“Careful now. Small push,” Eldin muttered. “We just need to be able to see and hear…and that, stop, there.”
The window’s light glowed beside them, the soft murmur of voices adding a new cold to the night. Will was careful to move slowly, bracing his hands and knees against the wall in a bizarre crawl toward the window. Peering through, Will’s mouth went dry and his muscles rigid. There they all were–the knights, the King–each seated and standing around a bed.
From this angle it was impossible to see the person in the bed but that didn’t matter. Even hoarse with exhaustion, rasping, he knew the voice that was saying; “…don’t you understand? There is no going back, Serena. Kelkor has fallen.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Will twisted, clamping a hand over Eldin’s mouth as she gasped, her face draining of all color.
Pressing the finger of his other hand to his lips, he shook his head desperately. “They’ll hear us,” he mouthed. But he couldn’t blame her. His own mind was reeling with those three words. Kelkor has fallen. But how? A civil war had, in a matter of months, brought down the crown?
The King’s voice carried from the chamber, breaking the silence and making Will drop his hand from Eldin’s mouth to peer around the edge of the window, back into the chamber. “He’s right, Serena.”
“How can you say that?” Serena turned, her face visible from the window, twisted with grief and anger. “Azric is your brother and-”
“And not a swordsman capable of fighting him,” Ross finished, shaking his head. “Azric is a powerful King, a great King, but he is not a warrior, Serena. Even before the raiding party attack crippled his leg, he wasn’t a swordsman.”
“And if he were alive, he would have already had a messenger here, someone to bring back Kalia,” the King murmured. He lowered his head and Will stared in horrified silence at the pain that aged the King’s regal features. In the span of a few hours the King of Alamore had aged a thousand years.
“Maybe the messenger was delayed or…” Serena pressed on, voice rising in desperation.
“Did you listen when I told you what Paxrin told me? The letter than arrived before he left?” the Ranger rasped. “He said that Azric knew he wouldn’t win. He’d already given up. Nothing else would have made him send his daughter away with only a knight, and a new one at that. He knew that there were spies at his court, that people he thought were loyal were betraying him left and right. If he had thought he could win, he would have waited for the dawn, for me to arrive.”
“Not unless he thought he couldn’t trust you,” Serena spat.
Will expected to hear the Ranger retort but was surprised to hear a low humorless laugh instead. “I have no doubt you tried to make sure that was the case.”
“Serena, Ranger,” the King barked, straightening. “There isn’t time for your squabbling. Serena, if you cannot handle being here, I invite you to leave and have another of the knights fill you in later. For now, we can’t be focused on if Azric somehow won. What we need to do is figure out our next move while we are a day ahead of the news reaching the rest of the Kingdom.”
“Our next move?” Haru asked, turning to the King. His face had gone white, the red hair a stark contrast as he turned between the Ranger and the King. “What can we do?”
“What Azric was no doubt planning to do or had done.” The King began to pace, and Will pulled himself away from the window, heart slamming as the dark eyes flitted in his direction. But, to his relief, the King didn’t seem to see anything, too preoccupied in his thoughts. “We will have to send a message to the west, to King Prandus, to reaffirm that we can rely on them. Perhaps one to Shadow Dale too.”
Will inched toward the window again and saw Laster’s lip curled in a sneer as he shook his head. “Giltor?”
The King grimaced. “I know, Laster, but it must be done. Giltor is not my favorite of people either, or I his for that matter, but we need to know which side they will stand on.”
“It’s their fault we are here in the first place,” Bane snarled. “How can you want to ally with them when it was their rogue men who gave that chance for an uprising?”
Will started as the King gave a roar of fury. Beside him, Eldin let out a string of words in Kelkorian that he didn’t understand, gripping her rope tighter.
“Do you think I have a choice? There are times, Bane, for me to mourn my brother and there are times for me to defend a Kingdom! If I lapse now, it will be more than Kelkor that is lost.”
