“I,” Will stopped, trying to think of what he should say. Sorry? I could say sorry? Yeah, sorry for ignoring and disregarding your royal orders… that seemed a bit lame.
The King held up a hand, shaking his head. “I don’t need to hear apologies. You’re not the first, nor will you be the last, to ignore a King’s order to do what you think is right. It’s not easy to obey orders when they are doomed either way.”
“I couldn’t leave the Ranger to die like that, King,” Will said, the words coming from him in a flood. “I couldn’t. I know that I’ve caused a lot of issues, but even if I can’t train here anymore, I couldn’t leave him to-”
“Will,” the King had to raise his voice to stop him. “I am not here to condemn you. I’m here to thank you.”
“Oh,” Will mumbled, looking down at his hands on the bed, a red heat creeping into his face. Then he frowned, confused and glanced back at the King. “I disobeyed though.”
“You did.” The King nodded. “And I would rather you never do so again. Deciding to disregard orders too many times sows doubt into a commander’s mind. But your two friends, and Ross and Laster told me what happened, they told me about the spy, and about saving the Ranger.” The King’s eyes darkened, and the muscles clenched in his jaw. “That decision to not save the Ranger was one of the hardest I’ve made as King of Alamore. It’s impossible at times to do what is right for the majority when it means the death of another, especially when that other is a friend. There is nothing worse than to be helpless in such a situation.”
Will’s throat tightened and he blinked hard. Niet. Even without saying it the King was reminding him that they still had lost a life. “We nearly got away, King.”
“I’ve heard. Where Marl found you was Alamore land even.”
Will nodded, not trusting his voice. We were on Alamore land…we were almost back. If Niet hadn’t stopped, or if the horse hadn’t fallen or if even one thing had been different than perhaps Niet would have lived.
“I have spoken with the knights of the council regarding the fate of you, Rowan, and Colin for disobeying orders.”
Will looked up again, his heart sinking. It was impossible to read anything in the dark eyes now, a frown creasing the brows. After a moment Will cleared his throat. “C-could I train as a soldier then? Or maybe even in the barns, I can help out there.”
“There won’t be a need for that,” the King chuckled, his composure softening. “It was a unanimous decision that you and your friends continue to train as squires. The newest knight of Alamore was perhaps the most avid in that defense. Instead, what we agreed was that the kitchen can’t handle any more torment from Rowan, and you three will spend an hour a day over the next two weeks assisting in morning wall watch while we bring more soldiers to Alamore.”
Will nodded. “That seems fair.” Then the rest of the King’s words sank in and he furrowed his brow. “The newest knight?”
“Serena.” The King smiled slightly at Will’s look of disbelief. “She swore fealty to my crown. Now that my brother is gone, she can never return to Kelkor–her, Kalia, Eldin. They will continue to train, serve, and stay in Alamore. Kalia requested this morning to be made a squire but I think that decision came from a place of loss rather than actual interest and I don’t see my brother resting in his grave under the knowledge his daughter became a knight. For now, I’ve convinced her that she should perhaps go to Finnwick and train under Earl Kenta in strategy and the rule of a small castle. As for Eldin, she will be Serena’s squire now.”
Will relaxed against his pillows. “Thank you, King.”
The King reached forward, squeezing Will’s shoulder a moment. “You’ve done more than I could ever imagine of a squire your age. Now.” He straightened, his voice booming as he smiled down at Will. “Get to healing so you might catch up on training. I’ve got a hostage to negotiate with Tollien and you’ve got things to learn.” He turned, his cloak billowing out behind him.
He was almost at the door when Will thought of something. “King.”
The King paused, one hand resting on the door hand, and turned to Will. “Yes?”
“Niet.” Will swallowed the knot that rose in his throat, forcing himself to talk on. “Niet…he said he missed the ocean, and I was wondering if perhaps someone could…if they might bring him there. You know, to rest.” His voice broke and he felt his eyes sting.
