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

stepped out of the stall, Midnight’s body had been removed, and she stared at the lightened stone where her battle steed had fallen. “I had them wrap him in burlap and haul him to the city gate. We can take him by cart to a field for burnin’ when ya wish, though I recommend sooner than later,” Ida said, and she followed Adelei through the stables.

“We’ll stow Midnight’s gear in my room until… well, a replacement won’t be sent. Not anymore.” Adelei rubbed her jaw with a finger. Outside, the air was quiet again, but hints of light called out across the horizon. Soon the morning sun would rise, and Adelei would report to the King about this latest attempt by the Tribor assassins.

And all too soon she’d be back to guarding her Royal Highness. No sleep tonight. Adelei wearily climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. Each step set her chin to rub against Midnight’s saddle blanket. The smell of horse and grass brought tears to her eyes. Soon though, she would find the person responsible for the mark.

Princess Margaret’s sitting room remained silent at this hour. A light snore bumped against the door and drifted through the cracks from Her Highness’s rooms. Adelei opened the door to her small room. The decorations from before were gone from the storage chest, and Adelei set Midnight’s gear inside. Ida passed her the saddle, which didn’t fit, and Adelei tucked it across the desk’s chair.

“Come, let’s go honor my horse before Her Royal Highness wakes to complain about lumpy beds and silly rules,” she said with more humor than she felt.

Let’s go honor my horse, who was more my family than my own sister. What does that say about me?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Heavy bags beneath sagging eyes told Adelei that King Leon hadn’t visited his bed either this night, now day. When she spoke of the attack, he hung his head. “I’m truly sorry about your horse,” he said. “But I like even less that another attack has been made on your life. Were you able to ascertain anything from this hired-thug before he killed himself?”

She shook her head. “He knew I’d try. This one came very prepared.”

When he raised an eyebrow, she spoke of the adenneith. “Your Majesty, it burned like nothing I’d ever seen before. If Ida hadn’t known how to stop it, I’m not sure it would have stopped at all until everything but the stone belly of the castle was left.”

“Would it have truly devoured everything?”

Adelei nodded. “It burned everything it touched except the stable’s stone floor, be it hay, wood, or… or horse. It certainly dissolved the Tribor’s body. I never even got to search his body properly.”

“You said Ida was familiar with this?” He summoned a page by hooking his finger. “Fetch Captain Warhammer.” To her he added, “We will wait for the captain to discuss this further.”

When he gestured for her to sit, she claimed a cushionless stool. Of several, it looked most stable. The corners poked her rear, and she shifted in place. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was intentional to hurry along audiences with unwanted guests. Master Bredych had used this same trick.

Two men in two different kingdoms—yet an abundance of similarities between her two fathers, though neither would admit to such a connection. As much as it pained her, they were both her father.

She glanced up at the King’s face to find him watching her as well. If anything, he looked ten years older this morning. Familiar creases tripled in depth, especially those across his forehead as his brows tried to dig themselves deep into his pale skin.

Several squires and pages idled in the background of his audience chamber, giving them no privacy. For once, Adelei wished it, shifting the weight from one hip to the other and back again on the stool. I’d be willing to bet that’s why he hasn’t slept—the talk with Margaret. I don’t think that was a positive conversation.

Adelei itched to ask about it. I don’t need another reason for my sister to hate me. This job is difficult enough without the situation growing grimmer by the minute.

The rear doors opened, and Captain Warhammer closed the distance quickly before bowing to the King. “You called for me, Your Majesty?”

“I did, Captain. Master Adelei tells me of a… a poison that is a great danger to my kingdom. I would hear your knowledge on this subject.” Tired eyes grew bleak as Ida divulged what knowledge she held. Adelei watched them from the discomfort of her stool.

When Ida spoke, the King leaned forward in his chair, and his gaze followed her every move. When speaking to him, Ida’s voice softened, though with the gravel-like timbre of her voice, not even when soft could her voice be described as delicate or feminine.

The way their eyes lit up and the corners of their mouths danced with each word made Adelei nod. Ida spoke the truth about their relationship. He loves the woman who kidnapped me. And she loves a deceptive fool.

The mix of pain and joy pierced her armor. It was a relief when Ida finished, and King Leon turned his attention to Adelei. “Do you think this was an isolated use of the poison? Something he used when backed into a corner?”

“Normally, I would think this what it appeared to be—a last minute, desperate tactic to escape capture. But with the closeness to the wedding, I can only think it’s not. They intend to stop me any way necessary as long as I am here.”

“But why? What is so important—” Adelei stared at her father, and his words fell from his mouth as understanding spread across his face.

“I am a danger to Her Highness and Your Majesty as long as I remain here.”

It was a truth they both knew, and yet the father bled through the King. “You cannot leave. I—”

Adelei held up her hand and gestured at the others still in the room. “I