by Jude Marquez
“Alive,” Gia said. “Alive and unharmed. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Josette said.
“When you find them, they will not know you. Tell them-” She paused and looked down at her hand and pulled off her signet ring, gold and inlaid with wings. “Tell them, Have faith, my love.”
“In this life and the next,” Alyx added suddenly. “In this life and the next, have faith, my love.”
“In this life and the next, have faith, my love,” Josette repeated and took the ring from Gia.
“Good,” Alyx said and nodded. “Go rest in my room for tonight. No one will bother you there.”
Josette nodded and left them.
Alyx watched her leave and then the servants left them slowly, cleaning up the plates that were left behind.
“Are you worried, Alyx?” Gia asked as he wandered away from her and to a tapestry that covered a window.
“I think worried has become a part of my personality,” Alyx said.
“This is good,” Gia said and gestured to the map.
Alyx smiled at Gia but it felt empty and he knew she saw it.
“Have faith, my love,” she whispered and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned into her and she held him as the child he never was.
Chapter Eighteen
By the time the fourth day dawned on Evander and his company, they were exhausted and starving. Evander was the only one who had the same horse he had left camp with. Eros looked as though she were out for a leisurely stroll while the rest of the horses were exhausted. She would flick her tail at the others if they got too close.
Evander found Gael petting her nose and feeding her an apple that morning. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hand was bandaged from a dagger that he glanced away during an ambush. It had been a close call, but Cade’s sword had ended the man’s life.
“Should anything happen to me-” Gael said when Evander approached.
“Do not finish-” Evander started.
“Should anything happen to me, provide for Lady Cordelia,” Gael said anyway, ignoring Evander in the way that only a younger brother could. “Swear it to me, Evander. Swear it like you swore to protect our kingdom,” Gael’s hands were shaking and he was near tears. The bandage on his hand needed to be changed. Cade approached them with fresh cloth.
“You do not need my oath,” Evander said and Cade pulled the bandage from Gael’s hand. “But you have it. I will take care of her for the rest of her days. Her and the child.”
Cade’s head snapped up. “What child?” He asked.
“Cordelia and Gael were impatient for their wedding night,” Evander said and smirked at Gael.
“She’s having a baby?” Cade asked and they saw the light in his eyes. He had a notorious soft spot for infants.
“Yes,” Gael said softly. There were too many emotions wrapped up in the word to parse apart. Evander had to settle on pride.
“Tell me the same,” Evander said. “Tell me that should anything happen to me-”
“Nothing can happen to you,” Gael snapped. Cade had to hold his hand still as he continued wrapping. “You are the future king-”
“And this is war. The king's head is often the first on the chopping block. They have decided to make the whole of it personal, Gael, and if that’s what it is, then the kingdom comes before the king,” Evander pointed out. “And if that happens, if the kingdom must be put before me-” he shook his head and Gael looked away. Evander grasped his chin and made him look at Evander. “Promise me. Should I die here, that you will see that Alyx is taken care of.”
Gael’s eyes flashed with anger before he nodded and Evander dropped his hand. “Say it. Say that you swear.”
“I swear it. So long as Alyx lives, he will be protected by the throne,” Gael muttered.
They both turned to Cade who was wiping blood off of Evander’s arm with a wet rag. It took a moment for him to realize they had fallen silent, watching him.
“What?” He said. Then he snorted and wiped at Evander’s brow until Evander batted his hand away and took his chin in his hand like he did Gael’s.
“The chances of me ascending to the throne of this country are slim,” Cade pointed out. Evander’s fingers caused his mouth to squish and his words came out strangely.
They both stared at him. Evander did not let go.
Cade sighed. “Should anything happen to both of you and the crown comes to me, I will take care of both Lady Cordelia and Alyx until their days are no more,” Evander dropped his hand but then Cade sighed and Gael and Evander turned back to him. “Should anything happen to me,” he started and glared at the horizon where the sun was beginning to rise. His eyes were bright. “Should anything happen to me, I want my inheritance to be split evenly between all of my nieces and nephews, present and future,” Cade finally finished.
“The lot of you are morons,” Valentine declared from a nearby tree.
“Shouldn’t you be pulling the wings from a butterfly?” Cade snapped.
“Wrong season, darling,” Valentine said and pushed himself up off the tree. “Breakfast, so we can get this torturous ride over.”
Gael gave Eros the rest of the apple and Cade left, with one last glare at Valentine.
“Sire, a word, before we begin,” Valentine said.
Evander nodded and began to strip off his riding armor to change into something clean. He nodded at Valentine to continue.
“If I could be so bold as to advise you about Alyx-”
Evander turned and pulled a mostly clean tunic from his pack. “Tread carefully, Valentine. Your skills are not so unique that I could not train another.”
Valentine chuckled, “I would not believe otherwise,” he paused and Evander turned to face him as he laced the front of his shirt up. He seemed to be building some kind of nerve up and Evander had never seen him nervous. It annoyed Evander. “Valentine,” he snapped.
“What were the names of Alyx’s stepsisters?” Valentine asked suddenly, stepping close.
