He gave her a sidelong glance. “I did.” His tone waited for more questions to be asked.
“I was told the castle you walled up in was broken, but no one has ever told me the truth of his death. Would you be honest with me?”
“I need a drink,” he sighed.
“I will fetch you some wine,” she half-rose to leave, but he put his hand out.
“I don’t drink. Sit, sit and I’ll tell you.” He unbuttoned his coat and shucked it off as he spoke. “King Eirian was a good man and a good Head Commander. I see more of him in your brother every day. The battle of the Red Moon took place in Malinster Castle, which is a little thing on a hill and was never designed to hold back anything but unruly river pirates. We held them off for a few days, but on the night when the moon shone full and red as a bonfire, your father’s destrier took an arrow, and the Shalabane breached the walls. The animal collapsed and Eirian fell on his neck.
“I was on the wall pushing ladders off when it happened, and by all accounts it looked as though the King had died. But I learned later that morning after we pushed the Shalabane back, that your father was still alive. He was paralyzed from the neck down and being cared for. He called his Commanders together, gave us instructions on how to handle the army, and then commanded us to cut his throat.”
“Wh—what? Why?” She exclaimed.
“Have you ever seen a paralyzed man, let alone a king? A cripple thinks he is a terrible burden on his fellow men, thinks his ailment is a sign of weakness. Your father was a proud man and could not bear to be brought back to his Queen, the Queen of the greatest kingdom this side of the ocean, in a palanquin.”
“Did you—was it you who…?”
“I could not have. My job was to protect my Head Commander and King, not kill him in his weakness. In the end one of the Generals—who died of old age a few years back, so don’t try searching him out—he held a pillow over his face. He went quickly and quietly.”
She sat in numb silence, staring into the flames. She had been told stories of valor that her father went down in battle like a King should but they were always exaggerated. Her mother never told her the truth, and she never asked her brother. “I do not remember him at all. I would have liked to.”
“He was a good man, and he loved you fiercely. He was so proud when both you and your brother were born, happy to have a son to take after him and a daughter to rule. He would have been proud of the woman you’ve become.” He smiled and patted her on the shoulder in a most fatherly way. Tears welled in her eyes, but she batted them back. “You should know your mother was pregnant when we returned with him. The healers could not tell if it was the sickness beginning or the sight of her dead husband that caused her to miscarry. It was shortly after that she began to show signs of the sickness that claimed her life.”
Robyn closed her eyes. “Was it male or female?”
“I was not privy to that information.”
Robyn swallowed back furious thoughts. “Thank you for the truth.” The strength had gone out of her voice, and she admitted to herself she was terribly tired. She turned around and snuggled under the blankets with thoughts and questions still running rampant. “Did your son take after you and join the army?”
“He did. He is a Lieutenant now on his way to a Captain’s commission in time, though he took his mother’s surname, so my status would not affect his ascension. When we arrive in the City I will find him and gather him to our cause.” He unlaced his boots as he spoke. “His name is Lex Shepherd.”
Chapter 27
The thought of being sent to the kitchens was demoralizing, but Gabriel found himself easily at home within the first few minutes. Marya was quick to make him her pet, and though he thought the idea objectifying, she made sure he was comfortable. Rather than having him peel potatoes or stir roux, she sat him down and had him try everything she sent out, dubbing him a poison tester. The Queen’s real poison tester, a young man with a shifty eye for the ladies, found better things to do.
Marya sashayed her round hips over to him cradling a steaming pie in a white crock, and ladled up a spoonful for him.
“I don’t need to be handfed,” he said as she shoved the spoon in his face. He snatched the utensil from her, blew on the concoction, and downed it. Bursts of cinnamon and peach flowed over his tongue before mingling with flaky, sugary crumble. “What is this?”
“Peach pie. Are your senses dull?”
“This is amazing,” he whispered and licked the spoon.
