serena approaching but she stood behind Will, green eyes unreadable, fixed on the arrow Will had just fired.

  “Is it custom in Kelkor to creep up on people?” Rowan asked hotly, scowling at Serena.

  Serena raised her eyebrows, shifting her green eyes to stare unblinkingly at Rowan. “Is it custom in Alamore not to pay attention to your surroundings?”

  “Honestly, no, but I don’t follow customs so in my world, yeah, I shouldn’t have to,” Rowan grumbled, stooping to collect his fallen arrows.

  Serena ignored him, turning to Will instead. “Your feet, you’re pointing your leading foot to the left and it’s throwing off your aim. Focus on your stance then try again.”

  “Right,” Will said distractedly. Turning back to the target, he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling of her eyes piercing the back of his neck. He set his stance, trying to seem unphased, and turned his foot to point straight toward the target. Fixing another arrow to his bow, he pulled back the string and fired.

  It struck an inch below the green fabric.

  “Nicely done.”

  He turned to find that Serena was nodding approvingly and, despite the smile she gave him, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that she was assessing him.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her green eyes narrowed slightly, and she frowned. “I apologize, I haven’t introduced myself.”

  “Oh, right.” Will’s face flushed, and he hurriedly extended his hand. “I’m Will.”

  “Will.” The curious frown deepened as she shook his hand then recognition dawned over her face. “The squire from the city that I’ve heard so much about.”

  “Probably nothing good,” Rowan growled. Will shot him a look and Rowan shrugged unapologetically. “What, if it was good, it wasn’t true. It’s one of the two, can’t have it both ways.”

  Serena smiled coolly. “Perhaps that is so. Unusual for a squire not to come from a powerful family.”

  “Yeah, well, we were short on squires,” Will mumbled. That had been the excuse Rockwood had given him when first offering Will the chance to train.

  “So I’ve heard,” Serena said slowly. She nodded to the bow in Will’s hand. “Focus on your stance. It can break a good archer not to have his feet right. My squire in Kelkor, Niet, has been known to do that very same thing. Practice your footwork and then you can try to aim. It was good to meet you, Will, Rowan.”

  She turned, striding away before either could respond, and leaving Will with a cold knot in his chest.

  “You didn’t introduce yourself to her, did you?” Will asked Rowan, watching the Kelkor knight slide between the rails of the fence and out of the arena.

  “Nope.”

  Will swallowed the sickening taste rising in his mouth. “So that means she knew who you were.”

  Rowan nodded and said the very
thing on Will’s mind. “Which means we’ve messed up. My money says she already knows who you are, mate.”

  Will couldn’t help but feel that Rowan was right, and that the Ranger’s warning had been in vain. Turning toward the target again, he focused on his stance, fighting the sickening churn in his stomach. His silence hadn’t mattered. Serena knew exactly who he was.

  As soon as they had finished archery training, Rockwood ordered them to saddle their horses for training with Ross and Colin on swords. Will and Rowan hurried to the barn and found Colin already there. They wasted no time in conveying what had happened with Serena and their suspicions.

  “How could she know?” Colin demanded worriedly.

  “Well, it’s not exactly uncommon knowledge that Marl attacked us, or that he’s Will’s father,” Rowan pointed out crossly as he struggled to lift Naja’s leg. “Look, you beast, either you let me clean your foot or you don’t complain when you get thrush.”

  “That’s true,” Will muttered, leaning on Admere. “But others haven’t figured it out, which is weird to me. Does no one know that Tollien’s got a brother?”

  “I’m guessing Marl was a false name,” Colin said. He eyed Will, furrowing his brow. “Did he ever mention another name? Because if Marl was a fake name or a middle name or something, then that might explain part of this.”

  Will shook his head. “Nothing. He didn’t really talk to me about the fact he was a spy, or a Prince. Pretty sure I’d remember if he brought it up.”

  “Fair point, mate,” Rowan grunted. He was still struggling to get Naja to lift his leg. The horse was watching his small handler’s battle with interest.

  “I’m not sure we can be certain she knows then,” Colin said, waving Rowan aside and running his hand over Naja’s leg. “I mean, she might have heard Rockwood use Rowan’s name or something. Alamore knows he gets yelled at enough that it’s not a hard one to learn.” He lifted the horse’s hoof effortlessly and reached to snatch the hoof pick out of Rowan’s hand.