Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (22 page)

After six down, one man finally noticed what she was doing,
and ducked around the cart to avoid her. It only did him partial good as she
could still see the better part of a foot and leg. Taking aim there, she shot
him dead in his calf, making sure he couldn’t get easily back on his feet
again. But the next had taken advantage of those few seconds she’d needed to do
such careful aiming, and he was retreating back to the front.

The front actually was a bad idea on his part. Gerrard was
in full voice up there. Riana didn’t for one second believe the man needed any
of her help. She turned back around and looked for Ash.

He was exactly where she thought him to be, and as she
watched, he felled the last man. There was a trace of sweat on his forehead and
a feral light in his eyes that told her his adrenaline was running high. She
shared a fierce smile with him. All of those drills and instructions had paid
off. Not one cart’s shield had fallen and they hadn’t lost a single student.

Hopefully the teachers had fared as well.

Standing in her stirrups again, she bellowed, “Who’s
injured?!”

“Cart four is fine!”

“Cart three is too!”

“Sarah banged her head in cart two but otherwise we’re
fine!”

Riana didn’t think a banged head was much of an injury so
she ignored that one.

“Loraine is hurt up here in cart one!” It was Jay that had
said this and he did not sound happy.

Alright, that she would check on.

Ash was completely in sync with her as they moved to the
front of the line. Riana kept an eye out in all directions just in case the
ambush wasn’t completely over. She didn’t think there was anyone left but it
never hurt to be cautious.

When they reached Loraine, she was sitting up in the cart
but had a pinched expression on her face and she was listing a little to the
side. Maree had braced Loraine’s back against her chest, propping her up, and
the look in her eyes suggested that if there was anyone still alive, she’d
murder them for hurting her friend. Riana and Ash both dismounted and handed
reins off to nearby students, ready to have their hands free it if were needed.

Gerrard knelt awkwardly half-on, half-off the cart with a
hand against Loraine’s ribs. “Feels like you cracked about three of them.”

Loraine hissed in a breath and gritted out through her
teeth, “You’re telling me?”

“Healing spell will only help so much with this. We’ll need
to wrap them and there will be no strenuous activity for you until we reach
Estole.”

Riana heard that for what it was: no fighting, no driving,
nothing at all that required strength or reach. Otherwise it wouldn’t be
cracked ribs they’d be dealing with. She looked up at Jay, sizing him with her
eyes. Big, strapping boy that he was he stood almost a half-head taller than
Loraine and was likely capable of carrying the woman around bodily if asked.
“Jay.”

He straightened and looked right at her. “Yes’um.”

“Ye need to be Loraine’s right arm ‘til we reach Estole. Ye
watch out for her.”

Jay nodded seriously before bending down to say near
Loraine’s ear, “I’ll be right here whenever you need me.”

Loraine reached up and patted his hand. “Bless you, Jay.
Thank you. Was I the only one injured?”

“Sarah bumped her head,” Riana reported. “But naught else.”

Gerrard finished his spell work and stepped back. “Wrap it
snuggly. Yes, we came through that fight well, considering the numbers against
us. Did anyone get a headcount?”

From the back of the cart, Violet answered, “Fifty-eight.”

Of course someone had counted. Then again, aside from
watching the enemy duke it out with their teachers, the teenagers hadn’t had
anything better to do. Their sole task was to keep their shields up and not get
injured.

“Who be we fighting against? It did no’ look like bandits to
me.”

“Iysh soldiers,” Ash responded, staring at a nearby body
with a dark frown. “At least two wizards mixed in, too. They’re not in uniform,
so I’m betting this is a bit of dirty work they don’t want bandied about.
Fighting a rebel from Estole is one thing, after all, but the massacre of
children? That’s another kettle of fish entirely.”

Riana didn’t like the sound of that at all. Gerrard didn’t
either as he glanced up and commented, “We’ll likely be attacked again, more
than once, trying to get to Estole. Let’s set lookouts and rotations for the
carts being shielded, just in case we get ambushed again.”

That was the sensible course of action. After working with
people the night before, Riana had a grasp of their abilities, and started planning
it out in her head.

Sarah came to them with a hand protectively held over her
forehead. Gerrard moved to intercept her and gently lowered the hand to get a
look. An egg of blues and greens was forming and it did look rather nasty.
“Shh,” Gerrard murmured to her, hand already glowing as he prepared a spell.
“Hold still. How did this happen, anyway?”

Grimacing, Sarah related, “One of those men was trying to
climb into the cart. I think he was a wizard or a wizard was helping him
because he was making cracks in our shield. It scared me and I scrambled back,
trying to stay out of his reach, but then Miss Riana noticed him and she shot
him before he could get through.” Sarah gave the archer a look that spoke of
pure adoration.

