Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (29 page)

“No’ yet,” Riana denied, waving her back to what she was
doing. “We need to order it first. If Ash comes looking for me, tell him I will
be back in a moment.”

“Sure thing.”

Riana took in a breath, searching for courage, because the
last time she’d walked alone in this village it hadn’t exactly gone well. But
it was time to face these people again, as the new version of her, and it
wasn’t the time to show weakness. Besides, both buildings were barely a stone’s
throw away from the camp, it could hardly be described as dangerous.

Chin up, shoulders back, she marched for the bakery first.
The tables were still out, but most of the chairs were already back in, and it
was Eden’s youngest daughter that was behind the counter. She looked up with
wary, dark eyes as Riana walked in. “What?”

The tone was just short of being rude. Riana bit back the
urge to snap back and kept her tone level with effort. “I need to order some
food for dinner, enough to feed everyone with me. What do ye have baking?”

This late in the evening, there wouldn’t be much, just
whatever people had pre-ordered that morning for dinner. Still, Eden normally
baked some things extra at night so he could sell them to early morning
customers. Riana knew this and dared the girl with her eyes to say that nothing
was available.

Mouth tightening in a mutinous line, the girl nevertheless
rattled off, “Spinach rolls, wheat loafs, and three cheese bread.”

“I will take the spinach rolls and three cheese bread.
Enough to feed six.”

“Spinach rolls be still baking,” she was carefully not
looking at her customer, “so come back in ten minutes.”

“I will.” Riana turned on her heel and walked out again
before blowing out a breath. Alright, that had gone better than expected. Now
for the butcher.

Mrs. Crobin had turned her husband’s career into a side
business for herself nearly two decades ago, or so her father had once said.
She made up soups and meat pies for people on request and always had some
chicken or turkey legs baked up for anyone that just wanted something on the
go. Riana figured that if she got some of those legs, a soup, and a few pies,
she’d have enough diversity and food to satisfy everyone. Whether or not Mrs. Crobin
would be in there and not at the Hall, discussing things with everyone, was the
only question.

As she walked through the village, she found that it was
mostly the men that were missing. Half of the women were still going about
their business. Did they not care? No, likely that wasn’t it. They just had
their own things to do and were content with whatever their husbands decided,
most likely. Riana shook her head in amazement. Didn’t they value their own
opinions?

Stepping into the butcher shop, she was a little surprised
to see Mrs. Crobin standing behind the counter. Here was a woman that she
half-expected to see in that meeting. Well, maybe the thought of losing
business worried her more than any future possibility.

Mrs. Crobin took one look at her and an expression like a
thunderstorm swept over her face. “What ye be doing in my shop, girl?”

“Ordering food.” The Crobins had always been the harshest to
her, verbally at least, so it took nerve to just stand there. “How many legs,
meat pies, and soup do ye have ready to go?”

The butcher’s wife opened her mouth, face red in anger,
ready to let her tongue fly furious and hot. Then she paused and looked over
Riana’s shoulder as if fearing that someone would step inside and flatten her
with magic if she dared to utter a curt word. With great difficulty, she
swallowed what she was going to say. Voice hoarse with strain, she managed, “I
have two meat pies, four chicken legs, four turkey. No soup.”

“I will take what ye have, then.”

She stammered out a price, which Riana paid without
argument, as just being able to stand here and order food without getting a
tongue lashing was worth the extra money. Face tight, Mrs. Crobin tied up all
the food in clean napkins before thrusting them in Riana’s arms. Without another
word to the woman, she turned and left, only breathing freely once she was in
the open air again. That had gone easier than expected.

She went all of four steps when she nearly bumped into
Gerrard, who had a small keg of something tucked under his arm.

“Ah, Riana. Is that hot food I smell?”

“It be that.” She looked at the keg and ventured, “Cider?”

Patting it on the side, Gerrard beamed. “Freshly pressed.
That doesn’t look like enough food to feed all of us.”

“I ordered more, it just needs to be fetched. Can ye take
this back?”

