When she’d first put on the dress and carefully hidden the dagger up her sleeve, she’d been terrified, her eyes darting from one person in the dungeon to another, trying to figure out if any of them had noticed.
But there was no quicker cure for her terror than boredom.
Now, after what had to have been at least an hour since Sophia had come, her emotions cycled rapid-fire, from fear, to anger, to rage, to apathy and back again.
She wasn’t even afraid that the dagger was a trap anymore. It would at least provide her a way to never return to this cell again, to be stuck agonizing over where William and Samuel were, and Linnea, and Thomas, and… She reached up the sleeve of her dress to check the straps of the sheath again, making sure the weapon would be secure, but slide out easily the moment she needed it.
Her hand was still up her sleeve when the dungeon door clanged open again.
Guess I deserved that for getting bored, she thought, as she watched two new guards converse with the one who’d been watching her the whole time.
Blood pounded behind her ears and under her arms as the two guards approached her cell.
Only one of them came inside her cell. He had a rope in his hands. The other stood outside with his sword drawn.
It was so hard to fight the urge to pull her dagger out right then; she’d never before so fully understood how Zander had been able to kill Rahas and Callum. But it wouldn’t accomplish anything right now – she had to repeat that like a mantra as the man moved behind her with the rope. She would only get herself killed for no purpose if she attacked him right now, so she didn’t.
But then, as he pulled her wrists together to tie them, his fingers landed on the solid, heavy shape under her sleeve.
He pressed down, hard.
The whole world started spinning. Images flashed in front of her – her mother, Jeff, Annie, her birth father… and then Owen, and Will, and Samuel. Her coronation, her wedding… her wedding night… falling asleep in William’s arms the other night. She squeezed her eyes closed and bit down on her tongue until she tasted blood.
The guard finished tying her wrists together and then pushed her forward, out of the cell.
* * *
Mia was right, – if Thomas was smart, he would just engrave that phrase on a stone wall somewhere, Mia was right – the soldiers surrounding the town of Wellham didn’t pose much of a challenge to Stephen and his troops. In fact, their arrival helped weed out those soldiers who were loyal to Tolliver. The battle, if it could be called that, was over quickly and was almost bloodless.
The biggest challenge in the whole ordeal was getting Nathaniel, William, Mia, Zander, Linnea, and the three babies up and out of the ravine where the entrance to the cave was located.
Stephen dropped to his knees when he saw his daughter with his grandchildren for the first time. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he held the babies and kissed them tenderly everywhere – on the tops of their tiny heads, their miniature hands, and their feet.
As Zander had suspected, Stephen didn’t have any favorites between the two. Although he practically burst with pride over the news of a long-awaited granddaughter, he spent just as long memorizing his new grandson’s face and whispering blessings into his ear. When he’d finally handed one of the infants to Nathaniel and the other to Zander, he scooped Linnea into his arms, lifting her all the way off the ground and holding her for a long time.
Zander couldn’t help comparing the scene to the one he imagined with his own father, which wouldn’t have been much like this at all.
He didn’t hate his father; he wasn’t even angry at him anymore, at least not the way he’d been before he’d come to this world. The whole being an adult thing was so much different – harder – than he’d imagined it, and his dad had probably been doing the best he knew how. But after watching Stephen, and after seeing William emulate his own father with his son … Zander knew what kind of man, and perhaps father, he wanted to be someday.
Maybe the parents you learned the most important things from didn’t always have to be your own.
Indeed, once Stephen had finished tucking Linnea and the babies under blankets inside a warm, guarded tent, and he’d embraced William long and hard, he turned to Zander.
“Would it be too much to ask?” he said, holding out his arms.
There was no part of Zander left that even wanted to try to object; he just accepted the hug.
“Thank you for taking such good care of my children.”
That Zander could object to. “I think they took just as much care of me. Probably more.”
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be. I’m still grateful for what you chose to do on your own. Also, don’t backtalk when I’m thanking you and telling you that I’m proud of you.”
Okay, so Stephen was way better at this father-thing than he could ever hope to be.
Zander decided it would be easiest just to change the subject. “So what have we missed being down in that cave?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” Stephen said. “We just heard on the way here to you that Quinn was captured?”
“Yes. Along with Thomas, Max, Dorian and Marcus at least. I assume Ellen and Charles are gone as well?”
Luke had been standing nearby, ignoring their conversation while it was personal – he’d spent some time reuniting with Mia, himself – but Zander knew he’d been listening to the last part. “As far as I’ve been able to glean, everyone from your main traveling party was taken, except for some of the guards who escorted you. Percy Kilpatrick was killed in the attempt to stop the soldiers who took them. Nobody knew where the five – now seven – of you were. Ethan Power was afraid you’d been killed when the house burned. We had to stop him trying to go into the mess and search. Now he’s in a healing tent having his burns looked after.”
William got the words out just barely before Zander. “What? Is he hurt badly?”
