The twins are only three or four years older than Perry, if I remember his tangled family tree correctly. Jax stood silent for a moment as she visualized the Pettraud brood in her mind.
“Is he even qualified to lead the Ducal Guard?” The edge in George’s voice revealed a stirring fear that Jax’s safety was in the hands of an inexperienced, entitled brat.
Annoyance returned to Perry’s face. “Ivan has served Pettraud since he turned twenty-one.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” George countered.
“Forgive me.” Perry’s brow tightened. “I really haven’t had the time to dwell on it since learning about his promotion five minutes ago.”
“Calm down, you two.” Jax rubbed her husband’s arm while giving George a silencing look. “I’m sure Duke Pettraud would not risk his own legacy by appointing an incompetent Captain. But it wouldn’t hurt for us to be certain before we depart.”
“Great,” Perry grumbled. “The first time I’ve seen one of my more tolerable brothers in nearly three years, and I’ve got to spend the time grilling him about his military qualifications.”
Jax restrained an exasperated sigh, instead trying to see the situation from his viewpoint. “I’m sorry, darling. There’ll be plenty of time for you both to catch up on our journey to Pettraud.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be the case, Your Grace.” Ivan’s muscular figure reappeared behind her like a shadow. “I noticed there were two carriages outside the villa. Those aren’t yours, are they?”
Baffled by his question, Jax cocked her head. “They are indeed. Captain Solomon and I thought it best we send a decoy caravan ahead to flush out any potential threats.”
Ivan shifted on his feet, not meeting her direct gaze. “Due to the urgency of returning you to allied ground, I think it best that we travel on horseback. It will have us back in the capital in five days’ time.”
“Horseback?” George scoffed. “You’ve got to be joking.”
Ivan stiffened, rising to his full height, just a hair shorter than George. “Given the circumstances, I’d think the Duchess would be more inclined to prioritize her safety above comfort.”
He does have a point. Jax grimaced at the realization. “How long would it take to escort the carriages?”
“At least seven or eight days, Your Grace.”
She cursed inwardly. I cannot waste any more time than I already have.
“Jax…” George pleaded under his breath so that only she could hear. “You can’t seriously be considering this. You’d be an open target.”
“I’m a confined target if I’m sitting in a coach.” She covertly reached for his arm and squeezed it. Turning to Ivan, she said, “As much as I hate to think how sore I’ll be when presented to your father’s court, I accept your travel recommendation, Captain.”
Chapter Five
Ever since crossing the Pettraudian border, the weather had substantially cooled, now that the sun-soaked deserts of Kwatalar were behind them. Regardless of the chilly morning breeze assaulting her riding habit, sweat dripped down Jax’s brow, trailing all the way between her breasts. They’d only been on the road an hour, and she was already winded from the ride. The physical toll of their journey was finally catching up with her. Relief that they would arrive at the Caisleán Cliffs later this afternoon gave her the stamina to continue.
As the hooves of the chestnut-colored mare pounded into the dirt, Jax reflected on all that had happened since departing Ogdam Oasis. While she, Perry, and George were able riders, Uma and Vita were not. Therefore, the young women—along with Hendrie as their protector—had been tasked with traveling to Pettraud by carriage with Sir Olavo in tow. Ivan, at his brother’s insistence, had assigned a handful of guardsmen to escort the trio and prisoner safely to the capital at a much more leisurely pace.
Leaving most of their possessions in the hands of their friends, Jax, George, and Perry had packed a few changes of clothes suitable for a royal court, now tucked away in the knapsack dangling from George’s saddle.
I hope our friends have crossed the border by now.
Kwatalar’s isolationist policy required all visitors to present family lineage paperwork upon entering and leaving the region. Hendrie, Uma, and Vita would have to use the compromised identities of House Rapaste that they had all traveled to the desert with in the first place. Sir Olavo was to remain bound, gagged, and hidden during the border crossing, which would be a true challenge in the small confines of the carriage. Jax prayed to the Virtues for her friends’ safety.