The room fell silent. At his side, Eldin was trembling–whether with the cold of the air or the same cold Will could feel coursing through his own blood he wasn’t sure. Inside the chamber, Will could see Miller running his hands over his face, Ross’s thumb running over the blue stone in his sword’s hilt, Rockwood rocking back and forth on his feet. After a painful silence that stretched an eternity, Serena broke it, narrowing her eyes.
“And what of the boy?”
All eyes broke from the King and shifted to her. Ross straightened, gripping his sword hilt. Haru’s face tensed and Will saw his hands ball into fists at his side.
“What about him?” the Ranger growled dangerously.
Serena snorted, eyes flashing. “He’s a threat, that’s what, Ranger. You’ve already seen they were prepared to attack Kalia to get to him. They probably hoped to use her as a bargaining chip to get him.”
“So, because that failed, you think we should hand him over freely?” asked Laster, raising an eyebrow. “That logic is the same logic that would make someone suspicious of you.”
Serena’s hand flew to her sword handle. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that someone in this room clearly had loose lips regarding the Ranger and Kalia’s arrival,” Laster pressed, seemingly unphased by the lady knight’s obvious rage. “Someone knew he would be taking that route even though it’s not the direct path to the castle, it’s not even a path really but a deer trail. They didn’t just happen to stumble upon the Ranger and the Princess of Kelkor.”
“How dare-”
“Laster,” Ross growled warningly. “Serena, don’t draw a blade in here or I’ll be forced to confiscate it. Laster, Serena is no more a spy than you or I.”
“Probably even less so,” Serena snapped. “Considering your own past, Laster, I think you’ve been much closer to the King of Thornten and his brother than I ever have.”
Anger masked Laster’s face and he made to move toward Serena, his hand gripping his sword hilt, but Haru had launched himself forward, grabbing Laster’s arm. “Not worth it, Laster. She’s not worth it.”
Laster spun and raised his other arm to strike Haru away, but Miller was faster, gripping it as well. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“Serena, if you continue to cause mayhem, you will lose your invitation to this council,” the King barked. “Laster, stand down. That is an order.”
With a narrowed eyed look of purest loathing at Serena, Laster obeyed, shaking off Haru and Miller and stepping back, out of Will’s line of sight.
“She’s right though,” Henry spoke, seeming older and more exhausted than ever before, stretching his bandaged leg ahead of his chair with a wince. “We can’t keep living in denial… The Cutthroat Prince, he’s made his intention clear.”
“And we can try to get prisoners from Kelkor, to save people in Alamore, all if we just hand him over,” Serena pressed on.
“Prisoners in Kelkor?” Miller demanded, half laughing. “Haven’t you listened to the reports of the war since you arrived? No one is being spared. He won’t save a single prisoner. And, as for Alamore, don’t think that Thornten is a new threat to us. They’ve been a danger to us for more years than I’ve been alive.”
“Then we save him for when they make demands, or bargaining for peace,” Serena said flatly.
“And since when do we cave to blackmail?” Rockwood asked, frowning. “Or has that changed in the last twenty minutes and I just missed the news?”
“We don’t cave, nor will we,” the Ranger spoke, and all eyes shifted again to the bed out of Will’s sight. “All we can do is keep him in training and find our ways to deal with Kelkor. Bargaining with him will do nothing. He means nothing to Tollien. He wouldn’t give us any alliance for the boy’s life.”
“And what of his brother?” asked Richard, running his hand over his jaw. “How long will it be until he comes to claim his heir and tries to negotiate with peace?”
Frozen to the wall beyond the room, Will waited. The air in his mouth was stale from being held, his heart was slamming.
It was Ross who answered, face contorting with unreadable emotion. “He will be here before long. But King of Kelkor or not, if Marl wants to take Will, he’ll have to get through me first.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Surely the world had stopped turning, the days no longer inching through their light and dark. This night would press on him forever, the rope numb against his skin until the end of time. Because those words had to spell the end of all.
But the world hadn’t stopped. Beyond the window, the knights were still standing, speaking. The words meant little now. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear them. He wanted to unhear all he’d already learned. He saw each familiar knight, those he looked up to, those he learned from. And they were discussing him, discussing what to do with him. They didn’t have any idea that he was there, listening, dangling from a rope above the courtyard. That he knew the truth now.
