“I saw you, Jade du Halen. Open the door. I need to speak with Aston,” Talbot said.
. Aston chose that moment to enter the room and he stopped, staring at the door. “Is that…?” he asked.
The princess nodded, her face grim.
With a defeated sigh, Aston went to the door and wrenched it open.
Talbot was on the doorstep, his fist raised to pound on the door again. He dropped it when the door opened and stood there, staring at Aston. His face was unreadable. He looked nervous, scared, and determined all at once.
“What do you want, Talbot? By the time you make it back to the palace, we will be gone,” Aston said.
Talbot shook his head. “I’m not here to turn you in. If I was, I wouldn’t have knocked.” The prince ran his hand through his dark curls, seemingly uncomfortable. “ I just want to talk.”
Aston hesitated before moving aside and allowing Fridel’s prince to enter the cabin. He scanned the woods for signs of Donn’s army, but he didn’t see anyone. He sighed and closed the door, following Talbot to the living area where the prince waited.
“What do you want, Talbot?” he repeated.
The glanced around the room, looking at everything but the knight standing before him, waiting for an answer he wasn’t ready to give. Now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what to say to Aston. “I need your help,” he finally managed.
The knight stared at him before laughing. “Why would I help you, Talbot? You’re the reason I’m hiding in the middle of the woods, running from armies, and rumored to be a criminal.”
“I can fix everything, Aston. I can make it right, but please, you have to help me!” Talbot exclaimed, desperation in his voice. At Aston’s raised brow, he continued. “I think the Rogue is going to come after me.”
“You’re his next target,” Aston deadpanned.
Talbot paled. “How do you know?”
“A brick through a window in Summerslade last month,” Aston replied.
Jade shuddered and Aston knew she was remembering that night as well.
“Father didn’t say anything when I asked this morning. When is he coming?”
“He sent another letter to all of the kings informing them he wouldn’t be killing again until winter was over.” Aston looked out the window. “The snow is almost gone now,” he commented.
Talbot winced. “If you help me escape the Rogue, I will confess everything to my father about that night in Adion,” he said, his eyes pleading.
Aston considered it for a moment. He’d wanted to help Talbot since he’d learned he was a target, but he hadn’t expected the prince to come and beg for help. The prince had always been proud, though cowardly. He never asked for help from anyone. He only made orders.
“How did you even know the Rogue might target you?” he inquired, curious.
The prince shrugged. “I told Ernst du Halen about you, and he asked me if I was worried about becoming a target. I told him I wasn’t and asked him why, and when he told me, I started to think about it. I’ve been a horrible person my entire life, but do I deserve to be murdered?”
Jade stiffened beside Aston, but the knight couldn’t figure out why. Did she suddenly feel bad for the prince? Or was she worrying about something else?
“What do you want me to do?” Aston asked, intending to speak with Jade later about her reaction to Talbot’s statement.
Talbot relaxed, his deep frown turning up into a small smile. “Plan with me, Aston. You’re a knight; you can help me conspire against the Rogue and keep him away from me.”
“You could stay here that night,” Aston offered, but the prince shook his head.
“He would find me. I don’t know how he does it, but the Rogue always knows the location of his target. It’s like he’s on the inside and knows every little detail about the lives of the people he kills.”
“So, you want me to come to the palace?” Aston asked. When Talbot nodded, he stood. “I’m not going to fall for it, Talbot.”
The prince looked confused. “Fall for what?”
“You come here asking for help, claiming you can free me, but you don’t need my help. You’ve never cared about a soul in your life aside from your own, and this is just a clever way to get me to return to the palace and die for you,” Aston said, clenching his fists at his sides.
Talbot stood as well. “That’s not true, Aston! What you said about me, about not caring about anyone, it’s true! That’s why I need your help! I don’t want to die, Aston! I need you to save my life, and if saving yours is the only way to make you do it, then I’m going to help you!” he exclaimed, striding forward.
