Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (16 page)

Finding each other through bond alone was not something that
could be achieved in a day. In fact, even after three days of practice, Broden
barely had the hang of it. Not that they could spend three full days on the
exercise. The demand of their jobs was such they could spare a span of hours
and no more. Broden was not sure if he was grateful for that or not. He wanted
to catch on to this quickly, but he was not able to focus that intently for
more than two hours at a time. A man’s mind could only stand so much before
becoming a pile of goo.

Searching for Ashlynn through their link was akin to
prodding at a sore tooth that was not actually in your own head. You knew it
was there, could feel it, but did not have the ability to actually put a finger
readily on it. No wonder it took three days before he could at least determine
her general direction.

Ashlynn had an easier job of it simply because she was more
in tune with magic than he. It took her two days to reliably find his location
and three before she could walk directly to him every time. Broden’s
competitive spirit was rankled by this. The next time they practiced, he would
hide and
then
see how easily she could find him.

The moment might be several weeks away. Unfortunately, their
free time had come to an abrupt end this morning when Edvard summoned them. Ash
and Riana were in the middle of preparations for the trip, but he and Ashlynn
were able to respond promptly.

Broden sat at what had become the informal council table in
Edvard’s study, a frown on his face and a throbbing in his temples. “What do ye
mean, the old problems be coming back?”

“Old problems in a new way, I should say.” Edvard was
rubbing at his eyes with the pads of his fingers, beyond tired. “We finally
have an answer for why they haven’t made a move against us. Rather than sending
another army, Zelman is using us to his advantage. The Iyshian king has finally
found a way to pick a successor. We’re the proving ground. If a prince can
solve the problem of Estole, then they get the crown.”

Broden did not like the sound of that at all.

Ashlynn let out a feral, disgusted sound. “Kind of us to
provide him with a test.”

“Isn’t it though,” Edvard drawled sarcastically.

“The only thing that has given us a reprieve is that there’s
been so much in-fighting they haven’t been able to focus on us.” Ashlynn
thumped a fist against the table’s surface. “If that’s at an end, we’re in
trouble.”

“I know it,” Edvard acknowledged grimly.

In a desire to know what to brace himself for, Broden asked,
“There be three princes?”

“Yes,” Ashlynn confirmed. “The two oldest are twins, from
the first wife. The third son is from the second marriage. The oldest, Maddox,
is a brash, might-always-wins sort. He’s likely to gather up an army and march
right over us.”

Edvard picked up the thread smoothly. “The second prince, Savir,
is more thoughtful, more prone to other tactics. But he’s also used to
following his older twin’s lead. I only met him a few times, but he struck me
as the sort that doesn’t like to rock the boat. I’m not sure if he’s a very
strong contender.”

“And then there’s the third prince, Hendrix.” Ashlyn pursed
her lips, staring blankly up at the ceiling. “Not sure if he’s really a
contender at all.”

“He’s from the second marriage and has never been a favorite
of his father’s,” Edvard explained to Broden. “He doesn’t think like most of
his family. His father more or less banished him from court by sending him on
missions that take a full year or more to complete. I don’t think he’s been
home longer than a month in six years. The court might not remember he exists.”

“So,” Broden summed up, “It truly be the first prince who be
the only horse in the race.”

“More or less,” Ashlynn opined. “Edvard, I’ll start strengthening
Ash’s wall around the city with more wards, shall I?”

“Please,” the Estolian king requested wearily. “And where
I’m supposed to gather up an army is beyond me. Or how to equip one, for that
matter.”

“I think we definitely need Ash to go recruit more wizards.”
Ashlynn pushed the chair back and stood. “I’ll go talk to him about this
directly. It won’t hurt him to spend two days in the saddle while his magic is
recovering. I think he needs to leave tomorrow.”

Broden went hunting for Ash and Riana, knowing that the pair
were in the castle somewhere, but not sure where. He had heard they had gone
out shopping that morning to prepare for the trip. They were supposed to leave
the day after tomorrow, after all. But now that the timeline had been moved up
a day, Broden hoped that they had found all they wanted today, as they wouldn’t
have time to really go back out in the city in the search for anything else.

