Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (32 page)

I thought of Thane. "The coronation is the day after. The actual tournament starts after that."

Like moder
n day car races, with trials on Friday and Saturday and the actual race on Sunday.

Kendra frowned. "This is more like Olympic Games than a medieval tournament."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, in medieval times―from the time of the Norman conquest until maybe the 1400s―they had mock battle tournaments. The men divided into two sides and fought all at the same time. I think it originated in France. But those tournaments were very dangerous. A lot of people died."

"How do you know this?"

She shrugged. "One of t
he guys I dated in high school was really into medieval stuff."

"Well, don't mention this to any of the men here. It might give them ideas. We're a lot safer with Olympic Games, even if they do use weapons."

Kendra clambered to her feet and rummaged throug
h her wardrobe. "I guess we bring every dress we've got―again."

"My packing will be quick," I said, envious of the clean, undamaged state of her garments. "I'm down another four dresses."

Things were getting desperate. I had to find more suitable attire, d
resses I could breathe in as my waist expanded.

"The coronation will be a formal affair," I said, "so save your best for that."

"What are you wearing?"

"The off-white Grecian."

"What do you have to do at the coronation?"

I lifted my shoulders. "I have no idea. Maybe wear a crown and hand it over to Thane? Or pour tea? Pass around the cake plate?"

Kendra giggled.

We spent the afternoon packing. First, we stuffed her satchel and then I took her to the tower room.

"I've never been here before," she said, nervous.

"Nothing will bite you." I smiled. "The view is pretty from here. Look, you can actually see the river in the far distance."

We stared out the window in companionable silence.

"I've really come to love this place," she said. "The colors are so rich here. It's like seeing everything through a brighter filter. The greens are greener, the sky is
bluer―"

"That reminds me," I interjected. "I have something to show you that I think you'll like."

I removed the black dress from the wardrobe.

"Oh my God, Row. That is too sick. Put it on."

I did. The dress fit well, unlike the sapphire blue, which was b
ecoming too snug.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Kendra snorted. "Hardly. You look gorgeous, but not a bit pretty, which implies innocence."

I swatted her arm. "Hey!"

"That dress is a knockout," she said with a laugh. "It's almost too black, if you know what I mean. Even black looks blacker here. Wear it tonight, why don't you?"

I twirled in front of the mirror. "Maybe I will. I'd planned to leave this one behind anyway. I've only got two good gowns left―the off-white Grecian one, which I was saving for the coronation, and the deep cherry."

God, what I'd do for a shopping mall rig
ht now.

We packed up the rest of my belongings and set them by the door. A page would move them later.

"See you at dinner," Kendra said.

"Where are you going now?"

"Richard is taking me for a walk outside the castle grounds."

"Oh really?" I winked. "Don't forget that people can see you from the turret."

She snickered. "Oh, I don't think Richard is the roll-in-the-grass sort."

Later, I made my way downstairs. When the men saw me in my little black dress, all talk stopped. The silence was distressing.

Kendra and Richard entered the hall. They too froze.

"Where did you get that dress?" Grandfather rasped.

"From a room at Castle Sargon. Is there something wrong?"

"It's not a dress for a virtuous woman," Jon cut in. "Not here anyway."

I put my hand to the bodice. "Is it too low-cut?"

Surely, no lower than others I had worn.

"What are you talking about?" Kendra said. "I think she looks grand."

"It's a witch's gown," Richard said quietly.

"I didn't know that," I said. "I'm running out of clothes that fit. This was in the closet."

No one said a word.

I let out a frustrated huff. "So I really shouldn't wear this?"

Grandfather shook his head.

"Nonsense!" Cedric said, arriving through the front door. "It looks magnificent on you. Pay them no heed."

"Cedric, don't be a fool," Grandfather said.

"I like it." Cedric moved behind me and draped his hands on my shoulders. "It's very fetching. She needn't wear it in public, of course. Might set some tongues wagging." He kissed my hair.

"Do not think to make her into something she isn't," Grandfather warned.

"We shall see about that."

"Cedric, I mean this. Do not play with her soul. I'll stop you myself, if I must."

No one could doubt the threat there.

"I would not bring her to harm," Cedric said, wrapping his arms wrapped around me.

I felt that familiar zing of electricity.

The tension in the room eased when Kendra offered me her sweater. I covered the dress as best I could.

"Will you be competing in any of the games," I asked Cedric.

"Wouldn't be fair," he said cryptically. "Though I might judge wrestling, if asked."

Jon frowned and Grandfather nodded approval.

I thought their reaction strange.

Later, Jon filled me in.

"Everyone knows Cedric is a student of the dark arts," he said. "They don't trust him to play fair."

Ah…so that was it. Cedric was a
student
of magic, not a master. It made me wonder about the amount of power he had and how far it extended. In the past, he'd been able to sense my distress and locate me. But maybe there were limits to his magic. Maybe, one day, his power would fade.

Cedric excused himself to do some nightly ritual. I was curious about this, but knew better than to follow him. Instead, I cornered Jon in the hall.

"I've been wanting to ask you for hours," I said. "How fares Ivan?"

"He is healthy physically. I am not so sure his mind is as well."

"What do you mean?"

