“Ho!” A voice called from the trees, just before a burly man in a short cloak stepped into their path.
Miri shifted her shoulders, but whether she meant to go for her dagger or ride the man down, Cass couldn’t say. But she drew up short, her face flashing in some indiscernible emotion as she glanced back at Cass.
“It’s you!” The man’s arms went wide, and he gave a deep and barking laugh. “Well met, young friends.” It was Hugh, the trader from the inn.
Miri slowed her horse to a broken stop as Cass drew up beside her. “Well met.” She’d managed to sound as if the greeting was light and friendly, as if she and Cass had been on a playful run. But her gaze flicked to the trees, searching.
Hugh noticed. “Just out for a hunt,” he said, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder. “Ginger’s got me gathering roots while she tends to the horses. Boss of a woman, she is.” His arms came to his waist as he smiled. “But don’t I love her.”
Hugh leaned to glance beyond Miri and Cass then straightened. “So do tell me, lad, how, at a pace like that, we’ve managed to get ahead of you.”
Miri’s gaze hit Cass, and Hugh chuckled, apparently mistaking the exchange. “Oh, but I do forget.” He waved a hand. “Forgive me, lass. I mean no insult. Ginger is always riding me for speaking the wrong thing.” He stepped closer, as if they’d moved to friendly conversation, though Miri and Cass had barely said a word. “Come, join us for supper. Let me make it up to you.”
Miri cleared her throat. “We appreciate that, Hugh, but we—”
“No,” Hugh said, “I know you’re newly wed and require your privacy, but Ginger will skin me alive if she finds out I came across you and let you go.” He nodded. “Absolutely. I insist.”
Miri glanced again at Cass, who had bitten down at least three responses. The kingsmen were looking for a group of two: a man and a maid. They would not be as obvious a target in a group, but they would be risking Ginger and Hugh, should it come to a fight. Miri seemed to recognize the reasoning in his answering gaze. Her eyes seemed to remind Cass that the fires behind them could happen to anyone in the woods, not just those who aided criminals.
“We don’t want to trouble you,” Miri said quietly, but the words were a concession. She’d decided to give in to Hugh and face the kingsmen should they come.
Hugh led Cass and Miri to their camp and an enthusiastic welcome from Ginger. She took the horses and shooed the guests off to a small stream nearby to wash for dinner.
“I’ll throw on extra fish. It’s no trouble at all,” she promised at Miri’s protestations, and soon enough, Cass and Miri were knelt beside the water, a shallow trickle that had swelled to something usable with the aid of the recent rains.
“We can leave now on foot,” Cass offered.
Miri frowned at him. “The more we run, the more others will suffer in our place.”
“Others will suffer regardless.”
Cass’s tone was hard, and he regretted it the moment he saw the recognition on Miri’s face. She’d been sheltered from much of the goings on in the kingdom by Nan and Thom. The news she did receive had been carefully filtered of details like torture for sport. Miri had seen enough of the kingsmen to know the truth of the matter, and she’d been raised by a woman who laid bare the faults of men, but she’d not realized the scope of the kingsmen’s exploits and the freedom they’d been given by their lords.
“So we should run?”
Miri’s words were soft, her fingers hidden in the folds of her cloak. Cass shook his head. “It wouldn’t matter. We bring no more risk to Hugh and Ginger than they are risking alone.” In fact, the four together held better odds, as the kingsmen preferred to cull the weak from the herd and catch stragglers alone and unaware. “Besides,” Cass said, “Hugh’s already spoken highly of treason.”
Miri smiled, but the tension didn’t leave her eyes. “There is quite a difference between talk over drinks and facing down an armed man.” Miri’s gaze lingered on Cass, and he forced himself to look away.
It was plain that neither had forgotten their earlier words. Every time they looked at one another, it held the reminder that they should not, and it was only made worse because they’d owned to knowing it was wrong. But Miri had also given him trust. She’d shared the details of her mother’s murder, finally, and the secret those details held was far worse than he suspected. There was little left to hide from or to protect. One king was dead, and the second would soon follow. By the end of summer, it would be the rest, or it would be Miri and Cass. If it was the latter, the hopes of the remaining queensguard would die with them.
