“Yes,” said Cody shortly. “I can tell you from personal experience that Rasad can bewitch a horse.”
“That’s how you ended up riding off from the Bastion, and how your horse ran straight into the ravine!” said Lucy, suddenly understanding. She turned to the older man, her mind catching up with her words. “Cody! You’re alive!”
“Noticed my presence, have you?” he asked dryly, a glint of humor in his eyes.
She gave a shaky laugh, closing the distance between them and throwing her arms around him. He gave her a perfunctory squeeze.
“I thought your horse looked half-crazed when it plunged over the edge,” said Matheus. His voice was weak, reminding Lucy of his injury. She was glad to see that Lady Yasmin was binding it, her movements confident and efficient. Even as Lucy watched, the older woman cut a large wad of fabric from the tunic of one of the fallen guards, tossing it to Eamon for use on his own wound. “Why didn’t you throw yourself off its back long before you reached the ravine?”
“I was tied to the saddle,” said Cody curtly. “I uh…happened to be in the right place at the right time to overhear Rasad having a very informative conversation with one of his guards, and unfortunately he caught me eavesdropping. He had me tied onto a horse, did something strange to it, and sent us out the gate without further ado.” His eyes narrowed. “Very apologetic about the whole thing, he was. He said something about it not being personal, but he’d known from the start I was going to be problematic and would have to be disposed of sooner or later.”
“That sounds like him,” said Lucy grimly. “How did you survive the fall?”
“I didn’t fall,” said Cody. “At least not far. It took me the whole ride to get myself free of the ropes, and it was only just in the nick of time to throw myself from the horse’s back as we went over the edge. I managed to land on a ledge not far down. The poor creature wasn’t so lucky.”
Lucy shuddered as she pictured the huge drop of the ravine, and the raging river at its bottom.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” said Matheus, his voice hollow. “I hoped you’d survived somehow, but I didn’t really believe it was possible until I saw you fighting beside Eamon.”
“We’re all lucky you’re alive,” said Lucy fervently. “We would have been lost without you.” Her gaze encompassed Lady Yasmin as well. “Both of you.”
“I’m just glad we were in time,” said Lady Yasmin grimly. “We almost weren’t.”
“How did you know we were in trouble?” Lucy asked.
“It wasn’t hard to figure out that you must be, once Cody arrived,” said Lady Yasmin, and everyone turned to look at the Kyonan.
His eyes lingered on the Thoranian woman as he spoke. “After I managed to pull myself back up from the ravine, my first thought was to go straight back to the Bastion, to try to get you two out. But then I thought better of it. I knew I was on the land of Lady Yasmin’s family, and she’d told me before we left Thirl that if we ran into any trouble while with Rasad, we would find help there.”
Eamon turned to Lady Yasmin with a frown. “But you’ve been in Thirl the whole time they were away. I saw you just yesterday.”
She gave a grim smile. “Yes, I have. But I sent Yosef home in disgrace after his exhibition in the markets. And I asked him to keep an ear out for trouble at Rasad’s Bastion while he was there.” She sent Lucy an apologetic look. “He’s more capable than he seemed, you know.”
Lucy just shrugged. She bore the hotheaded young nobleman no ill will for his failed attempt to abduct her.
“I told Cody that Yosef would be there,” Lady Yasmin continued, “and I’m just glad he took up the offer of help.”
“So am I,” said Cody. “It took me hours to reach the family home on foot. It was well after dark by then, and it wasn’t until the next morning Yosef was able to discover that Rasad had left suddenly for Thirl. We set off immediately, but we had to stay far enough behind you not to be seen on the road. We reached the capital some hours after you did last night.”
“Where they came straight to me,” Lady Yasmin took up the tale. “Of course we didn’t know the specifics of what Rasad was planning, but we went straight to Prince Eamon.”
Lucy glanced at Eamon, and saw that he looked startled.
“Unfortunately you’d already left,” said Cody. “It’s a good thing you left this behind.” He pulled out a folded parchment and waved it idly in the air. “I knew at once that it was a trick of Rasad’s to draw you out.”
“Can we please burn that hideous letter?” shuddered Lucy. “It makes me sick to think of it.”
