Erin stepped inside, quickly taking in the attitude of the two women and the moisture in Bethany’s eyes. Cilia bobbed a curtsy and ducked past the knight.
“You all right?” he asked as he shut the door.
“Yes. Just reaching an understanding with Cilia.”
Erin nodded, looking as though he didn’t know what to make of her statement.
“Erin, do you know anything about Gilead’s death?”
The knight’s face crumpled into a bleak glare, his green eyes darkening with anger.
“I’m sorry, Erin. I don’t know why I said that,” Bethany said as she stood up. “It was stupid of me. Besides, you can’t keep a secret from me.”
The glare faded from his features, replaced by a look Bethany couldn’t interpret. “Oh?”
Bethany let out a deep, tired sigh as she patted him on the arm. She had barely been out of bed for an hour and yet she already felt as though she could sleep until the next sunrise. Erin reached out and gripped her elbow, providing her the support of his strong statures.
“Is it bedtime yet?” she asked, giving him a sad, weary smile.
Erin cocked an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips.
Bethany released his arm and gave him a hard thwack on the chest. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Pity.”
Her smile grew. “I’ve been thinking,” she said as she moved to the door. “We need to get word to the outlying farms. If Wolfric is on his way here, then we need to inform our people.”
Erin nodded. “I’m afraid to say I’ve already sent word to Carthind, and a few of the other villages lying between us and the Whitecaps. I’m sorry. I should have waited for you.”
Bethany patted him on the arm. “You’ve simply saved me one more thing to do.”
“You’ve simply saved me one more thing to do,” she said, smiling up at him.
She was so pretty when she smiled. Erin felt his heart ache. He wanted to take her into his arms and make her feel safe, make it clear just how he felt about her. After all, she wasn’t engaged anymore. The minute she knew she was free from Gilead’s rules, she ended the engagement with Miach.
Erin had nearly cheered when she stood up to the pompous old fool and, based on the expressions throughout the room, so had everyone else. Whether she realized it or not, Bethany’s unassuming ways and gentle kindness had earned her the respect of the entire castle. Though the citizens at large had not grown to know and love her, those that mattered had. They were more than willing to bow to their new queen.
He kept these thoughts to himself, knowing they would only unsettle her.
Erin wanted to ask about her plans regarding marriage, now that Miach was no longer an issue, but he knew now was not the time. She had a long day ahead of her as she acquainted herself with her brother’s current policies and prepared for the likely attack.
Working to hide the humor he felt gurgling up inside his heart, Erin considered Bethany’s statement about secrets. She thought she could read him like a book. Little did she realize he was still holding onto one secret.
He loved her and, when this was all over, he would tell her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lyolf stood, watching his men settle into the tiny valley allotted them for their camp. Though he had travelled with the king over the Whitecap Mountains, he would be leading the troops from Nava. Lyolf nodded to the man standing beside him, only now aware that he hadn’t actually been listening to the man’s report.
“We’ll discuss it further when I return,” said Lyolf before swinging himself up into his saddle.
He didn’t give the other man a chance to respond before kicking his horse into a fast caster out of the tiny valley. All the troop leaders were meeting with Wolfric in a distant vale, closer to the wide, rolling slopes of Dothan. Lyolf had a long ride ahead of him. His troops were stationed in one of the farthest little niches, sandwiched by the rising peaks of the Whitecaps.
As the sun was nearing its zenith, Lyolf descended the steep incline into the valley. He spotted Wolfric’s white head among the men settling down around a small fire. Lyolf urged his horse on, winding through the switch backs of the narrow path. When he finally arrived, Lyolf handed his reigns off to a slave and joined the other men.
“Ah, Lyolf. Good, good,” said the king.
Wolfric glanced around the group, counting in his head.
“Still missing Jonak and his group.”
They waited another hour before discussing their plans, Jonak still missing in action. When Wolfric finally dismissed the various leaders, certain that each man knew their part of the plan by heart, he waved to his sons and Lyolf.
Lyolf stifled his groan. He had a long ride to return to his soldiers. He didn’t want to stay and chat with his brothers, much less the king. Obediently, he joined his family at the far end of the little clearing.
“So, no Jonak. He had nearly one hundred men with him,” grumbled the king.
“You think they didn’t make it?” asked Fed.
Rulfric tried his best to stifle a cough, and Wolfric glared at him.
“Was his group assigned to attack one of the villages?” Lyolf asked, eying his younger brother. Was Rulfric sick?
“No. All they had to do was cross the Whitecaps.”
“That all?” asked Lyolf, cringing as he recognized the hostility in his own voice.
Wolfric glared at him for a moment before speaking. “It seems it was enough. That’s going to cost us.”
Lyolf nodded. In a normal battle, a hundred men was a small loss, but with a plan that depended more on secrecy than brute strength, the loss of a hundred men was devastating. Before they even started, a tenth of their fighting force was dead.
“The plan will still work,” said Fed, for once not sounding like the pompous young man Lyolf had known in Tolad.
His injuries have settled him, thought Lyolf. Given him reason to stop and consider.