He started with their rooms and knew he was right once he
reached the hallway. He could hear a lot of laughter and yelling coming from
Ash’s room. The two of them were in a fine humor, it sounded like. The door was
wide open, so he just stepped inside, taking in the scene with a quick glance.

Riana stood behind one of the chairs, weight on her toes as
if ready to take off in either direction. In her hands was a nicely crafted
saddlebag made of dark leather and pretty stitch work. Ash was on the other
side of the chair, also on the tip of his toes, ready to give chase. He was
pointing an outraged finger at her although there was a grin on his face. “You
give that back.”

“But Ash, it be the perfect size,” she responded in all
innocence, eyes as wide as an unblushed maiden. “A lass always be needing more
luggage space, ye know that.”

“
You
are a mountain girl who has packing the bare
essentials down to an art form,” he shot back. “Don’t pull that innocent act
with me, I know better. I am not used to traveling and I want my bag back.”

“Ye be a wizard, ye can make do with less,” she riposted
still in that innocent, sweet tone. Broden knew that tone. She was teasing for
the sake of it and couldn’t give two hoots about the bag.

“I am not allowed to use magic for another two days and that
is so not the point. You can fit everything you want into just one side of that
thing, there’s no way you need another bag.” Ash thrust out a demanding hand.
“Give.”

Riana gave him a sunny, reassuring smile. “No mind that,
Ash. I can find things to fill the other side.”

“That is so not the point.” When words had failed him, he
darted sideways in a feint.

Not fooled, Riana stood right there, eyebrow arched in
challenge.

Growling, he gave up and began the chase, which was what
Riana had been waiting for this whole time. Giggling all the way, she skipped around
the side of the chair, using the placement of the furniture to her advantage to
block him from actually catching hold of her. The way she so deftly moved,
without a second of hesitation, made a man wonder if she had been planning
this.

Ash chased after her at first, but he soon caught on to the
pattern of her movements. Broden often forgot that Ash had been a lead general
in Edvard’s army, capable of strategizing and analyzing an enemy army’s
movements. So often he was the builder, the creator, the voice of reason that
it escaped Broden’s mind from time to time that he possessed a keen tactical
mind. In a flash, he saw that mind at work as Ash abruptly reversed directions,
spinning on his heel, and instead of giving chase to Riana, he put a hand on
the back of the chair and flipped himself neatly over it, catching her around
the shoulders.

Not in the least upset by this, Riana laughed out loud and
tried to wiggle free. Well, she acted as if she were trying. Her father knew
quite well that if she had
really
been trying, Ash would already be on
the ground and nursing a broken bone or three. No, this was play-acting at its
finest as Ash pretended he really wanted his saddlebag and Riana pretended she
had no intention of giving it back. What had started the game was anyone’s
guess, but Broden was of a mind that the two of them were in a mischievous mood
and anything would do. The saddlebag had been handy as a prop and nothing more.

He did not think that either of them had really noticed him,
wrapped up in each other as they were, but he was proven wrong. Ash, still
holding firmly onto Riana, and Riana with her arms outstretched as much as
possible to keep him from actually getting the saddlebag, both asked in unison,
“Need something?”

“Entertaining as this be, and loathe I am to interrupt it,
but there be a development.”

That finally caught their attention and they both dropped
their hands, turning to him. Broden hated to see it, as the joy and teasing of
the moment before fell away from their faces entirely and they became adults
again, expressions filled with a mix of resignation and determination. But what
he had said needed to be said, so he pushed his own feelings aside and
continued, “Our favorite king of Iysh has declared that whichever prince can
solve the riddle of Estole be the one that gets the crown.”

Ash gave a slow blink, and in those two seconds, understood
the full repercussions. “The first prince, Maddox, is the strongest contender.
He’s most likely to gather up an army and march straight for us. If he does,
we’ll be slaughtered. It won’t be like the previous times where they sent a
small force at us. This time, they’ll be prepared to face Ashlynn and me.”

“We need to leave tomorrow morning,” Riana said the obvious
aloud. “We have no more time.”

“We have some,” Ash corrected. “Just not much. Maddox can
hardly put together an army and march them toward us right now. It takes time
to make all the preparations, gather the supplies, set up the army’s command
before he can march. We still have spies in Iysh that can tell us when they’re
actually ready to leave. If he takes his time putting an army together, we
might be able to avoid a conflict this year altogether. He must strike within
the next three months otherwise he’ll be waging a battle in winter, and no fool
does that by choice.”

