She almost called him back when he released her hands and went to the door by the staircase.
“I’ll see you in the morning, dear Kambry.”
~~~~~~~
Kambry hadn’t realized Gordy kept a home in town. She sat astride a well-mannered horse, ambling down the causeway with Russal on a large black gelding beside her. The sun brightened the cobble road. She’d assumed they would simply walk to a room in the castle or the barracks, but had learned otherwise upon returning to their bedroom after breakfast.
Sarena had laid out riding clothes while Russal and Kambry had their meal on the balcony. At first, it seemed no one was aware they hadn’t spent the night together. Russal had kept the small room’s door closed and readied for the day in his dressing room. Servants reordered their room, laying out clothes for the day.
Before exiting, Sarena had made their bed, pausing a moment before tucking in the sheets, and asked if Kambry had slept well. The two younger maids puttered in the dressing room.
“The evening was trying, but I slept as one would expect,” Kambry had said. But after the three women had left, Kambry had given her bed a long look. At first, nothing seemed odd until she realized it was plain only one person had slept in the bed. Kambry had left the sheets turned out on only one side.
Russal had stepped from his dressing room, catching her yet unmoved from her perusal of their chambers. “Dress, my dear. We’ve several visits to make this morning.”
Serena’s expression had been neutral, her demeanor pleasant. Perhaps she hadn’t given it any thought.
The quiet ride gave Kambry time to reflect, and she wasn’t comfortable with how the servants might interpret the two of them sleeping in separate beds. Would it be best if she asked him to sleep in the bed with her? She didn’t know what she wanted.
Kambry forced herself to focus on the surroundings and watched a young mother guide her toddler along the path beside the road. She closed her eyes and shook her head. The small room off their chamber was a nursery. Maybe Sarena wouldn’t say anything, and Kambry would have time to decide what her relationship was with Russal.
They’d already left the market behind and were heading along a wide cobbled street edged with tidy homes. The main bodies of the homes sprawled left and right of the entrance, their low gabled roofs over red-stained clapboards. After turning down a side street, they came to a stop before a neat home. Its swept yard and clipped bushes lined a stone path to the door.
A guard took her reins and kept her mount still as she dismounted. Russal joined her as soon as she reached the ground. He offered his arm, and they strolled to the door as if they were visiting for tea. She’d avoided thinking about Gordy’s injuries, but as the door opened following a guard’s rapid knock, her concern for his health returned.
A round-faced woman, her gaze even with Russal’s, stood surprised in the doorway. She dropped into a curtsey then backed away.
“Good morning, Cyntha,” he said. “We’re here to check on your father. Any news?”
“How thoughtful of you, Your Majesty, to return so soon. He was awake this morning but has already fallen back to sleep. Please, come in.”
From a neat entryway where boots and coats hung, they entered a sprawling sitting room extending to the rear of the house. A short hall ran to the left, while to the right was a glimpse of a kitchen to the rear and a front bedroom, a bright comforter on the bed.
The woman wrung her hands. “Can I offer you tea, a bit of cake?” Her gaze ran about the room, and she straightened a stack of wood by an unlit fireplace, closed a book open on a square table, and came to fluttery stiffness, her hands clutched at her waist.
Kambry stepped forward and took her hand. “Please don’t be nervous. I couldn’t delay seeing how Gordy is and hadn’t thought how this would disrupt your care of him. May I take just a quick peek at him, just to settle my mind?”
Cyntha’s eyes swam a moment in tears, and she gave a quick curtsy. “Of course, Your Majesty. This way.” She guided Kambry into the short hall and turned right into a dim room. “I’ll light a lamp.”
Kambry put out a hand and whispered. “No, I don’t wish to awaken him.”
“He won’t notice.” Cyntha lit a candle and set the glass shade over it.
