“Princess Rowan’s orders were to kill it,” he says.
“Yes, and she could have, but she wanted everyone to be sure she was the one who did it. I understand her concern. It has been a difficult time for us all. Now that’s over. She has brought the beast, and she can slay it here, in front of you and the council, so there can be no mistake.”
“Of course she can slay it now. It’s unconscious. It’ll hardly put up a fight.”
“The fight came when she captured it.”
“And we’re supposed to take her word that she did that?” Heward says. “Perhaps she found it fevered and unconscious from its earlier injuries.”
“It wasn’t,” Dain says. “I was there. Alianor, too. We can tell you the whole story.”
Rhydd grins. “You’d enjoy the tale, Heward. It’s a new legend for Clan Dacre. Someday, I may even forgive Rowan for having such an adventure without me.”
“That’s the problem,” Heward says. “She wasn’t with you or anyone from the castle. Do you really expect me to take the word of two children? A rat catcher turned rogue monster hunter? The daughter of a bandit warlord?”
Everard bristles. Before a fight breaks out, I step forward and say, “Then take the word of the royal princess. I can relate every detail of what happened to us. I can account for every cut and bruise. I can show you the cavern where it happened. I can show the marks in the dirt where the gryphon fell. I brought it down. I had help—plenty of it. But I drove the needle in, and I brought it down, and therefore I defeated it.”
“You were charged with killing it.”
“Which she will do,” my mother says, her voice heavy with exasperation. “That’s why we’re here.”
“I will, if so commanded,” I say. “But I’d like to request a stay of execution for the beast. She’s pregnant. That may be why she fought so fiercely. That means we have the opportunity not only to study a live gryphon but to raise one from birth.”
“Raise…raise a…” Heward sputters. “Are you mad?”
“A jackalope and a pegasus followed her home,” Rhydd says. “If anyone can raise a gryphon, it’d be Rowan.”
“I’m not asking to raise it as a pet,” I say. “But think of what it could teach us about gryphons. The better we know them, the less of a threat they’ll be to us. That’s what Jannah wanted. What she always wanted. Maybe we can find a way to drive them back to the mountains or keep them there so we don’t need to risk our hunters’ lives killing them.”
“The princess is correct,” one of the council members—Liliath—says. “This is indeed a rare opportunity, one Jannah would have wanted us to take. I see no reason why Rowan should be obligated to kill the gryphon. She has defeated the beast. That is enough.”
One of the other council members nods.
Mom looks at them. “All in favor?”
Those two agree. The third starts to, but at a glare from Heward, he holds his tongue.
“I presume you are not in favor, Heward,” Mom says. “But that’s still an even vote and so mine decides the matter. The motion carries. The beast shall live. That also means Rowan has proven herself worthy of the ebony sword. Is that correct?”
The same two agree. The same two—including Heward—do not. My mother’s lips set in a thin line. This is too tight a vote. It will be trouble. But for now it’s good enough.
“The motion carries, then,” Mom says. “My son will inherit the throne when I retire. In light of my sister’s untimely death, Rowan will take the ebony sword immediately.”
“No,” Heward says.
My mother turns on him. “The council has voted. Rowan has earned her place—”
“As royal monster hunter–elect,” he says. “She will carry the sword someday, but there are still steps to be completed. Full training, plus the ordeals. Your sister’s death is indeed untimely, but Rowan can’t skip all the traditional tests.”
“She took down a gryphon,” Rhydd says. “She’ll sleepwalk through the ordeals.”
“Let’s hope so,” Heward says. Then he smiles at me.
I see that smile, and I know my ordeals will not be easy. But I’ll beat them. For now, our throne is safe. And someday I will be the official royal monster hunter. Getting there will be an adventure…and I’m ready for it.
A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying Page 21