Eamon stopped pressing the wad of material against his shoulder in order to put his good arm around her in a reassuring gesture. But his expression was confused as he looked down at her.
“So you didn’t write it, then? I would have sworn it was your handwriting.”
“It was my handwriting, but I didn’t write it.” Lucy shook her head as his bewilderment grew. “Rasad has been dabbling in all kinds of strange dragon magic, but there’s no time to get into that now.”
“I’m just glad it wasn’t true,” said Eamon darkly.
“Some of it was,” admitted Lucy. “Rasad did propose to me,” she scowled, “but I didn’t need help from you or anyone to know what answer to give.”
“I should think not,” interjected Matheus with a shudder. “It was the most warped proposal in the world.”
“Well,” said Eamon, trying and not quite managing to speak lightly, “the fact that he proposed in front of your brother is already a failure.” He locked eyes with Lucy.
She felt her cheeks heat, the tingle passing all the way to her toes at the promise in his eyes, of further, more private, conversations to come.
“But we’re wasting time here,” she said quickly, pulling her thoughts back to the present with an effort. She turned to Lady Yasmin, anxiety on her face. “I’m eternally grateful to you for coming to our rescue, but I’m afraid we’ve drawn you away from Thirl at a terrible moment. Even now Rasad is probably with King Abner, convincing him to march against Balenol immediately. You were right that the timing of the annual muster was no coincidence.”
Lady Yasmin looked startled, but she shook her head firmly. “King Abner won’t agree to that, there’s no way. Thorania hasn’t seen war for centuries, and His Majesty is very committed to keeping it that way. Rasad’s influence isn’t that strong.”
“He’s not relying on his normal influence,” said Lucy impatiently. “He has crystals that come from the Dragon Realm off the coast of Valoria. They have powerful magic in them, and he’s going to use one to convince King Abner to give the order to invade. This isn’t opportunistic, like when he tried to use Eamon’s guard to assassinate King Giles. He’s been planning this for a long time, and I have no doubt all the pieces are in place.”
Lady Yasmin looked horrified. “But the whole court will protest. No one wants to annex Balenol. I’ve never heard such a thing suggested, even when the kingdom was crippled by the exodus of the slaves.”
“It won’t matter who protests if the king gives the order,” said Lucy. “And Balenol is just the beginning. Rasad wants to see Thorania become an empire, with mastery of the North and South Lands. He lured Eamon here, and Jocelyn and Kincaid, with the intention of weakening Kyona and Valoria in preparation.”
“Now I know why he didn’t care about leaving Thirl and missing the negotiations,” said Eamon furiously. “And they’ve been going so well. But he never intended for Thorania to honor any of the promises of peace and trade that the other advisors have been making.”
“Remember he doesn’t speak for the kingdom, Your Highness,” said Lady Yasmin quickly. “Those promises were made in good faith.”
“I’m not blaming your king for any of this,” said Eamon, waving a hand impatiently. “But Lucy’s right—if Rasad has harnessed dragon magic, it doesn’t matter what King Abner really wants. Rasad will get his way if we don’t intervene.”
Lady Yasmin still looked unsure, and Lucy was glad she had such faith in her monarch. But she didn’t know what they were dealing with.
“Don’t underestimate what dragon magic can do to people’s minds,” she said seriously. “My uncle was an evil man, and he almost destroyed Kyona from within when he used dragon magic to manipulate Eamon into doing things completely against his character.” She glanced up at Eamon. “Rasad was in league with Scanlon, by the way.”
He’d been staring down at her, his heart in his eyes at this first admission that she believed he hadn’t acted of his own free will. But surprise overtook the other emotions at her last comment.
“Never mind that,” Lucy hurried on, seeing a hundred questions rising to his lips. “We need to get moving.” She looked at his shoulder with concern. “Will you be all right to ride?”
“Of course I will,” scoffed Eamon. “It’s not as deep as it looks, and it’s not my fighting arm.”
“Which means it’s the same arm that’s already been injured,” Lucy reminded him, but Eamon shrugged it off.
“I’ll be fine.”