Russal stepped up behind Kambry and lay a hand on her shoulder. Her lungs dragged in a shaky breath. Gordy lay stretched out on a narrow bed, his arms folded over a beige coverlet. Swathed in gauze, the entire top half of his head looked swollen. Bruising crept below the wrap across his left eye, his cheek mottled and misshapen.
Kambry covered her mouth but could not keep a frightened whimper from escaping.
“It looks worse than it is, Kambry,” Russal said. “Baraby ordered a poultice round the clock. They’re his specialty, but they give a person a rather lumpy appearance.”
Her heart slowed. She’d had a poultice applied to her shoulder after her injury now months past. It had helped, though the chilly bulk had rankled. She had promised just to take a peek at him, but she had to get closer. She drew up beside his bed. The scent of ginger and clove filled her nostrils. Her fingertips tapped the edge of the mattress. How could indomitable Gordy lay here, his chest rising in a slow rhythm?
She took another step forward, and Russal’s hand slipped from her shoulder. The window was open, and the curtains rippled with the breeze that flowed into the room. Kambry dropped into a chair pulled up close to the side of the bed and sat with her hands clasped in her lap. She heard feet shifting behind her. Leaning close, she whispered, “I expect you up and about soon, Guardsman Gordanza. None of this lying about.”
The breeze lifted the curtain up, and she felt it brush like a caress over her. Gordy grimaced, though he didn’t appear to awake. She turned and looked up at Russal.
He shook his head. “Kavin magic is not a healing magic.”
Kambry looked down at Gordy. Her throat tightened. Who was responsible? Felip Covey, his mother or the other woman?
“Come, Kambry.” His hand reached for hers.
She rose, only half aware that he was guiding her out of the room. She murmured some kindness to Cyntha. Russal stayed a moment, speaking to Gordy’s daughter about her sisters and that they were not to worry about his care. He would take care of everything. His words followed her out the door.
By the time she stood next to her horse, she was angry but no longer caught in a fog of sadness. There had to be more she could do.
Kavin brushed her senses and pinned her gaze on the distant trees. Someone was out there watching them from the surrounding trees behind the row of homes across the way. She mounted her horse, struggling a few seconds to adjust her riding skirt before giving up and kicking the horse into a gallop. Russal’s shout followed her, but she leaned forward and goaded the horse on, kneeing the horse’s ribs as she directed it down the avenue. The trees on the edge of the settlement beckoned to her.
Was Felip Covey out there watching her? He may have been the one to hurt Gordy, and she would not let him get away. Hoofbeats drummed beneath her and behind her. Where Kavin? Where is this spy?
She didn’t know how she knew, but she guided the horse to the left, slowing their race over the roadway and into the surrounding woods. Whoever followed was close. Good, they could help when she caught up with the intruder.
“Kambry, stop!” yelled Russal.
She was glad he followed. They were going to find out who was behind this. Someone knew she would go to Gordy’s home to check on him, and they hid and watched.
Russal’s horse was catching up. She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw he was but a length behind.
Kavin drew her on. Fury goaded her. More hoofbeats followed, further back by the sound. The guards must have joined her efforts.
An arm reached out and clutched at the reins, pulling her mount’s head back. The horse jerked and stumbled before slowing and coming to a stop, its chest heaving. It made great huffing snorts and its hindquarters danced.
Kambry gasped, maintaining her seat, and stared out at the woods surrounding her. “Russal! Why did you stop me? Someone is out here. You’re letting him get away!”
He looked furious. “What is wrong with you? You can’t race down a street after someone.” He glared at his guards who backed their horses away, giving them some privacy.
Kambry added her own glare, pressing them back farther. “You raced off with Tomo to get Amily back.”
“That’s not the same thing.” Their horses danced on agitated feet.
Kambry reached for the reins, but her horse leaped back, and she had to clutch its mane to keep balance.
“Why isn’t it?” Reaching again, she jerked her reins out of his hand. “Do you want to wait until they take one of us or someone else dear to us? What if this person was the one to hurt Gordy?” She cast another glance at the trees surrounding them. “You let him get away.” Kavin, show me who was watching.
