Grif muttered under his breath and then squared his shoulders and looked at Alique for the first time. “Your father is missing, my lady. No one knows where he is.”
Alique’s heart thumped, bringing an ache in her sternum. “Missing? What do you mean missing?”
“The morning after the rescue, he was not to be found anywhere on his estate, and no one had seen or spoken to him.”
Alique stared, unable to take in the news. “How could he just vanish?” She turned to Kain. “General?”
Kain grasped her above the elbow. “Don’t think the worst, my lady. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He looked at Grif. “Are the search parties also looking for Lord Zorba?”
Grif nodded. “They are. I’m sorry my lady.”
Alique barely heard him. Her father was gone and nobody knew where. His last deed had been to rescue his people. I have to find him! The first place to start was her family estate. She turned Ebony about, ready to gallop to the south.
Kain grasped her reins. “You can’t do anything to find him at the moment.”
“I have to know, Kain!” Alique had never felt so reckless, so overcome with the need to act.
Kain pulled her mount away from Grif and lowered his voice. “I’ll find him, Alique, just don’t do anything rash.”
“You cannot be sure you’ll find him alive,” she snapped. “I have worried about him all this time and just when I think he is well, he is not.”
“There are any number of reasons for his absence. He could be looking for you!”
“The woods north of here are crawling with dark elves. It is too dangerous for him. And what if he has been taken by them?”
“Stop it!” Kain snapped. “Stop imagining the worst. The bulk of your family is safe. Focus on that and on being strong for them.”
Alique took a deep breath and tried to slow her racing heart. It was good advice and she knew it but … her father! She could not lose him! “I will try.”
“Come with me then.” Kain walked his horse back to Grif. “Can you get us an escort so that we may be conveyed to the castle in haste,” Kain said.
“Already done, general,” Grif said, “they should be here shortly.”
Kain turned to Alique. “I’ll go to my rooms and change. Organize the clothes for Gwaethe and Isiloe as soon as you can and send word to me. I must have time to think on what I can tell His Majesty. In the meantime, find out what you can about your father. Say nothing of your ordeal.”
“I do know how to hold my tongue,” Alique said, and then her heart softened at the look of desolation on his face. His world might be crumbling. “When will you speak with your mother?”
“Tonight,” he said.
“I could be with you when you speak to her, if you like?”
He seemed surprised at her offer. “No, this is something I must do alone.”
“Again, I beseech you,” Alique said, “do not judge her too harshly. She was a young girl then. Let her explain and try to understand.”
“I can’t promise you that.”
“Please try. She deserves your respect.”
His face hardened but then he nodded. It was all Alique was going to get from him, she suspected, but at least it was something.
The escort arrived in the form of Alique’s cousin, Lieutenant Josef Formosa, and his men. She almost groaned with frustration. Of all the rotten luck! Josef was a pompous ass of a man whom she had never warmed to. He was Ramón’s age, but annoyingly full of his own importance.
The lieutenant saluted Kain and they formed up around the two wanderers. Josef fell in beside Alique, which was natural enough she supposed, considering they were related.
“I’m sorry to hear of your family trials and your father’s disappearance,” he said. “It’s good to see you returned in safety though.”
“Thank you, Josef. It’s good to be back. Can you tell me anything of father?”
Josef nodded. “I am privy to certain details and have led several search parties. It appears your father took one of his brood mares and left his estate the morning after he was released from the barn. None of your family or estate workers seem to have spoken with him.”
“Then he has not been taken by the elves?” Alique said.
“It is unlikely, unless he came across them in his travels.”
Kain called back to them. “What did he take with him?”
“As far as we can tell, enough provisions for two weeks, and his long bow and arrows.”
“He is searching for me,” Alique said, dismay making it difficult to breathe. “Why didn’t he stay put?”
“He loves you,” Kain said. “How could he just sit when his daughter was in danger?”
“He could have trusted me and you,” she said. “He has responsibilities. I hate to think what will happen if he dies.”
“He’s only thinking of you, my lady,” Kain said.
She turned to Josef. “Have you found any trace of Papa?”
“He appears to have headed north into the forest,” Josef said. “We have our best trackers on his trail but no news from them yet.”
Alique mulled over her options. Kain would want her to sit quietly waiting for others to search, and even he had personal matters to sort through before he went looking for her father. She could not sit by and wait while every hour carried her papa into elven hands.
“I will join the very next search party that leaves Wildecoast,” Alique said.
Kain and Josef cast each other worried looks.
Kain cleared his throat. “You will not be joining any search party, my lady. We have matters to resolve first.”
Josef looked at them with interest. “You will need to speak with the King and Queen, on the subject of what passed during your captivity.” He peered at Alique. “Your return alone with the general will be a source of speculation. It seems your side of the family are quite adept at causing a scandal.”
“I hope you will quash any malicious rumors.” Alique could well remember when her brother Ramón and the Lady Benae Branasar had ridden into Wildecoast after being attacked by dark elves on their way from Brightcastle. It was a bare three months ago and even she had teased her brother about his relationship with the beautiful Benae.
