Elder Carrack bowed, confusion etched into his brow. His hair was as dark as his eyes, both a flinty gray. His wings were a shade of pink that I had previously thought red. Seeing him in comparison to Flynn, I could clearly see the difference. Compared to the deep ruby of Flynn’s wings, the colors of his was almost a pale rose. “My Prince, what disturbing information could that have been?”
Beside him, Mistress Lynn and Cecilia had their mouths twisted in wry disgust. Their lips were pressed tight together, their eyes hard as they stared at the table. They knew what was about to come, and they were very unhappy. I was surprised that one of the princes had thought to order them not to announce the reason for the visit. It did make sense. They would get a more telling reaction if the Elders did not have a chance to prepare.
“You have bought a slave contract. As if this was not bad enough, you have hidden from the king that a young female exists who has yet to bear wings.” Elder Carrack’s face went hard as stone, his eyes hot with anger. The king stood on the dais, reaching a hand out to his son.
“Prince Suneel, please explain. None of our young females have wings before coming of age. How is that anything the Elder Carrack is hiding?” The king’s voice was smooth, tempering the whip that been in Neel’s voice.
Neel again bowed to his father. “My king, I understand your confusion. I never would have believed it had I not seen it for myself. A young female of approximately 24 summers is wingless.” Gasps echoed from the dais to bounce around the chamber. Most of the Elder’s hung their heads in shame, though Elder Carrack’s expression of hate and disgust did not falter.
“Instead of bringing her to the palace for the healers to examine,” Neel continued, his voice strong and hard, “the Elders of Scottsdale allowed her parents to sell her to them as a slave. They then sold that contract to the Valkyrie training hall. For the past eleven years, this female has been working as a maid in the Valkyrie training hall. The worst of it, however, is that she has been used as a training subject.”
Lady Nadine hissed from the dais. She stood, moving to see Neel better. “A training subject? They’re using a wingless girl as a training subject? And she’s survived eleven years?” Her brow was creased in confusion and concern.
Neel nodded and motioned for Master Healer Jaison to approach. Master Healer Jaison stepped to his side and bowed towards the dais. “My king, my ladies, the princes found the girl this morning. They stopped the Valkyries from killing her. Apparently, they had been repeatedly dropping her from mid-air.”
The king and Lady Nadine hissed. Lady Dierdre had tears streaming down her face while she rubbed a hand across her stomach. “Is she in the infirmary?” The king asked Master Jaison. Elder Carrack was livid, realizing that I had been brought from Scottsdale to the palace.
“No, Your Majesty.” Master Jaison answered, only briefly removing his eyes from the Elders. “I examined her a few hours ago. The reason she has survived as long as she had, is that she has a remarkable gift.”
Elder Carrack interrupted Master Jaison, stating gruffly, “That female is my property. I alone paid for her contract from her parents. She should never have been removed from Scottsdale, she is tied to the grounds of the training hall.”
Master Jaison’s gentle face was twisted in a sneer as he watched the Elder. “The princes heard that statement from Mistress Lynn. However, they decided her injuries were grave enough, and her condition unique enough, that she needed to be evaluated by a strong Healer.”
Elder Carrack again interrupted, his face growing redder by the moment. “She had been evaluated by every Healer in Scottsdale. The little bitch is cursed!”
Gasps came from the dais, Lady Nadine looked furious, and Lady Dierdre simply continued to allow slow tears to trail down her cheeks as she stroked the babe in her belly. The king strode to her side, wiping them away with a gentle finger. “That is enough of that language.” His command was strong and forceful. “You will not address any females in that manner in our presence.”
Elder Carrack bowed to the king, his face not losing any of its color. “My apologies, Your Majesty, My ladies.”
Master Jaison’s face was grim. “The Healers in Scottsdale must need refresher training. Her case is extremely unusual. However, it is not the first time a female of our kind has gone this long without wings.” Master Jaison bowed again to the king. “Your Majesty, more study is still necessary before I give a full evaluation or diagnosis. However, during her evaluation, I found out something extremely significant. The female has an extremely powerful gift for healing herself. As of the moment, she is completely healed despite being near death this morning.”
