The other ladies who had been listening turned to him with wide eyes. ‘Did you really kill a man to protect her?’ one asked breathlessly.
He nodded, but he couldn’t smile at the idea.
‘So brave to ride after her. You must care very much,’ a second young woman swooned.
Belle, he noticed, was looking at her plate.
As he opened his mouth to explain the situation better, he was interrupted by a third young woman with bright red hair, her dress almost glowing in the light of the room. ‘Did those men kidnap her to get to you? You must have been so frightened,’ she said to Belle, ‘all alone like that and so far from the capital.’
Ed looked at her and then back to the young woman. ‘Their aim was to cheat the kingdom,’ he said. ‘In taking Belle, they wished to lure me out.’
‘Did they bring you all the way to the mountains?’ the first girl asked.
‘The Forest of Near,’ Belle said quickly.
‘Then how did you make your way here?’
‘I’m afraid we lost our horses in the struggle. I feared they would follow us back to the capital, and so we came north,’ Ed said, very tempted to take a sip from the glass in his hand. He wasn’t very good at conversations, and he was worse at lying. He was sure this man could see right through him.
‘You are safe now,’ Lord Welcott assured Belle. ‘And of course, you may stay here as long as you wish. Such a beautiful girl,’ he murmured, reaching up to her face. But before he could reach her, she stepped forward and pushed her plate into Ed’s hands.
‘Your Majesty,’ she said. ‘Forgive me, telling stories of how you saved me and yet I keep you from eating.’
‘I had a plate,’ he murmured, looking back at Ana by the wall. ‘Here, take your drink and let me introduce you to the Lady Anaise and her uncle.’ He held out his elbow, and she slipped her arm through his with a warm smile before they hurried across the room.
She downed the glass, sat it on a small table against the wall, and took her plate from Ed.
‘You know, if I ever become king,’ he murmured, ‘I am seriously going to review the tributes.’
‘None of it is real,’ Ana said. When he turned from the food to her, she was smiling sweetly.
‘Why are you here?’ Belle asked.
‘My uncle thinks I can learn,’ she said, and when Belle looked up from her plate, Ana’s eyes flicked to the group behind her.
They were chatting and laughing, but the short man amongst his beauties was watching everything they did.
‘Eat,’ Ana said. Then she lifted the fork and pushed more meat into her mouth.
Chapter 17
Sitting by the small fire in her oversized room, Ana was surprised by the quiet knock at the door. She was more surprised when she opened it to find Dray rather than Ed standing in the dim light of the hallway. She moved back as he pushed into the room and closed the door behind him. He glanced around as though checking for danger, and then his focus settled on her. Ana was sure she looked as tired as she felt.
She still wore the same dress she had worn down to dinner despite the lord’s offer of servants, which she had declined, not wanting the strange people around her again. Not that she worried about what they would do; she had been in such a position herself not so long ago. She shivered at the idea and then looked back to Dray as he scanned the room again.
‘Where is Ende?’ he asked.
She pointed up to the ceiling, and his eyes travelled up then back to her.
‘He finds castles somewhat confining,’ she said with a small shrug.
Dray looked at her seriously, but then a smile broke across his face and she felt as though she could breathe again.
‘Now tell me,’ he said, settling into a chair by the fire and indicating the one she had been sitting in not so long ago, ‘how and why you managed to make it here before us?’
‘It took you longer than I expected.’
‘It was a long walk,’ he admitted, ‘and although the girl is strong, she wasn’t as fast as I would have liked. We had talked about it, but I didn’t think it was a good idea for the king to say who he was.’
‘That was a surprise,’ Ana admitted, sitting on the other chair by the fire. ‘I know he needs the help and I encouraged him to come, but somehow I thought he would try to keep his identity a secret.’
‘You haven’t answered my question.’
‘It appears that Ende’s idea of training is to drop me into the middle of a lord’s castle and see what I can do.’
‘You appear to be doing just fine.’ He gave her a little smile, but there was something else in his voice she couldn’t quite place.
‘I nearly slipped into my serving ways—pouring wine, asking if there is anything the lord would need.’
‘You looked like you have lived in such a world your whole life,’ Dray said, raising almost sad eyes from the fire to her.
‘I have,’ she said, disappointed at his words. ‘Only not quite like this.’
‘And the how?’
‘Ende thought it best we were already here when you arrived.’
He leaned forward. ‘He carried you here?’
She grinned and nodded.
‘How did you convince him to do that?’
‘Do you really think I could ask Ende to do anything he didn’t want to do? This was all his idea. He is sure we need to work together, but I’m not sure if he knows as much as he says or more than he has told me.’
‘Do you think he still finds you dangerous? You certainly looked more than you are when you were gliding around the room.’
‘Really?’ she asked. ‘More than I am?’
‘Maybe closer to what you actually are,’ he murmured as he stood from the chair. ‘I should let you rest.’
Ana stood to meet him. ‘What do you think I am?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why do you think Ende wants to work with me? Why do you think I should travel with the king? Or am I still a maid you just couldn’t let fall?’