The King’s face softened, and he nodded. “I will tell Serena and see what we might arrange.”
Will nodded and looked away. He heard the door click shut and closed his eyes. When Haru returned he was feigning sleep as to hide his burning eyes.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The healer seemed less concerned with the physical injury than Will’s mental state when he allowed him to leave the healing chamber that afternoon. Will heard him tell Haru not to let people question Will, to give him his time and space to heal on his own. It was a job that Haru took seriously, growling at everyone who approached Will when they descended the stairs into the entry hall a few minutes later. Will laughed, shaking his head.
“You’re acting like a dog, Haru. I’ll be okay.”
“I don’t want people to push you. I don’t want anyone to talk to you about any of it,” Haru growled.
“Does that include me?” purred a cool voice. They turned. Leaning against the wall at the bottom step, arms crossed, the Ranger was watching them from the shadow of his hood. Will could see the faint smirk twitch over his mouth. “I would have come to visit you this morning, but I didn’t want to risk the Lady Serena and I being in close proximity. I didn’t think it would do either of our health well.”
Before logic could protest and disregarding the ache and bandages on his shoulder, Will stepped off the final stair and grabbed the Ranger in an embrace. The man grunted in surprise but, after a moment, folded his arms around Will tightly. “You might be daft enough to be a knight, but at least you’ve inherited some of your uncle’s good sense.”
“Don’t go telling him crazy things, Ranger,” said Haru, grinning. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad to have you back again.”
“You know, when you say it, it doesn’t concern me nearly as much as when Laster says it,” the Ranger said coolly. “Finding out that he was one of the people who was in Thornten has me torn between concern for his sanity and annoyance. I can’t continue to just blindly loathe him. The most worrisome part is that he actually seems to have missed me.”
Will laughed in spite of himself, breaking away from the Ranger. “Laster? Miss you?”
“We are both in the same amount of disbelief, I see.”
“Might be the first sign that the world is ending,” Haru chuckled. “Did he say that verbatim?”
“Not verbatim, but he implied it.” The Ranger’s eyes glinted in the shadow of his hood, the smirk broadening to a grin.
Will couldn’t keep the grin from his own face. “Oh yeah? What, exactly, did he say?”
“He said that at least he gets the chance to kill me himself someday, since Tollien couldn’t manage it himself.”
Haru let out a bark of laughter and pulled the Ranger into a hug as well, which the hooded man tried to extricate himself from. “Get off of me, child knight.”
“I’ve missed your snide and sarcastic ways, Ranger,” Haru said, letting the man stagger back.
“Touch me again and I’ll slit your throat in your sleep,” the Ranger snapped.
“What exactly did you want to talk to me about?” Will asked, watching the Ranger. He knew the Ranger too well. He hadn’t come to say hello. He had already done that the night before. This was something else.
The smile under the hood slipped away and the Ranger sighed heavily. “If your guard dog will allow it, I want you to come with me to see the Prince.”
Cold gripped the back of Will’s neck.
“Ranger, he’s not supposed to talk about what happened or do much today,” Haru growled. “It can wait.”
“Ranger, I don’t think-”
“I’ll go,” said Will, cutting off Haru’s protest.
“You don’t have to, Will,” Haru said. All traces of his grin were gone, replaced with a heavy glower at the Ranger.
“I know that,” said Will. He glanced between the two men. “Haru, I’ll be fine. I’ll be in the dinner hall in the next hour and, if I’m not, I’ll let you carry me back to the healing chamber and I’ll stay there for a week without arguing.”
“Seems like a good deal if you ask me,” the Ranger said sarcastically.
“No one asked you, Ranger,” Haru snapped. He looked down at Will and Will could see the misgivings behind his gaze. Finally, Haru straightened, glowering at the Ranger again. “One hour or I find you and Will both, and I will put you both in the healing chamber for a week.”