The result was, when Féderic announced “the plan will still work,” Lyolf didn’t immediately dismiss it as the hopes and wonders of a foolish lad.
“I’m not saying that it isn’t a loss,” Fed continued when he noticed the doubt in Wolfric’s eyes. “Just that we can still manage it. It’s a good plan, Father. We can do it, all the same. My men are ready to do their part, with or without Jonak’s assistance.”
Jonak’s men had been assigned with Fed’s to handle a specific task, the rest of the plan hinging on their success. The loss of the hundred men would either make them faster and quieter, or make them too weak to succeed.
Lyolf glanced at the king, doubt still playing in is aging eyes. Was the king worried the plan wouldn’t succeed, or that his heir might die in the process. Granted, he still had Rulfric and Cedric. Lyolf’s eyes drifted back to Rulfric. The boy looked horrible. A light sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead and dark circles lined his eyes. Lyolf wanted to point out his brother’s obvious illness, but he knew better. Wolfric would just be harder on the boy if anyone else tried to baby him.
“Unless there is more,” hinted Lyolf.
“Yes of course. We’ll see you in three days’ time, celebrating in the great hall of Dothan.”
Lyolf forced his lips up into a smile. He still felt conflicted. He didn’t want to attack Bethany’s people. She had suffered enough at the hands of his family, but he was still a son of the Tolad queen. It was his duty to obey his king.
He gave his king a low bow and returned to his horse. If he was lucky, he would reach his own camp as the sunset.
Bethany paced along the battlements of the large city of Dothan. Six personal guards walked ahead of her and six behind. Erin walked beside her. Since her brother had died a week ago, Erin had barely left her side. She appreciated the way he took the threat on her life seriously, even if she was growing annoyed with her guards. She knew, though, that the threat was real and, as the only living royal adult, she was duty bound to take the threat seriously too.
Will I ever be allowed to please myself? she wondered as she slipped her arm into Erin’s without considering her action.
They were walking the full length of the city battlements, looking for weak points, and Bethany was beginning to grow tired in her long, sweeping gown. The yards of fabric were warm under the summer sun. Dressing like a queen was beginning to grow annoying.
She tried to keep her eyes focused on the issue, but each bit of stone wall looked like the last bit of wall. Her only thought on the topic of walls was: why must they be so long?
Bethany frowned, her feet stopping of their own accord. Erin skidded to a stop and turned back to look at her. Bethany glanced back over her shoulder at the long line of the city walls. At least a quarter of a mile away, the walls turned northward. Bethany turned and looked ahead. Though they were nearing the next turn, it was still a decent distance away.
She motioned for the captain of the city guards and Brom, the captain of the castle guards, to join them. The two men pushed through her crowd of protectors and gave her a deep bow.
“How long are the walls?” she asked, still glancing back and forth, spotting three pacing soldiers within her line of sight.
“To walk the whole distance is over five miles, my lady,” replied the city guard.
“And how many guards do you have on duty at any given time?”
“Uh… it depends, my lady.”
“Roughly speaking.”
“Fifty?”
Bethany tried to hide her annoyance. He should know the answer to this question.
“That seems rather low considering how much space there is to be guarded,” replied Bethany, glancing up at Erin.
His brows were pulled down in a frown, further emphasizing his scars. Evidently she had asked the right question.
“We simply don’t have enough men to have more guards on duty and allow them enough time to rest. Tired guards are useless guards.”
Bethany nodded. There was truth in his words. But the facts were the facts. An army was on the way.
“We need more guards,” she replied, stating the obvious.
“There aren’t more to be had. I’ve already borrowed men from Brom.”
The captain of the castle guards—and the first person she had spoken to on returning to Dothan—nodded. “I have nothing left to provide. We are already running on skeletal crews.”
Bethany fought against the urge to scream. Why can’t one thing be easy?
“We need to guard the southern approaches the most,” stated Erin, commenting for the first time. “Most likely Wolfric will attack the nearest portion of the wall to the Whitecaps. He’s a straight forward sort of man. Increase the guards on the southern walls and towers, taking from the northern.”
“And if he comes around and knocks on the back door?” Bethany asked.
Bethany watched as Erin began to grind his teeth in frustration. She wanted to scold him, but chose not to in front of the others. He needed to be respected by all the men. After all, she was about to make him general over her troops, what few she had.
“Erin, remember when we were in the rocky area, after the wolf attack? I could always tell when you were coming back to the cave, ‘cause I could hear the rocks clank together.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“What if we can hear them coming?” she asked.
“How?”
Bethany frowned. “String up tin cups, bits of metal, whatever we can find. If they try to scale the northern walls, we’ll hear them coming.”
“It won’t give us much warning—if they’re already climbing the walls,” said the castle guard captain.
“No, but better than none. If they come around to the northern walls, it will be better that our guards spot them, but just in case, we’ll have some warning.”
The men chewed on her words for a few moments. “We don’t have the man power to make up these strings,” scoffed the guardsman, intent on finding fault with her plan.