The soldiers she, Perry, and George traveled with had arranged false documents of their own, indicating Jax was a Pettraud cousin being escorted to court for the autumn season. If the four Kwatalarian border guards they encountered thought fifty-odd soldiers was an outlandish number of escorts, they did not dare bring it up. Ivan had purposefully navigated them to a small border outpost, leaving thoroughly intimidated Kwatalarians behind in their galloping wake.
Just as Ivan had predicted, the rate they rode the animals left little time for talking during the day, and when they camped at night, everyone was too exhausted to make idle chatter. All Jax had learned about Ivan Pettraud was that he’d been appointed Captain of the Ducal Guard over two months ago, as his predecessor had taken an early retirement after being knocked off his horse in a bandit raid. Jax had been alarmed to hear this, assuming the bandits had been from Cetachi, but Ivan quickly informed her they were homegrown criminals. Before Darian Fangard’s appointment as Duke of Cetachi, the untamed region had sheltered droves of wild men who raided the bordering duchies. Pettraud had suffered greatly at their hands, as it shared the longest border with the then-rogue nation.
Other than his service accolades, Jax had unearthed very little about Perry’s brother. During the day, he was too busy directing his men to interact with her or her companions much, and by nightfall she was too tired to even think straight, let alone question him. She relied on Perry for most of her information, for she had learned that out of all his brothers, Ivan was his favorite.
“Besides my mother, Ivan was the only one who tried to make me feel like I mattered,” Perry had revealed their first night on the road. “Unfortunately, he was around very little. Training, I suppose, to eventually join the Ducal Guard.” Ivan’s twin brother, Isaiah, also spent a great deal of time away from Pettraud while Perry was growing up, pursuing scholarly aspirations. Isaiah apparently ran the Library of Pettraud in the duchy’s capital city and had rarely returned home since being appointed Head Scholar.
The sun was beginning to dip low into the sky by the time Ivan commanded his riders to slow their pace. Jax looked over her shoulder at Perry, who pulled on the reins of his dapple-gray mount. “We just passed the borders of the capital. We should be at the cliffs within the hour.” Excitement edged into his eyes. While he didn’t have the fondest childhood memories, Perry appeared happy to be home.
Breathless from the long day’s journey, Jax patted her steed with encouraging affection. “I hope we will be allowed to bathe before taking an audience with your father. I cannot be seen like this.” She’d caught a glimpse of her reflection in the lake when they’d stopped for lunch. Her normally immaculate honeyed tresses were a wild mess of tangles, and dust from the dirt roads had turned to muddy streaks as it mingled with the rivers of sweat dripping from her body. It didn’t make for a pleasant sight…not that anyone else in her party looked any better.
Perry laughed. “While I’m sure Father would understand and excuse your appearance, I’ll make sure Ivan shows us to our chambers first.”
At the mention of his name, Ivan rode up, keeping his horse in-step with Jax’s. “Your Grace, now that we are within the safety of our capital’s borders, I’d like to discuss a few things before we reach the palace.”
His guarded tone immediately put Jax on alert. “Of course, Captain.”
He lowered his voice so that no one riding outside of their little group would be able to h
ear it above the clapping of hooves. “It’s about Father.”
Perry straightened in his seat. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Ivan shushed his youngest brother with a narrowed stare. “What I have to say isn’t for passersby on the roads to overhear. This path to the palace is strictly limited to court officials and ducal family members.”
Jax eyed the well-groomed stretch of land they trotted across. It made sense for Ivan to take them on a more remote path, rather than through the bustling city below Pettraud’s fortress. “Is the Duke in good health? Nadir mentioned he’d been under the weather.”
“We’ve instructed the courtiers to pass it off to the public as a common cold, but I’m afraid it’s worse than that.”
Perry paled. “Virtues, why didn’t anyone tell me? What’s wrong with him?”
Ivan shrugged his armor-clad shoulders. “It’s hard to say.” He held up a hand to silence Perry’s sputtering concern. “After he came back from your wedding, well, frankly, I hadn’t seen him so happy since before Mother fell ill. He was full of hope. He spoke highly of your plans, Duchess, and he seemed to have a new outlook on life, as silly as it sounds.”