But this situation was different. Alique was a free woman and the troubles with the dark elves were now well documented. Benae had been betrothed at the time to Prince Zialni. Of course now, with the prince dead and Benae pregnant and sharing stewardship of Brightcastle with Ramón, Alique had to wonder what the truth of their relationship had been when they were in Wildecoast.
Her face burned as she imagined the rumors that might be circulating already regarding herself and Kain. All she could do was crush anything that started and hope that the damage was not too great.
Josef raised his brows. “I would never allow wicked gossip about you, cousin. You have been through a great ordeal, as have your family. As part of the Zorba clan, I have no wish for the name to be tarnished.”
“I assure you nothing improper happened between myself and the general.” Damn that heat she felt in her cheeks. It would reveal her for the lying woman she was. And damn Josef and all his type, for it was none of their business. The trouble was, it did matter what people thought of her, and it could affect her prospects and her life in all sorts of ways.
News spread quickly in the city and crowds already lined the streets to watch the arrival of the freed hostages. Kain looked composed but his shoulders were tense. He would not relish this attention when he had so much on his mind. His withdrawal from her hurt, but it was clear to her that he needed space to think and work through the revelations of the last days. Also there was the looming meeting with his mother. Alique wished he did not have to go through it alone.
They made it through the inner gates to the castle and Alique noted a visible relaxing of Kain’s shoulders. He dropped back beside her.
“Send a maid with the money and clothes, well wrapped, to the ba
rracks,” he said, for her ears alone. “This must be done with the utmost secrecy and as soon as possible.”
“I realize the urgency and discretion required.” Alique couldn’t help her annoyance. After what they had been through, did he not know she understood what was at stake? “You can trust me.”
Josef looked on with interest and so Alique added, louder. “I will never be able to thank you enough for extracting me from that predicament, general. You have my deep thanks.”
“I was only doing my job, protecting the citizens of Wildecoast. I will also do my best to see that your father is returned.” He bowed from the saddle and cantered back through the gates, heading for the barracks.
“An interesting man, the general,” Josef said, looking after Kain’s retreating form. “Not many know him well. Yes, a man of mystery indeed.” Josef sounded as though he would like to uncover every one of Kain’s secrets. Alique prayed that he would not. She could not stand her family to cause Kain a moment of regret.
“If you will excuse me, Josef,” Alique said, dismounting unassisted, “I’m anxious to speak to the Queen. Thank you for your escort. Please give my regards to your parents when next you see them.”
Josef hurriedly dismounted and bowed before Alique, deeper than she deserved. “You are welcome, Alique. Tell my aunt that I will do all I can to help find Uncle Yaral.”
Alique nodded and turned away. The sooner she got those clothes to Kain, the sooner she could be on the path to finding her father.
*
Kain stomped into his quarters in the barracks, having first seen to Snow. The horse appeared to have suffered no ill effects from trekking through the forest for days. Kain wished he could say the same for himself. He was bone weary and his nether regions ached like the devil. Riding with no proper saddle was for the elven bastards who had taken him hostage. He’d be sore for days, and hoped the bruising ride had done no lasting damage.
He thought of his family life as a child and felt a pang of regret. Were his happy memories about to explode into a million fragments? He crossed to the small mirror on his wall. Finally he could examine the face that had looked back at him for thirty-odd years. His skin was dark but he had always thought it tanned. His face was lean as was his body. He swept the hair back from his ears to reveal blessedly rounded tips. In that regard he was fully human. Listen to me! I’m taking them at their word when I have no good reason to. No good reason except that it made sense in a weird way. He didn’t look like his siblings. His father had always said he took after his mother’s side of the family. If this was true, did his father know?
A shiver ran through him. He couldn’t wait any longer to ask the questions that had been building for days. The King had asked him to present himself at the earliest opportunity, but he could wait. Kain stripped off his clothes and gave himself a quick wash and a shave, then dressed in civilian attire. He threw on his hat and a cloak and left the barracks, trying to attract as little attention as possible.
Once out of the castle gate, he took the central avenue and strode into the city. His muscles ached at the punishment but it would do them good. He turned left off the avenue about halfway along, into a wide street full of craftsmen. His family’s shop was only a short distance on the right. There was a large workshop at the front and a comfortable residence above.
The bell rang as Kain stepped through the door. “Father?”
Lamps lit the interior of the shop, revealing the glowing timbers of various items of furniture. His father stuck his head around a large cabinet with ornate carving, another of his specialties.
“Kain! Thank the Goddess!” He hurried forward and enveloped Kain in a hug. Kain stiffened but then relaxed into his father’s arms. It was good to be home. “Your mother has been beside herself with worry.”
“You should both know by now that I can take care of myself,” Kain said.
“Doesn’t stop us from worrying, son. Let me look at you.” He stood back and examined Kain from top to bottom. “You’ve lost weight. Only to be expected with what you’ve been through.”
“Father, I need to talk with Mother,” Kain said. If he didn’t get to this now he’d snap from the tension.