The truth…so this was it then. This explained everything. It had been Marl who sent The Cutthroat Prince after all, but not to kill him, never to kill him. He’d sent him to capture Will as his heir now that he knew he would be claiming his own throne. He’d been the one inciting the uprisings, causing the mayhem in Kelkor and Right of Blood… he’d been so stupid. Stupid not to make the connection with that simple phrase, not to understand what that meant in Serena’s ledger. She had been tracing the family line, keeping track of which power strongholds he had in Kelkor. She had been tracking the moment that he held enough power, enough of a right, to challenge King Azric for his throne.
“They mean you?”
Will turned. Eldin was staring at him in horrified fascination, her eyes wide as she shook her head. “You’re the son of the traitor heir, the man who’s been murdering my people.”
Will opened his mouth, not sure what to say. “I didn’t know.”
It sounded lame, stupid even. Of all the things to say, those three words seemed the worst.
Eldin snorted. “As if!”
“I swear.” Will shook his head. “I didn’t know. I don’t want-”
“Shut up,” Eldin snapped. “They’re speaking.” She jerked her head at the window and turned away, scowling in the glow of the torches.
“We can’t keep this from the Princess,” Haru was saying, shaking his head. “Not any longer, not if we know there’s no chance Azric won.”
“Would you rather I inform her that her parents are dead, and her Kingdom has fallen?” Serena demanded. “And what if it hasn’t?”
“If it hadn’t then her parents would already be here looking for her! The Ranger and them were delayed getting here and you know it!” Haru was raising his voice, stepping nearer. “She deserves the truth from us rather than a messenger riding in to announce that Tollien’s brother has murdered her family. She thinks she has a Kingdom! She thinks she has a family! You can’t let that be broken by the brutal words of someone who’s loyal to Marl, belting it out to the courtyard. She has a right to know, she’s got to know!”
Will’s head spun. Eldin was hissing what he knew had to be oaths in Kelkorian again, a steady string of musical words spiked with panic. Will paid little attention. He was already using all of his energy to focus on the conversation in front of them instead of the ringing that filled his ears. King Marl of Kelkor, King Marl of Kelkor, King,
“He’s right,” the King spoke, silencing Serena with her mouth open to retort to the younger knight. “Serena, she deserves the truth, and you should be the one to tell her. She trusts you. I will come with, of course. And you and her, and your squires–you are all welcome here. Should you choose, I would be honored to have you serve the Alamore court.”
Serena took a step back and, for the first time, true grief softened her features for the span of a heartbeat. She looked away, at her feet a moment, then straightened and the fire had returned to the green eyes. She gave a stiff nod. “You’re right. She should know. My King…I mean King Azric…isn’t, wasn’t…” She swallowed hard. “Fighting was not his strength in recent years. I, and my squire, and Eldin too, would be honored to serve Alamore. Thank you, my King.”
“And what of The Cutthroat Prince then?” Bane asked, running a hand over his black beard.
“What of him?” demanded Laster.
Bane shrugged. “He’s getting more dangerous. We know there are spies in this castle and a good number of them must be his, Laster and Serena were right about that. We can’t be fully sure our spy isn’t in this room. Only knights knew of that route and they knew who the boy was before many of us knew his tie to the Thornten line.”
“Thank you so ever kindly for telling the world that fact,” Miller growled at Serena. She snorted, refusing to look at him.
Bane didn’t seem to notice, his dark gaze shifting instead to the place the Ranger rested. “If Marl is crowned King then…”
“Then The Cutthroat Prince will continue to hunt Will,” the Ranger rasped. “He will continue to act as a hound, searching for Will, under Marl’s order. Why The Cutthroat Prince listens as well as he does, what he has to lose, is a form of power, not gold. If my suspicions are correct, if what I have presented to you, King, is true, then he stands to gain a new generation of power by taking Will.”
The King nodded. “Power that’s making him bold, unfortunately.”