“The women can prepare the strings of metal bits. They might even be able to assist with hanging them from the walls.”
“I think it’s worth a try,” said Erin before the annoying guardsman could speak again.
“Good. I’ll arrange the women to get started on this. Also, get the children up on the walls.”
“Children?” asked the men in unison.
“Not to fight,” Bethany said with a grimace. “To watch. They have eyes like any of us, some better than others. They can help watch. If the enemy is spotted, they will be sent to their homes, but they can still help keep watch.”
“Good idea, my queen,” replied Erin, effectively silencing any response from the other men.
They continued moving, taking the first staircase down to the ground. Once again, Bethany slipped her arm into Erin’s. His free hand moved to cover her fingers.
“Have Cilia take charge of this project,” he said, interrupting their comfortable silence as they approached their horses. “You’ll be needed elsewhere. Cilia can handle it.”
Bethany nodded. She didn’t want to admit that Erin was right. She wanted to be involved, to get her hands dirty, but she was quickly learning that being a queen meant delegating.
Bethany took a deep breath, forcing her to broach the subject of Erin becoming her general.
“Erin, I want to promote you,” she said, her voice catching in her throat.
“Oh? Bodyguard to the queen is a pretty posh position, my lady. How could you promote me?”
Bethany could hear the playfulness of his voice. It pushed her nerves away. She may have changed over the last week, but he was still the same old Erin who had protected her from bandits and cared for her when she had gotten drunk. Bethany blushed at the memory of waking up naked with him.
“I want to make you general over my whole army.”
Erin was silent for a long moment. “I appreciate that. I do, Bethany. But how do you think your generals will feel? I am an outsider, comparatively new. More than that, I once served Wolfric. They won’t trust me.”
“The displaced generals might not trust you, but the men do. I’ve seen you working with them.”
Bethany stopped beside her horse, turning so as to make it clear she was not ready to mount.
“Maybe,” replied Erin.
Bethany waved for her guards to step forward. All twelve men surrounded them.
“Men, you know Sir Caldry. You have worked with him as my guards and trained with him in the yard. How would you feel if he became general over all my troops? You have my permission to speak freely, without hesitation or fear of reprisal.”
The men didn’t hesitate as they began to nod and give their assent. Not waiting for each other, they all talked at once.
“He knows more about Wolfrics’ tactics than the old codgers.”
“He listens to us.”
“Rather serve him any day.”
The praise continued to flow and Bethany smiled up at Erin. The knight was blushing, causing his scars to stand out white against his red skin. Bethany enjoyed the way he squirmed, not daring to meet the men’s gaze as they poured out their praise.
“Then it is settled,” said Bethany as the twelve guards finally ran out of kind words. “I’ll make the announcement when we get to the castle.”
Bethany turned, indicating she was ready for Erin to assist her into her saddle.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bethany sat in her brother’s office, sifting through the myriad of reports that had been coming in since the Lurran appeared and trying in vain to not think of all the loved ones she had lost over the past couple months. To avoid the pain of her memories, she dug into the pile of papers before her.
Carthind, the only major city lying between Dothan and the Whitecaps, had reported no signs of an army and that they were preparing for an attack. Another report came from Miach. His troops were preparing to make their journey from their western location. It would be a long enough journey, but there were
few mountains to climb. With any luck they would arrive in Dothan in less than a week.
Bethany pushed the loose strands of her hair out of her face. It felt as though the damned hair knew when best to annoy her. She took up the next report. It was from Jokan, the city guard captain. The Lurran had offered themselves to help man the walls, despite their injuries. Jokan had agreed to it only after Bethany ordered him to. Thankfully, the report in her hand declared them to be “a useful, far-sighted sort of people”.
Bethany blew out a humph of annoyance. He was only now realizing this?
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes?”
A wide-eyed servant opened the door. “You’re needed on the wall, my lady.”
Bethany was up and out of her seat before the woman could curtsy. She barreled past the frightened girl, lifting her skirts as she ran. A twinge of guilt slowed her steps as she thought of the lecture her mother would have given her had she seen her daughter run with her ankles visible. Despite how annoyed Bethany had once been at these lectures, now she would have given anything to hear one last speech.
Once out of the castle, she increased her speed until her sides heaved with the need for air. Her legs burned with the unusual exertion as she pounded up the stone steps. She stopped at the top, her eyes taking in the seen in the distance.
Erin jogged to her side from where he stood on the tall battlements.
“Wolfric?” she gasped, eyeing the indistinct groupings massing on the hillside.
“I don’t know anyone else who might mass an army at your doorsteps,” Erin replied, sounding strangely bitter.
“Something wrong?”
Erin stared at her for a second before staring at the outlying enemy. “I’ve already sent most of the castle guards on to report to Jokan.”
Bethany wanted to push and make him tell her what was troubling him, but chose not to. “Not many left to defend the castle?”
“If they manage to get through the city walls, we’ll fall back and defend the castle, but there’s no point leaving capable men on the inner walls if all the action is on the outer ones.”
The Dothan Chronicles: The Complete Trilogy Page 79