Lucy frowned, not entirely satisfied, but she didn’t press the point. The wound seemed to have stopped bleeding, at least. She glanced around. “Where did your horse get to?”
Eamon squinted in the morning sun, turning as he scoured the area. Following his gaze, Lucy appreciated for the first time just how beautiful their surroundings were. The red, purple, and yellow of the sandy slopes was even more breathtaking when amongst it than it had been riding along the edge of the range. It was a shame there was no time to enjoy it.
“There,” said Eamon, catching sight of his mount beyond a small rise of sand. He turned back to Lucy. “You can ride double with me, it’s too far to the capital for you to walk.”
“I’m sure that would be very romantic,” interjected Cody dryly, “but not efficient. Two of Rasad’s guards were mounted. Lucy and Matheus can take their horses.”
“What about you and Lady Yasmin?” Eamon asked, looking slightly put out.
“We rode here on steeds of our own, of course,” answered Lady Yasmin. She glanced around the group. “Let’s get going, if everyone’s well enough to ride.”
“I can understand you’re anxious to get back to Thirl and find out what Rasad is doing,” said Lucy quickly. “But I don’t think I can afford to go back to the capital. It may be too late to stop King Abner from giving the order, and I need to get to Nohl, and warn King Giles about what’s coming.”
Lady Yasmin frowned, tapping her fingers on the hilt of her blade. “I understand,” she said at last. “Your loyalty is to Balenol before Thorania.”
“Yes,” said Lucy softly. “I am, and always will be, Kyonan. But the Balenans are my people too. Especially the royal family.”
The words felt right as they came out. She felt a belated surge of anger about the way Rasad’s manipulation of her insecurities had sabotaged her attempt to connect with the kingdom that was responsible for half of who she was. She glanced at Eamon, and saw pride in his eyes. She had almost forgotten his fears that she wanted to stay in Thorania.
“Of course,” Lady Yasmin responded. “But you must realize the same isn’t true for me. I would like to help King Giles if I can, but I must go to Thirl without delay, and do what I can to stop Rasad’s plan at this end.”
“I’ll go with Lucy to Nohl,” said Eamon. He met her eyes ruefully. “We all know that if I go back to Thirl, Lord Rodanthe won’t let me out of his sight again. He certainly won’t let me go to Nohl. And I want to see this thing through.”
Cody frowned at Eamon thoughtfully, perhaps seeing the justice of Lord Rodanthe’s likely objections as much as Lucy could. But Cody must have realized the futility of trying to change Eamon’s mind, because he kept his peace.
“I’ll go too,” Matheus cut in quickly, but Lucy shook her head.
“You can’t, Matheus. Your injury is worse than Eamon’s. You need to have it looked at, and someone needs to warn Joss and Kincaid what’s happening.” She winced. “And Lord and Lady Rodanthe, I suppose.”
“I’ll go with you, Matheus,” said Cody. Lucy raised an eyebrow, surprised he wasn’t refusing to let her go without him.
He sighed in acknowledgment. “I don’t like splitting up,” he said. “But this is bigger than us, and your parents would understand that.” His eyes rested on her face, their expression serious. “Plus I know you can take care of yourself, if you don’t hold back.”
“I won’t,” Lucy promised sincerely. The time for downplaying her capabilities for the sake of appearances was long past.
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” said Eamon firmly.
Cody just grunted. Lucy knew he wasn’t one to be impressed by lover-like posturing. She was glad to know her mentor was putting his faith in her own skills, not in Eamon’s ability to protect her.
“Bypass the city to the north,” advised Lady Yasmin. “There’s a ford where you can cross the river. It’s your best bet if you want to get to Nohl quickly and undetected.”
“How will we find the ford?” Lucy asked doubtfully.
“I’ll send Yosef after you as soon as I reach Thirl,” Lady Yasmin promised. “He’ll show you.”
“We’re going to be riding hard,” objected Eamon. “We can’t afford to wait around for him.”
Lady Yasmin smiled indulgently. “He’ll catch up, don’t worry.” She turned to Cody. “Will you and Matheus be all right to follow at your own pace if I go ahead to Thirl?”
Cody nodded curtly, clearly seeing her impatience to reach her king. “Go.”
