Arrows Of Change (Book 1) (14 page)

Ashlynn seemed intent on ramming this partnership through
before he had proper time to re-think it, but Broden could not let her. They
returned to their suite of rooms in the castle, meeting up with Ash and Riana,
who were already there. Before the lass could say much more than hi to her
brother, he grabbed his daughter’s arm and drew her out onto the balcony so
they could have a word in private.

“Da, ye sure?” Riana asked him, brows furrowed in
bemusement. “I know we talked about this the other night, but….”

“I know, sweetling.” He let out a breath and wondered how to
explain. “I think it time to make it official. In truth, I have just been
dragging me feet.”

“Aye,” she agreed simply. “I knew it from the first day, in
fact. But I bided a bit and let ye come to it on yer own.”

And was not that just like the usual. Riana had a sixth
sense with people and animals alike. She knew when to trust them and when to
keep her distance. The fact that she’d took to Ash and Ashlynn so quickly
should have told him where she stood on the matter. Still, he couldn’t help but
double check, and asked, “So partnering with Ash for a lifetime be fine with ye,
then?”

“Aye. He be an easy man to work with, and a kind one to
know. Where be the trouble in that?”

True enough.

“Well enough, then.” Satisfied, Riana turned and entered the
room. “With that sorted, work your magic.”

The twins were nearly bouncing on their toes in excitement,
faces radiating joy. Seeing that pair of expressions, Broden felt almost guilty
for dragging his feet in making a decision.

The wizards reached out for the own partners and drew them
in closer. Broden could not keep an eye on what Ash did with Riana, as Ashlynn
demanded his undivided attention with a gentle touch to his chin. He looked her
dead in the eye, not at all able to guess what she would do next.

“Lean down a little,” she instructed. “Then match your
breathing to mine. The magic between two partnerships is all about synchronization.”

Whatever that meant. He nodded as if he understood and bent
enough that their breath mingled. The position flustered him slightly, as it
was akin to preparing for a kiss, which boggled his mind. The lass was close to
his daughter’s age, for pity’s sake! She was not a candidate for that.

Ashlynn didn’t seem bothered at all by the position. Her
hands reached up to gently touch his temples, and she started saying a spell of
some sort in that singsong language she used for magic. The air around them
grew dense with glowing swirls, and his skin warmed pleasantly. He found it
hard to not look about him, and to keep his eyes on hers.

The feel of the magic went from pleasant to strange as she
continued. It was not uncomfortable, just odd, outside of his ken. It felt
like…well, it felt like every nerve in his body had just come awake. As if he
sensed the world more than saw it. He’d barely gotten used to this feeling when
he abruptly became aware of another heartbeat aside from his own.

Ashlynn?

She smiled at him, and as she smiled, he felt her joy. His
own eyes went wide. Now wait a fool’s minute, no one had told him that
partnering would let him be tied like this to her!

“Shhh,” she soothed. “This is temporary. The bond is almost
complete.”

Temporary? So their link would not be so obvious in his own
head?

He could not get the question out before she said a final
word, and a new sensation distracted him. The magic that had swirled around
them closed in and settled on him like a second skin, purring like a contended
kitten. Even that faded a mite, settling into him so that it did not glow, but
the feeling of it remained.

Ashlynn stepped back a half-pace and gave him a satisfied
nod. “It’s done.”

He could no longer feel her emotions as before, but he found
that her presence still rested somewhere in the back of his head. He knew she
was there, knew in a general sense how she was. Harboring a suspicion, he
closed his eyes and found that he could mentally point with complete accuracy
where she stood. “Lass. I be thinking ye did no’ explain this partnership
business as well as ye should have.”

She grinned at him without a trace of apology on her lips.
“You’d never have agreed to it if I had. You’re too cautious of a man.”

He frowned at her, mouth set in an unhappy line. Only to
himself could he admit she was likely right. It was wise of her to play it
close to the chest as she had.

Glancing to the side, he found Riana staring up at Ash with
a perplexed smile on her face. “Daughter?”

“This feels strange in a way,” she answered without looking
away from Ash. “But Da, I have to think it be for the better. I would rather
know where he be, at all times, than for him to be in trouble and I can no’
find him.”

A point he had not yet considered, but a valid one to make.
Especially in this crowded, confusing city, he would need all the help he could
get to keep track of his wizard.

“Besides,” Riana added, grin growing, “now I have the sense
of magic on me skin day and night, and I can no’ complain about that. It be
such a nice feeling.”

Well, and what was a man to say to that?

Ashlynn, understanding more now what went through his head,
just gave him a pat on the shoulder but did not comment. “Well, with us
settled, let’s go back to work. We have too much to do and not enough time to
do it in.”

For three days, there was blessed peace. At least, for Riana
and Ash there was. They went every day to the far edge of the city and built on
the wall. In that three-day span, Ash finished the northwestern section and
then started on the southern end that would match up with the existing city
gates. For her, it was a welcome break. Out here, away from that crowd of
people, she felt like she could properly breathe.

She did discover that she could talk to Ash as he worked.
For him, building things with magic was akin to building things with actual
tools. He did not mind a lively conversation to while away the time. He knew
much more of the world than she, so she peppered him with questions. Often, he
would ask her just as many questions, as he had no real experience living in
forests or mountains. It stunned her to realize that he had no notion of how to
hunt, or track, or know the time by looking at the sky.

They had much to learn from each other, and it soothed her
insecurities as she recognized it.

In the evening, they’d return with tired voices and
sunburned skin to the castle to have dinner with their family and new king.
Edvard insisted on having family dinners, which of course included Gwen. Seven
years old she might be, but she ruled the roost. Every sibling she had would do
anything for her.

