King’s Wrath

by Fiona McIntosh

  “I honestly don’t know. Perhaps.”

  “But his scorn hurt her,” Elka mused.

  “That’s right. When he didn’t come back for her or show the slightest care about the child she was carrying she wanted to make him pay for using her. And by then she did know his position and I suspect it offended her to realize she was carrying a royal child in her belly that no one wanted to acknowledge.”

  “How was he supposed to know she was pregnant?”

  “I gather she sent word somehow.”

  “Did she really believe he would look after her?”

  He nodded. “I think she did,” he said softly. “She was a beautiful woman in her youth and she came from an old, very proud line. I imagine she convinced herself that a marriage between a Steppes woman and a Valisar king could work.”

  Elka shook her head. “And you?”

  “Me?”

  “Do you think marriages between different cultures can work?”

  “I do. I’m proving it. We have mixed marriages all over the empire. It’s just a matter of breaking down old attitudes.”

  “So in your eyes, Gavriel and I aren’t such a ridiculous match?”

  She said it lightly, but Loethar took her seriously. “You are a bad match, you two. He doesn’t love you romantically, Elka. He loves you as his best friend.”

  He watched the amusement and the interest in their conversation in her eyes wilt and found a grin for her. “So, marry me instead, Elka. I think we’d make a fine couple and a great example to the rest of the empire.”

  “You’re married already, and a father.”

  “I despise my wife and we are estranged. My daughter is dead. Truly, what a ruin I am.” He kept his tone dry, afraid of sounding self-pitying.

  “I’m really very sorry about your daughter,” Elka said quietly.

  Loethar was surprised to feel his throat close up. He swallowed hard and nodded, trying to keep his emotions in check.

  “Forgive me, I don’t mean to upset you.”

  “You’re not, Elka,” he said softly. “You’re a comfort. I haven’t yet grieved for my daughter. I needed a son for political reasons and it was a disappointment that a daughter was born. And then to hear that she was sickly and likely to succumb . . . I walked away. I had just lost my mother and Freath; I couldn’t bear to look upon my daughter and love her if I was only going to lose her. But I regret that decision now.” He shrugged. “Here, beneath the sky, away from all that and with a clearer view of life, I wish I could hold her, tell her that I love her and am proud to be her father.” His throat felt tight again, and he cleared it. “My true father didn’t love me and I just gave the same hurt to my daughter.”

  Elka looked shaken. “I’m so sorry.”

  He gave her a searching glance then shook his head hopelessly. “Don’t be. I deserve to suffer.”

  She smiled quizzically. “You’re a very complicated man, Loethar. Lucky for you life is a lot less complex in the mountains.” She sighed. “Come on, let’s find somewhere safe but lower. You’ll feel better almost immediately once we descend but you’ll still need to rest.”

  “Excellent news. Now you’ll have to forgive me, Elka, because right now I have to—”

  He didn’t finish what he was going to say. Instead, he turned quickly, and violently retched.

  She sighed. “Men are so weak,” she muttered, and won a growl from her companion.

  Back at the camp the men had gathered around Leo. It had taken him a long time to assemble them, but he was determined to gauge their reaction as a group, hoping one would give away the truth if they knew what their leader was up to. And he had to be careful about it, for each of these men, he was sure, remained intensely loyal to the outlaw.

  “None of you have any idea where Kilt has gone?” he asked, masking the disbelief in his voice, turning it into concern. “I was with him only a short time ago, just before he sent me to speak with Loethar. I need to know what he wants us to do. I have to report to him.”

  “We haven’t even seen Kilt or Jewd for hours,” Tern replied.

  Leo held his tongue with difficulty. Tern was doing a good job at disguising the stiffness in his tone but Leo had spent many anni learning how to see past the obvious. “Well, I’m sure they’ll let us know soon enough what they’re up to,” he finally said, deciding it was better to appear confused in return for remaining close to the only family he’d known in a decade. “What now?”

  “We’re moving camp,” Tern replied. “It’s no longer safe here.”

