Reign Of Shadows: Rise Of Fire Part 9

"No, princess. I don't."

"Indeed," an older voice that reminded me of crackling leaves inserted. The sound of it made me stop chewing and pay closer attention to the man seated on the other side of Chasan. "He does not. Nor do any of us know you. Sire," he called out, the chair creaking as he leaned forward, "how can you be certain this girl is the heir to Relhok? For all we know, a fraud sits at your table."

I forgot my unease with Chasan and all those other hard-eyed gazes, asking the prince, "Who is that?"

"Bishop Frand," the prince answered, sounding smug.

"Even if the girl had not admitted it, I would know," King Tebald insisted in lofty tones as he stuffed something into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, lips smacking before adding, "I spent many hours in the company of Lady Avelot. Her portrait hangs in my gallery. Take a look for yourself."

My head snapped in the king's direction. "You have a portrait of my mother?"

"Yes; I shall be happy to show it to you, my dear. Would you like that?"

I nodded dumbly, because what else could I say? Of course a daughter would want to see a portrait of the mother she never knew. If only I could see. But I couldn't. I would never see my mother. Never hear her voice. Never know her. But this man did, and it struck me as wholly unfair. It made me stuff food into my mouth faster, as though that would somehow fill the hollowness inside of me.

"Yes, perhaps we should all inspect this portrait and make a comparison," the bishop agreed, his voice snide in a way that made my shoulders tighten.

"Bishop Frand, I can't imagine why you need to weigh in on the matter at all." The king's voice lashed like a whip, a firm reminder that he alone was king here and the one to decide anything, most notably whether I was the heir to Relhok. Admittedly, it comforted me. For now, he was on my side. If we were at odds, it would be a different matter, but I didn't need to think about that right now. Not yet. Hopefully, I would be gone from here before I ever had to worry about that.

"I am certain you may wish to reflect on this more, Your Majesty. You're never one for hasty decisions." The bishop adopted a conciliatory tone, but his voice was no less grating. "The king of Relhok will not recognize this girl's claim to the throne. It throws his and his son's claim into jeopardy. And where will that leave your daughter, who is betrothed to King Cullan's son?"

With those words I knew the peril in which I'd just landed. Anyone here who did not want Cullan's claim to the throne contested would not tolerate me. Suddenly, standing Outside surrounded by dwellers felt safer than this.

"Should we really discuss such affairs right now?" the prince asked, his smooth voice sounding bored . . . and yet a tension emanated from him that belied the tone of his voice.

The king slammed his goblet down on the table with a heavy clang. "I care not what might offend Cullan. He's kept his son from me for two years, stringing me along, never revealing that he in fact was gone. Prince Fowler and Maris should have already wed. I am quite finished playing puppet to Cullan's whims."

Still the bishop talked. "If you insist that she's the late king's daughter, consider what this means for our alliance, for our kingdom." He did not know when to stop. Even I knew Tebald's temper was high and he didn't need to be pushed further.

"Bishop Frand," the king cut in. "I was not aware that you were appointed to the role of advisor. Nor are you so insightful that you can call yourself an oracle. No, we have not been fortunate enough to have an oracle in over twenty years. An oracle would be someone useful. We are left instead with you and your unbearably long sermons."

A taut silence fell over the hall. The king's displeasure became thick, palpable as the steam that rose from the platters of freshly roasted meat that servers had just deposited on the tables.

"Perhaps you need to take leave of us this evening and drop to your knees in prayer, Frand. After deep and thoughtful reflection, your insights might become something more valuable, something that I may require in the future." The dismissal was clear.

A heavy, awkward pause followed before the bishop pushed back his chair. The legs sc.r.a.ped over the stone floor, discordant and jarring in the silence. I felt his gaze scour me before his tread signaled his departure, his heavy receding steps indicating a man of great girth. In a world where people were starving and eating bats that led them to madness, he was corpulent.

After he left, the hall gradually revived with conversation and the sounds of eating.

Chasan leaned into my side again. "Already making friends."

I hesitated in tearing a piece of flaky bread that was seasoned with herbs and a flavorful oil that I had never tasted before. "That's not my purpose here."

"Oh. You have a purpose, princess? Enlighten me."

His derision warned me that Frand wasn't my only enemy. For whatever reason, this boy did not like me either. "Not that it's your concern, but once Fowler is well, I'll be on my way." He chuckled at that. I stiffened. "Am I the b.u.t.t of a joke?"

"I'm merely amused."

"Why is that?"

"You just revealed yourself to be the late King Relhok's daughter . . . the true heir to Relhok. Cullan, the current ruler of Relhok, is my father's greatest enemy or ally depending on the day." He paused, and his arm stretched along the back of my chair, brus.h.i.+ng my shoulders in a way that made me lean forward to escape him. "You aren't going anywhere, princess. Possibly ever."

The food in my stomach suddenly felt like rocks as I turned his words over in my head. It seemed pretty clear then that the only way I was leaving this place was through a calculated escape. First order of business: ferret out information on all entrances and exits into the castle.

