King Breaker (56 page)

‘But...’ That meant he had to sail for Ostron Isle. She had only just found him again.

‘Don’t worry. I won’t leave you unless I have Lady Death’s word that she will call off her assassins until after our meeting.’ A dark light came into Dunstany’s eyes. ‘She will regret attempting to kill you.’

Piro shivered.

B
YREN TOSSED HIS
reins to the stable boy and strode across the stronghold courtyard. Feid broke into a run, outpacing him. The servant had said only that they must make all haste back to the keep, which everyone took to mean that Cinna was having the baby.

‘Where’s Cinna, is she well?’ Feid asked Florin, who stood at the door. ‘Is the baby—’

‘Cinna’s fine, she didn’t have the baby. It was a false alarm.’ Florin shrugged.

‘So we rushed back for nothing?’ Vlatajor said, as his two companions caught up. The six Snow Bridge men-at-arms had dismounted. ‘I wanted to see how effective the ulfr dung was.’

‘Ulfr dung?’ Florin glanced to Byren. ‘Last time, when we trapped and killed a manticore pride, we used tar and flames to drive them—’

‘Aye, but I’m older and wiser now,’ Byren said. ‘Why use force when guile will do the job?’

Florin looked to Orrade for an explanation.

He grinned. ‘Byren found the spoor of an ulfr pack. They’re natural enemies, so—’

‘—you planted ulfr dung near the upper trail to keep the manticores away,’ Florin anticipated, making Byren proud. ‘Could work.’

Vlatajor stretched, easing his back. ‘If there are no more manticore attacks you’ll know it was successful.’

‘A bath has been drawn in your chamber, Lord Vlatajor,’ Florin said, leading them into the stronghold. ‘And Lady Cinna was asking for you, Lord Feid. This way.’

‘I know the way to my own bed,’ Feid muttered, slipping past her.

‘Ah, young love,’ Vlatajor said.

Byren would have gone to his own room, but Florin caught his eye and jerked her head towards the warlord’s chamber. He and Orrade followed her.

When Florin opened the door to the warlord’s private chamber, they found Cinna sitting up in bed while Feid paced. ‘...Byren has to go.’

‘Go where?’ Byren asked, as Florin shut the door.

Cinna explained about the spar attacks, finishing with, ‘So you could lose Merofynia if you don’t make haste.’

Byren cursed. ‘I shouldn’t have left Fyn in charge. Book learning is all very well, but nothing beats experience.’

‘You can borrow my ship,’ Feid said.

Byren nodded his thanks. ‘I’ll take my honour guard, all fifty of them.’ After his army had been decimated in the Battle of Narrowneck, the survivors had dispersed, but the most dedicated had trickled over the pass. ‘How soon will the ship be ready to sail, Feid?’

‘Wait...’ Orrade held up a hand. ‘Could you repeat the message exactly as the bird said it, please, Cinna?’

She shrugged and obliged. ‘
Spar warriors threaten the crown,
Seek D’s seat, lest your lords let you down.
’

Orrade rubbed his jaw. ‘Sounds to me like the mage wants you to report straight to Dunstany’s estate without stopping in Port Mero. He doesn’t want the nobles knowing you’ve arrived. Sounds like they’re the ones letting you down, not Fyn.’

‘You’re right,’ Byren conceded. ‘So we sail through the grand canal and across the Landlocked Sea to—’

‘Feid is generous to offer his ship, but the arrival of the Foenix Spar warlord’s vessel would cause speculation. Everyone knows he’s your staunchest ally,’ Orrade said. ‘On the other hand, Vlatajor wants you to meet the Snow Bridge king. If memory serves me right, the summer journey over the spar takes around fifteen days. We—’

‘That’s if you take the Rolencian pass,’ Feid said. ‘If you sail to the southern pass, then take the long valley north, you cut your journey in half.’

‘Excellent,’ Orrade’s said. ‘If we enter Merofynia via the Snow Bridge pass that comes out behind Dunstany’s estate, we’ll have the element of surprise. It will also give you a chance to meet King Jorgoskev and take his measure. No one has united the city states of the Snow Bridge before. Maybe an alliance with him would be a good idea.’

‘Piro is not going to be happy if I marry her off,’ Byren said. He grinned. ‘But I can use the betrothal negotiation as an excuse to meet this new Snow Bridge king who thinks we’re savages.’

Orrade nodded. ‘You’ll need to tell Vlatajor why you’re going to Merofynia.’

‘If the king’s spies are any good, he’ll know why,’ Byren countered.