“Certainly.” Gerrard leaned in close enough to whisper, “Is
it safe for you to walk around like this? No one’s bothering you?”

“Barely cordial,” Riana admitted, flashing him a smile. “But
Ashlynn scared them all into line, it looks like. I be fine. Bakery be right
there, so I be right behind ye.”

“In that case, I’ll take it.” Gerrard took the bundle with
his free hand and turned to the camp without a glance backwards. It was like he
was silently telling her that he trusted her judgment and wouldn’t coddle her.

Well, this
was
the man that had basically raised
Ashlynn. He knew how to teach confidence. With his silent trust, she felt a
little bolstered and headed for the bakery with more poise than before.

She was halfway across when her luck abruptly ran out.
Crobin burst out of the Hall, red in the face, movements jerky and wild. His
eyes landed on her and he let out a roar, “RIANA RAVENSCROFT!”

Whirling, Riana had her bow in hand before she realized who
was calling. Then she deliberately made herself stop. She would not, could not,
shoot this man until he did something to warrant it. Anger alone didn’t justify
it, no matter how bad he was scaring her. “What, Crobin.”

Hands shaking, he stomped her direction. “Do no’ take that
tone with me, girl! This be all yer doing. Ye come in here after ye seduce that
wizard and now we have to bow down to yer will and do as ye ask all for—” his
voice pitched higher to mimic Eden “—‘the benefit of the village as a whole.’
Well, I will no’ stand for it, ye hear me?! I do no’ care what ye think or
say—”

Between one heartbeat and the next, Ash was in between them,
as unmoving as a mountain. He grabbed Crobin’s wrist in a vice-like grip,
making the man gasp in pain, then twisted enough to throw the butcher
off-balance before throwing him back. Crobin stumbled three steps, caught his
balance, and cradled his wrist against his chest.

Anyone within line of sight of them froze and turned to
watch the spectacle.

In the abrupt silence, Ash’s voice sounded unnaturally loud.
“
Kings
seek her counsel. Her words and thoughts have shaped an entire
government. She is now a Councilwoman of Estole. You, sir, would be wise to
curb your tongue and respect her.”

Crobin was mad enough to recklessly spit out, “Or what?”

Ash braced his feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over
his chest, and looked down on the man like a bug that had somehow wandered in.
“Are you forgetting just how skilled she is with that bow? Push her far enough
and she’ll retaliate. And when she’s done with you, if there’s anything left,
I’ll
take care of you.”

“Smitten,” Crobin breathed, becoming outraged all over
again. “Ye be completely smitten with her. We be negotiating with a love-struck
fool!”

Ash cocked an eyebrow at him.

Riana’s head snapped around when not a word of denial passed
her partner’s lips. Was he truly admitting to it, right in this moment, or was
he just refusing to rise to Crobin’s bait? His emotions were such a chaotic
whirl that she couldn’t tell.

Eden burst out of the Hall, spied the three of them, and
sprinted for Crobin. He caught the man around the neck and pushed him into a
bow. “Sir, he apologizes—”

“I do no such thing!” Crobin hissed at him, struggling to
rise.

“Shut up, ye idjut,” Eden hissed back. “Sir. We be inclined
to accept yer proposal on the whole, there just be some details to work out
atween us tonight. Can we give ye a formal answer in the morning?”

“Of course,” Ash assured him. Pointing at Crobin, he
suggested (ordered?), “Take that back with you. Before I have to do something
permanent to him.”

“Aye, of course.” Keeping his grip on Crobin’s neck, Eden
dragged him back into the hall and ignored the man’s squawking as he did so.

Ash turned to her, still with that mild expression on his
face that didn’t match his emotions at all. “Didn’t I tell you to stick close?”

Frustrated, she flung a finger to indicate the bakery. “I be
in sight of the camp and all I wanted be some rolls for dinner.”

“Riana.” The way he said her name was like an endearment and
he lost that rigid smile that sent shivers up her spine. “I said that to you
for
their
sakes, not yours. If they do something to you, I really will
lose my temper, and then Ashlynn will lose hers, and before you know it half of
this village will be rubble. Do us all a favor? Stick close.”