She laughed loudly. “I knew I’d find a favorite! Take care to save room after suppers now. Speaking of which, it is past supper time. You best be heading back to your rooms. Can I send you with a meal?”
“Stars above, you’ve stuffed me, Marya.”
“Take yourself a skin of wine regardless and don’t forget to visit often,” she grinned, her rosy cheeks plump and her smile wide. She gave him a solid slap on his behind with the spoon as he strode away, laughing about the stars falling.
The strange fatigue from the attack at Telmon Palace had still left him stretched and weary. Water had helped with the blood loss, but nothing had alleviated his Elemental weakness. He took his time on the walk back to his rooms, pausing to greet those who said hello. He was getting to know some of the regular inhabitants of the palace, old Officers, servants, and nobles knew him by name and greeted him by his proper salutation.
The door to Lady’s Aisling’s room was open when he entered, so he stopped in to tell her of the attack on Viorica. He stopped short when he heard her laughing. His father stood by the fire telling her a story. Cordis stopped when Gabriel appeared and smiled a little sheepishly.
“Why are you…never mind,” Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He quickly summed up the day to Aisling, telling her of the attack, the wound Celise took, and the information Queen Challis gave up. Aisling listened with a grim look on her face that was becoming all too common. She rose and scratched out a note to send by bird.
“We need to get to the Silex before Nolen. The Head Mage will know what to do.”
“You truly did not know where Kindle was being kept or why?” Gabriel asked.
She shook her head. “I was aware of the situation and knew she harbored a secret, but no more was told to us for our own safety.”
He looked at his father and mouthed ‘What are you doing here?’ Cordis shrugged his shoulders.
“How goes it with the Arconians?” Aisling asked as she wrote.
“Balien is mixing me concoctions, and I have met three that are loyal to me.” She fixed him with a cold look. “Yes, Aisling, still virtuous.”
“Robyn will appreciate it,” Cordis nodded. “About bloody time you idiots fell for each other. I saw it coming, but it sure took its time arriving. I was surprised she did not fall into your arms when you came back with your Class.”
Gabriel wrinkled his nose. “She was fifteen.”
“I fell for your mother when I was seventeen.” Cordis beamed. “She was a few years older than I. Had her Class already.”
And that was when Gabriel saw the betraying look Aisling shot him, and knew in an instant the secret they had been keeping. His eyes widened, and he grew silent as his mouth fell agape. After several moments of silence they looked at him in unison. His mouth snapped shut.
He pushed a lock of hair from his eyes. “This explains everything.”
Aisling stood quickly. “Let me clarify.”
His mind reeled. “Somebody better.”
She held her hands up. “Your father and I were very much in love—are still—but my parents would not have him because the Lenis line is not wealthy. My family are material people.”
“But you are not married, and I am still bastard-born.”
“We are not married....”
He cut her off before she could continue. “Why was I never told anything about you? I have been waiting to hear of you for twenty-four years. How could you give me up like that?” All this time h
e expected her to be dead. “Did I mean nothing to you?”
“Of course you did,” she whispered. “We did not mean to get pregnant. The palace was no place for a babe, and my job journeying between Jaden and Kilkiny was too dangerous, so we decided Cordis would raise you far away to keep you safe. We were waiting for my parents to die before we told you because they would not approve.” She had been inching closer, but all he heard was ‘unplanned mistake’ in her dialogue that sounded rehearsed—and untruthful.
“Then Urima Manor is yours. And that is why you ventured here every year, father. Why did you hardly ever visit, Aisling?”
“I could not bear to see you and know I could not be with you.”
“How many people know my true lineage?”
Aisling licked her lips. “Head Mage Casimir is the only one. Queen Rincarel knew, and she gave me time to slip away when I began to show.” She looked worried, an expression he had not seen before. “Can you ever forgive me?”
He let out a deep breath. This information changed everything. There were ways to expunge an unwanted baby before it was birthed, so he supposed he had her to thank for being alive. “I can,” he finally said. Despite his anger towards both of them, he stepped forward and embraced Aisling as his mother.