At this, everyone in the hall stared at Master Jaison in disbelief. The king was the first to respond, his words slow as he tried to make sense of what Master Jaison had said. “She is fully healed? And this happened this morning? Could her injuries have been less than what you had originally thought?”
Master Jaison shook his head. “No, Your Majesty. The female was injured a little after breakfast this morning. I can guarantee you that she had a broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs, internal bleeding, several fractures in both her arms and legs, as well as a fractured skull.”
Lady Nadine strode forward on the dais, her voice hard and her eyes flashing. “That female was tortured. Why in the world would you allow this? The few that we use as training subjects in the Valkyrie halls are criminals! It is their choice to be used as training subjects rather than serving in the mines or having their wings removed.”
The king held a hand up to his lady, trying to calm her temper. “Hold, please, Lady Nadine. I am trying to understand Master Jaison’s words. She is completely healed, sir?”
Master Jaison turned towards me and held out a hand. The princes did not look happy at his revealing my presence. However, they acquiesced to his request and stepped aside. Slowly, I stepped from the shadows. The king’s face was grave as he looked at me. Lady Nadine’s face was sad and sober. Lady Melissa, however, gasped and hissed in shock. “She really is wingless! It’s indecent!”
Elder Carrack’s face was edging towards purple, as Mistress Lynn and Cecilia gasped in shock at my appearance. Mistress Lynn jumped to her feet, her eyes hard. “What are you wearing?” she cried in shock. “You know the law. You’re to keep your back covered at all times! Look at how you have offended Lady Melissa.”
I did not speak, instead, bowing deeply and then kneeling before the dais. I left my head down, but I did not try to cover my back from their vision. Lady Dierdre’s tears had quieted on the dais. “Wait.” Her voice was soft, still choked with tears though she no longer cried. “I remember her.”
The king turned to stare at his lady. “You know this female?” His tone was incredulous.
Lady Dierdre stepped closer, her face scrunched in concentration as she stared at me. “You worked on the grounds at Scottsdale. I was only there a few times, many years ago. I remember being surprised that one so young was working on the Valkyrie grounds. You used to come and watch me shoot.”
I leaned forward, laying my head on the cool marble of the floor. “I am honored beyond words that Your Ladyship remembers me.” My words were hardly more than a whisper.
“I had thought you were underage, that you worked at the Valkyrie Hall because your parents did. I didn’t realize that you were wingless.” Her tone was still gentle as she watched me. “I knew you would come every day to watch me. You were so fascinated by my trick shooting. It was quite a balm to my senses to have someone as enthralled as you as an audience.” I said nothing to her compliments, simply remaining genuflected on the hard floor.
The king stepped closer, running gentle fingers down Lady Dierdre’s back. “Come closer, youngling. I do not believe I caught your name through this proceeding.”
I stayed where I was initially, keeping my voice as steady as I could as I said, “My name is Emberly, Your Majesty. You honor me greatly by asking.” The king raised a brow imperiously,
and I scooted forward on the floor, reaching the edge of the dais where he and Lady Dierdre stood. I laid my head on the edge of the dais, just brushing their feet in a show of respect.
King Anyil smiled down at me, then look back up to his sons. “You said that you rescued her. Were they actually training?”
Blaine stepped forward this time, his eyes cold and hard as he looked straight at Cecilia. “No, Your Majesty. No actual training maneuvers were being used. Fifteen Valkyries were being led by the head trainee in torturing Emberly.”
Lady Nadine’s eyes flashed. “Elder Carrack, Mistress Lynn, please explain. These are startling allegations. You sold a young child as a slave to torture without permission from the Crown. You did not bring to the Crown’s attention the fact that one of your residents was wingless past the cutoff. You have allowed torture and abuse to reign rampant in your town and training barracks. You seem to have had no intent to disclose this female to the Crown, nor to protect her in any way.”