‘Very likely, but admitting that you’re worried about spar invasions is very different from returning to Merofynia to celebrate your betrothal. You need to negotiate the marriage contracts and sit for your formal betrothal portrait.’

‘What betrothal portrait?’

‘It’s an old Merofynian custom. Honestly, Byren,
I
paid more attention to your mother’s stories than you did.’

Byren frowned. ‘I told Isolt I wouldn’t marry her until I had reclaimed my father’s throne.’

‘This is just the betrothal ceremony. We sailed the day after Palatyne was killed and her father died. It was not the right time to hold a betrothal then.’

‘Very true,’ Cinna agreed. ‘I’ll send a message to the mage so that Queen Isolt can make plans.’

‘That settles it,’ Feid said. ‘You leave tomorrow with your honour guard.’

‘And Florin,’ Orrade said.

‘But...’ Florin looked horrified.

‘Leif will be safe with us,’ Feid assured her.

‘Besides,’ Cinna added, ‘he’s too weak to travel, and the thin air of the Snow Bridge taxes the strongest of constitutions.’

Byren rubbed his jaw, pretending to consider. ‘Florin...’

‘She’s the only one who speaks the Snow Bridge language,’ Orrade said. ‘You’d be a fool to give up that advantage.’

Byren turned to Florin. ‘I’m not forcing this on you. You can say no.’

‘You know very well I can’t let you walk into danger,’ she told him, quietly furious. ‘Not when I can protect you.’

‘Then it’s decided,’ Byren said, secretly delighted.

‘Not yet,’ Cinna said. ‘If Florin goes, she needs an official position in your retinue. She should be—’

‘One of your honour guard,’ Florin said.

‘Done,’ Byren said.

She frowned, surprised by his quick capitulation. He grinned and she looked away.

‘S
TAY A MOMENT,
Florin.’ Cinna patted the bed beside her as the others left.

Florin crossed the chamber and sat down, her back resting against the headboard. She frowned. Knowing Byren could never be hers was one thing, but having to watch him celebrate his betrothal to Queen Isolt was another thing entirely.

‘You’re angry with me,’ Cinna said, taking her hand. ‘You love Byren and—’

‘No. No, I...’ Florin pulled her hand away then flushed, unable to meet Cinna’s shrewd eyes.

Cinna patted her arm. ‘Where I come from, the Comtes or the Comtissa takes a partner to advance the family. Once the woman produces an heir and a spare, they both take their lovers...’ Cinna laughed at Florin’s expression. ‘You Rolencians are so prudish. Would you rather Byren waste his life in a loveless marriage?’

Florin slipped off the bed. ‘Do you plan to take lovers once you’ve produced an heir and a spare for Lord Feid?’

‘Of course not. Ours is a true match. But Byren does not have that luxury. He marries because he must, and he loves where his heart leads.’

Florin shook her head. ‘Byren doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even want me.’

‘That’s simply not true.’

‘Don’t.’ Heat flooded Florin’s cheeks. ‘Believe me, I know.’

Chapter Forty-Six

A
FTER CLIMBING THROUGH
the tunnel into the grotto, Piro had to bend double to catch her breath. Two days had passed since the coraxes had tried to kill her and Fyn. This was the first time she’d managed to escape Dunstany since he’d taken an apartment at the palace next to hers. She had spent much of these last two days watching her brother. She knew Dunstany and Isolt were pretending to be at odds with Fyn, but Fyn seemed genuinely distanced from them.

Piro straightened up and looked around the grotto as Isolt joined her. Beams of sunlight speared through the sorbt stones and reflected off the floor, filling the chamber under the dome with dazzling light. It took Piro’s breath away. Everything seemed sharper and clearer, and a strange buzzing filled her ears. ‘This...’

‘I know.’ Isolt beamed. ‘It’s my favourite place.’

‘It reminds me of the grotto on Mage Isle.’ And that made Piro feel homesick, except that Mage Isle wasn’t truly her home. She didn’t have a home anymore.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing... Is something going on with Fyn?’

‘No.’ Isolt sounded defensive. ‘Why would you say that?’

‘He seems to be avoiding us.’

‘He’s been busy with the ex-slaves. I almost envy them, camped on the lowest terrace overlooking the Landlocked Sea.’

Ripples of light travelled across the grotto ceiling as Loyalty swam in, driving little wavelets across the surface of the pool ahead of her. Resolute followed, although foenixes weren’t supposed to enjoy water.

‘Resolute!’ Piro held out her arms.

Isolt giggled as both Affinity beasts shook themselves, spraying them with water.