Aston held up a hand up to stop the prince from coming any closer. Talbot stopped and stared at the knight, waiting for him to make his decision.
As far as Aston saw it, he had two options: he could help Talbot and have his help sneaking into the palace, or he could help Talbot without the prince knowing and try to find his own way in. He cursed under his breath, knowing what he had to choose.
“I’ll do it.”
**
Talbot left as night fell, hurrying so that his footprints wouldn’t be lost in the newly-falling snow. He looked back at the small cabin with a smile on his face. With Aston helping him, he was sure he would live. If the Rogue showed up and he lived to tell about it, he would be sure his father lifted Aston’s sentence and that the knight was able to walk a free man again.
“It is usually more important how a man
meets his fate than what it is.”
- Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt -
Twenty Two
The palace was quiet. Night had fallen and Richie found himself wandering the corridors alone. Most of the royal family were already asleep, though he’d seen the dim glow of a candle from under Prince Talbot’s door.
He made his way through the palace, down winding staircases and passed closed doors. He wound up in front of the throne room. The massive oak doors had been left open. Richie looked both ways, searching for patrolling guards, before entering the room. He hurried down the red carpet, stopping at the foot of the thrones. The large golden throne looked odd without King Donn perched in it. He was such a fixture there.
Shaking his head, Richie grabbed what he’d come for, a folded piece of parchment addressed to King Donn. The letter stating when and where Prince Talbot would be murdered. With a small, albeit slightly sad, smile, Richie tucked the letter into his breeches and hurried back to his room. Winter was coming to a close. The snow was starting to melt, and the Rogue would soon be hunting again. Aston would want to know everything.
**
“Are you really going to go through with this?” Jade asked as Aston pulled his boots on over his trousers. He looked up at her but didn’t answer. “It’s suicide, Aston! You can’t trust him!”
“I can’t trust anybody right now, Jade. If I don’t keep Talbot alive, everyone who knows the truth about that night will be gone.”
“I’m still here. I can tell my father that Talbot came to me, not you. He’d listen--” She grabbed Aston’s forearm, but he shook off her touch.
“No, he wouldn’t. You’ve spent the last two months with a fugitive knight. Besides, you already told me your father doesn’t care what you want. Why would he care what you have to say?”
Jade looked taken aback by the curtness in Aston’s tone, and she let the subject drop. Richie had come by the night before with another letter, this one from the Rogue himself, stating the time and date for Talbot’s murder. The snow was almost gone now, and the restless murderer seemed ready to kill again.
“I want you to stay here, Jade,” Aston said, grabbing his coat and pulling it on. When she went to protest, he held a hand up to stop her. “I don’t want you near the Rogue. Bringing you with me to Northsbury was a mistake. I can’t protect you.”
“You’re a knight. Protecting people is what you do,” she argued.
Aston shook his head, staring into Jade’s eyes. “If the Rogu
e had decided to go after you in Northsbury, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. I don’t want to feel that helpless again.” He gave her a quick kiss, holding her face in his hands a moment more before walking out the door where Talbot waited for him.
“You okay?” the prince asked as Aston mounted Jade’s horse. He nodded without looking at Talbot and the pair took off into the forest.
They arrived at the palace gate fifteen minutes later. The guard at the gate was knocked out. A questioning glance at Talbot told Aston that the prince seriously was going to keep him from being seen. They had approximately three hours before the Rogue made his appearance.
Talbot led him around to the back of the palace, jumping off his horse and grabbing a rope hanging from a window forty feet up.
“This is how we will get in,” he told Aston, pulling on the rope to make sure it was still stable. The knight nodded at Talbot and the prince began his climb. Aston was surprised. The last time he’d watched the prince scale a wall, he’d taken his sweet time. Now, Talbot looked almost trained.
“The lazy prince is good for something… who knew?” Aston murmured. Talbot called down to him that he was clear and the knight grabbed the rope, starting his own climb. When he reached the window, he waited for the prince to tell him it was safe for him to enter before clambering in through the window.