Elder Carrack’s tone turned wheedling, as he spread his hands in front of him. “My lady, her parents planned to simply abandon the girl. As I said, every healer in Scottsdale examined the girl. They all came to the same conclusion – she was defective. It was an illness or a curse. We did not want to expose your Majesty to this should it be a spreading illness. Being defective, there is no use for her in our society.”
He turned a hard glare at me from his position at the head table. “For the past eleven years, we have given this abomination food, clothing, and a place in our society. No other person in our town would house this girl. We put her among the Valkyries as she could not interfere with any other younglings. The Valkyries could watch for signs of her curse spreading.”
His expression slid from angry to oily as he turned back to face the dais. “Unfortunately, when I put the girl under Mistress Lynn’s tutelage, I was unaware of the fact that she was a criminal.”
I couldn’t stop the gasp that slid from my lips at his allegation. Blaine growled, and Hunter took a step towards his brother, laying a restraining hand on his arm. Blaine’s voice snapped out, hard as a whip. “A criminal? What crime has she committed?”
Elder Carrack bowed in Blaine’s direction. “Unfortunately, Your Highness, she has committed many. The chit has required constant discipline. As she has aged, her preference for criminal activity has only grown. If I brought her before the Crown, I knew that she would have been sent to Executioner’s Tower.”
Mistress Lynn stepped forward, laying her hand on Elder Carrack’s arm. Her voice was syrupy sweet, her deep brown wings fanning gently behind her. “The girl is a thief. An abuser. She has stolen food and other items from our trainees. She has a terrible attitude. She has no respect for rank. She refuses to obey orders from the Valkyries or the Elders.”
Lady Nadine raised an imperious brow. “Even if that were true, that does not excuse an execution. The penalty of death is only to be dealt by the Crown.” Her voice was hard as she studied the Elder before her, her eyes straying down to my bent form at her feet.
Mistress Lynn executed a stylish bow and waved a hand for Cecilia. “My lady, of course. The events of this morning were not an execution. They were a challenge.”
Blaine gasped behind me, and Flynn stepped forward to help Hunter hold him. “A challenge? You have to be kidding me,” Blaine spat, contempt dripping from every word.
Cecilia had come to stand beside Mistress Lynn. “Your Highness, I am not sure what lies this girl has been feeding you. While I slept last night, this girl snuck into my barrack and attempted to pull my feathers.”
The king hissed and his ladies gasped. “She tried to remove your feathers?” The king’s tone was incredulous. “Why in the world would she do that?”
Cecilia’s high voice was thick as she responded, “I am unsure, your Majesty. My only thought is that she resents me as Head Trainee. When I stopped her from pulling my feathers, I tried to talk to her. She was in a complete rage. It was nearly frightening!” Cecilia’s eyes were wide and sheened with tears as she appealed to the court. “When I told her that I would need to report her to Mistress Lynn and Elder Carrack, she instead challenged me. I did not want to accept, who in their right minds would challenge the Head Trainee with no training, but our laws say that I could not refuse.”
I was doing the best I could to keep my face blank. I couldn’t believe how many lies they were telling! I had known they would do almost anything to stay out of trouble with the king, but this? At this rate, I would be lucky if I got a fast execution. I studied the people around me as much as I could with my head still bowed.
Lady Melissa appeared to completely believe the story that Cecilia was spouting. Her face conveyed remorse and disgust as she studied Cecilia. Lady Nadine’s lips were pursed, her eyes considering as she watched the Elders. The king’s face was impassive. Lady Dierdre had turned her back on the group, facing the rising moon out the windows rather than the allegations that were determining my fate. The other Elders continued to stare at the table before them, none speaking in favor of Elder Carrack’s story but none refuting him either.
The king’s voice was hard as he examined the members of the room. “These allegations are extremely serious on both sides. I need time to consider everything that has been presented to me.”
Jett’s shocked cry of, “Your Majesty!” echoed behind me.
The king shot him a hard look. “I appreciate that you rescued the girl, and brought her to us. I am extremely interested in what Master Jaison will find in his research. However, if this girl is a criminal and if she did indeed challenge the Head Trainee, there are other things to consider.”
