Princess Avenger - Brightcastle Saga Book 1 (17 page)

Alecia
shook her head. “I believed my father would act in my best
interests, even while he chose my husband.” She tugged at her ring
finger as if she hoped to pull it from her hand. “He has shown he
cares nothing for me
--
or at least cares less for me than for himself and the kingdom.
Lord Finus has truly corrupted him.”

“It’s not just
Finus. You must see that.”

Her eyes
wandered over his face. “I do not know what I see any more. Death
would be better than this.”

“There was a
time when I felt the same,” Vard said. “That I’d rather die than
live. I felt that way for so long, I thought it would always be
so.”

He had
Alecia’s whole attention now. She looked at him as if she had never
truly seen him before, as if he were her lifeline. “Tell me what
you did to heal yourself.”

Vard closed
his eyes to block the desperation in her gaze. There was no hope
for Alecia in his story. His cure was not for her. He opened his
eyes. “I found someone who understood me, who could guide me. I
lost him too soon. Still, he helped me from that black place.”

Alecia reached
out and snagged his upper arms. “Help me, Vard. Please. You can’t
stand by and let this happen.”

“What would
you have me do?” Vard crushed the angry words that wanted to leap
from his mouth. He could kill the prince and it wouldn’t change
this. He could kill Lord Finus but who would take his place? He
could carry Alecia from this kingdom but he was more dangerous to
her than anyone he could think of. “There’s nothing I can do,
Princess, but I won’t let you kill yourself.”

Her hands
tightened on his arms. “Then you are cruel beyond measure. Are you
so pitiless that you would not look the other way while I took my
life?”

Vard wrenched
his arms free of Alecia’s grasp and stood before her, his breath
coming in ragged gulps. Why should her words hurt him?

Something
smashed into him from behind and a searing pain hit the right side
of his chest. He sagged onto Alecia and glanced down at the sharp
tip of a crossbow bolt protruding from his shirt below his right
breast. Alecia’s eyes bulged as a dark stain spread across his
shirt.

Agony
almost made him black out but he lurched towards the
transformation, animal terror dulling the spasms that racked his
chest. He twisted and the pain doubled. He searched the night
shadows even as his vision blurred and shifted. Just as a faint
rustle alerted him to the intruder in the bush twenty paces away,
another bolt took him in his left shoulder. As Vard fell to hands
and knees he knew he left Alecia vulnerable. He scrambled
desperately to force his body into the change that could save his
life; one that wouldn’t threaten Alecia
-- the wolf.

Alecia knelt
beside Vard, her heart fluttering at the sight of the bolts
protruding from his back and shoulder. Bloodstains spread from the
metal lodged in his body. Her eyes met his golden ones and she
shivered at the dull gleam in their depths. “Run, Alecia!” Vard’s
words were little more than a strangled gasp.
How can he survive?

Fear tightened
her chest, forcing her to take quick panting breaths as she
searched for the attacker. She must help Vard, draw the gaze of the
shooter so that her captain would live. Already he slumped, his
fingers curling, his knees drawn to his chest.

Alecia bent
over him. “Vard let me help you inside.”

He looked up
at her, eyes wild. “Leave me!” The words were barely
comprehensible. “Save yourself.” He growled and Alecia backed away
as he fought his way to his hands and knees, his gaze locked with
hers. Alecia blinked to clear her vision as his body swelled,
encapsulated by a nimbus of white light. He was indistinct, his
margins fuzzy. The hand that clutched the grass had broadened and
now looked more like a paw. Her insides froze, the world shrinking
to encompass only herself and Vard. Time slowed as the man before
her swelling and shrank then swelled again. She could not be seeing
what she thought she was. A groan that was more a growl escaped
from her protector and Alecia snapped into the present. She backed
away, prepared to flee, but unable to accept the vision before
her.

In Vard’s
place was a huge brown bear. Its paws were the size of dinner
plates and it must have weighed more than two horses. Alecia
couldn’t look away as the beast turned to her, saliva dripping from
its canines. Golden eyes gleamed and its huge, wet nose twitched,
taking her scent. She could not see the wounds made by the crossbow
bolts. Plans of escape formulated themselves in her mind but she
could never outrun this creature, especially dressed as she
was.