“The dog certainly can bark,” the Ranger muttered, but only loud enough that Will caught the words. He rested a hand on Will’s shoulder, half guiding, half leaning on him. Will could hear the uneven step of the Ranger’s limp, his leg dragging slightly on every step. They paused at one of the doors Will hadn’t ever passed through. He already could imagine what it was before the Ranger pulled it wide, cool air rushing up the dark stairwell and engulfing them. This was the dungeons then. Will chanced a glance over his shoulder to see that Haru was still watching them, his face grim.
“At least he worries about you. It actually makes me glad he’s your knight. He might be naive and a fool,” the Ranger said, pulling open the door and waving Will toward the stairwell. “But he’s a fool who would die to keep you safe, as proven by his childish comment. Injured or not, he should know by now I would beat him.”
“Yeah, but then you’d have to take on Ross and I’m not sure that’d be a good fight when injured,” Will said, grinning slightly.
The Ranger chuckled. “Perhaps not.”
The stairwell beyond the door was narrow, lit with flickering torches that sputtered in the drafty air. Neither of them spoke, the silence deepening with each stride as the cold of the dungeons closed in around him. Will glanced back a few times, torn if he was making the right decision. He didn’t want anything to do with this Prince, with Thornten. He didn’t want to be an heir.
At the bottom of the steps, they were met by Sir Richard and one of the soldiers, both standing sentry at a heavy door. Richard gave Will the ghost of a sad smile and a nod as he gestured Will and the Ranger through the door and into a narrow corridor. A sudden thought made Will start, turning to the Ranger.
“Didn’t the tunnels reach the dungeons last year? Didn’t Vonnic help them do that?”
“Yes,” the Ranger growled. “But we learn from our mistakes. Your friend the blacksmith also helped us redesign the dungeons.” When Will continued to look perplexed, the Ranger continued. “Iron bars on all walls, the floor, and the ceiling. It would take more than digging to escape the cells anymore. Now, this is our stop.”
They had reach another set of guards; two soldiers Will didn’t recognize. After his experience with Oberoan he shifted, uncomfortable. Hadn’t Tabius said he had more spies in the castle? What if one of these was a spy?
But they didn’t move to attack. Instead, they shot nervous looks at the Ranger and stepped aside, revealing another door that the Ranger opened for Will. He stepped in first, followed by the Ranger.
The room was small, dark, lit with four torches, one on each wall. Someone had thrown an old rug over the floor but even through it Will could make out the thick bars that the Ranger had mentioned.
“So, looks like you survived just fine, doesn’t it?”
Will started, spinning on his heel. He hadn’t noticed Tabius, but the Prince was striding toward them, a manacle around one ankle and a heavy chain dragging on the floor. He smirked at Will’s surprise. “And here I was worried you’d been murdered.”
“Thanks for the concern,” Will said dryly.
“But I heard someone died.” Tabius ran a hand over his jaw. “One of the squires. Was it your two friends? The annoying ones? Maybe the smart mouth?”
Will’s chest constricted but the Ranger spoke in a dangerous growl. “Prince or not, I can promise I’ll silence you.”
Tabius snorted with laughter. “You seem to have more of a backbone when you get to hide away under your hood and pretend not to be what you are.”
“On the contrary I wear the hood because I’ll never forget what I am,” the Ranger replied coldly. “Will, I’ll stay with you if you-”
“I’m fine,” Will cut across the Ranger. “I want to talk to him.”
The Ranger nodded, stepping back through the door. Neither Will nor Tabius moved as it clicked shut behind Will. They eyed one another warily.
“So,” Tabius said at last, smirking. “Are you going to hide your face to forget what you are, too, then?”
“I don’t need to because I’m just a squire,” Will said flatly. “And that’s all I want to be.”
“Shame,” Tabius said, sounding almost bored. He crossed his arms, leaning against the nearest wall and taking Will in. After a moment, he looked away, shaking his head. “I know it was the Kelkor squire who died. But what I don’t get is why he was even there with you, why he didn’t dump you from the horse.”
“Because he was my friend,” Will said flatly.