"Scribe!" the king called, his voice carrying over the conversation of everyone in the great hall and drawing my attention from Chasan. "Send for the scribe!"

Moments pa.s.sed, and whisper-soft footsteps scurried over the polished floor. "Here, Your Majesty."

"Are you ready? Take a missive." King Tebald didn't wait for an answer before continuing, "It is with great joy that I share the news of the princess of Relhok's survival and good health . . ." The scratching of quill on parchment filled the air. "She is safe and well and resides with us where, fear not, she will continue to prosper under our most diligent care and affections . . ."

"Father, are you certain that you should alert him that we have her?" the prince asked, an edge to his voice.

Have her. As though I were a possession.

The significance of this sank in, and hope flared to life in me. Cullan would know I lived. He'd have no reason to continue killing girls in his hunt for me. "Yes," I blurted. "Do it. Let him know." Please, please, let him know.

Chasan leaned closer again, his liquid voice turning acidic. "You're not fully apprehending the situation. If Cullan killed your parents to control Relhok, he will not wish you well. He believes you dead now. Are you certain you wish to alert him to the contrary?"

"He already knows," I responded, my tone urgent, excited at stopping the slaughter of so many innocents with a mere letter from Tebald. "He's looking for me. That's what motivated his kill order. If he knows I live, he'll lift the kill order. There will be no need for it."

"He may very well be looking for you, but he doesn't know where you are."

"Let him know," I boldly tossed down.

At my emphatic words, the king chuckled lightly, alerting me that he had been listening from where he sat addressing the scribe. "You do remind me of your mother. She was a fine, spirited la.s.s, too. Kind and full of mettle." I smiled. I couldn't stop myself. I no longer had this-no longer had Perla and Sivo whispering of past things.

I listened with a light heart as the scribe finished taking down the king's message.

"Idiot girl," Chasan muttered beside me.

I bristled, liking him even less with every pa.s.sing moment.

"That takes care of that," Tebald announced. "Cullan will know you live now and that you are here. You and Prince Fowler."

"How long will it take for him to receive the missive?" I asked, anxiousness making me sit up straighter.

"Not long. We'll send a courier bird out with it at once."

I ducked my head, so overcome with relief that tears burned my eyes. The senseless killing would stop. I wasn't foolish enough to think Tebald's motives altruistic, but the fact remained that he was helping me save lives. For that I was grateful.

I sucked in a breath, relief warming a path through me. "Thank you," I murmured. It was everything I wanted, after all . . . for Cullan to know I lived so that he would end his bloodthirsty hunt to find me. That had been the goal. Now if he wanted me dead, he could come after me directly. And maybe he would. I swallowed against the bitter lump in my throat, thinking of Chasan's warning.

I gave myself a hard mental shake. It didn't matter. The importance of my life waned when held up against scores of others. All those girls, faceless innocents, would not die because of me. The only monsters they had to fight were the ones we all had to fight.

Besides, I would be long gone from here before Cullan's men showed up. I was uncertain where to go next. Could I continue on to Allu? Continue the journey I had set out on with Fowler? It seemed so long ago since we'd left my tower.

I didn't need to go to Relhok anymore. Not unless I was ready to lay claim to my throne . . . if that's what I wanted to do. Did I want my throne? Did I need it to be mine? I had to sort out what was right-not just for me but for the people of Relhok. I winced. I knew that Cullan at the helm of the kingdom wasn't what was right or best for anyone. Even Fowler, his son, knew that.

"You're quite welcome." Tebald looked at me. I could feel his stare, cold as an icicle. I'd have to get over that. Perhaps it was just the way of kings-to stare so hard that their gazes felt like blades sc.r.a.ping the flesh back from your bones.

We continued to eat, the conversation flowing more naturally, except from Chasan. He sat beside me, detached. "And how is it you come to be with Prince Fowler? That's quite the coincidence. To say nothing of unusual," he murmured after some moments. "Considering that you claim his father murdered your parents, he is the last person I would suspect you to ally with."

I bristled at the word claim. "You doubt the manner in which my parents died?"

"A great many died in those early days of the eclipse." He s.h.i.+fted in his chair beside me and I sensed his shrug. "I'm not saying you're lying. Only that you could be mistaken."

The king spoke through a mouthful of food. "You don't know Cullan as I do, son. Of course it's true. He was always overly ambitious." He snorted and slurped at his goblet. "Indeed, I know Cullan and I knew her parents. Traveled to Relhok often as a young man. I didn't spend my youth sequestered inside this city. I rode the expanse of my kingdom and beyond, learning my allies as well as my foes. You've done nothing of the kind. It's limited your understanding."

I did not mistake the veiled insult. It was a cutting insinuation that Tebald was better than his son.

Chasan did not miss it either. "I was not given a choice," he quickly replied. "I'm not allowed a stone's throw from this castle without fully armed guards. Otherwise I might know Lagonia and its neighbors better."

Tebald grunted. "You'd be dead. And I cannot afford to lose my only son. You're too valuable."