Riana had a look of open worry on her face. “We have time to
fetch help, then. Question stands, how much help?”

“Every single person we can find.” Ash took the saddlebag from
her, this time without so much as an acknowledgement he had done so, and turned
for Ashlynn’s room. “We need a brace of healing charms, I think. Riana, how
close are you to being packed?”

“I have no notion how to pack for a trip like this,” she admitted.
Nor would she, as she had never done it before. Even coming here, she had
simply packed everything she had. “Ye best check me.”

It was obvious to Broden that the two of them knew what
needed to be done. He called to them, “I will tell Edvard and Ashlynn ye be off
in the morning.”

“Do that,” Ash called back from inside the room. “Oh, and
Broden?”

“Aye?”

“Tell Ashlynn to write a letter to our master. I might need
it.”

Riana and Ash left at dawn’s break. Riana, a habitually
early riser, didn’t mind it but Ash certainly did. She was convinced he was
riding with one eye open, the other still glued shut with sleep. Eventually the
motion of the horse woke him up and he was paying attention by the time they
reached the far outskirts of Estole.

Ashlynn had told her that their master was outside of
Honora, south and west of Estole. It was clear across the country, actually,
which was why the journey would be so dangerous. No one thought that they would
need to break into any buildings, as they weren’t on a rescue, so this time
they chose to go light and fast. Just the two of them, traveling as incognito
as possible, and avoiding people as much as they could.

In an effort to blend in with the populace better, Riana had
a hat on to cover her distinctive red hair. Ash wore one as well, something
with a low brim, but she doubted it was a disguise on his part. Belike more an
effort to ward off the sun. His fair skin burned more easily than hers did.
Riana, used to the sun, didn’t mind it much. Ash had a very different opinion.

They had a rhythm with the horses: a fast trot for an hour,
a walk for an hour, pacing the beasts and themselves so that they didn’t
exhaust either but covered ground quickly. Riana timed it so that the next time
they were at a walk, she could ask, “Tell me more about yer master. Aside from
a mention here and there, I do no’ know much about the man.”

“Gerrard is his name. He’s a large man, gruff, blunt to the
point of leaving open wounds. He’s a good man, solid, and extremely capable. At
one time, probably thirty years ago, he was acknowledged as one of the best in
his field and the king himself appointed him as one of the wizards of the
court. But it didn’t last long.” Ash snorted, shaking his head. “I don’t know
why anyone thought it would. Master’s many things, but
controllable
is
not one of them. The man has a stubborn streak as wide as an ocean and he
doesn’t deal well with authority. To put him in a court position, of all
things, was folly. The height of folly. He lasted a full year and then left as
abruptly as he came in. He’s been on the outs with the magical community ever
since.

“In spite of that, he was still well recognized enough to
build his own academy. Well, I call it an academy, but he’s basically the only
teacher. The older students are set to teach specific things to the younger
ones, which is how he handles the workload. By the time that Ashlynn and I were
given to him, he’d had the school for about five years.”

He was smiling, saying this. For all of his protests about
his master not liking him much, he still remembered those student days with
fondness, eh? “So he be running this school of his for thirty years?”

“About that,” Ash agreed. “He’s produced some amazing
wizards, some even more talented than he himself. You wouldn’t think it,
looking at him, but he’s a very good teacher.”

He must be that, to produce wizards as capable as Ash and
Ashlynn. But in this story, Riana heard more than what he said. She started
making her own plans of what to say if Ash failed because she had a notion that
there was a possibility here, one that Ash had clearly not thought of.

Knowing well that she had only a map and a description to go
by, Ash was kind enough to give her updates as to where they were as they rode.
It gave her a sense of direction, certainly, but it also taught her the road.
Riana was certain that if something happened, and she had to navigate her way
back, then she could do it.

They stopped that night outside the edge of Estole’s
borders, properly in Iysh but near no major cities. There were only trading
posts and small villages along this part of the road, so small that some of
them didn’t even have names. Avoiding people as they were, they didn’t stop at
any of them, but instead found a depression off the side of the road that would
give them shelter from the wind and a place to hide a cook fire.