He looked at his father. “You don’t actually have rooms here, do you,” he stated. Cordis grinned and shook his head. Aisling gave him a tight squeeze before letting him go. She had a proud look on her face as she pulled away. “I am retiring for the night,” he said and patted the wineskin hanging from his belt.
They let him go, but as soon as he was out of sight, his smile fell. He never expected to find his mother, and seeing what Aisling had been through since his arrival, he pitied her. She had seen him at his absolute physical worse, something a mother should never see. As he looked back on their encounters, he could see her maternal side and wondered why he did not guess her identity sooner.
He slipped into his room and locked the door behind him. He was weary to his bones, and looked forward to a quick bath and a long rest.
Two steps into the room, he felt the kinetic energy of another faintly push against his senses, and he paused. It came from the chairs by the fire, and as he slowly stepped around them, he saw a beautiful woman waiting. She had raven-dark hair half pulled back and dark eyes that watched him in a hungry way.
His heart caught in his throat. ‘Is she one of Mikelle’s? Had Balien left a sleeping draught yet?’ Her eyes glanced down at the wineskin on his hip, and he wondered if he could get her drunk on such a small skin.
“Let me get more wine,” he said, the strength long gone from his voice.
“I will not need it.” She stood gracefully, and he saw the gown she wore was no dress at all but a robe, parted in the center and tied on one side. It was slit to one hip and clung to her waist snugly, exposing the lush round curves of her breasts. “I have you for the night, but let us not waste time.” She took a step forward and reached for him, but he took a quick step back.
Emotions passed over her face quickly; amusement, betrayal, then understanding. “Mikelle said nothing of hesitance.” Her accent was thick, and she rolled her ‘l’s in Arconian fashion.
“I’m sure Mikelle said a lot of things.” He swallowed and searched the surfaces of his room for any vial Balien may have left. “We shouldn’t rush. Let me fetch more wine.”
He moved for the door, but a cluster of gray threads passed him and closed it. ‘Air Mage. Why are they all Air Mages?’ She stepped forward silently, the satin whispering over her skin.
“My name is Axa,” she told him as he backed away. “Why do I frighten you?”
“I am exhausted. I could not manage…manage to please you tonight. Come back tomorrow.” He tried to get around her, but she moved into his path.
“I think I will stay,” she said slowly, her eyes intent on his. “Off with the clothes.”
He managed a laugh. “I prefer—”
“I am not here for what you prefer. Prince Nolen warned me of your tricks, and I am not to be fooled.”
He pushed passed her and made for the balcony, but before he took three steps something tight closed around his ankles. He saw a condensing-pattern around him, and with a quick jerk of her hands, she brought his legs together, nearly throwing him off balance.
“Do I not appeal to you?” she asked, but it was more a taunt than a real question. Standing, she had a lovely slim figure with hard muscle under thin skin. She was truly stunning. He did not answer and instead tried pulling out of the pattern, but it was solid. Had he his Elements, he could easily break free. ‘Is it worth the reverse effects?’
She sauntered over to a night bag on the floor and pulled from it several yards of white rope. “Prince Nolen told me many things,” she said in a sweet voice as she coiled the rope on the bed. She took her time walking up to him, rolling her hips dangerously as she kept her eyes on Gabriel’s terrified expression. She tried to touch his face, but he blocked the arm with a quick forearm swipe. She tried again to the same tune. The third time she laid an Air pattern around her wrist, so he could not block her, and her hand landed solidly on his cheek. He shuttered at the touch.
“I will not go quietly.”
She stretched up on her bare toes to come up to his ear. “I am counting on it,” she whispered.
He pushed her away swiftly, nearly throwing her to the ground. ‘If it comes to it, I will do whatever it takes.’ “Release me and leave, and I will speak of this to no one.”
“Let us put an end to your fantasy,” she said and threw together an Air pattern. He had no way to block or dodge when she tossed it at him, and it slid around his neck. ‘Another collar.’ He winced and fixed her glare, but she did not quite look the same. He turned his head to look away; the world seemed to bend around him.