She wanted to laugh, a little hysterically, because he was
being perfectly serious. Oh dear. The damage she could unleash…. It was hard to
rein in the impulse to sic Ash on her former villagers, but she managed and
instead took his hand so he couldn’t go off on the impulse. “Then, come with me
for dinner rolls?”

His grip tightened on her hand. “Of course.”

Edvard met them at the castle steps, looking hopeful, Gwen
standing at his side. The little girl was bouncing on her toes, antsy and
impatient. The moment they came into sight, she darted down the stairs and
climbed Ash like a tree. Ash, used to this, gave her an accommodating hand up
so that she settled comfortably on his hip.

“Where’s my welcome home kiss?” Ash asked her, mock-pouting.

Gwen gave him a peck on the cheek and beamed at him.
“Souvenirs?”

“Not much in the way of that, where we went,” Ash
apologized.

From behind, his twin cleared her throat in a meaningful way
before stepping around. From her satchel, hanging at her side, she withdrew a
glass jar that had a ribbon tied around the top. “Honeysuckle jam, a specialty
of Cloud’s Rest.”

With the food rations that they’d been experiencing
recently, any sort of treat was a rare event. Gwen’s eyes lit up and she lunged
for the jar, which nearly dislodged her from Ash’s arms. He had to struggle to
keep her upright. “Is it sweet?” Gwen asked eagerly.

“Light and sweet and just perfect on biscuits,” Ashlynn
assured her.

Ash gave his sister an incredulous look. “How did you find
this?”

“I’m an expert at shopping. Surely you know that by now.”

Edvard gave up on them coming to him and met them halfway,
taking in the jar with keen interest. “That looks tasty.”

Riana had eaten it often enough growing up, although it was
usually she and her da making it. “It be that. It be a regular trade good they
sell to Senn.” Usually by this time of the year, the jars were all sold off,
though. It was a surprise to her that any had been left. Where
had
Ashlynn found it?

“If you’re carting back souvenirs, then the trip was
successful?” Edvard’s expression was a mirror for Gwen’s hopeful, happy smile.

“It was,” Ashlynn confirmed. “We’ll give you the particulars
after we have a chance to clean up, but the gist of it is this: they agree to
open trade, they’ll share information with us immediately if any other bandits
or problems start to develop in their area, and they’re willing to barter
wizardry help for food. I have a list of food that they have readily available
to ship.”

“We also took the time to carve out a rough highway between
here and there on the way back,” Gerrard added casually, making it sound as if
he had made up a pot of tea. “We’ll need to finish that before winter.”

Edvard’s brows shot up. “You already carved out a path for
the highway? All the way here?”

“We did have four wizards working on it,” Kirsty reminded
him.

“True,” Edvard acknowledged. “Bandits?”

“No more,” Kirsty assured him with relish. “Nor will likely
to be again for a good while, I think.”

“Excellent,” the king purred. “I was heartily sick of
hearing damage reports done to my people.”

“We were just as tired of being attacked,” Kirsty drawled,
which made him grin. “Sire, I’m bushed. Do you need me to do anything today?”

“Work on greenhouses in the settlement,” Edvard responded
promptly. “But take a little time to rest and eat something. I don’t want to
risk anyone else collapsing.”

With a short bow, she dismissed herself and headed for home.
Riana knew that she had an apartment somewhere in the city although she didn’t
know precisely where. Hopefully for Kirsty, it was nearby. Walking that whole
distance there and back, fighting bandits in between, and then working on a
highway for four days on the way home had taken a toll on the woman. Kirsty was
from a more pampered life. She simply wasn’t used to this kind of heavy work
day in and day out. The fact that she kept up with them without complaint was
amazing.

Knowing well how their brother operated, Ash asked dryly,
“And do we have the time to rest and eat something before going back to work?”