Jax sent a tender look to her husband. Perry and Duke Pettraud had harbored a strained relationship, but during the wedding festivities, their bad blood seemed to have been washed away. “It sounds like the Duke has undergone a change of heart. What’s so worrying about that?”
Ivan frowned. “His attitude upon his return isn’t what is troubling me. It’s what began happening in the weeks after.” He glanced around to make sure his men’s attentions were elsewhere before continuing in a low voice. “A week after my appointment as Captain, during my nightly patrol, I ran into Father sleepwalking outside of his private wing.”
“Sleepwalking?” Perry’s nose wrinkled.
“It was quite unsettling. I found him muttering to himself, and it was a struggle to get him to wake.” Ivan’s gaze darkened at the memory. “When he came to, he had trouble remembering who I was for a few moments.”
“How did he wander out of his chambers? Where were his guards?” Jax couldn’t begin to count the times she wished she could send all her guardsmen away and have a moment alone, but she knew better than to act on such desires. They were there for her protection, after all.
“Perhaps our security is a bit different than you’re used to, Duchess.” Ivan scratched his head as he summoned an explanation. “With the castle’s special defenses, we’re able to move more freely in our home without guards at every corner. The entrance to the royal tower, where my father resides, is guarded, but the subsequent floors and chambers inside the wing are not.”
Jax shot a beseeching glance at George. “Sounds absolutely wonderful.”
Ivan shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m beginning to rethink our approach. After I found Father alone that first night, I wanted men stationed outside his door, but he refused my request.”
A dubious expression clouded George’s face. “You’re the Captain of the Ducal Guard. Can you not order what’s best for your sovereign?” His voice held a challenge.
Embarrassment in the form of a red flush spread throughout Ivan’s pale skin, but he did not shy away from the remark. “Perhaps you have found a magical solution to get your charge to listen to your every recommendation, Captain Solomon.”
Jax snorted, almost falling from her saddle. George did not look amused by her response.
Ivan stroked his lengthening sandy beard and returned to the matter at hand. “I thought his sleepwalking was a one-time event, but the next night I found Father wandering alone in the gardens, talking to himself again. I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. He looked like he was conversing with someone, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. When I finally got him back to his bedroom, the tower guards were all at their posts, but reported this was the first time they’d seen the Duke all night.”
“Had he fallen asleep elsewhere?” Perry asked, anxiety brewing in his hard gaze.
“His study, which, if you remember, is in a separate wing,” Ivan confirmed. “When he walked out, the posted guardsmen in the vicinity didn’t think anything of it. To them, their Duke was simply leaving his workplace after a long night.”
Perry exhaled long and low. “Does he have any recollection of these midnight strolls?”
“None,” Ivan replied, “which leads me to the next piece of the puzzle. When he’d wake in the morning after these incidents, he would be in a foggy daze for hours. He had a hard time remembering who any of us were, that he’d appointed me Captain of the Ducal Guard…even that you’d left the castle to be married, Perry.”
Jax’s stomach flipped. Was Duke Pettraud going senile?
“I brought Father to the court physician after the first incident,” Ivan said. “Mistress Lenora’s deduction is that old age is getting the better of him.”
Perry scoffed. “He’s not that old.”
Ivan ignored his brother’s outburst. “The only other explanation she could think of was that there is some strange illness afflicting his mind.” Trouble coursed through his lavender eyes. “I don’t know which terrifies me more.”
“Besides the sleepwalking and memory lapses, have you noticed anything else?” Jax feared the answer.
“We’ve all come across him, alone in some dark part of the royal tower, muttering to the shadows. It’s become a regular event.” Ivan rubbed his temples. “He’s speaking nonsense when I find him, but Kaul thinks he once heard Father say, ‘I’ll bring you some begonias,’ when he found him.”
Perry stiffened in his saddle as the color drained from his face. “Mother’s favorite flower.”
