Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (14 page)

Ashlynn gave him a mocking bow. “Understood, sire.”

“Good, good.” Groaning up to his feet, Edvard carted off his
empty plate with him, leaving the room as abruptly as he had come in.

Ash caught himself in a yawn mid-way, lifting a hand to
cover his mouth. “Why am I still so tired?”

“Yes, I wonder,” Ashlynn drawled sarcastically. “Riana, tuck
him back into bed, will you? Broden and I need to check in with a few people as
well before bed.”

“I will,” she promised, already pulling Ash to his feet.

“I’m not a child,” Ash protested good-naturedly, “I can see
to myself, y’know.”

“No, I do no’ know,” Riana answered back smartly, pinning
him in place with her eyes. “Show more sense than a child would and do no’
over-do and then I may believe ye.”

Ash winced, putting a hand to his heart as if wounded.
“Ouch. Alright, I may have deserved that.”

“You did.” “Ye did.” Broden and Ashlynn were in perfect
sync, even tones matching.

Getting no help from any quarter, Ash did the safe thing. He
went promptly back to bed.

“Ash! Visitor!” Bria smiled as she said it, ushering Gwen
into the small sitting room.

Looking up from his book, Ash took in his sisters with a
blink and then grinned, setting the book aside. “Welcome visitors. Hello, my
pretty little sister.”

Gwen beamed at him, happy for the compliment, and lugged
over the wooden box she had in her arms. “Ash, Bria said you were sick.”

“I am sick, my magic is very low, but I’m getting better,”
he assured her gently. “In fact, in a few days, I’ll be back to my usual self.”

“Oh.” Satisfied, she put the box in his lap. “Then, can you
play with me?”

“I would love to play with you, dear heart.” Ash honestly
meant it. After being cooped up in the room for three days with nothing but
sleeping and reading to do, he was interested in any diversion that came his
way. “What did you bring with you?”

“Go and Kensington.”

Ash’s interest went up another level. “Oh-ho, plan on
beating me today, are you?”

There was a wicked smile on Gwen’s face. “Yes.”

To Riana, Ash explained, “I’m terrible at both games, barely
can remember the rules, and it always takes me a round or two to warm up enough
to stand a chance against her. If you want to know who the natural strategist
in the family is, it’s Gwen. She beats the pants off of us on a regular basis.”

“Ah, I see.” Riana wasn’t that surprised to learn that Gwen
was a good strategist. Seeing the way that she maneuvered her siblings around
to grant her every wish had told Riana who
really
had the brains in this
family. She and Bria helped set up a table in between them, and dragged a chair
closer so Gwen could comfortably sit. Then she sank onto her haunches so she
was eye-level with the little girl. “Gwen, can ye promise to keep an eye on our
boy, here? Make sure he do no’ over-do it.”

Gwen gave her a serious nod, woman-to-woman. “I can. I
promise to play with him
all
day.”

Ash choked and Riana could feel him laughing on the inside.
It made it hard to keep her own face straight and she felt like kicking him.
“Good. There be things I need to do and I did no’ want to leave him by
himself.”

Really, Gwen was just as happy to have some one-on-one time
with her brother as that had been in short supply recently. It was Ash that
questioned it. “What are you wanting to do?”

“We have quite a few things that need to be mended,” Riana
started ticking things off on her fingers, “traveling clothes to have made up for
the road, and I have a craving for certain chocolates.”

“Chocolate cordials?” Ash wasn’t asking, he knew good and
well what she was referring to. “I see Ashlynn was right, she really did get
you addicted to those things.”

Not bothered by that in the least, Riana shrugged, a sense
of anticipation filling her. She’d been craving those chocolates all
week
.

“And I will go with you,” Bria told her, not about to be
dissuaded. “You haven’t been in Estole for a while, the city has changed quite
a bit; you’re likely to get lost.”

Riana had never had a chance to learn more than the main
streets even before she had gone to work on the settlement. She was more than
willing to have a guide if it prevented her from being lost all day or, worse,
having to get one of the guardsmen to rescue her. “That be fine by me.”

“I’ll watch him for you,” Gwen promised her seriously.

Riana patted her fondly on the head. “There’s a lass. Knew I
could count on ye.”

They both ignored it when Ash choked again, this time as a
sound of protest.

Bria waggled her fingers at the pair. “Bye, you two, have
fun without us.”

“Yes, yes, go away. I have games to lose.” Ash made a face
at them before turning his attention to Gwen. “Which game first?”

Leaving the two happily in each other’s company, Riana
snagged Bria and led her into both Ash’s room and hers, picking up the coats
and boots that needed to be mended and tucking them under her arm. Honestly,
she was glad to get out, as sitting around for three days straight had nearly
driven her mad. Sitting still did not suit her.