“I told you I could get you in here without being seen,” Talbot told him with a smile.
“No one will suspect our horses outside your window?” Aston questioned.
The prince frowned. “I’ll be right back,” he said, climbing back out the window. Aston laughed and watched as the prince reached the ground and climbed on his horse, heading toward the stables. Footsteps outside the door made him freeze and he quickly jumped under Talbot’s bed. The door opened seconds later.
“Talbot?” King Donn called. When no one answered, the king stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Aston heard the man moving slowly around the room. Donn’s feet stopped next to the bed and the knight held his breath, praying he wouldn’t stoop down to look. Thankfully, the king continued around the room, stopping at the window.
“Sneaking out through your window, Talbot? Some things never change,” he chuckled. “Guess it won’t be my fault when the Rogue slits your throat.” Aston heard the king clomp back to door and then leave. He waited a moment longer before coming out from under the bed.
It wasn’t long before Talbot returned. “Horses are taken care of,” he said, his cheeks rosy with embarrassment. Aston only looked at him. “What?”
“Your father was here,” the knight told him.
“Did he see you?” Talbot asked, glancing around the room as if his father were still there, hiding in the shadows.
Aston shook his head. “No, I was under your bed. He said it wouldn’t be his fault when the Rogue slit your throat.”
Talbot sighed and sat down on his bed. “Father has been difficult ever since you left. He knows it’s my fault you’re gone, but not on the level that he should. He only knows that I’m the one who gave him the bad news. He doesn’t know I lied. Ever since, he’s treated me like no more than a common soldier. Worse than that, even. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that the Rogue was coming tonight.”
Aston sat beside the prince. “What will happen to you when you tell him the truth?”
Talbot shrugged. The clock in the hall chimed once. He looked over at Aston. “Two hours left. I’ll go get some food from the kitchen. Just hide again if anyone comes near.”
Aston nodded and watched the prince leave, suddenly feeling bad for the man. Everything Talbot had ever done had been to please his father and now the king didn’t care about Talbot at all. He hadn’t sounded the least bit remorseful talking about his son dying. Could losing one knight really mean that much to the king? Aston didn’t think so.
More footsteps in the hall stopped his thoughts and pushed him under the bed again. This time when the door opened, he wasn’t sure who it was. They didn’t say a word, only walked around the room. Aston heard a scraping sound and knew that whoever was there had found the grappling hook on the window and removed it. After one more circle of the room, the visitor left.
Talbot returned shortly after the mystery man left. He carried a tray of food: bread, cheese, goblets of water and a bowl of grapes. Aston ate quickly, not mentioning the visitor to the prince. A knock at the door startled them both. Aston grabbed one loaf of bread and a goblet and eased under the bed. Talbot let him settle for a moment before going to the door.
“Ernst! What are you still doing here?” he asked the raven-haired man.
Ernst smiled at him. “Your father invited me to stay, since the hour is so late. He worried about me travelling in the darkness when the Rogue is supposed to appear tonight,” he told the prince.
“That’s odd. My father normally doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” Talbot said, his brow furrowing.
The visiting prince shrugged. “I suppose he’s trying to change before the Rogue decides he’s next. It’s almost midnight, Talbot. Best be saying your last words,” he said before leaving the doorway and walking down the hall toward the guest quarters.
Taken aback, Talbot closed the door and wandered back to his bed, dropping heavily upon it. Aston climbed out and sat beside him again, tossing the last bite of bread into his mouth.
Talbot looked at him. “That was odd.”
**
Midnight was minutes away. Aston was concealed under Talbot’s bed, dagger in hand. The prince was in his bed, lying awake in the darkness. The Rogue Royal always killed his targets at midnight, right as the clock began to chime, echoing loudly throughout the palace. The door creaked open and Talbot stilled, hoping he looked like a sleeping victim and not the tense prince he actually was. No light came in through the opened door, and Talbot knew his killer had arrived.
