Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) (23 page)

The marquess shrugged and stepped into the warm bath he’d requested. He sighed in contentment as the warm water soothed his aching muscles. He’d spent more time riding in the last two months than he had in his entire life.
Jade is worth it
, he told himself, pushing his body completely underwater. He ran the bar of soap provided over his skin and lathered his hair with it, the sweet, lavender scent more soothing than the warm water. Jacob automatically felt better being clean. He stayed in the water until it
became cold; only then did he step out, dry himself with the plush towel Queen Eve had ordered for him, dress, and climb under the down comforter of his bed.

He planned to stay in
Northsbury
with Eve for a few days after the rest of her royal guests left. It had only been a month since King
Roland
had been murdered. He didn’t feel right, leaving the queen alone with her memories. He would find Jade sooner or later.

**

Jade was exhausted by the time she and Aston fell into bed that night. The run in wit
h her brother
had worn her out
,
and she was thankful Aston hadn’t asked her any more ques
tions about the encounter. The knight
was down the hall in the washroom, changing out of his costume, and Jade didn’t bother locking the door as she stepped out of her dress. Aston had already seen her
unclothed
; what more was there to hide?

The door opened behind her and she turned, expecting Aston. She wasn’t expe
cting Ernst to be standing behind her
. She quickly grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around herself,
hiding the face that she wore only hose under her dress. She strode toward her brother and locked
the door behind him.

“What the hell are you doing here, Ernst?” she whispered, pushing him away from the door in the hopes that Aston wouldn’t hear them talking if he returned.

“That’s a
question I’d like to ask you, s
ister. What were you
thinking
, bringing Aston Smith here? You do realize that if anyone recognized him he would be arrested and hanged, right?
Or thrown in a dungeon to rot!
” he responded.

“No one recognized him, Ernst.”

“
I did,
Jade! And I’m
sure Talbot did too.”

Jade’s eyes widened.
“Talbot saw him?”

Ernst nodded.
“He came to me after you two left and started asking questions.”

“You didn’t tell him
--
”

“Of course not, Jade! I wouldn’t be here yelling at you if I wanted Aston to die! I’d be leading Talbot here!” Ernst said, his voice rising.

Jade cringed.
“Please, keep your voice down
. I don’t want Aston to hear you.”

Her brother
walked away from her, running a hand through his hair. “What are you going to do, Jade? Run with Aston forever? Leave him, return home, and marry Jacob?”

“I don’t know, Ernst! Right now everything is just… things are happening so fast! I found Aston in the woods o
utside Fridel and started trave
ling with him. I didn’t know he was hunting you, Ernst. I don’t know what to do. He won’t feel free until he catches you, and I can’t help him do that. At the same time, I want his freedom more than anything, because…” Jade cu
t off there, unable to continue. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Ernst sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, baby sister. There’s no way for you to get everything. You can’t have a happy, loving family
and
have Aston Smith. You have to choose what’s most important to you.”

“I know that, Ernst. I can’t make Father happy and marry Jacob. I can’t make
you
happy and leave Aston. I can’t help Aston gain his freedom and keep you safe. When did my life become so
complicated?” she asked, falling onto the bed and burying her face in her hands.

“When yo
u fell in love with Aston Smith.
”

“We all need the waters of the Mercy River.
Though they don’t run
deep, there’s usually enough
just enough, for the extravagance
of our lives.”
- Joan Agee -

The ride home was quiet and cold. Jade worried that Aston had heard her talking to Ernst, but he hadn’t said anything when he’d come in that night.
She had made her brother
sneak out through the window so Aston wouldn’t see him, and she
’d curled up in bed before the knight
returned to the room. Now,
trudging through the snow, she felt the need to tell him
her secret, but she couldn’t bring herself to.

What if Aston went to
her father
and told him about Ernst? Her father’s heart would be broken and her brother’s life would end. Aston still wouldn’t be free; he’d hang with Ernst.

The princess
sighed and stared at the
back of the
man riding in front of her. He’d been quiet, undoubtedly thinking about where they would go next. In a couple of weeks, the snow would start melting and Ernst would go after Talbot. If Talbot died, there would be no one to
clear Aston’s name and his
e
ntire
journey would have been for nothing.

As
their cabin came into sight, sh
e breathed a sigh of relief. Two days in the snow had been more than enough and now she wanted to grab her favorite book, start a fire, and not move until winter was gone. She stayed outside to take care of Edward, but
then
quickly went into the cabin, shoving out of her frozen coat and grabbing logs for the hearth.

Aston came in right behind her, following suit with shucking his coat and sitting on the couch. Jade sat next to him once the fire was started, leaning against his side. She breathed a sigh of relief when he put his arm around her. She’d been afraid he was mad at her for making him
go to the ball, or because her brother
had recognized both of them. He didn’t seem to mind now, though.

“Jade, about what E
rnst said,” Aston began, and sh
e tensed in his arms. “What does he know about me?
How
does he know about me?”