Bria eyed the bundle in her hands. “Shoemaker first? They
look like they’ll take the longest to fix. If we go there first, we can go to a
clothier that I know of next, and it’s all along the same street.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed. Really, she had no idea of the
best place to go. Her tentative plan was to visit the same shops that Ashlynn
had taken her to last time. If Bria knew of other places, she was willing to at
least go and take a look.

“Then, the east side door is our best way out.” Bria led the
way down the stairs and out the door. “Tell me, how is Ash really doing? I’ve
never seen him so pale and listless like this.”

“A magical drain be a scary thing. I did no’ realize meself
just how serious it be for a wizard. Ashlynn said it be akin to a deathly
disease, although thankfully, one that can be recovered from.”

Bria shuddered, disturbed by this. “I didn’t realize it was
that serious. I expected him to just recover like you would from a bad cold.
We’re all very grateful, you know, that his partner is you. Because if he
didn’t have you, he’d have collapsed like this, and they would have thought it
was from some other cause, and they wouldn’t have gotten him to Ashlynn fast
enough. Given a day, or even several hours, of waiting and his core might have
drained out completely. Ashlynn was ranting about it a little last night and
saying how glad she was you had the sense to bring him directly here.”

Pointing toward the side of her head, Riana explained, “I
could feel it, how low his magic be. It scared me so that I took him here.”

Bria gave her a shrewd look. “How, ah, in touch with my
brother are you?”

“We feel each other now.” Riana struggled with how to
explain this as every day, the boundaries that separated them grew a little
thinner. “Like a presence in the back of our heads. Emotions, too. They be
coming in stronger by the day.”

“Thoughts?” Bria asked hopefully.

Shaking her head, Riana gave her a sad smile. “Not as yet.
But we both be wishing it to happen. Given time, I think it will.” It was
interesting, though, that she was being asked this. Was the whole family hoping
that their partnership would develop into something more? Riana was a little
scared to ask.

They rounded the corner to the miniature garden, heading for
the last door that would let them out into the city. Riana went all of two
steps before coming to an abrupt halt. Lingering inside the doorway, just
inside of the wall, was Seth. He had a shy look on his face, body leaning ever
so slightly toward Darisa, words kept soft enough that she couldn’t hear him
from ten feet away. Darisa was leaning toward him as well, hanging on every
word.

“That,” Bria breathed to her, eyes alight, “looks terribly
suspicious. Don’t you think?”

“Terribly,” Riana agreed, studying the two who were
obviously flirting. My oh my, what would Edvard, Ash, and Tierone say when they
saw this pairing? Their words of ‘stations do not matter’ aside, they would not
be pleased to see their sister flirting with a prefect. Riana thought it to be
truly romantic, that they could see each other without a silly thing like
titles and stations getting in the way, so was inclined to support them for
that alone. She truly liked both of them and didn’t see why they couldn’t be a
couple if they wanted to. “Do we interrupt them?”

“Of course,” Bria answered, not even hesitating. “How else
can I tease them?” The words were barely out of her mouth before she was
charging forward, still with that evil smirk on her face.

Riana was on her heels, waiting for her to say something,
but Bria didn’t speak a word. She just went forward until the two noticed her.
Then, like guilty teenagers, they sprang apart, a flush on their cheeks and
their eyes looking elsewhere.

It was Seth that found his manners first and he gave them
both a bow. “Miss Bria, Miss Riana, good day.”

“Good day, Prefect Seth,” Bria greeted cheerfully before
giving her sister a pointed look and an arched eyebrow.

“Um,” Darisa managed intelligently. Her eyes were imploring
both of them:
Don’t make a scene!

Having pity on the pair, Riana stated firmly, “We do no’ see
ye.”

Seth and Darisa didn’t catch on to her meaning for a full
second before they slumped in relief. Then, of course, they realized that they
only had her cooperation and not Bria’s and they turned nervous looks toward
her.

“Do we, Bria?” Riana prompted. Teasing aside, Bria needed to
put them out of their misery, otherwise it would become outright cruel.

“See who?” Bria responded, all innocence and confusion. “I
don’t understand what you’re saying, Riana.”

Riana had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from
laughing. Casting them both a wink, she sailed through the door with Bria. They
went ten steps and then stopped and laughed aloud. “What was that?” Riana
demanded, holding her hands a foot apart and then jerking them wide, mimicking
what the couple had done earlier. “That skip earlier? Like a skittish doe found
by a pack of wolves.”

“That’s exactly what it was like,” Bria agreed, laughing
hard enough that tears were seeping out of the corner of her eyes. “My, oh my,
this is hilarious. I knew Darisa was sweet on someone, she’s been putting more
effort into dressing up recently, but she wouldn’t tell us who. Now I know
why!”

“Seth be no’ a bad choice,” Riana defended.