Valuable. Not loved or cared for. He was a commodity. The sleeve of Chasan's tunic rustled slightly as he lifted his arm. "We can't have that, can we, Father?"

"No, we can't. Your responsibility is to live and further our line."

"I will remain ever dutiful and not step out of your prescribed boundaries." Despite the very correct words, derision threaded through his voice. The king did not miss it either.

"Scorn my rules all you like, but you'll stay alive. You and your sister. Our legacy will not die out. Isn't that right, Princess Luna?"

My head snapped up; I was unaccustomed to being addressed by my t.i.tle. I wasn't certain how to reply. And what did I have to do with any of it? "I'm certain you shall all continue to thrive here. Your fortifications are remarkable."

"Indeed. And now that you're here, we're a.s.sured of that. Tell me, Luna, do you value duty?"

I felt as though the question was a test. The thought of my parents flashed through my mind. I knew from Sivo that my father believed in serving the people and that his responsibility as king was for that very purpose. Then I thought of myself, and what it was that I should do with my life. Especially now that the kill order would be lifted. Surely I was meant to do more than survive. There had to be more than day-to-day survival. What was my purpose?

Sivo and Perla predicted that I had a great fate. I didn't quite know what that fate was, but here I was sitting at the king of Lagonia's table-and he had just sent a missive out declaring me alive to Cullan.

I was starting to believe they might be right.

"Yes," I answered. "I believe in duty." I just needed to figure out what it was.

TWELVE.

Fowler

I WOKE WITH a groan.

Agony clawed through me in unrelenting waves, twisting everything inside me to a fine edge of pain. I attempted to prop myself up on my elbows, but failed, collapsing back down with a shudder.

I sucked in another breath, my chest rising high as my eyes flew wide. A swirl of color greeted me, but I processed nothing. I blinked, attempting to focus.

The ceiling stretched high above me. Great beams crisscrossed the rafters. I didn't know this place. Where was Luna? After everything, I had lost her. An oath escaped me and I struggled to rise again, only to fall back down on the bed with another curse.

A coa.r.s.e chuckle rewarded my efforts. "Got a foul mouth on you . . . quite unseemly for a prince," a voice said.

A face popped into my line of vision. A face I didn't know. It all came back to me. Lagonian soldiers found us and brought us to Ainswind. We were guests of the king. They knew who I was. That was bad for me and bad for Luna. It was difficult to say who was in more danger. I had to get us out of here.

I struggled to rise again. My efforts to get out of bed cost me. I only felt worse. Moaning, I turned my head away, my stomach rebelling. Leaning over the bed, I heaved, emptying the contents of my stomach over the side of the bed. Amazing how I could heave up anything at all when I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten.

A cool cloth was pressed to my forehead. The hand holding it eased me back down on the bed and I was staring at the face of the wizened old man again.

He leaned over me. "There now, lad." He wiped the wet cloth over my face and I whimpered. There was no relief. The coolness only contrasted with the hot flush of my skin and heightened my misery.

I grunted, glad when he stopped.

But then he poured on fresh torment.

He took my arm, which I had curled protectively on my chest, and stretched it out at my side. As if that wasn't uncomfortable enough, he slapped on some foul-smelling ointment. I lifted my head with a hiss as he lathered the concoction up and down from shoulder to wrist.

The face grinned widely, revealing a smile barren of teeth, save for one rotting canine-a brown teardrop in the gaping maw of his mouth. "Stings, I know."

"Are you trying to kill me?" I demanded, dropping my head back on a pillow as the maniacally smiling old man slapped more of that wet concoction on my arm. The fire in my arm raged to new levels.

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be bothering with this stuff. Now cease your squirming. This will heal you."

"So I'm not going to die?"

He shrugged one bone-thin shoulder. For all his rotting teeth, he was well groomed, wearing a fine velvet tunic with embroidery at the cuffs. They hadn't sent some peasant to look after me.

His words only confirmed this. "You most a.s.suredly will die. Only not today. You're fortunate. The king wants you alive or I wouldn't be here. I'd be feasting in the hall with everyone else."

Feasting in the hall with everyone else.

With Luna? Was she there with everyone else? With Prince Chasan? I didn't like the way that arrogant peac.o.c.k looked at her. He knew there was something different about her. He'd figure it out soon. He was no fool. It hadn't taken me very long to conclude she was blind. My face burned hotter at the memory of how I had first discovered that about her-the intimate moment when she had walked in on me naked. It just drove home how vulnerable she was here in this den of snakes. The last thing I wanted was for them to mark her as weak.

All thoughts scattered as the burn in my arm grew excruciating. My mouth opened wide on a silent cry. I arched off the bed, my hand flying to the afflicted skin, ready to wipe the awful ointment off.

The physician held my hand away. "I'm drawing out the venom."

He called over his shoulder for someone. I hadn't even realized anyone else was in the room, but two servants were suddenly there, restraining me to the bed with ropes.

"'Tis for your own good," the physician puffed.