  “Really? We weren’t followed,” Gavriel said.

  Tern shook his head. “Kilt never takes chances. In fact, we’re splitting up.”

  “What?” Leo, who had been sitting down, trying to remain casual, jumped to his feet. “Who ordered that?”

  The men around him began to mutter between themselves.

  “No one did, majesty,” Tern said and Leo noted with satisfaction Tern’s use of his title. “This is what we do if we feel in any way threatened. It’s a precaution. We will re-group.”

  “When?”

  Tern shrugged. “Whenever. You know how it is. We always seem to find one another.”

  “What should I do?”

  “You are welcome to come with me, majesty. I would consider it an honor.”

  Leo had to think. He glanced at Gavriel. So long apart hadn’t changed that bond they’d shared through his childhood. He could see that Gavriel didn’t believe a word of what was being said here.

  “No, thank you. I might wait here in case Kilt returns. I have things to tell him. He would expect it of me, I think. I’ve made too many mistakes recently and I don’t want to disappoint him again.”

  Tern nodded unhappily. “As you wish, highness. De Vis, can I leave you to protect the king?”

  “It’s what I was born to do apparently,” Gavriel replied. He said it lazily but Leo could hear the barb in it.

  “We’ll carry on then,” Tern said, and motioned to the men to continue their plans for dispersal.

  As they moved away, Gavriel arrived alongside Leo. “They’re lying.”

  “I know.”

  “Why?”

  “Kilt got to them.” Leo’s face twisted in anger. “He knows what we were planning.”

  “How?”

  “I think you’ve forgotten just how sharp Kilt is. He and Loethar are well suited for their cunning minds.” He grimaced. “All the more reason we can’t let them meet.”

  “Leo, you have to trust me when I say that Elka will not permit Loethar to do this . . . this . . .”

  “Trammeling,” Leo offered.

  “Exactly. And even if she did entertain such an idea, it wouldn’t be without my sanction.”

  “I hope your confidence is borne out, my friend. Otherwise Loethar will be invincible and you might as well run me through with that blade of yours now.”

  “So what do you suggest we do now?”

  Leo shook his head with disgust. “I’m torn as to whether to hunt down Kilt, who I need for protection, or Loethar, to ensure my safety.”

  “Do you want to hear what I think?”

  “I know your idea will be to pursue neither of them.”

  Gavriel waited.

  “All right, let’s hear it, Gav,” Leo sighed.

  “Loethar isn’t your primary threat any longer. Right now he’s too injured. And no matter how you like to color it, he is my prisoner.”

  “Yours?” Leo said, surprised, unable to mask the scorn in his voice.

  Gavriel nodded, irritatingly calm. “Elka will do what I say.”

  Leo wanted to say something cutting but was all too aware that apart from Gavriel de Vis he had no one. “You said Loethar is no longer my biggest threat. So who is?”

  “His half-brother, Stracker.”

  “Stracker doesn’t even know I exist.”

  “That’s a fair point. But he doesn’t need to know you exist to be your problem. As we stand here, Leo, Strac
ker is, I imagine, laying claim to the empire. And because, according to Steppes law, any man of any tribe can fight for kingship when the king dies, Stracker won’t claim Loethar to be dead. Instead, he’ll say he’s lost or was grabbed by renegades, so he can continue to sit the throne without having to fight for it. As long as Loethar lives, we have time to plan properly. The empire won’t be embroiled in war or a struggle for rulership. We can move around freely. No one outside of this forest knows either of us is alive; neither of us is recognizable either.”

  “All right. But what is your actual plan?”

  “To remain here for the time being. I have no plan. I think we need to take some time to think everything through properly. No rash decisions.”

  “But what about Kilt? I need him.”

  “Faris has kept you safe and alive for a decade without your having to eat him!”

  “And I intend that he will continue to do so.”

  Gavriel looked pained. “I’m sorry, Leo, but I won’t be a party to such a move.”

  “Your father never refused his king.”