‘They’ve grown so big!’ Piro couldn’t believe her eyes. She ran her fingers through the foenix’s fur-like feathers. Her Affinity responded to Resolute, settling naturally in her hands. She rubbed the beasts’ throats and they both responded with a growling purr of approval. After a moment, she signalled that this was enough. Loyalty and Resolute begged for more.

‘So greedy!’ Isolt laughed.

The sound seemed to bounce off the grotto’s dome and echo around them. Piro felt weightless, almost dizzy, bathed in Affinity.

Isolt said something, but Piro found it had to think. She glanced to the Affinity beasts. The strange sensation wasn’t coming from them. So where...

‘I’m worried about Loyalty,’ Isolt said. ‘She’s grown so large she can’t get through the tunnel, and... Piro, are you even listening?’

‘Hmm?’ Letting her vision shift to the unseen world, she made a slow circle of the grotto, holding her hand under each beam of light in turn.

‘Piro, your eyes...’

‘I can feel Affinity all around me, the air is thick with it. This must be what a seep feels like.’ Piro let her sight shift back to normal and pointed to the dome. ‘I think the sorbt stones do more than focus power. I think they attract it. What if the Mad Boy King built this place because he had Affinity?’

‘No one has ever said he had Affinity.’

‘Why did they call him mad? Maybe it was his Affinity that troubled him. Affinity affects people differently, and I’m sure the grotto was built to do something to those with power.’

Isolt frowned. ‘If you’re right, why did he kill himself not long after he built this place?’

‘He killed himself? Mother never said... Of course she wouldn’t.’

‘No one said it, not in so many words,’ Isolt admitted. ‘According to the history books, his death was an accident. But why else would he take too much dreamless-sleep?’

Piro almost revealed how Seela had dosed her on dreamless-sleep when she was troubled by visions. ‘Oh, I wish...’

‘Wish what?’

She wished the mage had not died. There was so much she wanted to learn. Yet, as soon as Lady Death confirmed she had called off her assassins and would meet with him, Siordun was going back to Ostron Isle. Piro had no time to waste. ‘I’m tired. I’m going back to the palace.’

‘Of course, I’m sorry.’ Isolt flushed. ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘No, you stay here with Loyalty and Resolute,’ Piro wanted to be alone with Siordun. ‘I can find my own way back.’

‘You’re sure?’

Isolt was so earnest, Piro had to smile. ‘I’m sure.’

‘You’ve changed.’ Isolt kissed her cheek. ‘You’ve grown up.’

Piro laughed. ‘I’m never going to grow up. I never want to be hemmed in by expectations and limited by customs. I’m not so poor-spirited.’

Isolt stiffened. ‘Some of us don’t have any choice.’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t...’

Isolt smiled gently. ‘If you weren’t stomping on someone’s feelings, you wouldn’t be Piro. Off you go.’

Piro made her way through the overgrown garden to the fountain. The two queen’s guards who were her escort waited on the terrace steps. She’d threatened to set her foenix on them if they followed her down to the grotto.

After what Isolt just said, Piro didn’t feel she could face anyone right now. She sat on the rim of the fountain and dipped her fingers in the pool. It was shallow, and the water had been warmed by the sun.

Did she hurt people’s feelings? She never meant to. Sometimes she was impatient. Sometimes she said things without thinking, but she never set out to be cruel. Her cheeks burned as she thought of how her mother and Seela used to chastise her. Back then, she had resented their interference. Now that they were no longer here to guide her, she missed them. Tears stung her eyes.

‘What’s this?’ Captain Elrhodoc asked. ‘Sitting in the midday sun? Before you know it, you’ll get freckles. A beautiful kingsdaughter doesn’t want freckles.’

Piro looked away and wiped her cheeks. Clearly, he thought he was being charming. She came to her feet. ‘I should go inside.’

But he caught her arm as she went to slip past him. ‘Don’t run off, my pretty.’

She glanced over her shoulder towards the guards, then realised they weren’t the same two who had accompanied her out here. Her stomach lurched.

Elrhodoc’s hand tightened on her arm. ‘They say you escaped Rolencia, travelling under Dunstany’s protection. They say you dressed as a boy. A pretty little thing like you can’t be as innocent as you make out. Why, I bet you had the stable lads lining up to lift your ski—’

She slapped him with all her strength, then shoved past him, hand stinging.

But she’d only gone two steps when he caught her. Spinning her around, he pulled her up against his big body and kissed her.

Piro had never kissed anyone. Well, this time last year Garzik had crept up behind her in the mill-house loft and stolen a kiss. It had landed on her ear so it didn’t count.