‘You are something very special,’ Dray said, resting his hands on her shoulders. ‘I don’t know exactly what that is. If Ende thinks the three of us must remain together, then there is something to that. And I don’t know what skills he thinks you have. You have had some dreams of us together. What else can you do?’
She shook her head. She wasn’t sure what abilities she had, if any. So far, she had only managed to convince a young man who didn’t want to be King that he might want to be. She looked over her fingers as she remembered the angry wound disappearing from his skin.
Perhaps the danger was that she had convinced Ed to seek assistance here and thus reveal himself to these people. She wasn’t even sure he knew he was being coerced. For a moment she wondered if she could do something similar with the plump little lord.
‘Do you need help?’ Dray asked, looking at her dress and dragging her thoughts back to the room.
She shook her head. ‘The girl will help.’
‘What girl?’ he asked, and then there was a quiet knock at the door.
As it squeaked open, he bowed.
‘Thank you so much for assuring me that all is well in the capital,’ Ana said sweetly, with a confidence she hadn’t had moments before. ‘I believe that our king could not be in better hands. Thank you, Captain.’
Dray bowed again and left quickly.
‘My lady, you should be sleeping,’ the young woman said as she unlaced Ana, helping her from the dress.
‘Should I?’ she asked, wondering just what she should be doing.
‘I didn’t mean to direct you,’ the girl stammered, stepping back, and Ana turned to her worried face. Her hands clenched before her.
Ana sighed. ‘I wasn’t chastising; I was wondering if you were right.’
‘You have slept very little since you have arrived. You look…’ The girl chewed her lip, and Ana wondered at her candour. She would have worn a slap if she had even suggested anything c
lose to a conversation such as this with the Lord of Sheer Rock or any visitors to the Seat.
‘Tired,’ Ana continued for her.
The girl nodded seriously. ‘And you should eat more.’
‘I feel far from home,’ Ana admitted, ‘and it is all very different.’
‘You don’t like the food?’ It was asked with genuine surprise.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, just that she didn’t trust it. There was something about it that gave her the feeling it was something other than what it was. And although there was always so much of it, they weren’t encouraged to eat as well as they should. The lord was quick to distract people. ‘I think I would like something a little simpler,’ Ana said instead. ‘Too much rich food.’
‘I could bring you crumpets and honey for breakfast.’
‘That sounds perfect,’ Ana said, allowing the girl to help her into the bed.
‘Shall I extinguish the candle for you?’
Ana shook her head and snuggled further down between the stiff sheets. Despite the appearance of luxury, she didn’t feel it in the room. The girl bowed her head and then blew out the other candles about the room as she left, leaving just a single one beside the bed. As soon as the girl closed the door behind her, Ana blew out a long breath. She was tired, very tired, but her dreams twisted what she thought she knew.
When she did sleep, she often woke to find Ende sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her hand. She wondered just what he could see of her as he would nod slowly. But he never discussed it. She didn’t know if she was seeing something significant or just dreaming because of all the thinking she was doing during the day.
During their time at the castle, her days were too long and dull. They talked, but there was little action, little movement, and then they would be moving around whatever group was in the main room of an evening. She could play the part—she had seen others do it often enough—but so far, she had learnt little.
Ana stopped fighting her heavy lids and allowed her body to relax into the firm mattress beneath her. Dray flashed before her and disappeared. She looked around for him, worried she had lost him, and then she was standing on the Walk again.
‘Help me,’ she pleaded. ‘Save me!’ She felt like she was screaming. The same three stood before her again. The lord not quite looking at her, the mage with his narrowed eyes and Dray giving her a small nod as he stepped forward. In the background, the large dragon blinked slowly.
She woke with a start, her heart pounding as it had when she had stood on the Walk. The candlelight flickered across the ceiling and the soft fabric that covered the bed. Ende stood at the end of the bed, and Ana was sure the wind still moved through her hair.
‘Did I call you?’ she asked.
He nodded, remaining where he was. ‘As you did just now.’
‘I was dreaming and you were there. But it was when I was on the Walk, and you weren’t there then. Not as a dragon. I would have noticed.’ She tried to sound light, but she was beginning to doubt everything around her.
‘You called me then,’ he said. ‘As you called Drayton. The connection was there.’
‘You mean he almost fell too because I asked him to save me?’ A shiver crossed her skin at the idea. She was thankful, yet the thought that he might have died because of her made it hard to breathe.
‘You didn’t ask him, Ana. You demanded it.’
She sat up, still holding the covers tight in her hands. ‘I demanded it?’
‘Are you going to repeat everything I tell you?’
She nodded, giving him a smile, although it didn’t hold any joy. ‘Who am I?’
‘Anaise,’ he said slowly. ‘You are possibly the only way to save the king.’
‘You said I was dangerous.’
‘Oh, you are,’ he said, sitting on the end of the bed. Warmth radiated from him, and in some ways she felt more comfortable. ‘But it might be what he needs.’
‘The gifts that the mage came looking for…’
‘I think he saw far more in you than he wanted to. He may have seen just what you are; he may have seen what I did.’