Miri rinsed her hands in the stream and shook the cool water free before patting her palms on her cloak. She stood, spinning the gold band on her finger while she waited, and Cass hastily splashed water over his face and arms.
They returned to the campsite to find Hugh and Ginger setting up a second tent. Hugh smiled, too broad for any good to come of it, and Ginger elbowed him hard in the ribs.
“Privacy,” she said proudly. “I told Hugh we’d not be having you feeling uncomfortable at our expense, and we had an old one in the pack we’ve been planning to trade at Stormhold. I am nothing if not a good host.” Ginger brushed her palms together, as if the matter were entirely settled, and pointed Miri and Cass toward the fire.
Cass wondered if the couple had heard the bells at Kirkwall. Surely, they’d not been far enough away by then to be out of earshot. But if they’d been troubled by the idea of kingsmen on the hunt, they did not appear concerned enough to forgo a fire and risk drawing them in.
Miri settled onto the small rug on the ground, leaving room for Cass at her side. Had he thought their constant nearness could be no more difficult than being alone with Miri had, he was wrong. It seemed Hugh and Ginger would be forcing them even closer than before, newly wed as they were. Cass and Miri would eat with the couple, at least, and spend a single night at most. Then by dawn, they would ride from the trail and into the deeper forest.
Cass had sworn a vow. He would uphold it, even if it cost him everything.
Chapter 19
Miri woke in the hours before dawn to the warm darkness of a small, tattered tent. She’d laughed with Hugh and Ginger, eaten far too much salted fish, and had a bit of a headache from the smoke of a damp wood fire. She was tangled inside two thin blankets, unsure where one ended and the other began. Once Ginger had forced both Miri and Cass inside, her pretend husband had quietly situated himself lying opposite her and facing the fabric of the tent. Miri had removed her boots in the night, and as she lay very still, she felt the warmth of Cass’s palm against her bare ankle as he slept. He would be mortified, and she couldn’t make up her mind whether to attempt sliding her foot away and risk waking him or to leave it there and risk enjoying it. She had never had a man’s hand on her ankle. It was very unlike holding his hand.
She’d just decided to slip it away when she heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Cass’s hand tightened on her flesh, the pad of his thumb pressing into the back of her leg. There was a moment of stillness as they listened, then Cass’s hand slid from her skin before a rustle of fabric and the sound of steel indicated he’d readied his sword. It was more of a knife-fight situation, by her judgment, but only because she had every intention of forcing the kingsmen down from their horses. Because she was sure it was kingsmen who were coming. No one else would ride up on a camp in the night.
Miri didn’t bother with her boots. She would rather be caught barefooted than half-laced into either one.
The sound of the galloping horses drew nearer, then the tent was ripped from the ground. The night was dark, but the tent had been darker, and Miri’s eyes adjusted quickly. A shadowed form towered over them. It was the outline of a man on a giant beast. The man’s half helm glinted in the moonlight, and Miri had the realization at the sight of the emblem that she very much felt as if she were being pinned by the threat of a wild bear.
Cass was on his feet, his s
word low and his movements disoriented.
“Drop it,” the kingsman said.
Cass tossed the short sword to the ground, and Miri’s mouth tightened as she fought a smile when she saw that it had been hers. The sword had never been his intended weapon at all—he’d held it only as a distraction. Miri stumbled to her feet, untangling her limbs from the warmth of her blankets.
Across the camp rose a shout and a grumble as Hugh shared words with another kingsman. Three sat on horseback near the fire, and two more waited near the trees.
“Aye,” Hugh muttered, stomping closer to Miri and Cass. “I heard ye the first time. We’re going.”
The kingsmen had them corralled in their group of four. Miri had a dagger in the sheath at her hip, and two more waited beneath the blankets at her feet.
“What do you want with us?” Hugh growled. Ginger gave him a swift elbow to the ribs, and he flinched. “Woman, they dragged us out of our beds before dawn. It’s my right to ask why.”