“I don’t know,” Luke answered. “He was still walking, so I don’t think it’s too serious. I think he’s more upset about not being able to defend Quinn and Thomas and Marcus and Dorian than anything.”
“So we know they were all taken to the castle?” Zander asked.
Stephen nodded. “That’s the best we can assume. We heard a rumor that Tolliver is planning something big at the castle today – some are speculating that it’s his coronation.”
Zander closed his eyes. “You wouldn’t think hearing something like that would surprise me at this point.”’
“Does it actually?”
He looked back up at Stephen. “No. It doesn’t. What does surprise me is that you’re here. What were you thinking?” It wasn’t until the words were in the air with no hope of him retrieving them that he realized how inappropriate it was to speak that way to a king.
Nobody commented, though. Either they were too preoccupied, or they’d just accepted that Zander was never going to learn.
“My children are here, Zander. And I swore a long time ago to defend the alliance between Eirentheos and Philotheum. When I heard that Quinn was mounting an attack against the castle…”
“You thought you’d put yourself in danger, too?”
“How can I be trusted to rule a kingdom if I’m not even willing to fight for my family?”
Zander didn’t have an answer for that one. “So what is your plan?”
“Our plan was to be a surprise second wave for Quinn’s assault on the castle, but now that they have her, and we were detoured here, I really don’t know. Protect my children – that’s it. And kill Tolliver if we can manage it.”
“Can you add Sophia to that list?”
“I haven’t ruled it out.”
“Let’s do it then.” Zander looked down, straightening his cloak and tightening his belt, but when Stephen didn’t answer him after a minute, he looked back up, wary.
Stephen’s eyes were a strange mixture of apology and… something else.
“What?”
“I have a favor to ask of you, Zander.”
“I am not staying here while a king runs off to put himself in danger. It’s not even up for discussion.” He was beyond certain he was crossing a line now, but he didn’t care.
Stephen took a step closer to him, but there was nothing threatening about the movement, if anything the king’s eyes were only gentler and almost… pleading. “Zander… what I’m asking has nothing to do with keeping you away from the battle. It’s a personal favor.” His voice was low. Nobody else would have been able to hear him even if they hadn’t all moved and intentionally begun another conversation.
“The first regiments of soldiers have already gone to the castle. I don’t plan on being involved in a power move. I plan on being there to show my support if – no when – we declare victory. That’s not the place to make your stand, Zander. We still don’t know if there are more traitors here. I need a guard I can trust completely to stay with Linnea and Mia and my grandchildren. I’m not asking you to stay out of the most important place – I’m asking you to stay in it.”
He didn’t know how to argue with that. “All right,” he agreed.
~ Forty-Three ~
Dagger
QUINN DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY there wasn’t a knife in her back right now. The guard knew about the dagger – knew she had something up her sleeve, anyway. Not that she had any idea how to get the dagger out of her sleeve with her hands tied, especially not with people watching.
Perhaps she’d been wrong – there were situations it could be more dangerous to walk into with a weapon up her sleeve. Especially in front of hundreds of people.
She was imagining several of those possible situations when the guard who held her elbow said in a low, gruff voice, “Watch your step.”
She looked up at him so quickly that she almost didn’t heed his instructions, but she caught herself in time to avoid tripping over a stone that had somehow fallen out of the wall in the hallway he was leading her down.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
They’d reached the end of the hall, stopping in front of a huge double set of wooden doors. She was familiar with this part of the castle. These doors led to the main courtyard in front of the castle; this entrance was often used for servants to travel to and from the kitchen during parties.
Today, she was apparently the main course.
There were other people coming up the hall behind them; there were no voices, but she could hear the heavy, steady, clatter of boots on stone.
She wanted desperately to turn and see who was coming, to know who was around her, to understand what Tolliver might be planning for her and the people she loved. But she’d never be able to conceal that peek from the guard, so she looked up at him instead.
She didn’t recognize this guard, either. He hadn’t worked in the castle when she’d lived here; he wasn’t an officer she’d met with. He was just a young-ish man, maybe in his mid-twenties, with sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes.
Maybe he noticed her questioning look, or maybe he’d been somehow planning to tell her all along, but when he looked back at her, he muttered under his breath, “I’m from Dorvale. My wife and children were there.”
Dorvale. The name of that village would be burned in her memory forever – the village where James had saved the children, exchanging their lives for his own. She’d spent the last moons directing her soldiers to find homes for the people displaced there. Many of them had come to live at the army bases themselves, where Quinn knew they’d be provided food, shelter, and safety. The harsh winter had probably made it impossible for many of them to communicate their new whereabouts to their families in other places, though. Especially to guards in the castle.
“All of the children were spared,” she whispered. “And none were without at least one parent.”
There was no time for any other words. The doors in front of them opened then and he moved forward with her, escorting her down the long stone walkway.
Long before they reached the center of the main courtyard, she knew she was in the middle of her worst nightmare.