  “My father was never asked to participate in such a debased practice.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “No, that’s true. But I do know my father . . .” Gavriel hesitated but said no more and Leo knew his old friend wanted to add: which is more than you can say about your own.

  “Well, you’ve made your position clear.”

  Gavriel’s eyes narrowed. “All I’m saying is wait. Don’t do anything rash. I am prepared to agree that if as a last measure all I have standing between you and Loethar’s blade is Kilt Faris, I won’t permit your death.”

  Leo felt a thrill of relief. So they weren’t really on opposite sides. Gavriel just needed time to adjust. He could bide his time. Plus they were safer up here in the forests than anywhere else. He was sure Kilt wasn’t coming back to the camp and Loethar wouldn’t dare. “All right. We’ll remain here and consider our position.”

  Gavriel nodded. “Very good, Leo,” and from the tone of his voice Leo knew his old friend meant it from the heart. “I’m starving. Do we have any food in this place?

  Elka returned to where she’d left him. “No signs of anyone. I think we’ll be all right here for the time being,” she said, looking up into the tall tree beneath which Loethar was slumped.

  “How are you feeling now?”

  “I might not look it but I feel entirely different.”

  She nodded. “Recovery is surprisingly fast if we get a rapid enough descent in time. We did the right thing for you. Now I have to think about all your other problems. Did you keep drinking?”

  He nodded. “Lucky we found that mountain stream. My nephew would have given me nothing.”

  “Neither would your aegis, remember. Leonel was simply following orders.”

  “Orders.” Loethar grimaced. “He’s a king apparently. He’s Valisar. He should be giving orders, not taking them.”

  She sighed. “Frankly, I’m tired of the Valisars.”

  “They’re so unnecessary now, aren’t they?” he asked in an ironic tone.

  She joined in, smiling. “Too pre-empire for my taste!”

  Loethar gave a big belly laugh. “I’m glad I’m with you, Elka, and not that sour de Vis. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Gavriel’s a good man. Worth far more than you credit him. The very fact that he’s not hunting you down—and believe me, he is now a frighteningly good tracker—means that he’s somehow controlling Leo’s desire to bond you.”

  The emperor’s face grew serious. “Why would he do that, do you think? He hates me, wants to kill me.”

  Elka sat down beside him and took a swig from the water sack. “With good reason. But you’ve seen for yourself that he’s not nearly so one-eyed as Leo clearly is. Your nephew . . .” She shook her head. “I still can hardly believe you’re doing this to each other. You are family.”

  “I learned the hard way that the Valisar family is one-eyed, particularly if you’re the one on the throne,” he said, bitterness lacing his tone.

  She nodded. “Anyway, I suspect your nephew is being driven by a different hunger. He wants revenge and he’s also got the Valisars’ problem of believing nothing and no one matters but them. You laid waste to the royals of the Set. Don’t blame Leo for wanting to punish you. But I think Gavriel sees beyond his own youthful craving to make you pay for the savage, cowardly death that you gave his father. Gavriel’s older, wiser, and doesn’t have the all too proud, too self-absorbed, too-royal Valisar blood pounding through his veins. And he can see that times have changed—that there’s peace and prosperity now.”

  “So now I have to rely on my enemy?”

  She laughed. “Yes, Loethar. I think you do. And until I hear from him you remain my prisoner.”

  “If I give you my word that I will not harm you and won’t try to escape, will you agree to unbind me so I don’t feel like an animal? Perhaps I can actually be of some help.”

  She considered this, staring at him. He returned the gaze steadily. Finally, Elka nodded. “Gavriel will kill me but I’m going to trust you, Loethar. I do believe you are a man of your word.”

  “Indeed. I am Valisar, after all.”

  She snorted with derision. “That has no effect on me.”

  “Then I give you my promise as a man who owes you the debt of his life.”

  “Now that means something to me.” Producing a blade from the sheath at her hip, she cut his bonds. “Are you ready to travel? We might as well keep moving while you have some strength.”

  “I’ll move until I drop. Where are we going?”

  “Home. I can keep you safe in the mountains.”