“Search them,” the kingsman ordered.
Another dropped from his horse and stuck a torch into the embers of the campfire. As it flared to life, each had their first glimpses of the others. The torch passed in front of Ginger. Her skin was too dark and her limbs too long for her to be the maid. Hugh’s broad, muscled torso was only covered by a thin shirt, and they were clearly not the pair they were after.
The guard slowed on Cass, but Miri could see the kingsman was not one of the three they’d fought in the alley—should those men have even awoken yet. But on her, small and thin, the kingsman held his light. “Down to your shift.”
Ginger gasped, and Hugh threw his arm out as if to prevent her from acting as Cass stepped between Miri and the torch.
“I don’t know what you’re about,” Cass said coolly, “but perhaps you should reconsider.”
The kingsman gave him a solid backhand to the jaw. Cass didn’t fall but made to stagger back, and Miri’s dagger was out of her sheath and in his hand behind his hip.
“She is my wife,” Cass said.
“She is on king’s land. She belongs first to the king.” The voice came from one of the kingsmen on horseback. He said the words as if they had been said countless times before. “Off with it,” he ordered Miri.
Miri had no idea what precisely they were looking for, but she was certain her ribs and legs were heavily bruised. She did not step from behind Cass.
“What are you after beneath her clothes?” Hugh’s voice sounded like a warning, and Miri suddenly regretted accepting hospitality from a man itching to call out treason.
“A criminal.”
The kingsman’s tone brooked no argument, but that didn’t deter Hugh. “You’ll nay find one here. We’ve been traveling together since Smithsport, up to see my cousin in Ironwood and trade for goods.”
Miri felt her mouth go dry and saw the stillness in Cass’s shoulders. Hugh was lying for them—or possibly to spite the kingsmen.
“Asking a woman in the woods to disrobe.” Ginger tsked.
The kingsman’s gaze snapped to hers. “Do you question an order of the king?”
The stillness spread through the clearing then as each of them understood the threat.
The kingsman with the torch pressed it toward Cass, forcing him to either step back or act against the man. Cass pressed back toward Miri, but she stepped to the side. She would not watch a single one of her group die on her account.
The torch came closer. “Do we have sympathizers among us?” the kingsman purred.
Miri could feel the interest in his tone and his desire to fight. She could taste a thousand more satisfying responses, but all that came was a cold “The queen is dead.”
The kingsman with the torch did not let his gaze stray, but Miri’s words were for the nearest on horseback. He was the head of their little gang, and he would be the one she went for first. If they killed five kingsmen, she wasn’t certain how far they would get. As she stood facing the torchlight, she wasn’t certain she cared.
Cass’s hand shifted on the dagger, as if he knew she was about to cross a line. The kings would discover their missing men. Miri’s time in the shadows was nearly up.
The nearest on horseback stared at Miri, his patience evidently up. He reached for his sword, a deadly-looking thing with a bear-carved pommel, but a sudden sharp call came from the trees. It was followed by shouting, and the kingsmen waiting near the trees drew their animals to face the oncoming threat.
But it was not a threat. From the trees came another kingsman, tall and thin. “The girl,” the newcomer shouted. His hand shifted in an odd gesture, one Miri had seen before. “She’s been found. King’s orders to bring her in.”
Miri’s gaze returned to the kingsman on horseback. He was watching her face. Miri supposed it was fortunate he’d not been watching Cass instead. She waited for the kingsman to say, “Take her,” and it all to be over. He seemed to be considering just such a thing. But he had received an order. The king’s word took precedence.
“Go,” the kingsman ordered his men, giving Miri a final look that made her feel as if there were nothing final about it at all.
The torch was tossed carelessly at Miri’s feet, and as a blanket caught fire, Cass kicked the stick away and stomped the flame. The kingsmen disappeared into the trees.
“We should move.” Hugh was suddenly between Cass and Miri, his voice low, tone severe. “They’ll be back.”
Ginger shifted closer. “They found her. Whoever they were looking for.”
Hugh’s dark eyes were on the trees. “They don’t need reason to kill or take captive. Not when sorcerers pay for blood.”