The entire plaza was filled with people, all dressed in their celebratory best – furs and heavy velvet capes against the winter chill, even though the day was sunny. The light breeze blew straight through the silk fabric of her dress, although she was rather certain it wasn’t the only cause of the goose bumps that erupted all over her body.
The guard held her elbow all the way across the courtyard, and up the carpeted wooden steps of a tall platform that had been erected in front of the audience.
Even before she reached the stairs, her appearance caused a reaction in the waiting people; a cacophony of boos, whistles, cheers, and applause grew from a small stirring to an enormous swell.
She nearly stumbled on the second step from the top – but this time it wasn’t because of an obstacle in her path.
At least not of the physical kind. What she saw up on the platform made her whole body weak.
The guard caught and steadied her before walking her the rest of the way to the middle of the stage, stopping just before they reached Thomas, Max, Marcus, and Dorian. He positioned her just to the side of Thomas and then moved behind her; they were so close to the green velvet curtain hanging behind them that it moved when the guard did, so he pushed her a tiny bit forward.
Her heart was pounding so hard she almost didn’t feel the tugging sensation at her wrists, and even when she did, she didn’t understand what had happened for a minute.
The rope was still there, dangling from her wrists. At a casual glance, it probably even looked like her hands were still tied – but she could get them free.
In the next moment, the guard disappeared down the steps.
* * *
Once Stephen and Luke gave the orders for their troops to move out, they were gone so quickly Zander wasn’t even sure how it had happened.
For all the talk of titles and war heroes, Zander knew he wasn’t at that level of being a guard. He might never be. Hopefully keeping the people he cared about safe today would be enough.
William was just stepping out of the tent as he walked over to it.
“How are they?” Zander asked.
“Good, all things considered. Linnea is exhausted and sore; she’ll need lots of help. I did get some food into her. The babies are small but healthy.”
“How did you not know it was twins? Weren’t there two heartbeats?”
“I’m sure there were, but I wasn’t searching for them, and a stethoscope is pretty inaccurate. It’s possible, in your world, for an ultrasound to miss a second baby if it’s hiding behind the other one. In our world, though, the baby doesn’t really even have to hide. Linnea was a surprise baby like that herself, from the stories I’ve heard.”
“Does that kind of thing run in families?”
“Non-identical twins? Yes. My mother had two sets. My sisters all have a higher than normal chance of having them.”
“Not Quinn, though?” He regretted the words as soon as they were out. This was not the time to be mentioning her.
William must have seen the panic in his eyes. “I’m holding it together for now, Zander. For her and for our son.” Then he shrugged. “I don’t know if twins run in her family or not. I guess I should ask. I’ll do that later today when I see her.”
He swallowed, deciding to follow William’s example. Worrying wouldn’t do any good while they were stuck here anyway. “I really can’t decide if the whole thing is awesome or a nightmare.”
“It’s definitely awesome – but we’re all going to have to help Linnea.” He patted Zander on the shoulder. “I’m going to go over to the medical tent with Nathaniel and check on Ethan.”
“Should I go in there, do you think?” He raised an eyebrow toward the tent.
“Just don’t wake any baby who happens to be sleeping.”
Only one of the three babies in the tent was sleeping when Zander stepped in. The baby boy was crashe
d out next to Linnea, swaddled tight in the top part of a much-too-large blanket meant for soldiers.
Samuel was wide awake – and not happy about being stuck inside a tent his father had left.
“Can you sit with them for a few minutes?” Mia asked, as she bounced Samuel on her hip near the door.
He looked outside to make sure the tent was heavily guarded with people he trusted. Kian was out there, so he nodded and held the flap open for her until the two of them were safely out.
“Hey,” he whispered as he walked over to the large bed someone – okay, he knew who – had built on the ground for Linnea from piles of blankets. More blankets were rolled and stacked up behind her so she could be propped up, but still rest if she wanted.
“Hi.” She looked up from where she’d been staring at the baby girl in her arms. Mia had even brushed out Linnea’s hair and braided it back. She looked much more comfortable than she had earlier – and heartbreakingly beautiful. He knew he should know better than to think that, than to see her that way, but it was true. He’d felt it for a long time, although until right now he’d mostly been able to keep the feelings at bay.
He crouched down next to the side of the blanket-bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Don’t sit on the ground, Zander. There’s enough bed here for eight people.”
“I’m all right.”
“Let me rephrase. I’m not going to let you near my babies if you’re covered with dirt.”
“Now you’re just avoiding my question.” Still, he sat down on the blankets, keeping his distance the best he could.
“I’m not the one violating our agreement about stupid questions.”
“Whether a question is actually stupid is sort of dependent on the context, Linnea. If we were in my world, you’d be in the hospital right now. I think ‘How are you feeling?’ is appropriate.”
She smiled. “You’re getting better at this.”
“Yes, I am. So what about you? The truth, this time.”
Leaves of Revolution Page 32