The image in her mind whirled. But all it showed were the guards that surrounded her.
“You’re out of control. What makes you think you’re better suited than a guard?”
Kambry snapped her head around to stare at Russal. “What did you just say?”
“What I mean is you’re not equipped to capture someone.”
Outraged, Kambry raised her hand and swept it out in front of her. The trees twisted and bent, proilis vines following suit. In seconds, she had a cage built of living oak. Vines writhed in its center as if ready to seize an individual and hold them immobile. She hid her own surprise at the results. “Would you like to try to get out of that? No guard could put such a thing together.”
Russal held a hand to his temple and closed his eyes. “Kambry, you overreacted.” He gave the surrounding trees a cursory glance. “You didn’t know if anyone was out here.”
“Kavin showed me there was someone watching.”
“It could have been one of our own guards.”
Why was he being so dense? “Kavin knows the difference.”
He dismounted his horse and pulled her from her own before she could react. He kept them shielded between the two horses.
The two mounts settled down, but Kambry watched them, unhappy with standing between the nervous horses. “Kambry, we can’t just charge off somewhere and twist up the trees. My people, our people, know we have a gift, but they don’t need it raised in front of their faces.”
“They need to know we are not to be taken lightly.” She looked around them and huffed. They were far from the view of the common Kavinton citizen. “And exactly who can see us here?”
“Fine. I can’t keep you safe if you run off without protection.” He clutched at her arm.
Jerking herself out of his reach, she elbowed her mount. The beast gave her a sideways look and shook its head. “That’s enough out of you,” she said.
Russal chuckled. “You won’t to give anyone a chance to voice an opinion, will you?”
“Not an opinion that assumes I can’t be trusted to do anything alone.”
“Do you think Felip would give you greater freedom?”
Recalling Felip’s words held her still. You’re an equal, not a figurehead queen. I know that. “I think he would have ridden by my side, not yanked at my reins.”
“If he loved you as I do, he wouldn’t encourage you to be reckless.”
Kambry stared at the oak cage. Take it back, Kavin. The trees drew back their limbs, and the vines climbed the trunks. “How was I being reckless? Would you have me ignore danger?”
“You could have waited and told me.”
“Then what? You would have told me to stay put while you charged off.”
The guards’ horses shuffled, and she saw Drew walk his horse into the center of the waiting men.
“Be reasonable.” Russal drew close. With gentle pressure, he turned her to face him. “Let’s head back to the castle and change before we see the Laurentses. I’ve already sent word to Amily that we’ll be a bit late for lunch, so we can check on your parents before we continue to their chambers.”
That’s it? No words came to mind. His sudden change of topic flabbergasted her.
“Mount your horse. We’ve more visits to make.”
Was he taking her silence for agreement?
Russal strode to her horse’s head and grasped its bridle.
She shook her head and backed away. Was she being unreasonable? Was it so wrong to want to fight back? She’d hidden herself away, let Stahn protect her to such a point that she had no one to claim for herself, no friend, no intention save her work as a scribe. She gazed up at Russal. No one to love.
“Please, let’s head back.” Russal stepped close and slid an errant lock behind her ear. “I understand. Seeing Gordy then finding someone watching you, you had to act. A cooler head will let you see there were other options.”
She leaned her head on his chest. Her heart ached with frustration. Maybe she would feel differently when she calmed down. But did he really see her as incapable of holding her own after all that had happened? Was reigning as queen not a match to being Kambry do Runiya? Had choosing the house of artisans been a mistake? If she had chosen do Kon, would Russal see her differently?
“Better?”
