Amaskan's Blood, Raven Oak [read me a book .TXT] 📗

man’s name, frowned but let it go with another mug for Ida. The barkeep led them up a rickety flight of stairs to a room in the rear.

“I remembered ya preferred th’room in the back. I’ll let ya have it tonight for tha usual.” No money exchanged hands, nor any indication as to what the “usual” was, but good to her word, the woman left them alone.

The door closed, and Adelei threw off her hood before falling into one of two small beds in the room. Her feet hung off the bed by a good twelve inches, but her hips sank into the stuffed mattress. Adelei sighed in comfort. Ida, mug still in hand, sank into the only chair, which stood by the fireplace.

Ida warmed her fingers as she drank deep of her ale. “Nice inn for the room to have its own fireplace,” Adelei commented from behind drooping eyelids.

“Um-hmmm,” was the only reply the warrior gave.

Adelei’s mouth watered, her tongue tasting the air for the drink’s flavor. Probably watered down or a mild ale, but at this point, she didn’t care. Anything besides stream water.

The room’s warmth and her exhaustion lost her the battle, and she awoke a good twenty minutes later when a light knock sounded on the door. When it opened, a small boy entered, carrying a tray twice his size. The tray was loaded to the brim with food and drink.

Through slitted eyelids, Adelei winced at the serving boy’s reaction when he saw her. Even though she was lying down, he could see her bald head. Ida took the tray from his trembling hands with thanks and a small coin. Fear forgotten, he beamed at the coin as she gently pushed him out the door and locked it behind him.

“Keep the hood on next time,” said Ida. The woman scooted the room’s tiny table and only chair closer to Adelei’s bed—not that it had far to go in so small a room.

Adelei picked up the glass of goat’s milk from the tray. “What in all hells is this?”

Ida chortled. “I guess ya looked like someone in need of milk.” Two more glasses of ale sat on the tray and before Ida could lay claim to both, Adelei switched out the milk for a glass of ale.

“I’ve had worse,” she said after a sip. “Just strong enough to numb the senses some.” She alternated sips with strips of deer meat and potatoes. Ida helped herself to food and even drank down the offending goat’s milk before returning to her ale.

“As we approach Alesta and the castle, keep your head covered. Did ya bring any head wraps or scarves besides your hooded cloak?”

“Both.”

“Good. No need to announce your presence like we just did with that boy.”

“Will it be a problem?” When Ida cocked an eyebrow, Adelei clarified, “The boy?”

“No. If he tells Mel, Mel knows to keep her trap shut.”

Adelei finished her mug of ale, but still felt thirsty. Maybe she should have drunk the milk after all. A knock on the door brought an entire pitcher of ale, and Adelei settled cross-legged on the bed. “How does King Leon wish me to appear once on the job?”

“Depends on what ya thinks necessary, I guess.” Ida belched and pounded her chest once. “Sometimes, you’ll dress as the Princess to be the body double. Though ya might need to use some makeup or somethin’—ya look entirely too much like Princess Margaret. Oh, and you’ll need to wear a wig or a head covering of some sort at times. You’ll be introduced as a guard in special service to the King—that way the royal guards will listen to your commands.”

“Like a sepier.”

“Similar enough, I guess.”

“How many attempts have been made on Her Highness?” Adelei asked, and Ida held up two greasy fingers. “Any idea who hired the hit?”

“Yes, His Majesty’ll give ya the details when ya arrive. The weddin’s two months away, and just about everyone will be in the capital for the royal wedding. The various lords and ladies and dignitaries will be at the castle by the time we arrive—at least those travelin’ from afar. Considerin’ it’s unitin’ two families who’re once sworn enemies, it’ll be a big weddin’. Lots’a state dinners, dances, and the like.”

Ida scowled, and Adelei asked, “I take it you don’t approve?”

“No. I don’t believe His Majesty sold Her Highness for the peace treaty, but I know he would’ve avoided all this if given half the choice. We’ll be passin’ half of the kingdom on the road tomorrow, so we should get some rest while we can.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

The warrior sighed and filled her mug with ale. “Let’s get this over with…”

Capital City of Alesta—254 Adlain 15th

The sleeping woman in his arms shifted, her heel connecting with his shin. The jagged scar to the right of her eye bunched together with worry lines. One of her hands flitted to the scar tissue along her throat, and she whimpered in rhythm to the twitching of the facial muscles around her eyes.

“Shhhhh,” King Leon murmured, running his thumb down her jawline. Through the deep blue bed curtains, tiny hints of light streamed in from one of four windows which left most of the room dark in the early dawn.

Even with the lack of light, the scar running parallel to her jaw stood out in contrast to the others along her body. The puffy and angry line stretched the full width of her neck, from ear to ear. Ten years together, and still she never spoke of it, never talked of the wound that walked in and out of her nightmares.

She thought she’d kept her past from him, but a few paid informants gained a king whatever information he wished. That and the fact that she talked in her sleep. A smile lifted the corners of his thin lips as he stared at the woman wrapped beneath the heavy winter blankets.

He had never set out to find someone else after Catherine, but Ida—she was everything