Ever the Brave (A Clash of Kingdoms Novel)(16)
“I have King Aodren,” I blurt, though it must be obvious. Times like these I could crack myself over the head. When the king doesn’t open his mouth, I consider doing the same to him.
Say something. I poke him in the spine, and he speaks, thank the gods.
“Open . . . the . . . gate.”
The two guards, like scared dogs, cower into bows before scurrying to the guardhouse and yelling into the courtyard at their fellows. Not a moment later, the metal teeth of the gate screech upward from the bridge’s end.
How can I explain that King Aodren was attacked in the forest by a Spiriter without giving myself away? The guards will question the death of the king’s men who didn’t return. I doubt anyone besides Cohen, Captain Omar, Leif, Gillian, and me know what happened in the king’s quarters that day over a month ago. If I want a chance at living a peaceful life on Papa’s land, that’s a secret that’ll have to follow me to passing.
Other than the guard holding his sword ready, they’ve made no threat on my person. Still, I watch them carefully as the guards escort us beneath the spiked metal gate to the outer keep.
The yard smells of smoke and manure. Two men emerge from the stables. At the sight of the broad-shouldered red-headed bear of a guard, relief cracks the tension weighing on me since the glade.
“Britta.” Leif rushes to my side. “You’ve been riding?”
With the king? can be heard in his tone. He knows I’d never visit Castle Neart of my own volition. Nor spend time alone with the country’s ruler.
I shrug, having no answer to give in front of present company.
A groom lays down braided thrushes for the king to dismount onto. I slide off Snowfire’s other side into the stable dirt.
Leif approaches me while others swarm Aodren. I wonder if it’s always this way for him, men at his heels to do his bidding. I scrunch up my face. Seems that way.
Leif takes my bow from Snowfire’s holder and gives it to me. “Tell me what happened.” Coming from him, it doesn’t seem so much like a command from one of the king’s guard as it does a nudge from a good friend. He escorts Snowfire and me into a stall at the back where the stable is empty.
“He was attacked in the Evers.” My voice drops to a whisper. “I found him unconscious.”
“What about his men? Where were they?”
“Both dead.”
Leif’s shock turns his ruddy complexion pale. “Have you informed the gate guards? Anyone?”
I shake my head.
“Captain Omar needs to know right away.” He starts to leave but must see the distaste on my face. “I thought you were past that.”
I straighten my quiver and hold my bow to my chest. “Would you like to see the scars on my back?”
Leif has the decency to wince. He softly chucks my shoulder with his fist. “I’ll do all the talking. Yeah?” He signals a groom, who comes in with brushes and a towel for my sweating horse.
I mutter an agreement and reluctantly fall into step with him, trailing the guards and Aodren.
Leif veers closer, lowering his voice. “They’re going to ask how you came to be alone with the king. It’s better to have the captain on your side for this.”
I chew my lip, because though Leif has visited me nearly every day, I still haven’t confessed the connection that was forged between the king and me. I cannot tell anyone until I’ve told Cohen. There’s also the matter of telling Leif and Captain Omar that the Spiriter who conspired with Lord Jamis is nearby. She isn’t alone. And she claims to be my mother.
Unlike the few times I’ve been here before, the inner court is empty of lords and ladies. The guards must be pleased about this, seeing as the moment they got Aodren off the horse, they formed a cocoon around him. The guards can relax their circle.
Inside the inner gate, Leif informs the others that he’s taking me to be questioned by the captain of the guard. Leif and I take the hall leading away from the inner court, while the king and his men travel beneath the arcading.
The farther we walk from Aodren, the more his tug diminishes. It’s still there, but not as insistent as we pass the dungeon and take the stairs to the lower yard. With the chaos in the woods, I hadn’t noticed it till now. Even so, it’s nice to be free of the connection.
A span of emerald lawn runs from the stairs and the guards’ quarters, hugging the base of the castle to a low rock wall that edges the cliff. Here, the castle is free of the battering northeastern winds that tear through the Evers in the winter. Here, it almost could be spring for how the winter sun warms the side of the castle. It’s tempting to throw my head back and breathe in the sunshine, but I follow Leif to the guards’ quarters, where he stops at a door and knocks twice.
A whispery breeze manages to wind around the castle and whip strands of blond into my mouth. I rest my bow against my leg and weave my wayward hair into a braid. Just as I finish, the door swings open, handle grasped by Captain Omar. I pick up my bow, fingers flexing around the curved wood.
Don’t sneer. Do not sneer.
Severe scowl and a sleek graying beard give the captain of the king’s guard the look of a hawk. Hungry, ruthless predator. His gaze flicks over me, landing on my bow, before turning to Leif.
“News?” The man’s mouth pinches.
Leif explains my arrival, telling the captain the basics—King Aodren was attacked; I found him in the woods, protected him, and returned him to the castle. The tightening muscles around the older man’s eyes tell me he’s preparing to fire question after question at me.