“Not entirely,” Edvard denied, palms spread in an apologetic
manner. “But it’s not physical work. I wasn’t sure if you’d be back today
otherwise I might have scheduled this for tomorrow. We have another council
meeting after lunch to discuss Iysh. I’ll need you all attend, of course.”

“That doesn’t leave us much time.” Ashlynn headed for her
suite, the rest of them keeping pace. “Edvard, I don’t see a bodyguard nearby.
Why is that?”

He gave her an innocent look. “Because I’m on castle
grounds?”

Ashlynn didn’t buy that for one second. “Edvard. I told you
to find a bodyguard while I was gone. I gave you several candidates.”

“I tried them out. They didn’t work.”

Growling, she muttered something darkly under her breath.
“Fine. I’ll go looking again. But stop being so picky.”

“I have to live with this man in my shadow day in and day
out, I reserve the right to be picky!”

“We reserve the right to keep you alive, too. Maybe you
should make breathing a priority?”

Edvard had no good response to that, so harrumphed and
looked away.

Ash charitably changed topics and pumped Edvard for more
information. “This the second or third council meeting?”

“Second. First attempt got cancelled because of a minor emergency.
We didn’t make any progress in the first meeting, though. We just don’t have
enough information to go by. But we need to start making guesses and
contingency plans; otherwise, we’ll be caught with our pa—” Edvard cut himself
off, glanced down at the innocent eyes of his six-year old sister and
rephrased, “—caught in a bad situation. Ash, I’ll have you report the progress
on Cloud’s Rest before we get into discussing Iysh. We can use some good news.”

“Certainly.” Still carting Gwen, Ash and Ashlynn went
directly up the stairs and to their suite.

Riana made to follow when Edvard caught her by the arm, and
Broden, and stopped them dead. With a weather eye over his shoulder, he asked
in a low tone, “How was it?”

It didn’t take telepathy to understand what he was asking.
“No’ as bad as usual.”

“Ash warned them from the very beginning to no’ insult us,”
Broden explained. “It curtailed some of their tongues. Ashlynn lost her temper
twice but no damage done.”

Edvard half-winced. “I was wondering how it would go after
you left. I know Cloud’s Rest didn’t treat you well, and my blood-siblings
don’t tolerate that behavior toward their nearest and dearest. At all. I’m glad
you were able to sit on them long enough to hammer out a trade agreement,
though.”

So was Riana. She was also extremely glad she wouldn’t have
to go back that direction any time soon.

Edvard dropped his hands. “As long as you’re fine and the
village came through intact, I’m satisfied. Go clean up. I’ll have something
prepared for lunch and set up in the dining room for you.”

“Thank ye.” Broden patted him on the shoulder and headed up
to his own room.

Riana followed after him and wondered if she took one of
those potions the twins made for headaches now, would it keep her head from
wanting to split open during the meeting?

Edvard knocked his knuckles against the top of the table in
a commanding rap. “War council, convene!”

Every provost was there, all sitting in their rightful
places around the council table. Edvard had invited Gerrard to sit in with them
as well, considering how important the man would be for the foreseeable future,
and he took the only empty chair left. Tierone sat with Edvard at the head of
the table. Broden was next to Ashlynn and prayed that someone here had a
brilliant solution to this mess. He certainly did not see one.

“Before we begin, Ash has a report of how trade negotiations
went in Cloud’s Rest.”

Ash stood, cleared his throat, then pitched his voice so
that everyone could easily hear him. “First of all, the bandit gangs in the
area are all gone. We destroyed them completely. What few managed to escape
headed straight for the coast and I don’t believe they’ll be willing to return
to the mountains. We have nothing else to fear from that quarter.”

There was a general sigh of relief.

“Now, about our relations with Cloud’s Rest: they have
agreed to open trade. We’ve promised to build a highway and give them access to
our trained wizards in return for food and any other goods they are willing to
trade. The highway has been already started. It just needs to be properly set
with brick and mortar before winter hits.”