“It always comes down to power,” Bane scoffed, shaking his head “He’s getting dangerous for the power. He nearly killed you. So far he hasn’t killed anyone but now…”
“Oh, now he would certainly love to kill–though whether he was intending to kill me and the Princess or more hopeful to take us hostage. The second arrow I took was intended for her. They didn’t know the squires would be with me, that was the only reason we managed to escape. But I wouldn’t put it beyond Marl to want Kalia dead. A martyr isn’t as concerning to him as a returning heir in the future.”
“She won’t return,” Robin said, breaking his silence.
“And why do you say that?” Serena demanded harshly.
“In Kelkor, your women can become knights, but your power still rests with a King.” Robin shook his head. “Marl is Tollien’s brother. He has an alliance with Thornten that Kalia couldn’t match, and Marl will continue to push Thornten beliefs on Kelkor–that women can’t lead an army. Which,” he added, inclining his head toward Serena, “is one of Marl’s weaknesses in his failure to understand.”
“And I can only hope it comes back and murders him,” Henry said, wincing as he stretched out his cast leg. “But, regardless, this isn’t a matter for us today. No. All we can do is prepare a messenger in the morning to travel to King Prandus and, for now, rest.”
“You’re right.” The King nodded and pivoted to Serena. “We best go speak to Kalia. Haru, if you would join us?”
“M-me?” Haru stuttered, taken aback.
“We need to go!” Eldin pinched Will’s arm, making him start.
He glowered at her. “Don’t pinch. I hate being pinched.”
“I don’t care, you weren’t listening to me,” she snapped. “Now we signal to go up.”
“What? How?”
Muttering under her breath, she leaned across the gap between them and gave his rope two solid tugs before doing the same to her own. He felt a jolt of movement and the dark stone began to slide in front of him. Next to him, Eldin was walking her feet along the wall and he mirrored it as best he could, his mind humming with all the
y had heard.
“Look for finger holds, toe holds, any way to make it easier for them to pull us up,” Eldin hissed.
Will nodded, barely listening. He wanted to be sick. The height didn’t bother him anymore. He wasn’t sure that it could ever again. Instead, he could only imagine Marl laughing over the body of a King who looked like Revlan, a bloodied blade in one hand, a crown tilting over his brow.
A sharp intake of breath made him look to the side. Eldin was shifting on the wall, her knuckles white on her rope. “You okay?”
“Fine,” she hissed back. “My knot must have just tightened, went down a few inches. But I’m fine. Now shut up, I don’t want to talk to you…traitor heir.”
Anger made Will’s face burn. He opened his mouth to retort then closed it, disgusted. She would think that. And let her. What she thought didn’t matter and she wasn’t wrong either, which made it worse. No. All he could do was get to the top of this way and get away, somewhere he could think.
Will’s fingers were tracing over the wall of their own accord, seeking purchase, when movement out of the corner of his eye drove all thoughts of Marl from his head. With a gasp of fear, Eldin was dropping, her hands sliding down her rope, falling.
Instinct born of training to fight made Will lunge sideways, one hand on his rope, the other grabbing her wrist. Her fingers were sliding down the rope, her weight pulling him painfully backwards.
“Grab my arm!” he snarled. “Let go of the rope with this hand, let go of the rope and grab my arm!”
To his immense relief, she obeyed, holding the rope with one hand while the nails of her other bit into his arm. The main supporting knot at her back had given way and she now clung to his hand with one of hers, the rope with the other, fear making her ghostly white.
“Don’t let go,” Will grunted, pulling her upward with all his strength, still gripping his own rope in his other hand.
She yelped, grabbing his arm tighter as the second knot on the rope she held began to slide free. Will could hear the distant panic above them; Niet was swearing, Colin calling something down to them. Will glanced up and instantly wished he hadn’t. They were still stories below the three faces peering down, too far to see their stricken looks which meant their chances of reaching the top were minimal while the ground below was too far to survive a fall. They were trapped, dangling from his rope as hers gave way more, his arm starting to shake from holding her.
The Cutthroat Prince (William of Alamore Series Book 2) Page 21