They would be back. Because Miri was still free and the girl had not been found. Her gaze met Cass’s. The kingsmen would be back, because the newcomer who’d drawn them off had been Terric. Not a kingsman at all.
Ginger rushed through the camp, rolling their gear in a hasty mess as Hugh tied it to the horses. Miri laced her boots where she had stood, her hands trembling, and Cass knelt beside her, placing her dagger onto the ground at her side.
“Keep it close,” he warned. “We need to get into the forests of Ironwood.” Before the kingsmen were back on their trail, he meant. Terric had given Cass a warning. Miri didn’t know what it meant.
“Dawn,” he said, answering the unspoken question.
It was how long they had. Every moment would count.
Cass moved to gather her sword then shoved their blankets into a pack. He was tossing Miri astride Wolf before she had a chance to so much as think, but it was not a situation to ponder. It was a time to run.
Chapter 20
They rode hard through the darkness, their legs and the horses damp with dew as the sun rose and the light of dawn peered through the trees in a hazy orange glow. Summer heat was soon upon them, drying the damp and forcing the buzzing gnats and biting flies into the shadow of the trees. Then Miri and Cass were also within those shadows, their trails disappearing through thick brush and over patches of rock. They’d made it, for the time being, and relief swelled with exhaustion to steal the tension from Miri’s limbs.
Hugh and Ginger had been quiet, either anxious about meeting the kingsmen again or sensing the tension in Miri and Cass. But by late afternoon, Hugh drew his horse to a stop, suggesting that a break and some food would do them all well. He did not build a fire.
As Miri stretched her legs, Ginger approached with a proffered waterskin. “Are you well, Bean?” Miri glanced up at the woman, and Ginger explained, “I can see that you’re strong. That doesn’t mean we all didn’t have a fright.”
“Yes,” Miri said. “I appreciate the concern, but I am well.”
Ginger squinted at her for a moment before apparently deciding Miri spoke the truth. She gestured for Miri to hold out her hands then poured water over Miri’s palms. As Miri rinsed her hands, Ginger splashed her own face with the cool water then shook her head briskly with a noise of relief. “It isn’t safe on the trail th
ese days, but I cannot say it’s any safer inside the kingdoms. Not when even behind the walls, you run into the king’s dogs searching for blood.”
Hugh and Cass stood with the horses out of earshot.
Miri asked, “Have you run into many?”
Ginger’s hand settled solidly above the curve of her hip. “Seven stopped us the last trip, just me and Hugh alone. Didn’t think we’d get out of that mess, I’ll tell you, but apparently, I’m not young enough to sell for blood.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Likely clear Hugh would put up a fight too. The kingsmen are damnable, but they’re not fools.” Her eyes came back to Miri, her lashes long and dark beneath a sharp brow. “I know you are newly married and relish being alone, but it’s not the time to be traveling without company, as young and pretty as you are.”
Miri smiled at her. Ginger could not have been much older than Miri and was more than merely pretty. But Ginger didn’t know that Cass and Miri were capable of handling a few kingsmen, should it come to it. “I’m glad to have you both,” Miri said, hoping it was not a mistake and that they didn’t end up killed for being in a princess’s company.
“The queen may be dead,” Ginger said, “but the kings are fools if they think they’ll ever eradicate her supporters.”
Miri startled at the words, until she remembered she’d spoken them to the guards the night before. Ginger didn’t know who Miri was, only that she’d said the words to save her life. The kingsmen had forced her.
“Come now, let’s get some food in you,” Ginger offered.
It was more than a week’s ride from Kirkwall to Ironwood, but Hugh and Ginger had traveled enough to know the best routes. They’d stopped at another inn near the city, and everyone inside treated the traders like friends. The couple didn’t have a cart or a wagon and didn’t carry obvious stock, but Miri soon discovered they traded in small trinkets and jewels. It was not something they spoke of, likely to avoid being robbed, but she saw an exchange with the innkeeper and heard a discussion between Hugh and Cass. It seemed they traded jewels fit for lords.
Seven Ways to Kill a King Page 13