“Ernst knows a l
ot of things he shouldn’t,” the princess
replied. Her brother knew every dirty secret there was to know within the powerful families of their five adjoining
kingdoms
. It was what had finally driven him to start killing powerful people off, one by one.

“That doesn’t answer my question, Jade,” Aston replied, looking down at her.

Jade
sighed.
“Ernst was just afraid that someone would recognize you and you would end up being killed,” she told him.

“Why would your brother care if I died?”

“Because our father respects you as a knight and my brother is convinced you are innocent. He’s kind of
adamant about
people getting what they deserve out of life, and he knows you don’t deserve to die,” Jade said, meeting Aston’s gaze.

He
smiled at her.
“I suppose
that runs in the family,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. Jade sighed into the kis
s, wishing she could tell him
everything. Her life would be so much simpler if she wasn’t hiding secrets from everyone.

“What are we doin
g until winter ends?” sh
e asked, hoping to change the subject. She was tired of talking about her brother
,
and his name made guilt settle into her stomach. She wanted the feeling to go away.

“I have to go
into Fridel tomorrow,” Aston answered, and she
whipped her head around to look at him again.

“Why would you go to Fridel?” she asked him, sitting up.

“I’ll be careful, Jade, don’t worry. The person I am going to see is an old friend. He’d never turn me in,” Aston replied, pulling her back against him. Jade still wasn’t comfortable with the idea, but
she knew she couldn’t stop the knight
if he really wanted to go.

*
*

King Donn stared unblinking at the letter in his hand. He had known it was going to happen; with the way his kingdom was run, it was bound to. It wasn’t, however, supposed to happen like this.

Say goodbye to your son.

Five words, but they meant so much. The Rogue was targeting Talbot. Donn
glanced out the glass wall of the
throne room. He could almost see the snow
melting faster
as he stared
. As soon as the snow was gone, the Rogue would be here for Talbot
;
for his son.

Donn scoffed and strode
across the room, tossing the parchment into the
lit hearth
. The flames quickly engulfed the thick paper, licking at its edges tentatively
before
devouring it. If he didn’t know, then Talbot wouldn’t know. If the letter didn’t exist, maybe the Rogue would change his mind and attack someone else. Or maybe he would still come and kill his son.
             
Either way, the king
wanted to feel no remorse, wanted no part in his son’s death.

T
albot walked into the room
. He saw his father next to the fire and joined him, staring into the fl
ames. The king was glad the pa
r
chment
was
no more than crumbled ash
. Maybe the prince wouldn’t question him.

“Any news today, Father?”

Donn almost flinched but controlled his actions. He couldn’t give anything away. “Nothing, son. No word at all.”

“Thank you, Father.”

He didn’t miss the way his son relaxed at the words before smil
ing and leaving the room. The prince
was a coward. If Talbot knew his life was in danger, he would flee and then what would happen? The Rogue would kill him
.
.

No, Talbot would stay and meet his fate. The Rogue never struck the same family twice. Once his son was dead, he would be safe. His kingdom would never have to worry about the Rogue again, and he would carry on as usual.
It may seem cruel, throwing my son
to the murderer, but Talbot
brought this upon himself.

That’s what Donn told himself. If his son had been kinder, shown some respect, some love for his people, then he never would have been targeted. If Talbot had stopped the Rogue before he murdered Duke Aeron, his life would not be in danger now. So many things the prince could have done to save himself, but he kept failing. Over and over,
Talbot
allowed his life to slip further and further, allowed his future to become less certain and his fate to loom ever closer.

Why should the king bother trying to
save his son’s life when he
was doing such a great job at ending it himself? Let the
murderer come and take the failure off his hands. The kingdom would be better off without him.

*
*

Aston woke before Jade the next morning and slipped out of the room, carrying pants and a shirt with him. He dressed in the living area and made his way to the stable, deciding to take Edward instead of Sterling. Sterling was too easily recognized in Fridel
,
and recognition was something he needed to avoid.

The knight
pulled on his cloak,
brought
the hood up over his head, and rode into town. The streets were ne
arly empty; everyone was inside
where it was warm. The shop he
wanted
came into view over the top of a cobblestone hill
,
and Aston caught himself smiling at the familiar sight.
Zane’s Jewels.

After dismounting, he
tied Edward ou
tside and stepped into the shop, nodding at the guard stationed there while keeping his head down.
Once inside, he lowered his hood. A tall, thin man came from the back, his face breaking out into a grin when he saw Aston standing there.

“Aston Smith! As I live and breathe!”

“
Z
ane. It’s been too long,” the knight
replied,
grabbing the man in a firm hug.

The brunet man stepped back but kept his hands on Aston’s arms, looking the knight over with his golden eyes.
“It has! But why are you here? Everyone in Fridel is looking for you. I hear even soldiers from Adion and Azazel know of your
supposed
betrayal,” he said, bringing Aston further into the shop and switching his sign around to “closed.”