Avis leaned out and asked Sarah in a loud whisper, “Did you
see her move? It was amazing. She always seemed to know exactly where the enemy
would be.”

Sara nodded avidly until remembering that was a bad idea.
Even with a grimace on her face, she still said enthusiastically, “And she only
said one thing to Ash. They were in perfect sync with each other. It was like a
duet. Or a dance.”

“I think she took down as many as Ash did, too.”

That caught Jay’s attention and he leaned back to get within
line of sight of both girls. “Really? Were you keeping count?”

Stepping close to her back, Ash leaned against her and
whispered against her ear, “It looks like you’ve acquired ducklings. When did
that happen?”

“No idea,” she murmured back, bemused at this growing hero
worship. She watched the conversation play out, more of the students climbing
down and joining in, the skirmish being re-hashed as each put in their own
observations. She expected Gerrard to put a stop to it but the man let it roll
and she realized after a moment that this was good experience for them. They
were learning how to observe the flows and rhythm of battle, and talking about
it like this gave each of them a missing piece. Once she grasped that, Riana
was willing to let them all have a few minutes.

Ash wrapped an arm around her waist and let his forehead
rest against her shoulder. “That scared about five years off me. But if they
send this amount of men against us, or less, I think we can handle it.”

“It do no’ matter if they send us more,” Riana declared to
him quietly, “we still can manage.”

He let go of her enough to half-turn to the side, getting a
look at her face. There was a soft smile on his that spoke of pride. Through
their connection, she could feel it, burning bright and hard.

“I now understand how you acquired your ducklings.”

She pointed a finger toward her nose and objected, “Mayhap I
do no’ ken. What did I do?”

“Be you.” Ash darted in long enough to plant a swift, chaste
kiss on her forehead before letting go and striding toward his horse. “Alright,
alright, everyone load back up! We can’t sit here any longer!”

Riana was left spluttering and blushing in his wake. Well,
that was a fine thing to do, kiss a woman and walk off.

Gerrard pointed a finger at Ash’s back. “I take it he isn’t
normally that demonstrative.”

“Judging from that expression on her face, definitely not,”
Maree drawled.

Stuck between several sets of curious eyes, Riana felt her
blush grow hot. Growling, still torn between being happy and miffed, she
stalked after Ash.

Broden frowned at the closed study door. Edvard very rarely
shut that door as more often than not he had a flood of informants and
officials tripping in and out. Not quite sure what to make of this, he
tentatively knocked on it.

From inside, a grumpy voice called, “You’re only allowed to
enter if you have good news!”

Ah. One of
those
days. Broden now understood. “As it
happens, I have two?”

“In that case, come in!” Edvard sounded slightly more
optimistic but still tired.

Ashlynn muttered to him, “Well, someone’s in a fine mood.”

Apparently. Pushing the door open, they stepped in and found
Edvard flat on his back, stretched out over one of his lounge chairs, a cloth
over his eyes. Ashlynn, having all the sympathy of a sister, came over and
poked him in the foot. “Are you dead?”

“Dying, yes, thank you for your concern.” Edvard did no more
than twitch and remain stubbornly in that position. “Now, good news?”

“We distributed the first batch of the new currency into the
public today. It was very well received and people are readily handing over
their old Iyshian coins for the new set. I’ve got a list of what each coin is
worth posted in every part of the town and they’re using that as a reference
but so far the result is very positive.”

Edvard’s mouth curved up. “Good. Phew, that’s a relief. How
long until we have enough currency?”

“I think we’ll forever be playing catch-up, but Troi informs
me that by the time spring hits, the shortages will be over at least.”

“Good enough.” A quick furrow passed over Edvard’s brow. “It
seems that quite a few of my problems end in spring for some reason.”

Not all of them. Broden personally thought an army marching
for their border to be a problem.

“Troi did ask the question, what do we do with the Iyshian
coin we collect?” Ashlynn gave him two seconds to think about that question
before continuing, “I think we should melt them down and re-use the metal.”

That would be a good way to offset having to mine
everything. Short-term especially it would help speed the process along as the
metal would not need to be refined.

Edvard opened his mouth, paused, closed it again. Finally,
he sat up, removing the cloth and tossing it on a nearby table. “No. While it
would help us now I think it will hurt us in the long run.”

Not following, Broden asked slowly, “How?”

Resting elbows on knees, Edvard did not look at either of
them, instead staring directly at the map he had hanging on the opposite wall.
“This standoff that we have with Iysh can’t last forever. Simple economics
prevent it. A good majority of Iyshian income is from trade. I never got an
exact figure on this when I was still visiting court, but I understand their
export/import revenue is substantial. Cutting off Estole, and now Dahl, has
hurt them considerably. We both produced several products that were popular in
Trenena and Overa. They can’t afford to keep up this embargo indefinitely.”