“That is amazing progress,” Troi praised with a rare smile
on his face. “I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are very
pleased to have good relations with our northern neighbors, at least. But Ash,
I must ask, was the village as a whole in agreement with this? All things
considered—” his eyes darted to Riana and Broden “—I find that a little hard to
believe.”

Ash did not try to smooth it over or dodge the question. He
shook his head and stated plainly, “No. They were not all in agreement.
However, the majority was. And the majority gave the minority a choice: either
go along with it or leave the village.”

Ross let out a low whistle. “That’s harsh.”

“It be harsh country,” Broden remarked, tone sad. “They can
no’ afford to be divided. We won their respect when we took away their biggest
threat, the bandits, but ye can no’ change a man’s heart in a day. Most were
willing to form a partnership with us. It be best to leave it at that.”

The provost accepted this with a slow nod. “Let’s leave it
there, then. Are they willing to trade immediately?”

“They are,” Ash confirmed. “I have a list of food they can
give us now, which will help supplement our stores, and I’ve promised them
certain help in return for it. We have two weeks to pull our side together and
return.”

“That should be enough time,” Edvard commented, calculating
things out on his fingers. “Bragdon, I believe you told me that some of our
contracted workers that had been focused on the coins are now done?”

“That’s correct, sire.”

“Can we have them start on the highway?”

“I’m not sure if they have the expertise we need.” Bragdon
frowned and glanced toward Troi. “Let me confer and make a list of people
available. Considering the distance we have to cover, it would be best to start
on that soon.”

“Very soon,” Ash advised. “The path for it is carved out,
you won’t have to clear any land, but it’s still a good two days walk to get
there. And a bridge needs to be built as well.”

“We’ll work out a list of necessary manpower and provisions
and present it to you tomorrow, sire,” Troi promised.

“Do so. Any other questions in that regard? No? Then let’s
talk about options.”

“We have options?” Ranun pitched his voice so that everyone
could easily hear him. “We’ve discussed this before. We don’t even have an
army. What options?”

“It’s because we don’t have an army that we’re sitting here
trying to think of them,” Edvard corrected. Broden recognized that tone he was
using. If he was already forcing himself to be patient, this meeting would not
go well. “Now, the last two times that Iysh sent an army marching against us,
they didn’t take us very seriously. They treated the first battle like a fluke
win on our part and the second time they didn’t deviate from their plans, just
sent a slightly bigger force. If not for the fact that it was winter, they
might have stayed longer and tried a battle of attrition. Thanks to Ash and
Ashlynn, we survived, but we lost a lot of guardsmen in the process. We’ve
since replaced them with some of the refugees, training them, but we still
don’t have anything approaching an army.”

“Train more,” Towan suggested. “Or…wait, can we outfit them
if we do?”

“We don’t have the equipment,” Captain Bragdon denied. “And
we don’t have the funds to buy that equipment either. Fielding an army is
simply impossible even if we pool every resource we have.”

“We also don’t really have enough time,” Amber added in. “It
takes a solid six months to get a soldier trained. I mean, trained enough to
where he has a fighting chance. It’s difficult to do that in the dead of winter
and we’re only two months away from that.”

Broden was very afraid she was right. Most of the table felt
the same way.

“So, no army,” Edvard continued, although the way his mouth
puckered, it was like he had bit into something sour by saying the words. “I
need options. Thoughts?”

“We don’t need an army,” Haney denied. “The last two battles
we won because of our wizards. Now we have more than Ash and Ashlynn, we
have…how many again? Twenty-five or so all told? I don’t think we have anything
to fear from Iysh with that many.”

Every wizard in the room gave a cry of protest.

Ashlynn stood up so quickly the chair nearly toppled back.
“Now wait just one minute, Haney. You really expect us to do all the fighting?
Are you crazy? Bandits are one thing, but Iysh has surely learned from the
previous battles; they’re not going to just send regular soldiers against us
again. Cernunnos’s hand, but that was obvious after the last series of ambushes
we had to face! They’re sending wizards after us even in sneak attacks. Of
course they’ll do it during war as well.”