“I’m okay.” She mounted her horse with a leg up from Russal. The ride back was quiet, but Russal held her hand. His warm grip was soothing, and the slow plod of their horses encouraged her to relax. She needed someone to talk out her confusion with, and her mind whirled over who she could unburden herself to. Lessa, Lady Laurents, Sybil, her mother. But each option offered its own reason for not being the right choice. Russal wasn’t listening, but he might later. He’d said, “Be reasonable.” She’d been angry over Gordy’s injury, but if Kavin had shown her that someone was watching them, shouldn’t she try to find out who it was?
The slow pace of the horses helped her heart slow. They were already on the street, heading back to the marketplace. Gazing at Russal, she admired his confident acknowledgement of the citizens who seemed pleased to watch him ride by with her at his side. Kambry tried to hold a friendly smile on her face, but it kept falling, her thoughts pulling her attention. It seemed like days since she had spoken with Sybil. Yet it had only been the previous morning. “The garden still holds danger,” Sybil had said. A woman was going to betray her. What good was a seer if she couldn’t provide particulars? There had been nothing about being watched from the woods.
Her horse snorted. Exactly how I feel about it all.
The ride up the causeway was equally ruminative, but Russal’s caressing fingers kept her settled in the here and now, even if her mind kept leaping about.
~~~~~~~
Kambry gazed thoughtfully at the dresses hanging before her. She’d already picked one out for their visit with the Laurents, but her fingers lingered on the white dress she had worn the day she had entered the Kavin Cut.
“That wouldn’t be the best dress to wear, Your Majesty,” Sarena said. “The style is not quite Kavin, though it is pretty. I’m not sure what event it would be appropriate for.”
“It is a spring festival dress, quite appropriate in Paddlyrun.”
“Maybe you could hold a spring festival here and suggest the fashion.” Sarena lay her hand on the soft fabric. “I wouldn’t mind a dress like this.”
“I’m not the same girl who wore this garment.” Her hand dropped away from the dress, and she pulled at the ties of her bodice.
Sarena helped her. “I’m sure you have changed little.”
Kambry shook her head. There had been so much that had happened since then. It was a wonder anyone from Paddlyrun even recognized her. Her hand tugged at the strap of the queen’s scabbard. She really needed to break that habit. “Let’s get me ready.”
Sarena finished with her hair and smoothed a narrow blue ribbon that dangled from Kambry’s sleeve. “You’ve been silent, Your Majesty. The king didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“What?” Kambry twis
ted around, giving the maid a sharp look. Russal wouldn’t hurt her. Drag her off her horse, yes.
Sarena blushed and chewed her lip. “He has been kind with you, yes?”
“We are still fostering our relationship.” She felt her own face flush.
Sarena turned her back and folded an undergarment. “It's difficult to adjust when you might feel happier with someone else. It is good he is giving you time.”
Kambry took a breath and let it out slowly. She needed to shift this conversation. Needing to talk things over with someone was fine, but she barely knew this woman. And what made her think Kambry wanted to be with someone else? Her face flushed. She’d slept in their bed alone.
“Are you married, Sarena?”
“Yes, several years now.”
“Was there someone else waiting for you?”
Sarena backed up a step and held the pale piece of clothing in a tight grip. She shook her head with tiny jerks and glared at the two girls she was training when they stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Molly and Maureen returned to organizing a drawer.
Kambry wondered how many times they had moved things about, looking busy but not really doing anything.
Sarena put the garment away and examined the closet as if looking for tasks to give the young women or herself.
Kambry looked away, wanting to give Sarena time to recover her equanimity.
She acknowledged she was uncertain about Felip’s current motivations and Russal’s expectations of her, but she knew which one she loved. Why did she feel so ambivalent about her next step in their relationship? Sybil had said she was having difficulty with interpreting Kavin’s allegiance, as if it was questioning which man to support. And now she had to keep those men apart, putting her own allegiance in question.
Sarena turned, her face settled into a soft smile. “It is best to accept things as they are.”
If only so many people didn’t want things to change. Covey, Maizalyn...
Sarena perused Kambry from head to toe. “There. You’re all ready for a visit with your castle guests. Will you be wearing that leather cuff?”
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