Ash set up a charm in camp to ward off insects, which
allowed them to be able to sleep comfortably. At dawn, they were up again, and
back on the road.

They were at a walk, the sun warming up her right side, and
thoughts of a mid-morning snack drifting through her head when Ash started
fumbling for his front breast pocket. Riana frowned, shifted in the saddle, and
finally heard the faint voice coming from that direction.

“
Ash.
” Ashlynn repeated again patiently. After a
solid decade of using these devices, both siblings had learned that they
weren’t particularly loud and sometimes you had to repeat yourself several
times before the other person could hear you.

“Here!” he said, voice going up in a short victory as he
finally got his necklace out. “Here. What’s going on?”

“
Please explain to Edvard that he’s an idiot.”

Ash blinked and responded slowly, “I thought we had already
established that?”

From a distance, a voice protested, “
Hey!”

“What has he done this time?” Ash prompted, grinning at being
able to rile his blood-brother even from a distance.

“
We’ve been discussing ways to stop Iysh from marching
against us. Edvard is dead set on his plan, which isn’t possible. He wants to
sneak in and steal the treasury, or put a glamour over the treasury, or
something along those lines so that the Iyshian government believes it’s broke
and can’t afford to mount an army in the field.”

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. “And which fool
idiots are supposed to sneak into a highly guarded facility and steal all of
that money?”

“We are, of course.”

“And which other idiots are supposed to cart all of this
away? Because two people won’t begin to manage it.”

“I told you it wouldn’t work,
” Ashlynn said
triumphantly to Edvard.

There was a distinct note of sulking that carried through
the caller clearly. “
I don’t see anyone else coming up with a viable idea.”

“I thought half the reason why I’m on the road is to find us
a magical fighting force?” Ash responded, exasperated.

“
I need builders just as much.”

Riana had to admit the truth of that. Most of the time, it
was the building that took up so much of the wizard’s efforts. Not the
fighting. Kneeing her horse closer, she pitched her voice to carry clearly. “We
promise to think on it.”

“Anything else going on that I should know about?” Ash
prompted.

“
Not a thing,
” his sister denied. “
You do realize
that this will be the last time we can talk? We’re straining the limits of our
callers right now.”

“I know,” Ash assured her. “But it’ll be fine. We’re being
very cautious.”

“
Glad to hear it. I have a worried father over here
fidgeting.”

Broden gave a wordless noise of protest that no one actually
bought into.

“
Stay safe, you two.”
The caller abruptly went quiet.

Ash studied the gold medallion in his hand. “She must have
been tying together at least two callers just to get that strong of a
connection. Our system has improved, but not by that much.”

Riana had been faintly surprised it worked at all. Not that
she really understood all of the magical mechanics behind it, just what had
been explained to her, and the pieces she’d overheard as the three wizards had
put their heads together to try and improve the system. Still, knowing that she
was now completely outside where she could call for help sent a tingle of unease
racing up her spine.

She spent the rest of the day riding under a cloud of trepidation.
Riana might have grown up in a hostile environment but she had never been alone
before. Well, she wasn’t alone now, but it was different. This was completely
foreign territory to her. She didn’t know where to go to hide, or for help, or
if help was even an option open to her. The only solid thing she had to depend
on was Ash, and even he was questionable at the moment because he hadn’t quite
gained all of his strength back yet. Instead of depending on him, it was more
like she felt she had to be strong enough he could depend on her.

Not for the first time, she wished that they had been given
another two or three days’ grace so that Ash could get his full strength back
before taking to the road. This was indeed nerve-racking.

They found a nice copse of trees that night that was set a
small distance from the road. It didn’t have water, but it gave good shelter
for a cook fire, so Riana was quite happy with the spot. She settled into
making camp with a small sense of security.

It was a feeling that Ash obviously didn’t feel as he
immediately went around to the trees and started setting up a ward.

She frowned while watching him. “Ash, be that necessary?”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight out in the open
like this without a ward up.”

While she did see his point, she had to wonder at this
choice as he wasn’t supposed to use magic at all for another day. And even
after that day had passed his sister had restricted him to minor magicks and
not anything remotely on the scale that he had been doing.