Master Jaison’s face was strained and sad as he stood beside the princes. The hopelessness in his eyes seemed to seal my fate. Of course, the king would believe his Elders and Valkyries. Yes, the princes had stepped in, but they could not vouch for a lifetime of behavior, only the few minutes they had seen. I was sure that there would be some repercussions on the Elders for failing to report me, no doubt. That wouldn’t help me in Executioner’s Tower, however.
“Until such time as I am done making my decision, the Elder’s shall return to Scottsdale. I will call for you when I have a decision. Emberly will return with them.” The king’s eyes remained on Elder Carrack as he spoke.
Calls of “Your Majesty!” and “Father!” all echoed from the princes as they rushed towards me.
The king raised an eyebrow at his sons and lifted a hand. “Enough. We will continue this discussion in private. For now, Emberly will return to Scottsdale. However, there will be changes. Emberly will be placed in seclusion. She will have no maid duties nor act as training subject. She shall be fed and cared for as a regular citizen. No one is to harm her.” The king’s eyes were hard as he studied Elder Carrack, Mistress Lynn, and Cecilia. “I emphasize this strongly. No one shall harm her. I will be sending a guard unit along with you. They will remain outside of the building she is housed in. Should there be any accusations of crimes committed during her lockdown, my Valkyries will handle it.”
While I appreciated the fact that the king was trying to keep me safe, I knew it wouldn’t work. My fate had been sealed as soon as he announced he was sending me back to Scottsdale. I knew the Elder’s would come up with some scenario that was “beyond their control” that resulted in my death. They would never allow me to stay alive and potentially testify against them.
“In the meantime,” the king continued, “Master Jaison will continue his research. The princes will attend my chambers shortly so that we can continue our discussion.” The Elders, Mistress Lynn, and Cecilia all bowed deeply to the king as he and his ladies strode from the dais.
The princes all rushed to circle me where I knelt on the floor. “Emberly!” Jett’s voice was thick as he reached down to stroke my hair. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that he would send you back to Scottsdale.”
I tried to smile up at him. “Of course you couldn’t know. Thank you for
letting me be here for this meeting. I’ll always treasure the time we had.”
Hunter’s eyebrows creased, his green eyes confused as he looked at me. “We’ll see you shortly. You don’t need to say goodbye,” he tried to reassure me.
I smiled at him, letting my gaze wander to each of them in turn. Flynn’s red braid was coming undone, ruby and garnet strands spilling out along his shoulders and cheeks. There was a flush on them, and his eyes were flashing. Hunter’s wings were shaking gently, the emerald feathers wafting his pine scent deeply into my face. His eyes were hooded, his dark eyebrows pulled down tightly as he studied me. Neel’s sky-colored eyes were wide in his bronze face. The hard planes were tense as he tightened his jaw. Blaine’s citrine eyes were narrowed, his lush mouth pursed in concern and anger as he watched the Elder’s over my shoulder. Jett’s purple-black eyes were soft as he looked at me, his mouth tight, his sleek dark hair ruffled under the circlet he wore.
“Of course,” I said again, trying my best to smile. I dredged up the feel of Jett’s wings against my back and the way it had felt to fly in Flynn’s arms, the way Hunter laughed, and Neel smiled, the look on Blaine’s face when I told him I loved books. I let the memories lend more strength to the smile I sent them, let it travel up to my eyes. They had given me so much, the least I could give them was this moment. They didn’t need to know what was coming. I took the hand that Jett extended to me as I stood, enjoying the heat from his skin against my suddenly cold hands.
Master Jaison stepped forward, reaching out to brush a lock of my hair back from my face. “I’ll search as quickly as I can.” His eyes were sad as they met mine. He was intelligent and could see as well as I could what was to come. Like me, however, he wasn’t willing to say anything in contrast to the king in front of the princes.
I tried to keep my voice bright. “Your father is sending Valkyries, it will be fine. You can’t keep his Majesty waiting for you.” I waved a hand over my shoulder as I strode towards the Elders. Standing far from Cecilia and Mistress Lynn, I waited patiently for the Valkyrie squad to come and escort us back to Scottsdale.
The Valkyrie's Princes Page 7