Some of this went over Broden’s head—he knew little of the
finances of kings—but he got the gist of it. “Be that why Iysh be pushing so
hard to retake us?”

“And Dahl, yes. They really can’t afford to have this drag
on much longer. They either must re-conquer us or establish trade with us. One
of the two. I think it’s that more than anything else, although of course Zelman
isn’t happy about me rebelling. Pride would motivate the man as much as
anything else. But fielding one army after another and sending them at us isn’t
cheap either, and if he does that enough, he drives Iysh into a financial
corner. His advisors and lords will step in and stop him eventually.”

“Makes sense,” Ashlynn allowed.

“So, to answer your initial question,” Edvard looked up at
his blood-sister, “don’t melt down the coins. Collect them and store them for
now. We might need them sooner rather than later for currency exchange.”

 “Also,” Ashlynn continued her report, “our new guardsmen
are catching onto the ropes quickly. I split them up; some of our seasoned
guardsmen going over to the settlement, some of the greenhorns staying here in
Estole, so that we had enough experience in both places. They all spend at
least a part of the week training with each other as well. They won’t do too
badly in a fight, if an army comes knocking on our door again.”

“It won’t be enough, I don’t think.” Edvard did not sound
defeated, just calculating. “They’ll have learned from the previous two
attempts to reclaim us and they’ll send a lot more men and wizards this time.
If Ash doesn’t come back with at least a few wizards, we’ll really have to
invest in putting up some sound defenses around Estole. I’ll dip into my
personal treasury to pay for it. Otherwise they’ll mow right over us.”

“Ross and Tierone have been putting their heads together to
design some, and we’re ready to build them, once we have Ash back.” Ashlynn
hesitated a good two seconds before asking tentatively, “Have we heard from our
spies in Iysh?”

“Yesterday evening, actually. Still no sign that an army is
being put together.” Edvard splayed his hands. “I don’t know what is delaying
them. Our spies don’t have enough status in court to hear what’s going on
behind closed doors. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for it. We need all of the
time they’ll give us to prepare.”

Broden watched this young man, half his own age, sit there
and think of their future. What he was saying might be five years or ten down
the line, and yet still he thought of the future. The archer felt a flash of
pride. His new king was indeed a man worth serving.

Oblivious to how Broden felt, Edvard prompted, “You said two
pieces of good news. What’s the other?”

“We had a wizard waltz in this morning all on her own.”

Edvard jerked up to his feet. “Really?!”

“Kirsty Kilpatrick,” Ashlynn supplied, looking just as
happy. “I met her a few times, while we were still students. She trained under
Master Philip Poole. Master never did like the man but we sometimes would get
together and do competitions. Anyway, I always liked Kirsty. I was very
surprised to hear she had come in this morning.”

“Where is she now?”

“Troi is speaking with her. I think he’s worried she’s an
Iyshian spy.”

Granted, it was Troi’s job to ferret out the potential spies
from the refugees that came in. In his shoes, Broden would certainly be asking
the lass a lot of questions as a wizard could do considerable damage if turned
loose in Estole.

“I’m rather curious what prompted her to come in myself,”
Ashlynn admitted. “Kirsty is from a good family, she had a fiancé lined up to
marry when she came of age, and I know she had good connections. Really, the Bindings
might be a little restrictive on her, but she shouldn’t have had any real cause
to split off and join us like this.”

“But she did,” Edvard said in a contemplative tone.

“She did. I really want to know why.”

Edvard, with a bounce in his stride, headed for the door.
“Let’s go ask.”

The king was acting like someone had handed him a new toy.
Amused at this sudden burst of energy, Broden followed along and tried not to
chuckle.

Troi had brought the new wizard only as far as the first
guardroom inside Main Gate and no further. It was a precaution on his part, but
it meant that the three of them had to wade through the town’s traffic to get
there, which took time. Seeing Edvard, Ashlynn, and Broden together always
caught people’s attention and they would often approach with some question in
mind.

In between these questions, Edvard relayed to them, “I had
lunch with Priest Graff. It’s been the first time we could actually sit and
talk to each other for more than five minutes before one of us was yanked away.
The man’s completely overwhelmed, no surprise there, but he did say that he
knew of two other priests that would likely come if invited.”

They both perked up at this. “If that’s so, why hasn’t he
asked already?” Ashlynn queried.

“I gather that he was uncertain whether or not we wanted
more people. We have been complaining a great deal about the volume of refugees
we get on a daily basis. But I assured him that the priests would be very
welcome. In fact, I wrote up a letter for both men and handed them over. An
official invitation, as it were.”

“Relieved I be at this news,” Broden admitted. “One priest
for a country of this size be no’ enough. The man’s being fought over like a
small tuna in a pride of cats.”