‘Do you think I could hurt them?’
‘Yes, I do. But that may not be your intention.’ She made to ask another question, but he held up his hand. ‘You may intend it. Yet I think there is something deep within your connection to these men that will ensure you protect them.’
‘I hope you are right.’
‘As do I,’ he said with a broad grin.
‘I’m not able to do very much anyway. A little persuasion, dreams of a world I don’t know.’ She couldn’t put what she had done to Ed’s wound into words.
‘A little persuasion. You demanded that a strong knight of the kingdom risk his life to save you, and he did. You are stronger than you know, and you will become more so. Whether you have other skills, we will need to find out.’
‘How are you going to test that?’
‘For now, I’m not. I will give you several days while we remain here to find out what you have.’
‘Ende,’ she almost whined, ‘how am I to find out?’
He shrugged and stood up. ‘For now, you can sleep.’ He walked over and leaned towards the low fire, and it crackled to life. He nodded and sat before it. Ana lay back down, her grip still tight on the covers as she stared at the patterns the firelight made over the ceiling. Ende had wanted to see what she could do; now he wanted her to find out for herself. She shivered again at the idea that she might be dangerous, and the image of the king handing her the crown became clear in her mind.
Chapter 18
The mage looked up at the sparkling tower of the castle as it poked above the other buildings of the capital. It called to him, and yet he wished he could be anywhere else in Ilia. He had managed to convince the regent to allow him to go after the girl. But she had not been what he had hoped when he found her.
The regent would expect the girl to be with him, to have come all the way from her clifftop home to the capital ready to serve him along with the others he had found. The mage would have to explain why they would be better served by her death, and then how he had lost her. He groaned at the idea, and the soldier nearest him turned a curious glance his way.
He tried not to think about it any further as he rode into the castle, the horses’ hooves echoing from the high white walls that surrounded them. Maybe they had taken too many men, he thought as he climbed down. Although after losing the girl, perhaps he had not taken enough.
He walked away from the beast, knowing someone else would take care of it. Not that it was foremost in his mind. He would take whichever of the king’s horses he pleased, should he have to leave the comfort of the castle again. Despite his concerns, he made his way directly to the regent.
The man stood with his back to the door, looking out over the kingdom from the tallest room. It wasn’t very large, but it was comfortable and boasted a large balcony, which was where he now stood.
The mage took a breath, trying to ignore the hot anger radiating from him.
‘Where is she?’ He spoke quietly, yet his voice carried an anger that made the mage step back.
‘She was not what I hoped she would be.’
The regent turned slowly and looked him over. He felt as though he was being sized up for a coffin, unless the regent was strong enough to throw him from the balcony himself.
‘I know that we had great hopes for the child. But I saw what she would become with the king at her side, and it would not help us.’
‘We could have broken her,’ he said.
Reluctantly, the mage shook his head. ‘Perhaps. Once I could see her for myself, I found she is much stronger than I anticipated.’
‘She is. You did not dispose of her?’
‘I tried,’ the mage said through gritted teeth, wondering just what she had done to the soldier.
The regent took a step forward. ‘Where is she now?’ he asked carefully.
‘I don’t know.’
‘How long ago did you lose her?’ he asked, eyes narrowed.
‘Weeks,’ he murmured.
‘And in that time, you have not seen enough to determine where she is, or with whom?’
‘Now that I am returned, I have access to my own devices.’
‘Find her,’ he said, his voice like a knife.
The mage bowed low before the regent. ‘Yes, sire.’ When he straightened, the regent was back on the balcony looking over his kingdom. The mage waited half a second before he backed out of the room. Only once on the other side of the thick wooden door did he take the opportunity to breathe. ‘Bring the box,’ he snapped at the soldier waiting by the door. Lifting his cloak, he rushed down the narrow steps towards his own rooms.
Partway across the courtyard, another soldier joined him with a small wooden box in his arms. It had travelled amongst the other items collected from the Lord of Sheer Rock, what she had been willing to give. The mage reminded himself that he was to talk to the regent about how little she had provided. She should have offered greater tribute. But then, her greatest tribute had run out the door. The girl may have appeared to have been dragged, but he knew she’d gone willingly.
He pushed through the small door and down the narrow steps before reaching another door. As he fished around in his cloak for the key, he turned around and glared at the man standing further up the steps. ‘That is the box I wanted?’
‘Yes, sir, it is.’
‘Then bring it in,’ he snapped as the door opened and the sweet smells of home greeted him. The man followed him in and dropped the box on the table. With barely a sign that he was leaving a man of the mage’s station, he disappeared through the door, which shut loudly behind him.
The mage pushed items from the table to the floor, papers, quills, and what might have been remains of his last meal. He had been keen to leave. He had been standing at this very spot when he had felt her like a rush. She was strong, young and he had thought very malleable. Only he had been very wrong. When the mage had placed his hands on her, her true power had overwhelmed him. Although he had allowed her to see something of his past, he had seen far more of her than she realised she showed.
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