He felt to see what she had fixed over his eyes, but his hand stopped short on a sphere wrapped around his head. His other hand flew to find an edge, but it molded with his neck as he breathed.
The pattern around his ankles fell loose as Axa focused her stamina on his sphere, and he took a few menacing steps towards her. But the air grew so thin he knew he would not get far. He inhaled, and his knees buckled. ‘Surely she will let me breathe before it’s too late.’
She stood over him, holding the pattern in one hand now, a dark look in her eyes. Fear gripped his chest, or perhaps it was the lack of oxygen. His lungs gasped for what little breathable air there still was.
“Please,” he whispered, not sure if he made a sound. “Don’t take this from me.” His body shook as it struggled to keep him conscious, and darkness throbbed at the edges of his vision with every beat of his heart. ‘I will not give in.’ His conscious shot a hundred thoughts; of Robyn and the only thing he had left to give her, of his mother within screaming distance, of his father whose life he exchanged for this, of the possibility that Axa succeeded, and of the carpet rushing up to slap him.
Chapter 28
Ryker sipped the strong, barrel-aged rum and grimaced as it burned down his throat. Alcohol had grown stronger and more inventive over the Ages. He had never been one for strong drinks, but the tavern did not sell wine like distinguished people. The large town in the far south of Cinibar was full of the baseborn lower class who sought strong relief after a days’ work. Not the kind of people who sipped wine because it was couth and enjoyable.
The bar tender was a sour-looking man with a blind eye and an unshaven face, but the pretty women catering to the patrons were far more lovely to look upon. One girl in particular stood out as the true beauty in the room with honey-colored curls piled atop her head, a voluptuous physique, and a dynamic smile if the teeth were a little crooked. She dressed in a tight-fitted, blue-and-white dress that came nearly to her hips, and a neckline that dipped so low it was a wonder she did not spill out.
She had been displaying a funny trick for several men by placing drops of water on her fingers and pressing them onto the table. When
she picked her hands up, the drops clung to her fingers and hardly left a trace of their existence on the table. The men were baffled and tried to recreate the trick, but she was making a handful of copper triangles as they failed.
Ryker could see the truth in the trick as blue threads emanated faintly from her chest. She was not a strong Water Mage, but she seemed to make a living with her Element. She laughed sweetly and loudly as she made her way to the bar for a mug of hot cider.
“What is your Class, girl?” Ryker asked quietly. She stopped and turned, but he did not look at her. He could feel frightened energy coming off her. If her trick was discovered, she could lose her credibility and her coins. “I’ll ne tell your secret.” He looked at her now and saw her wide hazel eyes loosened a bit.
“I ‘ave never been tested. Journey to Jaden too long—could naught afford it. I reckon I’m a Two or Three.”
Ryker nodded. “I’ve use par a girl like y’ in mine line of work. Are y’ interested in furthering your Water Element?”
She flitted her eyes around to see if anyone was listening. “I reckon. What’s the pay?”
“Priceless,” he smiled. He snapped his fingers and flung the Spirit pattern so quickly that no one saw the girl die. She stood there for a long moment, the lights dimming in her eyes. Ryker put a hand over hers and held her spirit in place before it could slip into the spirit world. Her knees locked, and her jaw fell slack as she crumpled to the floor in a heap.
“Ashlan!” the bar tender yelled, but he stopped suddenly when he saw the blue specter standing where the girl had been. The room fell silent as if the walls held their breath. Ryker touched two fingers to her forehead, and a wave of cold blue light ran through her, making the corpse shutter. As simple as that, the pattern was laid and the deed done. The spirit turned and raised her hands. From them flew shards of ice and snow that fell so quickly, she blanketed the room in seconds. The silence of a blizzard followed as the crystals absorbed every noise within and some without.
The Castrofax (Book 1) Page 28