Aston waited under the bed as the door clicked shut and soft steps made their way to the bedside. He always arrived too late to help the Rogue’s victims, but not this time.
Talbot clenched the dagger in his hand tighter, hoping his sweaty palms didn’t loosen his grip. He waited until the Rogue stopped next to the bed before springing up, grasping for the man beside him. He heard a pained grunt as his arm connected with someone’s face, and then he was wrenched from the bed and thrown, face first, onto the floor.
Talbot groaned as he was grabbed by the hair and lifted, his grey eyes meeting shining green. His eyes widened.
“Er..Ernst?” he stammered. Ernst growled and spun Talbot around, pressing his dagger against the captive prince’s neck. Talbot grasped at his arm, cursing himself for dropping his own weapon when he’d fallen from the bed. He came face to face with Aston.
“What are you doing here, knight?” Ernst growled. His nose hurt like hell where Talbot had smashed it and now there were two people who knew who he was. He’d been trying to save Aston’s life, but now he would have to kill him, too.
Talbot cried out as the murderer wrenched his arm behind his back; Ernst was angrier at the prince than ever before. If Talbot wasn’t such a selfish, spoiled man, Aston never would have been exiled and he would have let Talbot live. He pushed the cold metal of his ruby-hilted dagger further against Talbot’s throat; the prince’s whimper told him he’d broken the skin.
“Ernst, please,” Talbot pleaded, his voice only a whisper. Speaking pressed the dagger tighter against his flesh, and Aston watched as a thin ribbon of blood slid to his collar.
“Please, don’t kill him,” Aston added, his hands in front of him in surrender. His dagger was held in his left hand, blade down. He didn’t know if he could reach Ernst before he slit Talbot’s throat. The best Aston could do right now was try to convince Ernst to let the prince live.
Ernst glared at the prince in his grasp before turning to Aston. “Why do you want to save him? You’re the reason I targeted him. If he wasn’t around, you never would have been exiled. You’d still be a kni
ght and have your title. If I get rid of him,”- at the word, his grip on Talbot tightened -“your life will return to normal.”
“If you kill him, I’ll be hunted forever. Talbot is the only man who can clear my name,” Aston said, trying to reason with Ernst.
“He deserves to die,” Ernst argued.
“If you let him live, he’s going to tell King Donn everything. My name will be cleared, and I’ll be able to live whatever life I want. That’s what you want, right? You want to kill Talbot so I can be free?”
Ernst returned his eyes to the quivering Talbot. “He deserves this, Aston. You aren’t the only man he’s wronged. Half this country will rejoice when their prince is dead.”
“The other half will mourn,” Aston argued. “He’s becoming a better man. He’s fixing what he’s done wrong.”
“Only to save his own life!”
“Does it matter? He knows what will happen if he doesn’t change, and he’s willing to make things right! Just let him go, Ernst.”
“I have to kill you too, Aston,” Ernst said, his eyes lingering on the prince before glancing up at the knight. “You know who I am. Talbot knows who I am. You both have to die.”
“Jade knows too!” Aston shouted when Ernst’s blade moved horizontally across Talbot’s neck. The prince’s eyes bulged as his throat was cut, but the wound wasn’t fatal.
Ernst narrowed his eyes at Aston. “What about my sister?” he asked. The clock in the hall started its twelve chimes.
“Jade loves me, Ernst. She’ll know you killed me. She knows I’m here. She’s waiting for me to come home, right now. Are you going to kill her, too? She’ll tell everyone who you are if I die,” the knight said, rushing through his words as he heard the clock.
Ernst heard it too, but he hesitated. He cursed, knowing Aston was right. His sister was innocent in the ways of war, but she would never forgive him if he killed her knight. Furthermore, he could never hurt his sister. He would let Jade turn him in and hang before he’d hurt her.
Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) Page 16