“Of course you do, son. Go up and I’ll be there soon. Have dinner with us. Your brother is out bringing in a load of timber.”
Kain climbed the stairs and found his mother getting dinner ready.
“Hello, Mother,” he said.
“Kain!” She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I was so worried. I’ve hardly slept since I heard you were missing.”
She did look tired and thin. In fact, his mother was looking her age.
“Well, I’m all right now, but I need to ask you something,” Kain said.
She stepped back from him, a wary look on her face. “That sounds serious, son.”
Kain swallowed hard, begging for the rumors not to be true. “I was taken by dark elves, Mother.” He watched for any sign that the news might make her nervous and was devastated to see her gaze drop for just a second. His stomach tightened.
There was nothing else but to come right out and ask. “Was my father elven?”
Astelle turned her back on him and walked into the kitchen. “I feared it would come out one day,” she said, kneading the bread as though she wanted to strangle it. “I worried about that too when I heard who had you.”
“So it’s true?”
She nodded. “Your father was a dark elf. His name was Orionkael Arenil.”
Kain imagined he had prepared himself but her words turned his blood to ice. Suddenly he felt the need of a good thick coat. He strode to the fire, rubbing his hands before it as he struggled to bring his panic under control.
“I’m half elven,” he said, thinking if he spoke the words it might become more real. No. “Were you ever going to tell me?” He couldn’t look at his mother, he had to keep his feelings tight inside so he could bear this.
He heard her approach. “No, I wasn’t. What was the point? I see now what the knowledge is doing to you and I was right to withhold it.” Kain heard her shuffle closer. Perhaps reach out for him.
He straightened his shoulders. “You should have told me.” His voice belonged to another man – an angry, frightened, cold man. “You had no right.”
She came to his side but he wouldn’t look at her. “It doesn’t make any difference to who you are as a man, Kain. You’re still my son and your father still loves you.”
“He’s not my father,” Kain snapped. “My father lies in a grave in the mountains and I never knew him.” He snapped his mouth shut before he said words that would crush her.
His mother gasped and now he looked at her, and saw the grief etched on her face. “Orionkael is dead? You are sure?”
Kain nodded. “His daughter told me … my half-sister, Mother. You thought I didn’t need to know my family? That my heritage wouldn’t come back to haunt me?”
His mother had her hands over her face and when she dropped those hands, tears filled her eyes.
Had he ever really known her? “You clearly had feelings for Orionkael.”
Astelle sat in a chair by the fire and Kain took the other.
“Yes, I had feelings for your father,” she said. “I was in love with him.” She glanced at the doorway as if fearing to be overheard. “I was very young, only seventeen, when I met him. I lived with my parents in a town far to the north-west. Sometimes we traded with the elven people. They were gentle, musical. I used to travel out with my father to help him harvest the wood from which we made our living. One day I was washing at the stream and felt eyes upon me. When I looked up, there was Orionkael.”
She looked again toward the door and then, arms wrapped around herself, she went on. “I loved him on sight, and I think the same could be said for him.” She blushed. “He wooed me for the time my father and I camped in the forest. Those days were magical.” The years fell from her face and Kain was easily able to imagine the y
oung, vulnerable girl his mother had been.
“But inevitably the time came for my father and I to return to town, and Orionkael and I shared one last night. He promised we would be together one day and that’s why I never worried about a child. We were in love and it didn’t matter.”
“You never saw him again?”
She nodded. “Oh yes, I did. Several months later, I returned to the forest with father and during that time, Orionkael and I found each other again. I don’t know how but he seemed to know I was there. Perhaps he kept watch for me. I liked to think so.” She rubbed her abdomen as if reliving that time. “I told him I was with child and he was overjoyed. He said he couldn’t wait to watch me grow large with his babe. He promised to present me to his father and mother the very next day, and we would live with his people. I was frightened at the thought of all that strangeness, but he seemed so excited I couldn’t disappoint him.”
“What happened?” Kain asked, his hands clasped tight between his knees.
Astelle drew in a deep breath. “He didn’t return the next day, but I kept watch for him for two weeks, despair lacing my heart. I loved him and I was carrying his child – you.”
“Gwaethe said Orionkael knew he had a son,” Kain said, his voice cold even to his own ears. “Gwaethe is my half-sister.”
Astelle frowned. “Gwaethe,” she said. “A pretty name.”
Kain snapped. “How did Orionkael know he had a son?”
“The story didn’t finish there,” Astelle said, her eyes sadder than he had ever seen them. “Soon after Father and I returned home, I could no longer hide that I was with child and I told my parents the whole story. They were horrified and angry. They forbade me to speak of it, and Father said he would handle everything. I was ashamed and hid myself away from the eyes of my community. Father went on a trip into the mountains and returned with a sack full of gold. He told me that Orionkael’s father – an elven king, no less – had given it to him in reparation for his sins. Father said Orionkael wanted nothing to do with me or my child.” She placed her fist to her mouth to stifle a sob. “My heart broke that day. I felt so alone.”
The Elf King’s Lady: Wildecoast Saga Book 2 Page 11