The bear
that must be Vard
-- she
had to accept that -- reared up onto its hind legs. She slapped her
hands over her ears as it roared, teeth bared, drool spraying over
her. Its foul breath caressed her face and still she could not
scream. Someone would hear the creature and investigate, but by
then it would be too late. The bear roared again and a twig snapped
in the bushes behind the beast. It dropped to all fours and gave
her a hungry look before whirling to face the noise. Then it swung
its head back towards Alecia once more and she saw her death in its
feral eyes. It reared up onto its back legs again and Alecia fell
to her knees, resigned to her fate. She closed her eyes, too scared
to witness its final lunge -- giant steps carried the beast away
from her.

A wave of
relief swept over Alecia and she slumped to the grass, sobs shaking
her shoulders. Bile rose in her throat and she emptied her stomach,
retching until her insides ached. When she wiped her hand across
her mouth, her fingers were ice-cold.

“Here she is,”
a dreaded oily voice said.

Her
stomach cramped and she retched again.
Not him! Please, Goddess, I can’t
deal with him now.

“Are you well,
my dear?” Lord Finus said. “What has passed here?” He drew her to
her feet and tried to place his arm around her shoulders.

“Let me go,”
she said, shrugging him away.

A crowd
of partygoers had poured from the ballroom. Prince Zialni sent for
his troops while King Beniel stood with his arms around his wife.
Adriana slipped from the King’s embrace and moved towards Alecia.
Ramón glanced at Alecia and dashed into the dark garden.
Oh Goddess, keep
him safe.
She had to
find Vard before he harmed someone or was harmed. What was she
saying? He already had mortal injuries. A thread inside her snapped
and she started to tremble.

Finus twisted
her to face him.

Alecia’s blood
grew colder. She couldn’t think past the need to escape. “Do not
touch me,” she said, her words sluggish and lacking conviction. She
tugged at her hands caught in his, trying to pull free, looking
towards the forest where Vard had disappeared. “I must search for
him.” Alecia didn’t care whom Finus thought she referred to. The
dreaded hands tightened their grip until they hurt.

“I will not
allow you to place yourself in further peril,” Finus hissed. “Tell
me what happened.”

She glared at
him. He was not her lord and master yet; she hoped he never would
be.

“Answer
Giornan’s question, Alecia,” Prince Zialni said, his voice
commanding.

She turned to
her father. “There was a man out here with a crossbow.” Alecia
paused, not certain how much to tell, not certain what she
believed. “He shot the captain twice.”

“Are you
unharmed?”

Alecia
couldn’t absorb the question. Scrambled thoughts and pictures
fluttered about her brain. Vard pierced by the crossbow bolt, the
surprise in his eyes, slow blood spreading, the bear, fear, cold.
“Yes.”

“She is in
shock, Your Highness,” Lord Finus said. “Let me escort her to her
chambers.” He placed his arm around Alecia’s waist but she pulled
out of his grasp.

“I told you
not to touch me.” Alecia heard a gasp, perhaps from the Queen, but
she did not care. Let them think what they would.

“Alecia does
not know what she says,” Finus said. Even through her frozen mind,
she could tell he was furious. The slimy toad was angry that she
did not fall at his feet with instant love and obedience? She would
make it her mission to show him the mistake he had made on agreeing
to this betrothal. Her mouth cracked a grim smile. Better to focus
on Finus than on the bear and Vard.

King Beniel
cleared his throat. “Can I suggest that we return to the castle to
discuss this? It is hardly helping the princess to stand here in
the cold when she has had a fright.”

“
Quite
so, b
rother.” Prince
Zialni took Alecia’s arm in his and she was glad of his support as
he guided her back to the ballroom. He spoke quiet words to the
musicians and they returned to their instruments. The tune they
played soothed her raw nerves a little. The prince led her to a
chair and made her sit. Someone pushed a goblet of mulled wine into
her hands. The heat returned to her fingertips as she sipped the
warm, sweet liquid.