Seeing him work magic set ill with her, but she let it lie
and continued setting up camp. As he set his ward, she went out and gathered
firewood, as she wouldn’t be able to do that later, and answered a call of
nature while she was out of sight of him. That accomplished, she came back with
an armful and set it in the middle, setting up a fire ring.

Riana turned to find flint in her packs when she heard a
whoosh
sound behind her and the crackle of flame. Snapping about, she found that Ash
had set the fire magically ablaze. “Ash! Be still, man.”

Startled at this chastisement, he jerked his head up. “What?
Oh, no, Riana this barely takes any power at all.”

She glared at him. “Yer sister be adamant on this, Ash. No
using magic
at all
. The ward I let pass as it be dangerous out here
alone, but the fire be a different story. That we need no’ use magic for. Use
yer hands.”

He looked set to argue this but at the fierce frown on her
face, he reconsidered that idea and subsided. The set to his mouth wasn’t quite
a sulk but it was near enough to look ridiculous on a grown man. Riana stared
at him, bemused and exasperated all at once. Was he in such a habit of doing
everything
with magic that he found it too tedious to do it the old fashioned way?

Trying to set aside her irritation, she reached for the pack
of food and shifted through it. What to do for dinner? They still had bread,
and jerky, and meats and cheeses. She could do some cold-cut sandwiches but
they’d had that for lunch, eating in the saddle. Might as well take advantage
of the fire while they could. A stew would require a lot of water, which they
didn’t have, so perhaps roasting something in the coals would be the best ch—

From behind her, she felt it when Ash used just a trace of
magic. She whirled about on her heels so quickly that she nearly upsetting her
own balance. He had a finger on the ground, tracing a design into it that she
recognized, designed to make the ground softer to lay on. Her temper flared hot
and wild and she nearly tackled him. “QUIT!”

Ash jerked away from her, eyes wide. “Riana! Stop reacting
like that, you’re scaring me.”

“I be scaring ye? Me?” It took great control but she didn’t
reach out and start strangling him. “Ye be scaring
me
. Ash, be sensible!
The comfort of a night’s sleep be no’ worth using magic now.”

He got that look on his face that said he was forcing
himself to be patient. But this close to him, with their emotions running high,
she knew he was feeling anything except that. “Riana, it’s little traces of
magic—”

She had heard that excuse enough times that it grated along
her nerves and she had no patience to listen to it again. “Lovenanty, man, but
do ye take me as a fool?
No magic at all
be what yer sister said. Ye
agreed with her at the time! And now ye find excuses here and there to cheat.
It be akin to poking at an open wound over and over, just a little here and
there. It will break it open again, ye know it will.”

“It’s not the same principal at all—”

“That be how Ashlynn described it to me, and at the moment,
I trust her more than ye.” Riana knew the second those words left her mouth
that she should have phrased it differently. It struck a chord in him that was
better left alone.

A dark thundercloud swept over his face and he growled at
her. “Then maybe you should have been her partner.”

She felt sorry for the way she had worded it, but her stance
was still right, and it wasn’t something that she could take back. For his
sake. So she held firm. “It would no’ have gone well for ye. Me dad’s like to
clobber ye for rashness like this. Ash. It be another day. Ye can no’ wait
another day?”

“Exactly. It’s one more day. What difference does a day
make?”

Right. That tack hadn’t worked. Time to try another one. “We
be alone out here, far from help, and I will no’ know what to do if ye fall
again.”

“I’m not going to collapse!” he nearly shouted at her. “My
magical core is fine!”

“Ye said that to me the very morning ye went down!” she
shouted back. A dam burst open and she lost what grip she had on her temper.
“Blessed be, Ash, I can no’ trust ye to take care of yerself. Ye proved that to
me a week ago. For both our sakes, leave off on the magic.”

He abruptly stood and turned his back to her. “I’m not
arguing this anymore.” Gait like a miffed tiger, he stalked out of the ring of
the camp.

Alarmed, she shot up to her feet as well. “Where be ye
going?!”

“For a walk!” he practically snarled, not even glancing back
at her.

Riana stared at his retreating back in open dismay. That had
not gone well. Not at all. They’d never argued before like this so she didn’t
know if Ash was the type to sulk for long or not. This wasn’t the right sort of
place for them to have discord between them.