Edvard choked, then laughed. “An apt metaphor. Graff looked
a little frayed around the edges at lunch. It’s why I was so prompt in writing
out the letters and giving them to him. He said he had a way of getting letters
out without them being stopped, which makes sense, as the church never seems to
have any problem with communications, even across borders. Anyway, if these two
men accept the invitation, our shortage for priests might end very soon.”

Broden prayed that would be the case. The one had been a
blessing but three would be just about right.

It took the better part of an hour but they finally arrived at
the guardhouse, and Edvard exchanged salutes with the guards on duty before
stepping inside.

The guardroom was built with function in mind, so it was
sparse indeed on decorations. A stove in one corner, several comfortable
chairs, a table for eating at, and little else was in the room. Ensconced in
two of the chairs were Troi and a woman that Broden had never seen before but
assumed was Kirsty Kilpatrick.

She was a thin woman, of average build, dark brunette hair
tied simply back at the nape of her neck, and creamy skin. Not remarkably
pretty, not plain, she had a nice face to her and good humor radiated with
every expression and gesture. “—remarkably stupid, if you ask me,” she was
saying as they entered. On seeing them, she stopped dead and popped up to her
feet. “Ashlynn Fallbright! It’s been ages since I saw you last.”

Ashlynn strode forward with hands outstretched and exchanged
a quick hug with her. “It truly has. I think it’s been at least five years. You
look well.”

“You look tired,” Kirsty responded bluntly. “But you’re
still in one piece which is surprising considering everything that’s happened.
Edvard—ah, that is, His Majesty here, I know.”

Edvard exchanged dry smiles with her. “By reputation at
least. I greet you, Wizard Kilpatrick.”

“Harmony find you, Your Majesty. But who’s this handsome man
here?”

Handsome? Since when?

Ashlynn put a hand on Broden’s back. “This is Broden
Ravenscroft, my partner.”

Kirsty stuck out a hand, which he took, and beamed up at
him. “Pleasure, Master Broden. Truly. It’s so rare that we find partners that
it’s always good news when we meet one. If she found one, it gives me hope I
can do the same.”

“Harmony find ye, Wizard Kilpatrick,” he returned and tried
not to flush with all of these compliments being heaped on top of his head.

“Here, sit,” Ashlynn directed everyone, taking the chair
nearest to her. “Kirsty, tell me how you came to the decision to defect to
Estole.”

As they sat, Broden caught Troi’s eye and gave a speaking
look about the girl. Troi shook his head, a minute movement that still spoke
volumes. So, he didn’t think she was a spy. Now this really did become a
curious case.

Kirsty put an elbow on one knee and leaned comfortably
forward as if this was nothing more than a gossiping session between friends.
“Well, you know how I was engaged to Bart Huntington?”

“Certainly, you said so before. It was an arrangement from
childhood, you said.”

“Exactly. I didn’t mind it much as when we were children we
got along rather well. And as teenagers that hadn’t changed. But when he hit
eighteen he suddenly went on this binge of partying. My parents said he was
just ‘sowing wild oats’ and ‘don’t mind it, darling.’ Well, I did mind it. Here
I had to obey all the rules and he didn’t? But I bit my tongue and thought it
was a phase and he’d get over himself eventually.” Kirsty rolled his eyes.
“Well, he didn’t. I learned three months ago that not only was he flirting with
every courtesan that tripped past him but he also had an established mistress
in his own apartment, thank you very much. When I confronted my parents about
it, they responded with, ‘Don’t worry, darling, he’ll settle down. Young men
just have urges.’ Well, guess what? I have urges too. Most of them involve
removing certain equipment so he can’t cheat on me anymore.”

Broden and Edvard both choked.

“For some reason it never crossed Bart’s mind that I could
do that.”

Really? It should have. When Broden had been around Ashlynn barely
more than a week he had known better than to cross her.

His face must have said as much because Kirsty pointed a
finger at all three men even as she said to Ashlynn, “See? They’re smart. They
know better than to upset a wizard.”

“I’ve trained them well,” Ashlynn assured her serenely. “So
what happened after that?”

“Well, after that, I took a good look at how my life was
going. I looked at my mother, who still has a cheating husband even after his
youth has passed. She’s learned not to care what her husband does because I
think it’ll break her heart otherwise. I looked at my sisters, who will
probably be stuck with husbands of the same low moral character. And then I
looked at that stupid fiancé of mine and thought do I really want to be stuck
with this louse for the rest of my married life? And when I realized that the
Bindings and the society at court would force me into being with Bart, I nearly
threw up. At that point, I was done with Iysh. The only place to go if you’re
mad at Iysh these days is Estole. So here I am.”

Broden did not know how the rest of the room felt but he
certainly thought the lass had a sound reason for leaving.