Tabius shot Will a sharp look then shook his head. “You weren’t friends. He was Kelkorian, he should hate you and the Ranger for what you are.”
“I’m a squire,” Will repeated, annoyed. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Tabius’s lip curled in a sneer that reminded Will forcibly of Tollien. “Come now, don’t play games. He knew that Marl wanted to name you heir of Kelkor, he knew that Marl killed Azric. He should have been delighted at the chance to see you or the Ranger dead.”
“Yeah, well, the thing with people is not all of them see you as just the blood in your veins,” Will snapped. His mind flashed to Serena’s hate, to Eldin’s distrust as they climbed the tower wall again, Marl’s attempts to kill him, Tabius’s own attempts to use him. “You see me as what my blood is because that’s all you’ve been seen as–a Prince, not a person.”
“You sound like a moron,” the Prince purred, breaking his eyes from Will to examine his own fingers. “Talking of princes and people when you refuse to acknowledge what you are yourself.”
“I told you, I’m a squire! I’m a squire and I’m going to be a knight of Alamore!” Will snarled, taking a step toward the Prince. At his sides, his hands had balled into fists. He had an urge to vent some of his feelings by punching this Prince square in the face for all that he had caused, for trying to kill the Ranger, him, for being the reason that he and Niet had gone to save the Ranger in the first place. If they hadn’t needed to go there then Niet wouldn’t have…wouldn’t have…
“Don’t play a fool,” Tabius’s scoffing tone broke Will’s thoughts from Niet. His eyes were hungry as they had been back in the castle. “You have the chance at power. You and I can work together, you can rule Kelkor someday, and I’ll rule Thornten. We’d be unstoppable. What better position would you be in to help Alamore than as a King? And if I helped you onto that throne…you could take up some of that mantle that you should have. If you settle for Kelkor, I can help you become a King. If you and I work together we could be unstoppable.”
“I don’t want to work with you,” Will said, his voice flat, uncaring. “I don’t want anything to do with the crown or…” He stopped, realizing what Tabius had said. “What do you mean settle?”
It was Tabius’s turn to look confused. “Haven’t you realized?”
“Realized what?” Will asked, stepping closer.
The Prince of Thornten let out a bark of laughter. “You don’t know? Yo
u haven’t realized? Or is it that no one has thought you’re ready for that little secret yet?”
Icy cold shot through Will and he waited, holding his breath. “What secret?”
“I think that this little chat is over.”
Will started. He hadn’t heard the Ranger return. Judging by how Tabius sprang into the air, color draining from his face, he hadn’t either. The Ranger leaned against the open door, one hand resting on his sword, the other running along the jaw hidden in shadows under his hood.
Tabius recovered his composure quickly, shooting the Ranger a venomous look. “Are you afraid what will happen when the truth comes out? Is that why you’re hiding it from him?”
The Ranger huffed, straightening. “Like your father, you live to cause chaos and strife. I’m sure your people will love having that in a King again. Will, come on, before I have to prove to Haru that even injured I can defeat him.”
Will nodded, turning away from the Prince and following the Ranger back out of the cell and into the corridor beyond. The Ranger rested a hand on Will’s shoulder, guiding him back through the twisting maze, back past Richard, and up the steps. They were nearly at the top of the stairs when Will pulled free, turning to the Ranger.
“What was he talking about?”
“Nothing that concerns you.”
Annoyed, Will braced himself on the step, crossing his arms. “You can’t keep lying to me, Ranger. What was he on about?”
The Ranger sighed heavily, stopping one stair above Will. “He, like Tollien, is trying to use the secrets of others to cause mayhem. What he was saying is something that’s not my place to tell you.”
“Then who can tell me?” Will demanded, frustrated.
“All you need to know is that he will tell you, Will. He will tell you when the time is right. I can’t imagine it will be much longer but, for now.” The Ranger turned away, striding up another step. “I’m not spilling the secrets of others.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
The Cutthroat Prince (William of Alamore Series Book 2) Page 45