A grim look eclipsed Ivan’s face. “Philippe and Elias think Father believes he’s speaking with her. Sometimes, I have to remind him she’s dead. Whatever is happening to him sporadically erases her death from his mind.”
Jax’s hand went to her mouth, pity and sorrow tightening in her throat. “Virtues, how tragic.”
Perry remained silent, his gaze lowered to the ground. Out of all the Pettraud heirs, he had been the closest to the beloved matriarch, and her death had been extremely hard on him.
“Is there anything that can be done?” George asked.
Ivan glanced out across the rolling green hills, arching up to meet the imposing Caisleán Cliffs piercing the foggy sky ahead of their party. “I had hoped it was a passing spell, sheer exhaustion from his travels. But then about three weeks ago he became violently ill. He couldn’t keep down solid foods, and was barely able to drink the tinctures Mistress Lenora crafted for him. Once the nausea had passed, though, I honestly thought he was better,” Ivan said with a sigh. “He was more himself than he had been in weeks. But not a week later the guards found him wandering around the gardens in just his dressing gown, in the middle of the day!”
“How has this affected his court? Are the Duke’s advisors taking any action?” Jax asked, her knuckles whitening as her grip tightened on her horse’s reins.
Ivan shook his head. “We’re keeping our concerns in the family, for now. Father is usually most alert in the afternoon and evenings, so we’ve moved all his business to fill that window. And during those hours, it’s as if nothing’s wrong. It’s the strangest and most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen…” He paused for a moment, as if warring with a memory. “The guards haven’t realized the severity of Father’s symptoms, and Mistress Lenora has promised to stay mum about it until we figure out what to do.”
“And everyone has agreed to this wait-and-see approach?” Perry looked dubious. “I would have thought Philippe would be jumping at the bit to take over for Father.” Philippe, the eldest brother and next in line to inherit the Pettraud throne, did not have a strong relationship with either Perry or Jax.
“It surprised me as well, but he’s been my ardent supporter in all this,” Ivan said. “Elias and Galahad are the ones threatening to bring their concerns before Father’s council.
He doesn’t believe any of us when we tell him he’s ill, but if his courtiers told him he needs to step down, I believe he would listen to their recommendation.”
Elias and Galahad were the second and third oldest of Perry’s siblings. Elias had been at their wedding, although Jax had not had much time to get to know him. She had never even met Galahad.
Perry grunted, letting the reins drop as he crossed his arms. “Why? Are they anxious to be ruled by a dolt like Philippe?”
Ivan’s expression softened. “Gal’s concerned the pressures of this coming war are taking their toll. He thinks Father might be able to make a full recovery if it weren’t for the strain of his position.”
Jax sighed. “I suppose my name has probably come up as the cause of your father’s anxiety?”
“You may have been mentioned once or twice, Your Grace.” Ivan’s cheeks ripened.
Jax bit her lower lip. That doesn’t bode well for me. Duke Pettraud may be on my side, but what’s to stop his sons from taking action against me if they think their father’s health is threatened? Her worried gaze met George’s. She could tell from his wrinkled forehead that they were riding into more dangerous territory than either had originally planned. “How did your father receive the news I sent from Ogdam Oasis?” Jax pressed Ivan for more information about her ally.
“It was the most clearheaded I’d seen him in weeks, Your Grace,” Ivan admitted. “There he was, sitting on his throne in a slump. But when your man Nadir reported you and Perry were in trouble, he changed before my eyes. He sat rigid and tall, commanding the room as he assembled your escort team. A true Duke.” Emotion clouded over his piercing eyes.
What a curious affliction. Jax wondered if she should send for either of her court physicians to assist this Mistress Lenora and offer a second opinion about the Duke’s fluctuating mental health. “And how was he when you left?”
Ivan sighed. “He seemed better and hope sparked once again, but Mistress Lenora found me right before our battalion departed. She said Father’s appetite had decreased substantially since he’d recovered from that violent stomach bug. She’s found whole meals lying untouched in his study.”
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