Even, apparently, start a rebellion.

The peace, unfortunately, was short-lived. Riana and Ash
came back in after a long day outside, entering the informal dining room—Riana
still couldn’t figure out how any part of the room was ‘informal’—to find that
everyone else was there and seated. The mood of the room was oppressive, grim
even. Edvard’s jaw was set in such a way that suggested he contemplated murder.
Ashlynn looked ready to help him.

Her eyes went to her da and found him rubbing at both
temples, fighting off a headache. “Do I want to know?” she ventured
uncertainly.

“No,” Edvard responded, tone flat. “But you need to. Sit
down, both of you. Which news would you like first? They come in ranking of bad
and worse.”

She and Ash shared a look, not liking the sound of this at
all, as they took their usual seats at the round table. Miss Haley must have
sensed that no one was in the mood to eat, as the table was clear of everything
except a plain white tablecloth. There were no dishes set up on the sideboard
either. Even the wall scones seemed to give off a more muted light that usual.

“I think I want the bad news first,” Ash finally stated.

“We’ve got spies in Estole stirring up trouble,” his twin
answered, fingers tapping out an irritated rhythm on the wood.

“Spies?!” Riana spluttered.

Ashlynn waved this away. “No, we knew that we had spies months
ago. It would be unnatural, really, for Iysh to not plant a few spies and keep
track of what we’re doing. But before this, they were quiet and intent on just
gathering information. We didn’t see that they were really doing anything.
Until the last few days, that is.”

Ash’s brows drew together in a worried frown. “So what have
they been doing?”

“Stirring up trouble,” Broden repeated wearily. “They be
making up lies and rumors about the new laws, convincing folk that the laws are
worse than the Bindings. Half of it be utter rot. The other half be a twisted
version of the truth. All of it makes a man’s head hurt trying to untangle it.”

“The first day the laws came out, there was some negative
reaction to it,” Ashlynn explained. “But Broden figured out quickly that they
just didn’t understand them. So we broke them down, explained them to people,
made sure that it was clear in everyone’s minds. But yesterday, it was clear
that they weren’t confused—they were going off of hearsay. What they were
parroting to us wasn’t anything close to the laws posted. This morning it
became obvious. Someone is deliberately trying to convince people that Edvard’s
new laws are worse than the Bindings.”

“It has come to blows more than once,” Broden added sourly,
“and a minor riot here or there.”

Riana now understood the general feeling of the room. Not to
mention the desire to strangle someone. “So what can be done?”

“Not a thing.” Ash rubbed at his face with both palms as he
spoke. “How does a man fight rumors? He can’t. Not even a king can. Eventually
they’ll die down on their own, but we’ll have to constantly prove over the next
few weeks that the rumors are false. It’ll be frustrating, to say the least.”

“It might slow the tide on immigrants, though, which would
be a blessing,” Ashlynn joked in black humor.

Well, true. Riana sensed that the problem with rumors was
nothing more than the surface of the trouble. “If that be the bad news, what be
the worst?”

“King Zelman finally made a move.” Edvard’s rage was
palpable, a living thing that pulsed with every word he spoke. “He’s been quiet
since the last army was defeated. I should have known it meant he was up to
something.”

That answered the question, and yet didn’t. Her eyes went to
Ashlynn in question.

Ashlynn’s eyes were on her brother. “Ash. They’ve taken our
sisters.”

Ash exploded from the table, hands slamming down on the
surface and making everyone jump. “WHAT?!”

“He has Bria, Catriona and Darisa,” Ashlynn rasped, eyes
bright with unshed tears. “We don’t know where he’s put them yet. He just sent
a messenger to us that said he has them, and if we want them safely returned to
their families, then we will comply with his demands.”

“His unreasonable and unlawful demands,” Edvard snarled.
“And does he really think that I’m stupid enough to fall for that? He’ll never
let me see them again. No, he’ll hide them away somewhere, and use them as
leverage against me until he has me completely cowed. Then he’ll likely—” he
clamped his mouth shut abruptly and glanced down at Gwen, who was listening to
this conversation with wide, terrified eyes. Realizing he was scaring his
sister, he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her to him. “Gwen. I swear
to you I’ll bring them back. They’ll be home again, safe, before you know it.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Ash objected, belatedly taking
his seat again. “Right now we’re standing on a tenuous foundation. You, as king,
cannot afford to harry off to some other part of the world for weeks at a time.
We’re barely managing as it is.”

Edvard, aware of Gwen, didn’t leap for Ash’s throat as he
obviously wanted to. Instead he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m not
abandoning them, Ash.”

“I never said you would,” Ash riposted, equally irritated.
“Edvard, what do you think you have Court Wizards for
?
”

He blinked. Then blinked again, mouth opening and closing
without a sound.

“Edvard,” Ashlynn chided in exasperation, “are we not your
eyes, your ears, your mouthpiece? Are we not an extension of you when you need
for us to be? Of course we should go in your stead. This is one situation where
you won’t be of much help anyway. Wherever Zelman has put our sisters is going
to be heavily fortified. That’s obvious. It’s going to take a wizard to break
in to get them. I can guarantee that.”

Gwen unwound herself from Edvard’s side enough to ask in a
small voice, “You’ll go get them?”

“You bet.” Ashlynn gave her a cocky smile. “And I’ll hammer
the idiots that dared to take them in the first place.”

There was apparently no doubt in Gwen’s mind that Ashlynn
would do just that. She released her death grip on Edvard and sat up in her own
seat.