Without another word, Lady Yasmin turned away from the group. She put her fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. It wasn’t especially loud, but its melodic quaver carried across the still morning air.
For a moment after the note ended, there was silence. Then the sound of galloping hooves made them all turn their heads. A beautiful palomino stallion was thundering toward them, its coat seemingly made from the sand across which it pounded. Its focus was on Lady Yasmin, and as it approached, she strode forward, breaking into a run as the horse turned, slowing its pace but not stopping.
In front of her astonished audience, the noblewoman intercepted the horse, swinging herself onto its back in one fluid motion. The horse wore no saddle, and Lucy couldn’t for the life of her figure out what Lady Yasmin had grabbed in order to hoist herself up. It had been too quick. They all stared after the pair in silence as the horse resumed its gallop within moments, the two of them disappearing rapidly westward, toward Thirl.
“Wow,” breathed Matheus, after a prolonged moment.
“Yes,” Cody agreed, looking almost as dazed as his young companion. “Wow.”
Lucy tore her eyes from Lady Yasmin’s retreating form to look at her mentor. She didn’t know whether to laugh or stare at Cody’s starstruck expression as he watched the noblewoman ride away.
She remembered Cody’s description of the kind of woman who might make him take notice. Someone “more interested in adventure than in the cut of her dress”, if she recalled correctly. She had a feeling Cody had been “caught” at last.
“Well,” she said briskly, breaking the moment. “I can see why she doesn’t think her brother will have any trouble catching up with us. We need to go, Eamon.” The prince nodded, and she turned her attention to the other two. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
Matheus rolled his eyes. “There’s no time to waste on fussing, Lucy.”
“Go straight to Jocelyn and Kincaid,” she said, disregarding his words. “I don’t know for sure who else we can trust. Tell them everything, and whatever you do, stay together.” She frowned. “We’re going to be scattered enough as it is.” She met Cody’s eye. “Lord Rodanthe isn’t going to be happy.”
“You let me worry about that,” Cody said firmly. Lucy nodded gratefully, understanding his silent message that he would shield Matheus, and take whatever anger
might be directed toward them for bearing their news.
Lucy drew a breath, remembering Kincaid’s easy acceptance of his wife’s magical power. “You never know, Joss might be able to intervene, even if no one else can. Maybe she can use her power to change King Abner’s mind.”
She glanced over at Eamon, and was surprised by the discomfort suddenly obvious on his face. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly. She raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. “Things have been a little…weird for Joss and Kincaid while you’ve been away, that’s all. I just hope they won’t be too distracted to do whatever needs to be done.”
“Weird how?” Lucy asked ominously.
“Well…” Eamon looked more uncomfortable than ever at being asked to comment on his sister’s relationship with her husband. “Maybe it’s normal after the first few months of marriage, I don’t know. But there’s been a tension between them the last few days that I’ve never noticed before. I don’t know what the cause of it is, but Jocelyn’s been keeping to their rooms a lot, and…”
He trailed off, and Lucy pulled in a long breath. She had momentarily forgotten Rasad’s veiled comments about Kyona’s princess, but now a thrill of fear went through her. It sounded like Jocelyn was trying to fight whatever manipulation of her emotions Rasad was attempting, if she was hiding herself away most of the time.
But still, Eamon said there was tension. Were the advisor’s plans to drive a wedge between Kincaid and Jocelyn—and by extension Valoria and Kyona—advanced enough for him to move to the next step? The one where he arranged for Jocelyn’s death in order to wipe out Kyona’s succession altogether?
“Jocelyn’s in danger,” she said suddenly. She glanced at Eamon. “And I don’t think whatever tension you’ve witnessed is normal. Rasad’s behind it.”
Eamon still looked uncomfortable. “I don’t think it was Rasad,” he said awkwardly. “There’s this man—I don’t think he’s a member of the court, but he seems to be wealthy, at least. He started paying her a lot of attention about a week ago, and—I’m not saying she encouraged him, exactly,” he added hastily, seeing the look on Lucy’s face. “But she didn’t rebuff him quite as strongly as I would have expected, and—”
Downfall of the Curse Page 37