  “Indulge me, Elka.”

  “You have a better plan,” she said. “Yes, of course you do.”

  He shrugged, though it obviously hurt him to do so. “Will you hear it before you dismiss it? I will not risk your life, that I promise. And we will go to the mountains directly after.”

  She stared at him for a few moments, weighing him up. “Tell me on our way to Francham. Wherever we’re going we’ll need horses and medicine. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Seven

  Roddy clung to Ravan gleefully, his breath whipped away by the speed at which they were running. They were already approaching the forest and he knew they would be into the trees in a few heartbeats. Ravan began to slow. He didn’t even sound breathless when he spoke.

  “We are close now. I’ll set you down in a moment.” He turned his head and Roddy could see his friend was smiling. “You can catch your breath.”

  “How about you?”

  “I feel perfectly normal. Not even slightly hard of breath.” Ravan laughed. “Onward we go!”

  Gavriel and Leo were sitting in a comfortable silence. Dusk had closed on the forest and though the birds had fallen quiet the crickets were just beginning to exercise their legs. Leo had found a decent spread of cold food. Neither of them considered it a good idea to light a fire just in case any of Stracker’s warriors were still straggling in and around the region.

  They had talked for hours about Gavriel’s life in the mountains and Leo’s growing up in the forest. Inevitably the conversation had run to talk of the old days, of them trapped in the ingress of the palace and life on the run. Now they’d fallen into a comfortable silence, enjoying the summer’s mild evening.

  And so it was with some shock that Gavriel heard the sound just when he had announced he would be turning in for the night. “Someone’s approaching,” he said, leaping to his feet and reaching for his bow.

  “I heard. It’s not one of the men,” Leo replied, quietly picking up his own weapon, belching as he did so.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I feel a bit ill. I’ll get over it. I probably just miss Lily’s food.”

  They instinctively separated and began widening their distance from each other, circling closer to the person they could hear approaching. Gavriel nodded at Leo and
ducked behind a large tree, his arrow already nocked. He could still see into the clearing but he’d be invisible to anyone who wasn’t aware he was there.

  “Who comes?” Leo demanded.

  “Friends,” came the response. It sounded like a child’s voice.

  Behind the tree Gavriel frowned and although he didn’t step out, he did release the tension on his bow. Finding this camp was hard enough for a tracker so whoever was coming was either very determined or knew the way in.

  “Stop!” he heard Leo say. “Name yourselves.”

  Gavriel peeped around the tree trunk and could just vaguely make out two shapes, a tall person—a man—and then a shorter figure next to him. A boy?

  “I am called Roddy and this is Ravan,” said the younger one.

  Leo nodded. “You call yourselves friends but I don’t know you.”

  “You know Ravan.”

  “Does Ravan not have a voice?” Leo asked.

  “Yes,” the man replied. “He does.”

  “I don’t recognize it. I don’t recognize either of you. Step into the light or I will order the men who have you encircled to fill you with arrows. We don’t take kindly to strangers here.”

  “Please,” Roddy said, and Gavriel could hear fear in his voice. “We come alone. There’s just the two of us. And Ravan will explain. You are King Leonel, aren’t you?”

  Gavriel let go of all tension on the bow and stepped around from the tree fully. He noticed that the man called Ravan saw his movement immediately. Sharp eyes, he thought.

  “You should be careful what you claim,” Leo said but Gavriel could hear the shock in it. He saw the king rub his eyes. “Come into the light of the lantern.”

  Gavriel circled behind the pair as they approached Leo. The man registered his presence again, turning once and nodding. Gavriel was impressed by both his keen sense of his surrounds and his composure. He was impressive: tall, strong-looking and with a set of his jaw that looked as though he was used to making his own decisions. His hair was dark, loose to his shoulders and even in this low light seemed to gleam. And though he was clean-shaven and dressed in simple black garb Gavriel’s sense of him was that he was anything but uncomplicated. Even silent his presence was commanding and vaguely reminiscent of someone. He couldn’t place who or why. He frowned again, deeper this time.