Evander raised an eyebrow and jerked his head towards Eros so that Valentine could come closer. “Why do you ask?”
“I remember the queen inquiring about two young women among the guards. She said she wanted to know where they were and the reports came back that one was working in the taverns and another left the city to join Thomas’s army. You know the women that travel with the soldiers-”
“I know what you referring to yes, what is your point?” Evander asked impatiently.
“At the last two towns was the same girl. Blue eyes, dark hair, had the surname of Reimund,” Valentine muttered. “And she seemed to familiar with our men. As though she knew some of them.”
Evander nodded and looked over at Valentine. “What are your thoughts on the matter?” He asked.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of who is the spy but how many of them there are among us,” Valentine said.
“Us,” Evander stated.
“Sire,” Valentine went on and Evander glanced down at his hands. He was trembling and when Evander looked up to his face, he noted how pale and greasy Valentine was. His normally perfectly done hair was pushed out of his face and his hands shook. He even looked a little sick. Possibly from staying up all night to watch for an attack. Evander would be touched but he knew it was partly because if the Prince were killed, his life would most certainly follow the same ending. “I can vouch for myself, for Ely, Ralph, Tobey, Gabrien and obviously the princes.”
“And Regan,” Evander muttered as the men began to wake and gather their camp. “How were the rest chosen?”
Valentine shook his head. Evander caught Gabrien’s eye and waved him over.
“How were the men riding with us chosen?” He asked.
“They volunteered, sir,” Gabrien replied.
Valentine looked to Evander and Evander looked to the horizon again.
“At the next village, we will stop. Gabrien, ride ahead now, inform the tavern keeper that we wi
ll need food and shelter for forty men. Insist that the place is cleared of all else before we arrive. They will be paid by the Prince,” He turned to Eros, pulled a small bag of coins from his pack and pressed them into Gabrien’s hands.
Gabrien looked confused, looked from one man to the other and opened his mouth. Evander gripped his shoulder roughly and looked him in the eye. “Do as you are told and go now.”
“Sire,” Gabrien said. He went to his horse and swung up in it, settled his horse, and left.
“Where is he off to?” One man asked from near the fire.
Evander ignored the look that Valentine shot him.
“Scout,” Evander replied shortly.
Evander purposely took his time readying himself that morning. He wanted to give Gabrien as much time as he needed to get ahead of them and get their orders followed. He ordered one man to cook, another to check the horses, and he himself took to digging out rocks from Eros’s shoes. He adjusted her saddle and made sure that Gael and Cade did the same.
The others began to get restless before long and he could tell that they wanted to hurry him but one look to one of the men suggesting that they do get moving shut them all down.
Gael and Cade were exchanging looks but finally, camp was packed away and Evander swung up onto Eros.
He rode out, the others close behind.
∞∞∞
Josette dressed in a long black skirt that was slit up to her thigh and black leather riding pants underneath. She took her own horse, Oz that very night and headed for where she thought the other princes might be marching into, if she were marching into the thickest part of Thomas’s forces.
Josette and Oz had been riding together for two years now and he was preternaturally quiet. His coat was black and when Josette hid under her favorite cloak, they were all but impossible to discern in the shadows.
She had no desire to engage any of Thomas’s forces. He did not keep his men civilized like the De Loughreys kept their guards. In fact, Thomas encouraged a darker, more monstrous side of his men and rewarded them for it.
Josette had seen too many things in her time with Thomas to be assured of nothing more than the fact that the man was a demon from the deep here to kill anyone and everyone that stood in his way. She even suspected that her own parents had been victims of his blinding ambition, though she trusted no one enough to express that thought.
Josette had schooled her body into needing as little rest as possible. When dawn broke, she tucked her dark cloak and skirt away and pulled on something more feminine that she had borrowed from Lady Verna. She let her hair loose around her shoulders and as she passed through a village and no one took notice of the young girl on her horse, strolling through the town center.
She stopped at the stables to let Oz have a moment to rest and eat before she stepped into a nearby tavern for a short meal.
A girl, possibly a few years younger than herself, served her. She had large blue eyes and long dark hair but a sour look on her face, as though she were displeased with her position. Indeed, she looked like she belonged instead in the lap of a duke or maybe even a lord, instead of serving cheap wine to travelers in a tavern no one had heard of.
“Mariana!” A voice called out from the kitchen and the girl turned with a huff and went.
The name, the face, it was all familiar but Josette couldn’t place it.
Instead she turned to her stew and bread, her water close by.
She was almost done and considering seconds when the door opened and the customers inside looked up.
A guard from the Crown Prince’s personal escort, from the design over his heart. Josette clutched the hand the Queen's ring. Her time as a spy had taught her one thing she could feel to the marrow of her bones: No one was to be trusted.
The guard went to the tavern owner behind the bar and spoke to him in low tones, and pushed a purse across the counter to him. The guard tapped his breast, where the royal crest was. The tavern owner opened the purse and nodded.
“Okay, we’re closed!” The owner shouted suddenly.