"He has not left this land. I urged him to go, to fulfill the conditions of banishment. I even offered to go with him. But he refuses to consider it and has allied himself with ruffians. I could not stay with him under those conditions."

Jon's eyes strayed to the top of my dress.

Ever since our very first encounter by the river, he had been uncomfortable around me. At dinner, he always sat across the table. Sometimes I would catch his eyes on me, as if drawn by the memory of that first day.

He stepped closer, then caught himself and looked away.

I changed the subject. "Ivan risks death by defying the order. Why does he do this?"

"Cedric." He shrugged. "And you."

I groaned. "His hate for Cedric is far stronger than his love for me."

"'Tis both."

"How powerful is Cedric's magic?"

"I am not sure. All I know is he needs to be at the spot where he intends to do magic. He can't do it from afar. He needs to see it. When he set that defensive line around Castle Sargon, he had to be within sight to do it."

"So he can't do anything from a long distance. He couldn't, for example, cause havoc in Norland when he is here at Castle Huel."

"That is correct, m'lady. I also think he needs some time to plan. He often casts magic on special books or talismans. And I have noticed that he doesn't seem to be able to react fast enough to protect himself from danger."

Now I knew something that Jon didn't. The Roman coin I wore gave Cedric the power to follow me. This was beyond the powers that Jon described.

He proceeded to the window, then faced me from a safe distance. "All this could change. I don't know how powerful he is capable of becoming."

A shiver swept up my spine. "Please don't think me disloyal, Jon, but I hope he doesn't become too strong. We have a saying where I come from. 'Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.'"

"A wise saying, m'lady. I expect you are right, not that we will have much influence. Still, 'tis good we stand with him and not with his enemies."

I had one last question. "Do you think he will harm Ivan if given the chance?"

Jon's brown eyes met mine. "That is my one great fear."

Cain and Abel, I thought.

"Rowena, they were always at each other's throats, even before you arrived."

He sai
d it to relieve my guilt, but I remained uneasy.

When Cedric joined me that night, he was thorough and possessive. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Thane in my mind. When Cedric plunged inside me, it was Thane I dreamed of―Thane's hands and lips tha
t caressed me.

Thank God Cedric could not read my mind.

"I'm disturbed," he said afterward. "Something is going to happen in the next few days. I can feel it. It involves you, but you aren't hurt―never fear. Keep wearing the broach."

"Maybe we shouldn't go
to the coronation."

He shook his head. "We must. Not to go would be shameful. An act of cowardice."

Heaven forbid he ever acted in a way that wasn't courageous.

"Don't venture out from the castle courtyard without me or Jon," he ordered. "Or Richard. I think we can count on Thane to be honorable, but I wouldn't trust any of the others. Norland probably doesn't recognize our marriage. They have strange customs up north."

Neither of us got much sleep that night.

Chapter 33

We set out the next morning under a gray sky. The mood was oppressive and I couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. We moved like a convoy and the noise of animals and men was deafening. I could hardly stand the rich and overpowering odor of so many beasts. Cedric's troops had swell
ed from forces arriving from the south. At the river, Drake met us with his own entourage of elites―at least two hundred men.

It took much longer to reach our destination. As we neared Castle Sargon, excitement built among the men. From several miles out,
we passed camps of troops, a sea of tents. Friends separated by time and loyalties greeted each other along the way. Excited, they slapped each other's backs and knocked one another down.

I smiled at their joy and tried to check my own angst.

We left most of the men at a field encampment to the south. Our immediate family and a few trusted men proceeded to the castle grounds.

Thane was waiting on the steps when we rode in. He did not move to help us dismount, but waited for us to come to him. He watched me dismount. He observed the others for a second, then his eyes came back to me.

"Don't act subservient," Cedric hissed, pushing me forward. "You still outrank him."

Thane smiled as we drew close. "Welcome, Huel. Welcome, m'lady. I've reserved the rear wing of the castle for you. Come with me."

I took Thane's offered arm. Touching him was like Valium to me. My heart calmed, my breathing slowed and the air had more oxygen.

Cedric hung back a few feet so he could yell orders to the men. This gave me an opportunity to slip Thane a note.

Knight to f3.

Thane raised a brow."Your next move?"

"This opening I have used is called the Spanish Opening," I told him. "It is complete in five moves. The opening, that is, not the game. There are countless ways to start a game. I am keen to see if your next move will follow suit."

"You shall have it tonight."

The suites at the back of the castle were well placed. There was only one entrance, which could be easily guarded. Thane led me to the last room at the end of the hall, a large bedroom with a double bed in the center, ringed with wardrobes. Faded tapestries lined the walls, and one large window let in light.

"This was my mother's room," he said. "I'm told she liked the view from here.

I stood beside him and we gazed out the window.

The back of the castle stood against a dark cliff that rose almost straight up. This window faced the edge of the cliff. The view had the effect of looking down a long, dark corridor to a place of brilliant light beyond. It was not a normal pastoral view and it made me wonder about his mother.

"This trunk was Sargon's." He pointed to a small wooden box with leather straps. "I thought you might like to have it."

"Thank you."

"I haven't looked in it. If you like, I could stay here with you while you do so."