Alecia was
vaguely aware of the guests being dismissed and of her father’s
soldiers arriving with torches to begin the search for the
intruder. The men gathered just inside the doors while the Queen
and her ladies-in-waiting clustered around Alecia.

“
What a
shock you have had, n
iece,” Adriana said, “and on your betrothal night, too. Do
not think this is an ill omen for your nuptials. All will be
well.”

Alecia
looked up at the Queen. She was so beautiful and self-assured. Had
Adriana’s marriage been arranged for her? She
seemed
happy. “All will never be well
again.”

Queen Adriana
laughed. “Oh, Alecia, you are so melodramatic. The soldiers will
catch this foul trespasser and life will return to normal.”

“That is not
what I am referring to.” Alecia’s voice was cold. “Can you have
someone fetch my maid? I wish to return to my room.”

The Queen
grabbed the arm of a passing serving girl and spoke a few quiet
words. The girl’s face blanched at being addressed by the monarch
but she gathered her skirts and ran from the room.

Alecia watched
her father, Lord Finus and King Beniel as they talked in low tones
near the outer door. Finus fixed her with his cold eyes and then
stalked over.

“Princess, I
must ask you about the noise we heard.”

Alecia held
her tongue.

“Yes,” Queen
Adriana said. “I heard the roar of a bear. Tell us about it, my
dear.”

“There was a
brown bear in the garden,” Alecia said. “I do not know how it came
to be there.”

“A bear and a
crossbow-wielding intruder,” Finus said. “The garden was crowded
this night. There is also the question of how the invader eluded
the patrols.”

Prince Zialni
joined the group. “Patrols you were responsible for, Lord Finus.
The very same patrols that allowed an assassin close enough to
shoot my daughter’s protector.”

“Is it not a
little hasty to name the invader an assassin, Your Highness?” Finus
smiled a sickly smile and Alecia’s insides warmed a little at his
discomfort.

“What else can
this be but an assassination attempt? My daughter, your betrothed,
might have been murdered this night and you stand here debating?
You will find out what happened to the patrols and how this man
came to penetrate the castle defenses.”

“I assure you
I will do so and bring this intruder to justice, Your Highness,”
Finus said, “but what of the bear?”

“The bear will
not get far,” Prince Zialni said. “In the morning, my men will
track it and kill it. We cannot have rogue animals menacing the
palace. The assassin may be a more difficult matter, unless he has
left a trace of his passing. I will question the soldiers on patrol
myself. You said Captain Anton was wounded, Alecia. Where is he
now? Why did he leave you alone in the garden?”

Alecia frowned
and bit her lip. Considering Vard’s wounds, she doubted he would
ever return. Unbidden, his handsome face filled her thoughts; the
memory of his embrace lent her comfort. But she would never again
find solace in Vard’s arms. If by chance he should survive, how
could she face him after what she had witnessed? She shivered. What
would she do if she did come face to face with him? She shook her
head. It could not have happened that way. Vard could not have
become the bear. It was the effects of shock and fatigue and all
the events of the past days that had her seeing wild fancies.

“Daughter?”
Prince Zialni stood, arms crossed over his chest, brows drawn into
one thick black line.

Alecia pulled
herself from her reverie and met her father’s eyes. “Captain Anton
was gravely wounded; even so he pursued the assassin into the
forest when he fled. I believe he will die from his wounds.” A sob
erupted from her throat and a wave of hot anguish banished the
chill inside her. Millie arrived at her elbow. “I ask leave to
return to my room now, Father.”

Prince Zialni
bowed his acquiescence. Alecia curtsied to the King and Queen,
completely ignored Lord Finus and swept from the room. Millie
scurried behind, babbling about the events of the night, but Alecia
barely listened. Her mind raced as she tried to come to terms with
what she had seen. The effect of the wine lingered and her head was
still fuzzy. Millie helped her undress and tucked her into the
bed.

“I’ll be here
beside you in the chair, Princess. You close your eyes and all will
seem better in the morning.”

Alecia turned
her head to the wall, away from the maid. No matter where her
thoughts dwelled, she felt her life would never be happy again.