Before Josette could get the attention of the guard, she was pulled up and out of the tavern and all but thrown out.
She went across the way to a small blacksmith who watched everyone else be pulled out of the tavern and tossed out as well.
“What was that about?” He asked.
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Josette replied softly. She had her suspicions, of course, but she wasn't about to share them.
Josette decided to wait. If she encountered a prince, or even the Prince, her ride would be cut down by days.
She didn’t have long to wait. A large group of men rode in and Josette recognized Cade from when they had spoken earlier and she was sent to the princess. All the men entered the tavern and Josette thought she spotted the Crown Prince and his other brother, but she wasn’t sure. She wasn't familiar with the royal family and couldn't spot them on looks alone. His clothing was nondescript and there was no way to tell him apart from the other men. He wasn’t wearing a crown; none of them were.
Josette huffed and sat down on a stump. They left two men to guard the door, both skinny and pale, but wore the same insignia that declared them the personal escort of the Crown Prince. Josette glared at them, at their insignia declaring them.
“They could at least had the courtesy to show who they are,” she said out loud.
“Were you speaking to me, miss?” The blacksmith said, looking about.
Josette smiled and shook her head. She stood and brushed her skirts off. She couldn’t lose this chance, not with the Prince so close.
Josette approached the guards and kept her hands in plain view. The signet ring was on a chain around her neck, the ring itself under her bodice.
“Sorry, miss, no one is allowed in,” one of the men said to her, offering her a friendly smile but one that should have kept her at a distance.
“Prince’s orders,” the other added quickly.
“I have a message for His Highness,” she said softly, shifting her eyes to the ground, trying to appear as nonthreatening as she possibly could.
“Many young maids do-” the one with the large nose said and glanced to the other man.
“But His Highness is engaged to be married as soon as this damnable war is over,” the other with the strange haircut finished.
Josette blinked and then it sank in what they were saying. She snorted. “It’s not a romantic message. It’s a message-” she huffed and pulled out the chain where Gia’s ring lay and pulled the chain off her neck. “It’s from Queen Gia and Alyx,” she whispered.
The one with the large nose snatched the ring from her palm, or attempted to. Josette was quicker than that and stepped away.
“The Prince, please. I was given strict orders to speak to no one else-”
It looked as though they were about to take her inside when a large clatter sounded and men began to shout. The pair instead threw open the door and dove in.
Inside, there were several men in the middle of a larger group. A few of them broke off when they saw Josette and the other two enter and they roughly threw the guards that Josette was just speaking to into the middle of their circle.
One man stood tall and would not be cowed.
The Crown Prince, surely.
Josette noted that he was handsome, like Alyx had mentioned, and his hair was the color of tarnished gold and he certainly the bearing of their warrior prince.
Josette cowed away from the man that jerked her away from the door and threw her into a corner, next to the fireplace. She knocked over the poker and the screen there and tumbled to the ground.
“Your treason means only that your death will be slow, Stephen,” The Prince said. Beside him, his brothers sneered.
“Your death means that I will have a place in court,” Stephen replied reasonably.
The only people facing Josette were the Prince and his men. She pulled her skirts up and pulled a dagger out of her gart
er belt. The taller one, Gael she thought, shook his head at her minutely. She rolled her eyes at him. But Cade caught her eye and his eyes drifted further to her left, almost the opposite wall.
Their weapons.
She nodded and looked around for anything else. She had left her crossbow with Oz along with her sword. She cursed herself for not realizing that she was walking into a dangerous situation.
Josette gripped the fire poker that she had knocked over when she was thrown to the ground. She stood swiftly, knocked the man over with the fire poker, caught him and held him to her with her blade against his neck, already drawing blood. He was stunned and wasn’t holding all his weight and some of his men turned on her.
“I will take his head and deliver it to the Queen herself,” Josette hissed. “On a pike.”
“Oh, I like her,” one man whispered to the Prince.
“That’s the spy I sent to Auelina,” Cade whispered to Evander and Gael. He looked proud.
“Stand back!” Stephen yelled to his men that were advancing anyway. Josette pressed the knife in deeper as one other man stepped forward. The thin trickle of blood thickened under her hand. She reversed her hold on the knife and pulled Stephen back a step.
“Or perhaps Alyx would like a present of my allegiance,” she said and aimed the tip of the dagger lower, between his legs, and added pressure. “I am not picky.”
Stephen screamed at them to stand away, his voice breaking.
“Let His Highness through,” she ordered, settling the tip of her dagger over Stephen’s groin. The men backed away. “You,” she said to the man who said he liked her, “Stoke the flames. As high as you can get them.”
“Valentine is the name,” he replied and scrambled to follow her orders.
The others introduced themselves in turn. Cade took Stephen from her. The Prince was appraising her, but did not stop her when she took control of the room.
“You two,” She said to the men that had been guarding the front, “there is a tavern girl in the back. Dark hair, blue eyes. Bring her,” Josette ordered. She turned to the large group of men that had the Prince cornered only moments before. “The rest of you, strip yourselves of your clothing.”