“Heavens no, I agree, he’s a good man. He’s helped me out
several times in this chaotic city and Ashlynn swears he’s one of the most
steady guardsmen she ever saw. It’s why Edvard promoted him to prefect. We all
expect him to make provost in ten years, the way he’s going. It’s just the way
those two are acting, you’d think they were having an illicit affair.” Bria
nibbled on the edge of her thumb, thinking hard. “It’s because of Edvard, I
bet.”

“And Ash,” Riana drawled, “no’ to mention Tierone.”

“Tierone will be more tolerant of this, I bet. So will Ash,”
the look she gave Riana spoke volumes, “all things considered.”

Riana took her meaning and blushed, not quite able to meet
the other woman’s eyes.

“But Edvard? Oh no, that is a different kettle of fish
entirely. He’s your typical overprotective brother. He wants all of his sisters
married to nice men who have a healthy income. I don’t think a prefect makes
enough to satisfy him.”

“Be that important?” Riana didn’t see how it would be, but
then she’d lived in absolute poverty for most of her life and knew good and
well that money did not equate happiness.

“To him. Not to the rest of us. Our father was not known for
taking good care of his mistresses, especially if they were already married. So
some of us, like Ash and Ashlynn, at least got a good education. Others…not so
lucky.” Bria pulled a face, nose crinkling. “Darisa and Catriona are the ones
that weren’t so lucky. Which is really why, I think, Darisa will be more
comfortable married to a man like Seth. She wouldn’t know what to do in a
nobleman’s family. She doesn’t really have the education for it.”

From behind, there was the sound of rapid footsteps. Riana
turned and tracked it automatically, not believing that there was danger coming
up from behind, but unable to ignore the sounds of pursuit after so many years
of being trained to keep an eye over her shoulder. Darisa skidded to a stop
just before she plowed into them, cheeks rosy from the mad sprint, looking a
little short on breath.

“Darisa, dear sister,” Bria cooed, slipping an arm around
her shoulders and securing her with an iron grip, “do tell us about your beau.”

“Bria,” Darisa pleaded, “please don’t pass this around the
family. Not yet. We’re not ready for that yet.”

“I won’t,” Bria promised soothingly, “but only if you spill.
Every. Little. Detail.”

Not looking relieved by this promise, Darisa stared
uncertainly at Bria, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth.

“If Edvard loses his top over this, I will shoot him in the
foot,” Riana swore, only half-kidding. “The man do no’ have the right to choose
his sisters’ lovers, no mind what he thinks. And he do no’ have a leg to stand
on where Seth be concerned.”

This encouraged her and Darisa’s worry eased. “He
is
a good man.”

“One of the best,” Riana agreed. Putting her free arm around
both women, she nudged them all into motion. “Now, I have shopping to do. Tell
us, lass, how this came to be as we go along.”

“Wait, first, tell me about Ash. If you’re out here
shopping, is he doing better?”

“Much,” Riana assured her, not looking at either woman, but
studying the street as they walked along. This looked very different from the
last time she’d walked through this section of the city. In fact, she barely
recognized anything. Had it really changed that much in such a short time
frame? “We have Gwen babysitting him.”

Darisa put a hand to her heart. “I’m relieved to hear it. In
more than one sense. Gwen has been badgering us because she missed Ash.”

“Back to Seth,” Bria ordered. “How did the two of you meet?”

“Well, we knew who the other person was, of course. As
prefect, he comes in and out all of the time, giving Edvard reports. We’d
bumped into each other. But it all really started about three weeks ago. I was
out running an errand for Ashlynn went I got completely lost. Lot Neighborhood,”
she said as if that explained everything.

“Ah, there,” Bria said in complete understanding.

Riana pointed a finger toward herself. “I do no’ follow.”

“The Lot Neighborhood—that isn’t the official name, it’s
just what we all call it—is where they’re building all of the houses,” Darisa
explained. “You know the open land that used to be farmland to the north and
west side of Estole proper? Edvard had that all converted over to housing. Each
house got a specific size lot to be built on, and it’s one huge neighborhood,
all of it connected. Hence the name. Some of the more industrious people have
created little businesses in the front of their homes, or built a shed in the
back, and you can find some very interesting things in there if you know where
to look. While I was there, I got turned around, because frankly all the houses
look the same to me. It was so frustrating. I must have wandered around for an
hour, not sure how to get back out, when Seth stumbled across me. He had someone
in hand, but he told the man,” in a credible impression of Seth’s tone, she
mimicked, “‘This is Miss Darisa. You will behave while I escort you both back
to Estole proper.’ And the man did, like he was afraid of what would happen if
he didn’t, and once Seth had stowed the man in with the guard, he escorted me
all the way to the castle. It was such a sweet thing to do, because I really
was fit to be tied by that point. Of course, I couldn’t let it go at that, so I
made him up a lunch the next day and left it at his office, as I couldn’t catch
him. He came up the next evening to thank me for it, and…well…” Darisa trailed
off with a sappy smile on her face.